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Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: MillCreek on October 07, 2021, 02:54:38 PM

Title: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: MillCreek on October 07, 2021, 02:54:38 PM
https://news.usni.org/2021/10/07/breaking-attack-submarine-uss-connecticut-suffers-underwater-in-pacific?fbclid=IwAR1xYRcQ_-ehnbgjWz2fkZEPp54H-BrDLDCbcEyGje0za5nllp21IqkL_mE

It struck an 'underwater object'.  A seamount? A Chinese or Russian submarine? A whale?  I wonder if we will hear more about this.
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: dogmush on October 07, 2021, 03:32:30 PM
Some of the submariners on here might chime in, but I would think that they have good enough charts that hitting the bottom is not all that likely.

I bet it's either a big animal, another sub (like the various Soviet/US bumps), or the first Kaiju from the Pacific Rim rift.
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: MillCreek on October 07, 2021, 04:07:55 PM
^^^I am reminded of the US sub that struck the uncharted underwater seamount a few years back: the USS San Francisco back in 2005.
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: BobR on October 07, 2021, 04:25:37 PM
^^^I am reminded of the US sub that struck the uncharted underwater seamount a few years back: the USS San Francisco back in 2005.

I had a good friend that was standing Diving Officer Watch when that happened. Those guys did an excellent job of saving that boat and all the USN wanted to do was hang them out to dry. Moving in excess of reported speed to zero knots in the blink of an eye.

https://www.wearethemighty.com/popular/submarine-runs-into-undersea-mountain/

Don't believe everything you read in that article. The heroics, yes, the death, yes, the injuries, yes. Take the rest with a grain of salt.

bob

Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: MechAg94 on October 07, 2021, 05:24:00 PM
This sub was in the South China Sea.  Wonder if they hit another sub or something else that wasn't supposed to be there.
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: just Warren on October 07, 2021, 05:27:18 PM
You'd think they'd have someone looking out the windows to avoid this sort of thing.
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: HankB on October 07, 2021, 05:30:40 PM
You'd think they'd have someone looking out the windows to avoid this sort of thing.
The great-great-grandsons of the Titanic lookouts?
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: Fly320s on October 07, 2021, 05:59:49 PM
You'd think they'd have someone looking out the windows to avoid this sort of thing.

They did, but it is dark down there and the headlights were off.
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: MillCreek on October 07, 2021, 06:02:30 PM
I had a good friend that was standing Diving Officer Watch when that happened. Those guys did an excellent job of saving that boat and all the USN wanted to do was hang them out to dry. Moving in excess of reported speed to zero knots in the blink of an eye.

https://www.wearethemighty.com/popular/submarine-runs-into-undersea-mountain/

Don't believe everything you read in that article. The heroics, yes, the death, yes, the injuries, yes. Take the rest with a grain of salt.

bob

After reading the article and seeing the number of casualties, I bet the IDC on board was busy.
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: Ron on October 07, 2021, 06:14:19 PM
They did, but it is dark down there and the headlights were off.

The Seaview is still in service?!
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: 230RN on October 07, 2021, 06:18:33 PM

https://www.nsc.org/safety-training/defensive-driving/courses/online

Of course, it's always the other driver's fault.

Or the car itself, as in "My car slid off the road and into the ditch."
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: WLJ on October 07, 2021, 06:37:06 PM
The Seaview is still in service?!

Yep, and it was the monster-of-the-week's fault
But which one?

1) Lobsterman
2) Crabman
3) Seaweedman
4) Space Seaweedman
5) Sharkman
6) Smells like fish Man
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: MillCreek on October 07, 2021, 06:47:07 PM
^^^And would Kowalski be striking the monster with a wrench?
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: WLJ on October 07, 2021, 06:53:27 PM
^^^And would Kowalski be striking the monster with a wrench?

Of course
But only after the Chief shoots it with a 1911 20 times to no effect
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: RoadKingLarry on October 07, 2021, 10:06:43 PM
Not enough information yet.  Could be nearly anything from an uncharted sea mount as was the case with the San Francisco to another submarine.  Even a very slowly sinking shipping container lost off a cargo ship that has achieved near neutral buoyancy is within the realm of possibility.

