A Brief History Of US/Russian submarine collisions: source (scroll down)
1961 USS Swordfish (SSN-579) is on a spy mission in Soviet waters when a Soviet sub surfaces underneath it.
196? A US sub, possibly USS Skipjack, on a spy mission in Soviet waters, collides with a destroyer. Finally made public in a New York Times article in 1975.
July 1965. USS Medregal rams a Greek freighter.
March 1966. USS Barbel rams a freighter near North Vietnam.
December 1967. USS George C. Marshall (SSBN-654) is grazed by a Russian sub.
October 9, 1968. This appears to be the historical precedent for the Kursk sinking. A Russian sub operating normally collided with an unknown sub in the Barents sea, leaving a sizable hole in the Russian sub. Russian intelligence notes the arrival of a damaged sub in a Norwegian port a few days later.
November 1969. USS Gato's sail hits the hull of a soviet sub.
March 14, 1970. USS Sturgeon bashes her sonar dome against a Russian sub's sail.
June 1970. USS Tautog is rammed by Black Lila. It is erroneously assumed at the time that Black Lila sank.
March 1971. An unnamed US sub operating 12 miles off of the Soviet coast collides with a Russian sub. Reported in the New York Times in 1975.
Mid-1971. USS Dace hits a Russian sub in the Mediterranean.
Late 1971 or early 1972. USS Puffer is trailing a Soviet sub when the Soviet sub unexpectedly dives, bumping into Puffer.
March 1974. USS Pintado rams a Soviet missile boat while on a spy mission in Soviet waters near Petropavlovsk. Reported in the San Diego Evening Tribune in 1975.
November 3rd, 1974. USS James Madison hits an unknown Russian Victor class attack sub in the North Sea. Reported by columnist Jack Anderson.
1981. HMS Sceptre is trailing a Russian sub and rear-ends it.
October 1986. USS Augusta, while testing a new computer sonar system to make detecting enemy subs easier, rams a Soviet sub. The Augusta claims they rammed a Delta class. Others report it was a Yankee missile boat that subsequently sank.
December 24, 1986. HMS Splendid and a Soviet sub were trying to dodge out of each other's way when they collided. HMS Splendid's towed sonar array became tangled in the other sub and was lost.
February 11, 1992. USS Baton Rouge hits a Soviet sub near Murmansk. For the first time, and in response to Yeltsin's demands, the US Navy publicly acknowledges the collision.
March 20, 1993. USS Grayling with a Russian sub in the Barent's Sea.
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Considering that Guam has become a hotspot for Chinese sub activity lately, it could happen.
It could be a possibility.
"There's an off chance that "submarine runs aground" for public consumption is really "other nations sub strikes US sub" in reality. It's happened before:"
Yeah, that falls under what I said earlier about "we were attacked by another nation, and we're saying we ran aground". You're talking about collisions here, but its the same deal - we say a different story for national security reasons. Thanks.
Score: couch potatoes 2, know-it-alls 0
Sounds reasonable.
Wow. Between 66 and 71 things were really hectic.
I didn't know that was public knowledge! Now I don't have to worry about being knocked off if I tell my story!
I had a buddy that was the throttleman during this collision. He was still shaking months later.
My thoughts exactly
I was thinking that "running aground" might just be a cover story.
From this post: China expanding submarine fleet
According to US and Taiwan intelligence estimates, China has about 70 submarines (virtually all conventional), it is building more and buying more from Russia. It has one nuclear submarine, two more being built and eight Kilo-class diesels on order from Russia, to be delivered in 2005 (Russian sources) or 2007 (Chinese sources).
And from this one: Indian Navy to lease Russian N-submarine(Akula-II)
MOSCOW: India is to lease a multi-role nuclear submarine from Russia for 10 years under a deal signed earlier this year, according to the defense industry sources.
Looks like there are a lot of Russian subs now used by other countries. Could be that the other countries' crews are suffering from inexperience or overconfidence with their new toys. Just a thought.
Then again, boys will be boys, and they do like to play 'Tag'. (Sometimes we play rougher than others, heheh.)
I guess traffic is better....no collisions in over a decade?