U.S. nuclear sub runs aground in Pacific, 20 sailors injured

AP ^ | 01/08/05 | AP

[Pikamax]

U.S. nuclear sub runs aground in Pacific, 20 sailors injured 11:00 PM EST Jan 08 HONOLULU (AP) - A nuclear submarine ran aground Saturday 563 kilometres south of Guam, injuring about 20 sailors and sustaining severe damage, the U.S. navy said.

There were no reports of damage to the USS San Francisco's reactor plant, which was operating normally, the navy said. One of the sailors suffered critical injuries.

The 110-metre submarine was headed back to its home port in Guam and the incident is under investigation, said Jon Yoshishige, a spokesman for the U.S. Pacific Fleet based at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

He said there was no information yet on what the submarine struck.

The extent of the damage would not be known until the submarine arrived at Guam on Monday, Yoshishige said.

Details on the sailors' injuries were not immediately available but Yoshishige said an initial assessment put the number injured at around 20. The sub has a crew of 137, officials said.

U.S. navy and coast guard aircraft from Guam were sent to monitor the submarine and assist if needed, the navy said.

Located west of the international date line, Guam is a U.S. territory about 6,000 kilometres southwest of Hawaii.

[inkling]

I was assigned to the USS San Francisco back in the mid-80s. The whole boat obviously went to hell after I left :-)

[groanup]

someone is getting demoted.

Or worse. Bye bye pension.

[Strategerist]

the jap boat was intentionally in an area it knew was in use for submarine training. They got what they wanted.

Winner for stupid reply of the day award?

[Rebelbase]

The area in which this sub was operating is littered with seamounts.

[El Gran Salseron]

"and can travel at 23 mph.

ROFL

[Mount Athos]

One sailor is injured critically, some of the others might have some bad injuries too. I hope they recover well.

[rmh47]

"and can travel at 23 mph.

ROFL

Exactly! 23mph is what the Navy will admit to. The actual top speed is classified.

But speed kills, especially in the "silent service." Subs make too much noise when they go fast, and they go "deaf," too. Stealth is much more important than speed.

[Patton@Bastogne]

.


Mad Mammoth


Am I the only person to see the irony in this, a nuke sub by that name running aground, which literally means that it tried to bury itself into somewhere it shouldn't go?

And ditto Pikamax, someone sure WILL be demoted, or there is something wrong with the system.


I frankly don't believe a word of the official "Cover Story".

Uncharted mountains or not, a 688-class nuclear attack boat running at high-speed in "any" ocean has redundant systems to avoid collisions ... whether the "unexpected" obstacles be "new" undersea mountains, half-submerged ice bergs (weighted with large rock masses), large whales, or suddenly appearly enemy submarines.

Methinks the skipper will be quietly re-assigned to make it appear he's being "reprimanded" for an "alleged" mistake, while he and the "conn shift" will probably go to their graves knowing the "real truth" ...

Meanwhile ... undoubtedly at least two other fast-attack boats plus TAGOS "undersea surveillance ships" are now headed at high speed to the "collision area" to gather secret data for the U.S. Navy Top Brass.




Patton@Bastogne
Free Republic Member since 1998.



General George S. Patton Jr. Website




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[fuse7amp]

1 dead, 23 hurt so bad they can't stand watch, that is 1/3 of the crew almost. I saw when the oprep broke the news, glad they made it back. Any new news on them? Kinda went real quiet, real fast.

[GoldenOrchid]

Apparenty they hit an uncharted mountain. Yoou beleive that one I got a bridge in Iraq I can let you have on the cheap. I'll keep looking for the lowdown.