HTMS Sukhothai in the Gulf of Thailand during a CARAT 2013 training exerciseHTMS Sukhothai in the Gulf of Thailand during a CARAT 2013 training exerciseSukhothai?.......................No thank you............
Isn’t a ship’s crew trained to operate the vessel when electronics go out?
A land lover question here!
From Wiki:
Sukhothai was a Ratanakosin-class corvette. Ordered for the Royal Thai Navy on 9 May 1983, the ship was laid down by Tacoma Boatbuilding Company in Tacoma, Washington, on 26 March 1984. The Ratanakosin-class corvettes, of which there were two, were built to the following dimensions: 76.8 m (252 ft 0 in) in length, 9.6 m (31 ft 6 in) wide, with a displacement of 960 tons at full load. The class shares characteristics with the Royal Saudi Navy Badr-class corvette. The ship was powered by two diesel engines running two propeller shafts, providing a maximum speed of 26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph) and a range of 3,000 nautical miles (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph). The crew complement was 87, of which 15 were officers, plus an expected contingent of flag officer’s staff. Sukhothai was launched on 20 July 1986. The ship was the last major vessel to be completed at Tacoma Boatbuilding’s Yard 1 on the Hylebos Waterway.
I worked on that ship and its class lead a few years ago. I know their crew having spent several weeks with them. I am heartbroken. They really took care of that ship as the Thai Navy does with all or their vessels. They are a professional Navy in every sense of the word. Others may have different views but mine is based on sailing with them on 7 different ships from the Sukhottai, Rattankosi, all their Frigates and their CVH.
Sad day today for me
I don’t get it.
I say bad engineering.
No way should have this warship sunk becasue of a bad storm.
We rode out a 1980s super-typhoon in the Pacific off the coast of Guam on the submarine tender USS Proteus (AS 19). The Proteus was built in the 1920s and had its mid bow flex joints removed in the 1960s to accommodate ICBM maintenance. The purpose of flex joints is to allow the ship to give a little when you bottom-out betweet troughs.
DEFINETLY bad naval architecture engineering!
Probably either her intakes or her exhaust ports went under long enough to flood. They’re great ships but submarines they aren’t.