This is an actual pic of the Sub.. you can get an idea of what they were working with... now add a rough sea....
Posted on 12/29/2006 9:16:16 AM PST by AngloSaxonChristian
The nuclear-powered submarine is based at Norfolk, Virginia Two crew members of an American submarine have died after getting into trouble in Plymouth Sound. They were among four crewmen washed overboard while working on the outside casing of the USS Minneapolis-St Paul in poor weather conditions.
A rescue helicopter from RNAS Culdrose, a tug boat and a lifeboat were sent to the crew's aid while they were tied on to the side of the 110m (362ft) vessel.
The sailors were brought back to shore and taken by ambulance to hospital.
A spokesman for Brixham Coastguard said: "The four got into difficulties while on the outer casing of the submarine.
"They were unable to get back on board, they were tied on but getting battered about by the weather."
Two of the men appeared to be breathing with difficulty and were given CPR as they approached the shore.
They were taken to Derriford hospital in Plymouth.
The two other men were transferred to the sick bay at the HMS Drake.
A Devon and Cornwall Police spokesman confirmed two of the crew were pronounced dead on Friday afternoon and the coroner was being informed.
A joint investigation by police, the Ministry of Defence and the military has begun.
The American nuclear-powered attack submarine, which is based in Norfolk, Virginia, was leaving the harbour in Plymouth at the time of the incident and has since continued on its journey.
The Ministry of Defence said it could not comment on what the vessel was doing in British waters.
However, submarines have to travel through the Sound to get to and from the city's Devonport Naval Base.
The submarine has a complement of 137 enlisted officers and crew and can reach speeds exceeding 25 knots (29mph). Its weapons include torpedoes and Tomahawk cruise missiles.
:-(
The Captain will be relieved for not foreseeing these circumstances/conditions.
http://www.hazegray.org/features/collins/coll25.jpg
This is of a Brit sub, in calm water, with a tug coming alongside and typical crew topside.
Thoughts?
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
It's not a stupid question. Yes, that may be the case. Topside is a dangerous place that isn't built to be manned, despite the presence of non-skid and safety tracks.
The topside linehandlers all wear safety harnesses that include a 4' long tether with an additional 4' of breakaway strap that acts as a shock absorber. All that is attached to a t-shaped safety track in the deck with a C-shaped ring called a deck crawler.
Topside is manned by linehandlers, phone talkers, men-in-charge and at least one diver. Linehandlers can be anyone on the crew. Heck, I was a linehandler and I was a Radioman.
Well, there was a Deck-Div complete with LPO with the DCA as DIV-O, just not a static one. Deck-Div was one step up from messcooking. Somebody has to paint and preserve topside and the linelockers. :)
Here's a slightly less incoherent version of the story from CNN:
LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Two U.S. sailors were killed after falling overboard from a nuclear-powered submarine as it left the southern English port of Plymouth on Friday, the U.S. Navy said.
Two other sailors who fell overboard from the USS Minneapolis-St. Paul suffered minor injuries but were later released from hospital, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy's 6th fleet in Italy said.
The Navy said the cause of the accident was under investigation.
The Minneapolis-St. Paul had spent a week in port at Plymouth and was leaving the Devonport naval base when the accident happened.
Sixth fleet spokesman Lieutenant Chris Servello said the four sailors were rescued by fellow crew members and British authorities after falling overboard and were taken to a local hospital, where two of them were pronounced dead.
The Navy was not releasing the names of the dead sailors pending notification of next of kin, he said.
The submarine remained at sea after the accident, he said.
The Minneapolis-St. Paul has its home port at Norfolk, Virginia.
As an ELT, I always enjoyed taking topside swipes when we returned to port. With the safety harness and the short tether, there was no chance of falling into the water. I recall one summer evening, going under the Golden Gate Bridge with the water as smooth as glass and the boat slipping silently along at low speed. It's one of those pictures that stays in your head forever.
Back in the 70s, the CO of the USS Plunger was washed overboard and lost at sea while standing on the bridge. That class of boat had a little short sail so they were too close to the water. They turned around and came right back into port. I was on one of the Skipjack class boats with the big tall sail. I recall we were all shocked at hearing that news.
Submarine ping!
This is an actual pic of the Sub.. you can get an idea of what they were working with... now add a rough sea....
And I could stop the screw! I don't remember the time/turns to no motion but with 100% power, casualty conditions and practice while warming the ME, it was 'easy'.
RIP
Same with the Coast Guard. The newly assigned captain of the icebreaker Healy (3-4 weeks as captain) was immediately relieved after two divers on a training dive in the Arctic Ocean were killed in August. The Pacific area commander said publicly that the captain was relieved because he (the admiral) had lost confidence in the captain's ability to command.
It's possible, but the odds are against it. The probability is very high that someone screwed up on some procedure or rule, and, while that individual is responsible, the captain almost always takes the hit too, since he's ultimately in charge of deeming people fit for their assigned duties. It's a very unforgiving system, but a necessary one.
"might this incident have been caused by circumstances/conditions (perhaps which arose suddenly) that the Captain could not have foreseen? Might these deaths have happened in spite of all safety procedures having been observed?"
Won't matter. They'll burn him at the stake anyway.
..."The vessel was leaving port, they were on deck and as it went out past the breakwater, a large wave struck," a local police spokesman told AFP...
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