Navy Releases Photos of Crash Damage to Nuclear Submarine

NY Times ^ | January 28, 2005 | CHRISTOPHER DREW

[ProudVet77]

It is amazing they made it back.
There is no such thing as a little leak. At that depth, the water enters the sub like a .50 cal MG bullet. The pressure hull had to survive in tact.
Sadly this boat is headed for the junkyard.

[tom paine 2]

bump

[pctech]

That was the Kursk. The Russkis claim we rammed their sub but as it turned out it was a faulty missile that blew it up.

[shield]

bttt

[Max Combined]

"I would like to know what really happened and HOW it happened!"

Read the article. It is explained there.

[Max Combined]

"This equipment costs billions and to just run into a underground mountain suggests the technology is flawed."

No $hit, Sherlock.

[SS Guy]

I can't think of anything much scarier ...

I concur.... but also one thing that is, is waking up to the sounds of depth charges going off around you. And they weren't ours! 'Nuff said about that... still classified

BTDT

SS Guy

[Richard Kimball]

My hat's off to anyone who can pull submarine duty. It takes a different breed of cat. Be careful out there.

[lastmandown]

All US subs are constructed with a single pressure hull. However, the ballast tanks are located outside the pressure hull forward and aft of the pressure hull. The area in the photo shows that the forward ballast tank has been crushed all the way back to the forward elliptical bulkhead (i.e. forward most pressure hull).

[lastmandown]

This is incorrect. There is truly only one hull and the whole thing is constructed from HY-80 on LA class subs. Essentially, modern US subs are pipes with caps on both ends. The caps are generally referred to as the forward and aft elliptical bulkheads. Forward and aft of these bulkheads are the ballast tanks. You may be thinking of the older WWII type submarines that had a pressure hull and a superstructure. In the older subs the ballast tanks were wrapped around the cylindrical portion of the middle of the ship. However, this has not been an active design element since the 1960's. None of these types of subs are currently in service.

In the case of the forward ballast tank on the 688, the sonar dome is located in front of it and is connected to the inside of the ship by a watertight hatch and a trunk. In actuality, the forward end of the trunk is connected to a small room that houses the sonar transducer cabinets. In the photo it appears that most of this has either been crushed or torn away all the way back to the elliptical bulkhead.

[lastmandown]

It's for visual security - and it works.

[lastmandown]

Actually, the new guy always drives. The easiest job on the boat is driving. I know, i've done it.

[lastmandown]

Not surprising at all. The reactor is designed to withstand an incredible amount of shock (from say depth charges).

[SS Guy]

In the older subs the ballast tanks were wrapped around the cylindrical portion of the middle of the ship. However, this has not been an active design element since the 1960's. None of these types of subs are currently in service.

When you are 312 feet long and have a 27 foot beam, (about 16 feet for the pressure hull), and are expected to "sail the high seas" you gotta put fuel someplace. By the time WW II ended most of the Gato and Balao's were carrying 100,00 to 120,000 gallons of diesel. Much of what you call ballast tanks were in reality a Fuel/Ballast combination tanks. Once the fuel was gone the tanks were then kept full of seawater.

A number of WW Ii and just post WW II US subs are still in service around the world. Gudgeon is still in Turkey, Cutlass & Tusk are still doing active duty in Taiwan. The Lobo and Tiburon are in Peru.

SS Guy

[GeronL]

That only killed one sailor?? Thats probably a miracle

[xone]

'i thought they were suppossed to be good at driving these things'

They are, how do you think they got the pics. Loser.

[lawgirl]

"oops"