That the statement made a point of stating that the ship was operating in international waters may be telling.
Knowing a little better where the boat was operating would also help fuel the  wild ass guessing  =D .
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: MillCreek on October 23, 2021, 09:28:08 AM
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/42851/this-is-our-first-look-at-the-uss-connecticut-after-its-underwater-collision?fbclid=IwAR28clcaqkKVqQzFbsssPhfegMDfdpZ3OIV8PnEufZQyVIhnNu3w6YT13C0

At least it does not look as if the entire bow was crunched.
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: just Warren on October 23, 2021, 06:02:30 PM
Is this sub optimal?
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: MillCreek on November 05, 2021, 01:16:08 PM
https://www.forbes.com/sites/craighooper/2021/11/03/navy-faces-prospect-that-sub-crash-will-force-uss-connecticut-out-of-service/?sh=73f6146c4f3c&fbclid=IwAR1Z9V2Ssm9RflrbZiOAGjulGlhEbXjUob1gmbB443LhbzjWTrapXmc3nTs

Things are looking worse for the Navy.  It may not be feasible to repair the sub due to cost and shipyard constraints.
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: Fly320s on November 05, 2021, 01:22:35 PM
https://www.forbes.com/sites/craighooper/2021/11/03/navy-faces-prospect-that-sub-crash-will-force-uss-connecticut-out-of-service/?sh=73f6146c4f3c&fbclid=IwAR1Z9V2Ssm9RflrbZiOAGjulGlhEbXjUob1gmbB443LhbzjWTrapXmc3nTs

Things are looking worse for the Navy.  It may not be feasible to repair the sub due to cost and shipyard constraints.

If their insurance totals the sub, can we buy it as salvage?
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: MechAg94 on November 05, 2021, 01:36:55 PM
https://taskandpurpose.com/news/navy-fires-uss-connecticut-leaders-underwater-collision/?utm_source=Task+%26+Purpose+Today&utm_campaign=a6c5217578-TP_Today_11_05_2021&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_67edd998fe-a6c5217578-80255874
Navy fires leaders of USS Connecticut following submarine crash into undersea mountain

Quote
The captain, executive officer, and chief of the boat of the Seawolf-class attack submarine USS Connecticut have all been fired following an Oct. 2 incident in which the boat struck an underwater mountain in the South China Sea, the Navy announced on Thursday.

Quote
Vice Adm. Karl Thomas, commander of 7th Fleet, relieved Cmdr. Cameron Aljilani, Lt. Cmdr. Patrick Cashin, and Master Chief Sonar Technician Cory Rodgers on Thursday “due to a loss of confidence,” a Navy news release says.

“Thomas determined sound judgement, prudent decision-making and adherence to required procedures in navigation planning, watch team execution and risk management could have prevented the incident.”

One of only three Seawolf-class boats, the Connecticut cost about $3.1 billion to build. Eleven members of the submarine’s crew were injured in the Oct. 2 collision.
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: Fly320s on November 05, 2021, 01:51:28 PM
Is no one mapping the sea floor these days?
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: cordex on November 05, 2021, 01:52:42 PM
Is no one mapping the sea floor these days?
Of course we are, we are just using very expensive probes to do it.
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: RocketMan on November 05, 2021, 02:07:59 PM
Is no one mapping the sea floor these days?

I've read that our ocean floor maps are badly out of date and have been for some time.  Supposedly, the Navy knows this and yet has not made any real effort to rectify the situation.  Relieving the CO, XO and senior enlisted personnel of the boat is a way of covering up the senior leadership's role in debacles such as this.
The boat may have well been on an intelligence gathering mission in the SCS.  They would have been a situation where they could not use sensor systems that normally would have allowed them to detect an uncharted seamount before a collision.  Using those sensor systems could have revealed their location to a potential enemy (China).
Maybe some of our experienced former sub drivers can weigh in on this and provide better information than I can.
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: RoadKingLarry on November 05, 2021, 03:52:17 PM

Anyone that believes that story, I can sell you some ocean front property in Oklahoma.
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: zxcvbob on November 05, 2021, 04:34:08 PM
Anyone that believes that story, I can sell you some ocean front property in Oklahoma.

There actually are seaports in OK. :)  Riverfront tho', not ocean front.
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: Hawkmoon on November 05, 2021, 05:37:32 PM
https://www.forbes.com/sites/craighooper/2021/11/03/navy-faces-prospect-that-sub-crash-will-force-uss-connecticut-out-of-service/?sh=73f6146c4f3c&fbclid=IwAR1Z9V2Ssm9RflrbZiOAGjulGlhEbXjUob1gmbB443LhbzjWTrapXmc3nTs

Things are looking worse for the Navy.  It may not be feasible to repair the sub due to cost and shipyard constraints.

