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Sub V's the Mountain

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  • Sub V's the Mountain

    Navy releases photographs of shredded bow of nuclear submarine San Francisco that ran into undersea mountain; sonar dome shattered in crash, and officials are still assessing extent of damage; photo (M)


    Navy Releases Photos of Crash Damage to Nuclear Submarine
    By CHRISTOPHER DREW

    Published: January 28, 2005


    he Navy yesterday released photographs of the shredded bow of a nuclear submarine that ran into an undersea mountain earlier this month, and officials said they were still assessing the extent of the damage.

    The photos were taken once the submarine, the San Francisco, limped back to Guam after smashing into the mountain, which was not on its navigational charts. The photos show that the head-on crash 500 feet below the ocean's surface destroyed a sonar dome that formed the submarine's nose and peeled back part of the outer hull.


    The accident, which killed one sailor and injured 60 others, occurred on Jan. 8 about 360 miles southeast of Guam. Navy officials said the submarine's crew had to take emergency measures to blast to the surface and then keep the vessel afloat.

    The submarine's stronger inner hull, which protects the crew's living and working spaces, held firm, preventing a possible disaster.

    Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Davis, a spokesman for the Pacific Fleet, said yesterday that the sonar dome, made of fiberglass, shattered in the crash and that parts of the dome were hanging loosely when the submarine returned to port.

    He said the dome, which carries sonar gear, is normally flooded with water, adding that the water there, along with water in the vessel's forward ballast tanks, probably helped cushion the blow and keep the inner hull intact.

    Norman Polmar, an author and analyst on Navy issues, agreed that the water, which fills the tanks when a submarine dives, "certainly would have protected and cushioned the inner hull and the crew inside."

    The photos also show two doors that shuttered torpedo hatches. Commander Davis said they held and did not flood. In taking the photos, he said, the Navy placed a tarpaulin over the remaining sonar gear because the technology is classified.

    Commander Davis also said no decision had been made about repairing the submarine or what that might cost.

    The San Francisco, an attack submarine, was commissioned in 1981. Its nuclear reactor, which was not damaged, was refueled in 2002 during a $200 million overhaul meant to extend the vessel's life.

    After the crash, sailors had to run an air blower for 30 hours to limit the water pouring in through holes in the forward ballast tanks and keep the vessel from sinking too low to maneuver.

    Navy officials have said the San Francisco was traveling at high speed, more than 30 knots, when the crash occurred. They have reassigned its captain while investigators determine whether he bears any blame.

    Military officials have said that the submarine's main chart was prepared in 1989 and did not show any potential hazards within three miles of the crash site. Satellite images taken since then show the wedge-shaped outline of the undersea mountain. But officials have said the agency that prepared the charts had never had the resources to use the satellite data to improve them.

    Also yesterday, Kent D. Lee, the chief executive of East View Cartographic Inc., a map company based in Minneapolis, said Russian Navy charts indicate more hazards in that part of the ocean than were on the American charts, though they also fail to show the undersea mountain.

    Mr. Lee said the Russian charts have been available for five years. He said one of the Russian charts noted that the area where the crash occurred had been "insufficiently surveyed." It also warned: "Cautionary measures should be taken when sailing."

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    I know nothing of Naval Matters but I always thought that subs could "see" mountains, debris, ships and other subs using passive sonar. Is this not so?

  • #2
    Originally posted by Stimpy

    I know nothing of Naval Matters but I always thought that subs could "see" mountains, debris, ships and other subs using passive sonar. Is this not so?
    No, not using passive. Passive is when you are just listening. Obviously as mountains are usually relatively silent...

    Active is when you emit a pulse, and then listen to what the sound wave bounces off. This would have detected the mountain. However, when you emit the pulse, you make noise, so they generally don't do it.
    Meh.

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by yooklid
      No, not using passive. Passive is when you are just listening. Obviously as mountains are usually relatively silent...

      Active is when you emit a pulse, and then listen to what the sound wave bounces off. This would have detected the mountain. However, when you emit the pulse, you make noise, so they generally don't do it.
      And with the sub travelling at more than 30 kts, it is unable to use passive sonar anyway. Can't hear it over the noise of its own engine and the movement through the water. In saying that, It could have used active because everyone was going to hear it anyway.

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      • #4
        Didnt anyone watch hunt for red october?


        Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can't stop them from doing.

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        • #5
          Didnt anyone watch hunt for red october?
          What, you think the sub was torpedoed?
          If you have to do it, you always have to do it right. Either it makes a difference, or it’s good practice so that when it does make a difference, it gets done right.

          -Me.

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          • #6
            No, the Captain wanted to defect.
            As for accuracy, presumably the missile carries MRVs with terminal phase sensors and guidance.

            Comment


            • #7
              I think Goldie's refering to the hyper accurate navigation that allowed the russians to travel at high speed through an area with "Geomorphological challanges".

              -Y
              Meh.

              Comment


              • #8
                Ta Yook...

                Red route one etc?

                anyone?


                Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can't stop them from doing.

                Comment


                • #9



                  NTM
                  Driver, tracks, troops.... Drive and adjust!!

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                  • #10
                    jesus ..I hope he more than third party fire and theft on that..........Caption should read,,,,shit there goes my no claims bonus!
                    Covid 19 is not over ....it's still very real..Hand Hygiene, Social Distancing and Masks.. keep safe

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