Posted on 07/22/2019 9:08:15 AM PDT by NRx
The French navy has located one of its submarines that disappeared more than 50 years ago with 52 crew on board.
La Minerve was discovered on the seabed in the Mediterranean off the port of Toulon.
“It’s a success, a relief and a technical feat,” Florence Parly, the defence minister, tweeted. “I am thinking of the families who have waited for so long for this moment.”
La Minerve was on a military exercise when it disappeared in January 1968. Repeated searches have failed to find the vessel until now.
Under pressure from relatives of crew members, a fresh search was launched at the beginning of this year using the latest hi-tech equipment to map and model tides and currents in the Mediterranean. Data from the time of the accident was also re-examined. This included seismic reports that suggested the submarine probably imploded as it dropped to the bottom of the sea.
A senior French naval officer told Agence France-Presse the submarine was discovered by a boat belonging to the private US company Ocean Infinity. It announced it had found La Minerve at a depth of 2,370 metres, 27 miles (45km) from Toulon, which is home to a French naval base.
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
Deepest point in the ocean is he Mariana Trench - 36,070 ft ( 120 ft), 36070/5280 = 6.8 miles or so.
In he Mediterranean deepest point is 17,280 ft, so 17280/5280 = 3.2 miles
No wonder it sank it burrowed at least 23 miles into the earth’s crust!
depth of 2,370 metres, 27 miles (45km) from Toulon
27 miles (45km) from Toulon
depth of 2,370 metres, about 1.5 miles 7775 feet
Still well below crush depth for a
Daphné-class submarine
7
It wasn't 27 miles down. It was 27 miles away from it's base. It's depth was stated to be 2,370 meters, which is about 1 1/2 miles.
No, no......
The depth was 2370 meters at a distance of 27 miles from port.
The Marianas Trench, the deepest water known is only about 7 miles deep
Ping...
Crew is correct when referring to such disasters. For example, the sinking of RMS Titanic lead to the loss of 1516 crew and passengers.
Submariners — always in extraordinary danger
Of course it's the USA that does the critical work.
It is also pretty deep in the mud.
How about "crewmembers," which seems to supplant "crewmen" nowadays--even when referring to events long before ladies were itching to set foot in submarines.
I was part of a crew looking for the INS Dakar in 1997. It was not where the Israelis asked us to search for it. In a bar in Haifa, I saw our captain on the news holding up a soda can we found on the sea bed. He said if the Dakar was any bigger than that can, we would have found it.
The Dakar was found two years later in a totally different location, but I had nothing to do with it. Still, wow, those Israelis were incredibly gracious to us. One of these years, I'll head back there.
Thank you for your service.
Anyone who can stand the confinement of a sub, is a special breed. I am impressed.
1968... I wonder if the other shoe is there to drop?
At least now they know and can (perhaps) properly bury their loved ones. I would love to work for Ocean Infinity, but I’m not a tech head that can work on ROV’s.
3 different subs from 3 different navies disappeared in 1968.
Thanks! But, no need to thank me! I did my six years during peacetime and got out. Nobody shot at me, and I didn't sleep in mud.
That guy made me popcorn once.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.