There are things in that article that don't make sense to me. Perhaps our resident [former] squid can elucidate. F'rinstance:

Quote
It is unfortunate that the USS Connecticut suffered the maritime equivalent of a controlled flight into terrain after being, in effect, conserved for just the type of challenge China presents. But the faster the Navy and Congress realize that the USS Connecticut, if repaired, will never be a true Seawolf again, the faster America can move forward

Why can't it ever be the same again? If they take it back to where it was built, and that yard builds a new nose from the same blueprints and using the same materials as the original ... why isn't it as good as new?
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: WLJ on November 05, 2021, 05:40:24 PM
Anyone that believes that story, I can sell you some ocean front property in Oklahoma.

Lex Luthor Real Estate Co.?
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: zxcvbob on November 05, 2021, 05:51:48 PM
There are things in that article that don't make sense to me. Perhaps our resident [former] squid can elucidate. F'rinstance:

Why can't it ever be the same again? If they take it back to where it was built, and that yard builds a new nose from the same blueprints and using the same materials as the original ... why isn't it as good as new?

Cuz it'll have a salvage title.  BTDT with cars before, when the insurance company totals it for minor damage and I kept it.  The state gets pissy about that.
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: Jim147 on November 05, 2021, 06:34:32 PM
So does anyone know if this was a real known mapped hazard or was China working on the base of a new island?
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: RoadKingLarry on November 05, 2021, 06:38:58 PM
There actually are seaports in OK. :)  Riverfront tho', not ocean front.

The lake I sail in was constructed primarily to feed the Tulsa Port of Catoosa. I know several people that have launched from the port and made their way to the gulf.
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: Fly320s on November 06, 2021, 10:49:26 AM
There actually are seaports in OK. :)  Riverfront tho', not ocean front.

Not a seaport.
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: Parker Dean on November 06, 2021, 06:21:24 PM
There are things in that article that don't make sense to me. Perhaps our resident [former] squid can elucidate. F'rinstance:

Why can't it ever be the same again? If they take it back to where it was built, and that yard builds a new nose from the same blueprints and using the same materials as the original ... why isn't it as good as new?
Since they're not saying it can't be a submarine but rather that it will never again perform like a Seawolf class submarine it makes me think that it's expected to be noisier as result of shock damage to all the machinery. For a surface warship this wouldn't be that much of an issue but for a boat that operates in an environment where even a little bit more noise than planned could prove it's undoing it's a big deal.
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: HankB on November 06, 2021, 06:28:01 PM
After Pearl Harbor, several ship that were sunk - including battleships - were raised, repaired, refitted, and placed back into service - often with upgrades. During the war, damage control parties did legendary work dealing with severe battle damage including hits by kamikazes.

Today some people think the USS Connecticut can't be repaired properly. The USS Bonhomme Richard was set on fire by a disgruntled seaman at dockside - and was totally written off. The USS Cole was badly damaged by a small motorboat carrying several hundred pounds of explosives that was allowed alongside because of rules of engagement.

I'm beginning to wonder how our modern navy would fare in a real shooting war with incoming live fire from an enemy above the level of nomadic tribesmen.
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: Jim147 on November 06, 2021, 06:39:21 PM
After Pearl Harbor, several ship that were sunk - including battleships - were raised, repaired, refitted, and placed back into service - often with upgrades. During the war, damage control parties did legendary work dealing with severe battle damage including hits by kamikazes.

Today some people think the USS Connecticut can't be repaired properly. The USS Bonhomme Richard was set on fire by a disgruntled seaman at dockside - and was totally written off. The USS Cole was badly damaged by a small motorboat carrying several hundred pounds of explosives that was allowed alongside because of rules of engagement.

I'm beginning to wonder how our modern navy would fare in a real shooting war with incoming live fire from an enemy above the level of nomadic tribesmen.

But they will have their proper pronouns.
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: dogmush on November 06, 2021, 07:13:37 PM
Today some people think the USS Connecticut can't be repaired properly. The USS Bonhomme Richard was set on fire by a disgruntled seaman at dockside - and was totally written off. The USS Cole was badly damaged by a small motorboat carrying several hundred pounds of explosives that was allowed alongside because of rules of engagement.

I'm beginning to wonder how our modern navy would fare in a real shooting war with incoming live fire from an enemy above the level of nomadic tribesmen.

