Very likely a submerged cargo crate. Thousands have been lost at sea over the past 20 years and are a hazard to all small vessels and subs I would presume.
You would think right? But it’s never been a problem. If they do hit it’s just bounces off. Never had a submerged container collision result in hull damage that I know of.
More common for them to cut off things attached to the sub. That happens a lot.
Far more dangerous are tug and tow operating near shore.
The chain from the tug drops down deep into the water, and the fucking tow doesnt make any noise cause it has no propulsion. All you can hear is the chain clanking and typically it’s at the connection point on the tug, not the middle of the chain.
So you end up with a chain you can’t see or hear drooping down right in front of you. God forbid you catch that chain on the sail. Either the tug is going down or the submarine is gonna take a shitload of damage as the chain tears up the sail.
It’s far more likely they hit another submarine. Despite all the technology a lot of times it comes down to luck. Passive ranging of submerged contacts is extremely difficult even with our technology gap. All it takes is one turn that you don’t see and all of a sudden you are closing range.
Collisions or near collisions happen more than you think, especially at times like this. I would say the odds are high that we are operating more aggressively than usual. Minimum standoff ranges probably lower in exchange for better intel and tracking.
Wish I was still in. I would have read about this incident in real time on message traffic.
Look through your Cold War history books. Sub on sub collision is common. Absolutely this could be a Chinese sub. More likely actually. We would know where other people are.
I'm sure I remember years ago there was a leak of information where one of our Vanguard class missile submarines (the RN equivalent of the Ohio class) struck some sort of undersea mount and stove piped the whole front of the submarine and heavily damaged the Ballast tanks. They managed to limp back to port.
I'm sure a similar thing happened to one of your Virginia class submarines years ago and by the description of the damage it was an absolute miracle and testament to the crews abilities with damage control that the boat was saved.
We will see. Depends on what the damage is. I think it’s unlikely it was a mine, they were in open ocean. If it was sea mount the front end will be caved in. Damage on the sides or gouging would be collision.
Well you would know better than me. WWII was a while ago. I haven't heard about subs getting hit in recent times so much. Of course, maybe I just wasn't following. I'm just thinking this lady might have a point: https://twitter.com/MorloteSamantha/status/1445866668693934081
We have had several collisions in the last decade. Hartford hit a helicopter dockship in the strait of Hormuz, someone else had one outside Norfolk a few years back. Ran a sub over during training. Then in the 80s we had 3-4 collisions with the Russians.
It hit another submarine, or it hit a undersea mountain not on the chart.
I did many deployments there. There is only two explanations.
Very likely a submerged cargo crate. Thousands have been lost at sea over the past 20 years and are a hazard to all small vessels and subs I would presume.
You would think right? But it’s never been a problem. If they do hit it’s just bounces off. Never had a submerged container collision result in hull damage that I know of.
More common for them to cut off things attached to the sub. That happens a lot.
Interesting, I would think it would cause damage but maybe they make those hulls thicc af
Far more dangerous are tug and tow operating near shore.
The chain from the tug drops down deep into the water, and the fucking tow doesnt make any noise cause it has no propulsion. All you can hear is the chain clanking and typically it’s at the connection point on the tug, not the middle of the chain.
So you end up with a chain you can’t see or hear drooping down right in front of you. God forbid you catch that chain on the sail. Either the tug is going down or the submarine is gonna take a shitload of damage as the chain tears up the sail.
hitting an undersea mountain while you're just going about your business on board must be kinda scary
It’s far more likely they hit another submarine. Despite all the technology a lot of times it comes down to luck. Passive ranging of submerged contacts is extremely difficult even with our technology gap. All it takes is one turn that you don’t see and all of a sudden you are closing range.
Collisions or near collisions happen more than you think, especially at times like this. I would say the odds are high that we are operating more aggressively than usual. Minimum standoff ranges probably lower in exchange for better intel and tracking.
Wish I was still in. I would have read about this incident in real time on message traffic.
Could it have been a CCP sub???
Look through your Cold War history books. Sub on sub collision is common. Absolutely this could be a Chinese sub. More likely actually. We would know where other people are.
how many fucking subs are down there though lol. The ocean is HUGE.
But I get it, they're operating around other subs likely on purpose to gather intel. Thanks for your knowledge.
I'm sure I remember years ago there was a leak of information where one of our Vanguard class missile submarines (the RN equivalent of the Ohio class) struck some sort of undersea mount and stove piped the whole front of the submarine and heavily damaged the Ballast tanks. They managed to limp back to port.
I'm sure a similar thing happened to one of your Virginia class submarines years ago and by the description of the damage it was an absolute miracle and testament to the crews abilities with damage control that the boat was saved.
Couldn't it have been mine or underwater missile or something like that?
We will see. Depends on what the damage is. I think it’s unlikely it was a mine, they were in open ocean. If it was sea mount the front end will be caved in. Damage on the sides or gouging would be collision.
Well you would know better than me. WWII was a while ago. I haven't heard about subs getting hit in recent times so much. Of course, maybe I just wasn't following. I'm just thinking this lady might have a point: https://twitter.com/MorloteSamantha/status/1445866668693934081
We have had several collisions in the last decade. Hartford hit a helicopter dockship in the strait of Hormuz, someone else had one outside Norfolk a few years back. Ran a sub over during training. Then in the 80s we had 3-4 collisions with the Russians.