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US Nuclear Sub Crashes Into US Navy Amphibious Vessel
Kugrian writes "Showing that it's not just the British and the French who have trouble seeing each other on the high seas, a US Nuclear submarine yesterday crashed into a US Navy heavy cruiser. The USS Hartford, a nuclear-powered attack submarine, was submerged as it crashed into the USS New Orleans in the strait of Hormuz, resulting in the spillage of 95,000 litres of diesel fuel. Both vessels were heading in the same direction when the collision occurred in the narrow strait and were subsequently heading to port for repairs. A spokesman for the 5th Fleet said that the USS Hartford suffered no damage to its nuclear propulsion system." According to the USS New Orleans' Wikipedia page, it's actually an amphibious transport dock.
This isn't the first accident for Hartford. She ran aground off Sardinia in 2003. "The US Navy investigation into the incident revealed a pattern of navigation, procedural and equipment errors leading up to the accident."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Hartford_grounding
I think it's submarine navigator's duty to avoid surface ships. Hardly any surface ship can detect a submarine at periscope depth, let alone if it is deeper. Sailors at USS Hartford must have been completely deaf to not hear the noise of a huge ship.
I think it is safe to say that right now the Navy needs both more men and ships. The problem is that the Navy is trying to do way too much with too few ships. Not only is the Navy tasked with enforcing Pax Americana, it must also provide air support to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, be prepared to stave off North Korean ballistic missiles, monitor the Chinese, stop the pirates and by the way win the war on drugs. These sailors are going out to sea for six months to a year at a time. Those who wonder if astronauts could hang in a mission to Mars should simply hire sailors - they are out in a ship for nearly as long.
The other biggest problem with the Navy is the foolish insistence on having private shipyards build warships. The idea of having private shipyards is certainly sound - but ultimately, Naval warships are rather nothing like their civilian counterparts and so its not really right to say that privatization makes any sense. The Navy really does need to operate its own yards, take on its own construction, and just clear out some of the cost overruns and red tape as contractors want projects to overrun, but the Navy wants its ships sooner rather than later.
But in the meantime I would say that Navy needs to build really rather a lot more frigate / destroyer type of ships and have them operate in ports. Having something like a battleship would be good largely just to show the flag... but I would build something new and leave the Iowas in the museums where they belong.
This is my sig.
Am I the only one who was imagining a big ship with big-ass wheels that could roll up the beach and conquer all that stood before it?
"I think it would be a good idea" Gandhi, on Western Civilisation
(Another ex-submariner)
Babies are cute because they have to be.
Main SeaWater Pump. It pumps sea water through the main turbine condensers. It pumps a LOT of seawater....
No comment. Note that the post you're responding to was willing to provide more information than I was willing to.
"I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
While I admire your enthusiasm and loyalty this is a very brain dead statement embodies what makes many people think "military intelligence" is an oxymoron.
Chuck Yeager, USAF, First American to break sound barrier
Alan Shephard, US Navy, First American in Space
Neil Armstrong, MS, US Navy, first man to walk on the moon.
Buzz Aldrin, Phd, US Army, US Air Force, perfected space walking for USA, 2nd man to walk on moon.
to name but a few... we can skip ahead a few years and find the same sort of people today:
Eileen Collins, MS/MA, USAF... pilot of first shuttle mission post Columbia. veteran shuttle astronaut.
by the way, all of these men of Mercury and Apollo fought in wars... Yeager fought in WWII and Korea, and Armstrong and Buzz and Shepherd all fought in Korea at least. While the current group of astronauts came of age prior to America's current wars, it is safe to say that they trained in preparation for it and some flew missions in Desert Storm 1991 or Kosovo after that...
I think you underestimate the intelligence of our people in uniform. In fact, I would say that the military has plenty of people with advanced degrees, has people that function well as a team, are proved in the most extraordinary pressure test - which is combat, and, you aren't going to find a better crew to go to Mars with than them.
This is my sig.
The Naval services (Navy and Marines) have a great yet harsh and unforgiving tradition of holding its officers accountable, more ruthlessly and consistently than their sister services. It is both laudable and unfortunate that the Captains and their key Officers and Petty Officers will be held to account. Some will be relieved of command (or their duties/qualifications) and their career truncated or stalled. In some cases justice will have been served and in others unfairness may be gleaned. The truth is that sea duty is harsh, exhausting, and complex. Sometimes shit just happens, but that's never allowed as an excuse. There but by the grace of god may go, or have gone, any of them. Good luck and god bless them all. (USN, Ret.)
is related to current performance. A ship's character is determined early in it's career. I served aboard an outstanding destroyer, and I served aboard a garbage scow of a frigate. Everything was different - it was almost like two different navies. One example: In two and a half years aboard the destroyer, we went dead in the water ONE TIME, and the snipes had power back up in about 15 minutes. THEN, heads rolled. In two and a half years aboard the frigate, we went dead in the water routinely, sometimes for as long as an hour. No heads ever rolled. This may be due in part that the destroyer regarded itself as a combat unit, while the frigate seemed to regard itself as a support unit. I lived through it, and I can't explain it.
"Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:USS_Hartford_damaged.jpg
From the photo of aftermath, it's quite evident that in this case the submarine frakked up - it seems they basically rammed the surface vessel (perhaps they were trying to reenact BSG ending after all...)
So quite a bit different than recent collision between French and British subs mentioned/compared in the summary...
One that hath name thou can not otter
Yes, I've some experience with diesels. Large and small. And, I didn't say that diesels are exactly "quiet". I did point out that diesels are no longer the noisy hammering monsters that they were in past years. Diesels with turbines are amazingly quiet, in fact. While I have never measured the noise levels with an instrument, I'm not certain that a diesel really is a lot noisier than an oil fired boiler. I HAVE stood in the boiler rooms of a ship that produced 50,000 shaft horse power. Those power plants are certainly not quiet either.
"Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
If I had to take a guess, the Straight of Hormuz being as shallow as it is, they were using the 'shadow' of the New Orleans to hide in during the crossing and someone screwed up. It's also possible that they were offloading personnel but this would be silly to do in a narrow and shallow straight.