Posted on 12/19/2022 7:54:19 AM PST by BenLurkin
The HTMS Sukhothai sank after water flooded its power controls on Sunday night. Images shared by the navy showed some crew who survived in a life raft.
On Monday, authorities said they had rescued 75 sailors, but 31 were still missing in rough seas.
Officials said the ship went down after it took on water, which flooded its hull and short-circuited its power room.
With the power lost, the crew battled to retain control of the ship which listed on to its side before sinking around 23:30 local time Sunday (16:30 GMT).
The ship had been on a patrol 32km (20 miles) east of Bang Saphan, in the Prachuap Khiri Khan province, when it got caught in the storm on Sunday.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
These AA tub/gun things they designed were made so that anywhere they could find space (or build it on a sponson or something) they could simply lay out the area in chalk on the deck and weld the tub gun assembly into that if space allowed.
I got the distinct impression that they decided early on that the risk of being bombed was greater than the risk of capsizing!
Oh, Phuket!
Why so much water suddenly—doesn’t seem to be disclosed. Did they hit something?
I got the distinct impression that they decided early on that the risk of being bombed was greater than the risk of capsizing!
*************
That’s a fascinating way to look at it. Certainly wise to assess risk on a relative basis on some cases.
Very good point.
So unfamiliar you didn't even know that the term is landlubber.
IIRC, it DID come back in a few cases to bite them in Typhoon Cobra, but...that is a bit like coming down hard on the Japanese because they experienced a 9.0 earthquate that took out their nuclear plants.
Having a destroyer capsize in a typhoon doesn’t seem much like a stretch to me, even a well designed one!
Probably either her intakes or her exhaust ports went under long enough to flood. They’re great ships but submarines they aren’t.
Except those guns on the front are similar in functionality to the 5” deck guns on US Destroyers. They are to shell surface targets and don’t support AA. On the back, if I recall correctly there is a missile launcher that can support AA misses. Then there is the Harpoon launchers forward for the rear deck. The usage of these ships is anti-insurgency and anti ship missions. They pretty much stick to the Gulf of Thailand with some excursions to other countries.
Source of my date: personal experience with the RTN on this and other ships out of Sattahip Naval Base.
Thanks, read of ships getting capsized but not because of getting wet
I’m a landlocked hillbilly.
I’m good in a bass boat but that’s about as big a boat I’m a captain of.😜
Informative background. Thanks.
Do you know the captain and if he survived? If he did, he has some explaining to do at his Board of Inquiry.
difficult to pump out water without electronics.
sounds like someone left a hatch open and water flooded the inner compartments.
Except those guns on the front are similar in functionality to the 5” deck guns on US Destroyers. They are to shell surface targets and don’t support AA.
US Destroyers 5" guns are most certainly capable of air defense. Considering the Sukhothai had the WM-25 FCS (same as the USN MK-92 FCS), I'd be very surprised if those OTO Melara 76 mm guns were not capable of air defense.
Good points. Thanks for your insights.
Right, definitely not the primary purpose.
You don’t get a list like that without something major going on. Moving fuel, water or ballast water.
A ship can sink fast but that size crew shoulda been able to handle the water unless they struck something and didn’t detect it, before the power failed.
Condolences shipmate.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.