Posted on 01/27/2005 8:29:43 PM PST by neverdem
The Navy yesterday released photographs of the shredded bow of a nuclear submarine that ran into an undersea mountain earlier this month, and officials said they were still assessing the extent of the damage.
The photos were taken once the submarine, the San Francisco, limped back to Guam after smashing into the mountain, which was not on its navigational charts. The photos show that the head-on crash 500 feet below the ocean's surface destroyed a sonar dome that formed the submarine's nose and peeled back part of the outer hull.
The accident, which killed one sailor and injured 60 others, occurred on Jan. 8 about 360 miles southeast of Guam. Navy officials said the submarine's crew had to take emergency measures to blast to the surface and then keep the vessel afloat.
The submarine's stronger inner hull, which protects the crew's living and working spaces, held firm, preventing a possible disaster.
Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Davis, a spokesman for the Pacific Fleet, said yesterday that the sonar dome, made of fiberglass, shattered in the crash and that parts of the dome were hanging loosely when the submarine returned to port.
He said the dome, which carries sonar gear, is normally flooded with water, adding that the water there, along with water in the vessel's forward ballast tanks, probably helped cushion the blow and keep the inner hull intact.
Norman Polmar, an author and analyst on Navy issues, agreed that the water, which fills the tanks when a submarine dives, "certainly would have protected and cushioned the inner hull and the crew inside."
The photos also show two doors that shuttered torpedo hatches. Commander Davis said they held and did not flood. In taking the photos, he said, the Navy placed a tarpaulin over the remaining sonar gear because the technology is classified.
Commander Davis also said no decision had been made about repairing the submarine or what that might cost.
The San Francisco, an attack submarine, was commissioned in 1981. Its nuclear reactor, which was not damaged, was refueled in 2002 during a $200 million overhaul meant to extend the vessel's life.
After the crash, sailors had to run an air blower for 30 hours to limit the water pouring in through holes in the forward ballast tanks and keep the vessel from sinking too low to maneuver.
Navy officials have said the San Francisco was traveling at high speed, more than 30 knots, when the crash occurred. They have reassigned its captain while investigators determine whether he bears any blame.
Military officials have said that the submarine's main chart was prepared in 1989 and did not show any potential hazards within three miles of the crash site. Satellite images taken since then show the wedge-shaped outline of the undersea mountain. But officials have said the agency that prepared the charts had never had the resources to use the satellite data to improve them.
Also yesterday, Kent D. Lee, the chief executive of East View Cartographic Inc., a map company based in Minneapolis, said Russian Navy charts indicate more hazards in that part of the ocean than were on the American charts, though they also fail to show the undersea mountain.
Mr. Lee said the Russian charts have been available for five years. He said one of the Russian charts noted that the area where the crash occurred had been "insufficiently surveyed." It also warned: "Cautionary measures should be taken when sailing."
bump
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.
bttt
"I would like to know what really happened and HOW it happened!"
Read the article. It is explained there.
"This equipment costs billions and to just run into a underground mountain suggests the technology is flawed."
No $hit, Sherlock.
My hat's off to anyone who can pull submarine duty. It takes a different breed of cat. Be careful out there.
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).
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.
It's for visual security - and it works.
Actually, the new guy always drives. The easiest job on the boat is driving. I know, i've done it.
Not surprising at all. The reactor is designed to withstand an incredible amount of shock (from say depth charges).
That only killed one sailor?? Thats probably a miracle
'i thought they were suppossed to be good at driving these things'
They are, how do you think they got the pics. Loser.
"oops"
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