Posted on 04/29/2021 5:42:49 AM PDT by Kaslin
As the author of Red November, Spies of the Deep, and other submarine/military books, and as a former U.S. Navy Diver and submariner, I have access to “inside information” about the lost Indonesian submarine KRI Nanggala 402. The 1977-vintage German-built Cakra-class diesel submarine disappeared on Wednesday, April 21. It’s a smaller boat, only 195 feet long by 20 feet wide, with four diesel engines that recharge a bank of batteries to provide a few days of power while submerged. The sub then needs to come shallow to “snorkel” by running its engines to recharge batteries and ventilate the air.
The commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces reported that the Nanggala had gone missing in waters about fifty nautical miles north of Bali. The Indonesian navy verified that the sub requested permission to dive prior to test firing two Surface and Underwater Target (SUT) torpedoes. An hour later, the training task force commanding officer authorized the shots, and the Nanggala flooded its torpedo tubes. The Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Navy said the Nanggala fired both an unloaded practice and a live torpedo before contact was lost.
What might have happened to the Indonesian submarine that led to its demise? How is this incident similar to the loss of the Russia Kursk submarine in August 2000? The Indonesian navy relayed that the Nanggala may have had battery power issues after submerging in waters more than 2,000 feet deep, which exceeds the sub’s crush depth by 400 feet. Torpedo test firings can also be hazardous, as the Kursk disaster demonstrated.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
Whatever nation they are from, I feel pity for the sailors that died.
Horrible way to. God rest their souls...
In WWII, the USS Tang, fired its last torpedo at a Japanese ship in the Formosa (now Taiwan) Straits. The torpedo circled round and sank the Tang.
Could this be a similar incident?
If so, the sound of the torpedo exploding might have been detected.
Could a PLAN (Chinese Communist) submarine have sunk the Indonesian submarine?
I had no idea that the Toledo may have caused the Kursk to sink. If so, no wonder Putin was peeved.
Good article!
when you lose power and are on a 20 deg up bubble and sinking.. it sucks
Believe me, it’s very quick.
It was the proverbial Gay Whale.
He broke the sub in two and sucked out the seamen.
if it was not a diesel I would suspect a reactor scram
everything on a sub will kill you, or save you..
Ummm...USN WWII torpedoes were defective for most of the war, a topic of hot debate about navy weapons development, procurement and indifference to warfighters.
I’m unfamiliar with the Tang incident, but the poor souls onboard Nanggala probably succumbed to something similar to that which took out Thresher. No conspiracy needed.
the Steinke hood is the biggest joke ever, we all get to make the 100 foot free ascent in Groton but dude at periscope depth the escape hatch is 60 feet below water.
Just to name a few. I would be interested to know whether the hull was actually crushed or not. If the boat was already flooded and pressure equalized when she hit crush depth, the hull would be intact.
otto fuel spill is very bad news
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