This shows a complete lack of understanding of these three events, the realities of modern shipbuilding/repair and warships, and is overall a retarded argument.
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: HankB on November 06, 2021, 07:30:24 PM
This shows a complete lack of understanding of these three events, the realities of modern shipbuilding/repair and warships, and is overall a retarded argument.
;/
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: RoadKingLarry on November 06, 2021, 10:54:20 PM
Based on my considerable, though somewhat outdated experience with nuclear fast attack submarines, , we do not have enough data to 2nd guess the decision to repair or not.
Depending on the extent of the damage the structural integrity of the pressure hull may well have been compromised, the boat could conceivably even be bent. In addition, most of the internal structure is mounted on sound isolating platforms. Those structures likely experienced significant damage, if so repair could even require major hull openings to be cut in to the hull.
There is a definite cost/benefit analysis that has to be made based in part on the projected remaing service life of the boat if repaired against the cost to repair vs. using that money on new construction.
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: Bogie on November 06, 2021, 10:58:21 PM
So, can we build new subs, or did we outsource that to China?
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: French G. on November 06, 2021, 11:19:48 PM
So, can we build new subs, or did we outsource that to China?

We can, Newport News across from my old house and Electric Boat in Connecticut. One of the few places I agree with government excess, wherein we build half the sub one place and the other half at the other. Makes sense to pay more and keep two strategic yards capable. Bad enough we can build nuke carriers and refuel them at only one spot.
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: Hawkmoon on November 09, 2021, 09:11:41 AM
Speaking of submarines:

https://www.theblaze.com/news/woman-pleads-guilty-to-fraud-in-connection-with-falsifying-steel-test-results-for-navy-submarines

Quote
"Ms. Thomas never intended to compromise the integrity of any material and is gratified that the government's testing does not suggest that the structural integrity of any submarine was in fact compromised," the woman's attorney John Carpenter noted in a statement filed in U.S. District Court on Thomas's behalf, according to the outlet

...

When approached about the fake test results Thomas told investigators, "Yeah, that looks bad," the DOJ said, according to the AP. Thomas indicated that in some instances she altered the tests to passing results because she believed it was "stupid" that the Navy required the tests to be executed at negative-100 degrees Fahrenheit.

So she didn't "intend" to compromise the integrity of any material ... she just decided for herself that the specifications were stupid, so she didn't follow them.

Sheesh. She should be locked up for thirty years. Instead, she'll probably get a book deal.
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: RoadKingLarry on November 09, 2021, 09:24:35 AM
Quote
Sheesh. She should be locked up for thirty years. Instead, she'll probably get a book deal.

Cabinet level position in Biden's defense department.
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: WLJ on November 09, 2021, 09:27:01 AM
Speaking of submarines:

https://www.theblaze.com/news/woman-pleads-guilty-to-fraud-in-connection-with-falsifying-steel-test-results-for-navy-submarines

So she didn't "intend" to compromise the integrity of any material ... she just decided for herself that the specifications were stupid, so she didn't follow them.

Sheesh. She should be locked up for thirty years. Instead, she'll probably get a book deal.

Article doesn't say but did she go on to work at Boeing on the Starliner project?
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: Fly320s on November 09, 2021, 12:19:36 PM
Article doesn't say but did she go on to work at Boeing on the Starliner project?

No.... 737Max
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: Fly320s on November 09, 2021, 12:29:28 PM
Speaking of submarines:

https://www.theblaze.com/news/woman-pleads-guilty-to-fraud-in-connection-with-falsifying-steel-test-results-for-navy-submarines

So she didn't "intend" to compromise the integrity of any material ... she just decided for herself that the specifications were stupid, so she didn't follow them.

Sheesh. She should be locked up for thirty years. Instead, she'll probably get a book deal.

I was going to defend her by saying prison seems a bit harsh just for falsifying test results.   Then I read the article.  She was doing that for 30 years!  Yeah, prison is warranted.
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: Hawkmoon on November 09, 2021, 10:11:38 PM
I was going to defend her by saying prison seems a bit harsh just for falsifying test results.   Then I read the article.  She was doing that for 30 years!  Yeah, prison is warranted.

Yes -- thirty years, with parts for submarines. When something breaks on a surface ship, the ship may sink but the crew usually gets to float away in lifeboats. When a submarine sinks -- well, it's already sunk, and so is the crew. Faking the tests on a submarine part is like playing Russian roulette with the gun pointed at someone else's head.
Title: Re: US attack sub has a collision today
Post by: RoadKingLarry on November 09, 2021, 11:17:05 PM
That kind of *expletive deleted*it really pisses me off.
Lock her in a big room and turn loose the wives and families of all the submariners whose life she put in jeopardy.
I would also be OK with a few thousand charges of attempted murder.