Reminds me of the movie “Operation Petticoat” where the woman accidentally launches a torpedo, and it sinks a truck.
I am betting it was a sub-roc off one of our boats, it may have had a drill and somebody removed a safety, or neglected the safety interlocks, our boats are technically always on war footing.
Or and this may have a lot of truth due to current friction with other countries is that it was a warning shot, and I had a thought that maybe it was supposed to be Obamas “Oklahoma City” where a rogue sub launches a missile at the CONUS. China can get past our SOSUS if they have the technical zone mapping.
Or perhaps a sub was given orders to launch but miss Air Force One thus giving Obama an upper hand to get serious and divert attention from other issues. But the launch was premature, captains decision to make an “error”?
In summary I think Obama knows what it was because he ordered it.
Possibly based on a Mark I torpedo that was dropped from a VP-11 PBY patrol aircraft.
Known for built-in inaccuracies, it curved away from its enemy ship target, and struck an enemy ammunition ship in the middle of unloading explosives at a shoreline port near Rabaul (South Pacific). The resulting explosion remains a legend among those islanders.
The PBY pilot received a medal for it.
:-/