Posted on 01/08/2005 3:19:47 AM PST by Jet Jaguar
HONOLULU (AP) - A nuclear submarine ran aground about 350 miles south of Guam, injuring several sailors, one of them critically, the Navy said.
There were no reports of damage to the USS San Francisco's reactor plant, which was operating normally, the Navy said.
Jon Yoshishige, a spokesman for the U.S. Pacific Fleet based at Pearl Harbor, said the Friday afternoon incident is under investigation and the 360-foot submarine was headed back to its home port in Guam.
Details on the sailors' injuries were not immediately available. The sub has a crew of 137, officials said.
Military and Coast Guard aircraft from Guam were en route to monitor the submarine and assist if needed, the Navy said.
Guam is a U.S. territory about 3,700 miles southwest of Hawaii.
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On the Net:
U.S. Pacific Fleet: http://www.cpf.navy.mil
AP-ES-01-08-05 0343EST
Combined with the topside watches always dropping weapons overboard...
"Combined with the topside watches always dropping weapons overboard..."
I confess, I confess!
It was an accident, really!
bttt
Considering the Soviets had their coup August 1991 and military spending was already in a free fall well before that, if there's fewer subs on patrol there's less of a chance of a collision. Most of their subs now are causing an environmential problem as they rust in port.
I hope all the fingerprints have eroded from the coffee cups at the bottom of Holy Loch.
Here's a Romeo-class looking like "Operation Petticoat" Date / location unknown:
More Russians subs that have seen better days (12/2003):
That boat was built at Newport News Shipyard, in Newport News Va. I watched it become commissioned.
Thats why it held up so good. You cant beat a Newport News built submarine.
Yes, it was very touch and go. My son said that with the emergency blow, they surfaced very quickly. He also talked about the water leak and fortunatly, it was not sea water.
The collision also knocked out the sonar. The sonar guys helped out with other duties and the injured also worked at getting the sub back home. He went up to the control room to help out and said there was a lot of blood around there. The medic and and jg with paramedical experience and a couple of guys with EMT training did a fantastic job on treating the injuries. When a medical doc finally came on board, he highly complimented the work, stitching, etc that this group did. We can be proud of the good work of the crew of the SSN San Francisco.
My son said the charts showed open country for clear sailing. The senior people are really beating themselves up over what went wrong. And the crew is also concerned for the Captain, XO, Navigator,etc. He hopes everything will turn out good for them.
Yes, the hull is pretty well wrinkled. Our tax dollars were well spent there to be able to withstand such a colliding force. My son said that nothing came apart or was damaged in the engine room. He said when he meets an engineer or designer of the reactor and engine room, he will buy them a beer.
After 33 hours he finally got some rack time but somebody on the deck above dropped something and he came out of the rack only to realize that they were on the surface and going real slow. By the way, he is 6 feet 5 inches and weighs 240 pounds and he has learned to adapt to a small sleeping space! He has been in for 6 and a half years and has 6 months to go. Mixed emotions about leaving his boat in the shape it is in. These kids have worked hard to bring this sub from the worst to the best in the Pacific.
They need a lot of encouragement from everybody.
Hostel,
My son was also on the San Fran when the FT died in his sleep. He was young, in his 20's and had a heart attack.
Some time last year, the sub also had a fire on board and they surfaced for two days getting back to Guam.
I don't know if the boat has a curse; I think the sorry condition of the boat when it went to Guam was a result of the budget cuts during the Clinton years. On second thought, that is a curse!!!
My son Zackery Sobin is an e-5 nuke S.O., he was in the engine room at the time of the grounding.He was leaning forward up against a cabnet and has bruised ribs ,a bump on his head and a sore neck. He also told me of the detailed navagational charts that indicated clear sailing. He was preforming a test on the reactor secondary cooling water , a test he aborted... obviously.Zack has a shutdown and cooldown duty watch starting a couple of hours ago that will take at least 20 hours. Tell your son that you have been coesponding with Zack's dad. I was hoping they would give him a break.
Whoops.
I always wondered what kind of jobs the mids who graduate from Annapolis at the bottom of their class get.
Guess SNN 711's helmsman could tell ya.
God Bless the crew, and those that wait for them.
Do you have something to back that up, or are we having early cocktails today? Personally, I have immense respect for anyone that can get through the Naval Academy, or any of the Service Academies, for that matter.
Hey deaconjim. I had a couple friends on the Stonewall Jackson. I was on the 640 and 641, out of Charleston, SC as well. The Cooper River always made everyone nervous,lol.
Er... So do I show me where I said the opposite.
What I AM trying to communicate is that the person responsible for the accident (now fatal, I understand) has a LOT to answer for that perhaps his tranining didn't sink in enough.
I'll have you know I have the highest respect for the silent service in particular.
"My son Zackery Sobin is an e-5 nuke S.O., he was in the engine room at the time of the grounding.He was leaning forward up against a cabnet and has bruised ribs ,a bump on his head and a sore neck. He also told me of the detailed navagational charts that indicated clear sailing. He was preforming a test on the reactor secondary cooling water , a test he aborted... obviously.Zack has a shutdown and cooldown duty watch starting a couple of hours ago that will take at least 20 hours. Tell your son that you have been coesponding with Zack's dad. I was hoping they would give him a break."
My son Kevin was an R.O. on the San Francisco until February 2003. I called Kevin after I read your post and he said "Oh yeah, I remember Zack, I was in his division." Tell Zack Kevin is thinking about the guys and hopes things will be okay.
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