O/T It just goes to show.......................

[Cameljockey 3]

I was watching a documentary on the Military Channel called "Submarines: Life on a boomer" this morning and noticed a glaring mistake. It may not be noticeable to the average person, but having been part of Uncle Sam's Underwater Canoe Club, I noticed it right away. They mentioned a "nuclear submarine" that caught fire in 1988 in which 3 sailors were killed. The only sub that caught fire in 1988 in which 3 sailors died developed a leak in the battery compartment, which caused a short in an electrical bus, causing a battery explosion and subsequent fire. The sub was the USS Bonefish SS-582. The Bonefish was not a boomer (ballistic missile sub) nor was it ever designed or equipped to carry nuclear weapons of any kind. It was not even a nuclear submarine. It was diesel/electric.

 

CJ

[Hasse Wind 46]

That's quite common, unfortunately. I've seen quite a few documentaries with sometimes quite obvious mistakes in them. And some of the stuff they show on History Channel is just awful.

[jamieandnici 0]

Well spotted. You obviously were far more skilled at noticing that than most. It also annoys me when documentaries get things wrong, especailly when its glaringly obvious that the presenter/narrator has just been told to read a Q-card written by a 'man who knows' but hasn't done the proper amount of homework. Documentaries are there as an educational resource as well as for entertainment purposes. If they get it wrong, how can we know the full truth/facts behind something. Mistakes may/will often be made in documentaries be it small or glaringly obvious, but their priority is to provide us with the facts otherwise we get Hollywood films made such as U-571 that are historically untrue.

Edited January 13, 2011 by jamieandnici