Ever had any doubts about nuke plants surviving earthquakes, as they are designed to ? .....this one kept right on going, after a terriffic wallop, allowing the sub to limp back to port......
Navy Releases Photos of Damage to Nuclear Submarine January Accident Killed One Sailor, Injured 60 Others (Pictures at end of article.) The New York Times (Jan. 28) -
The Navy yesterday released photographs of the shredded bow of a nuclear submarine that ran into an undersea mountain earlier this month, and officials said they were still assessing the extent of the damage.
The photos were taken once the submarine, the San Francisco, limped back to Guam after smashing into the mountain, which was not on its navigational charts. The photos show that the head-on crash 500 feet below the ocean's surface destroyed a sonar dome that formed the submarine's nose and peeled back part of the outer hull.
The accident, which killed one sailor and injured 60 others, occurred on Jan. 8 about 360 miles southeast of Guam. Navy officials said the submarine's crew had to take emergency measures to blast to the surface and then keep the vessel afloat.
The submarine's stronger inner hull, which protects the crew's living and working spaces, held firm, preventing a possible disaster.
Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Davis, a spokesman for the Pacific Fleet, said yesterday that the sonar dome, made of fiberglass, shattered in the crash and that parts of the dome were hanging loosely when the submarine returned to port.
He said the dome, which carries sonar gear, is normally flooded with water, adding that the water there, along with water in the vessel's forward ballast tanks, probably helped cushion the blow and keep the inner hull intact.
Norman Polmar, an author and analyst on Navy issues, agreed that the water, which fills the tanks when a submarine dives, "certainly would have protected and cushioned the inner hull and the crew inside."
The photos also show two doors that shuttered torpedo hatches. Commander Davis said they held and did not flood. In taking the photos, he said, the Navy placed a tarpaulin over the remaining sonar gear because the technology is classified.
Commander Davis also said no decision had been made about repairing the submarine or what that might cost.
The San Francisco, an attack submarine, was commissioned in 1981. Its nuclear reactor, which was not damaged, was refueled in 2002 during a $200 million overhaul meant to extend the vessel's life.
After the crash, sailors had to run an air blower for 30 hours to limit the water pouring in through holes in the forward ballast tanks and keep the vessel from sinking too low to maneuver.
Navy officials have said the San Francisco was traveling at high speed, more than 30 knots, when the crash occurred. They have reassigned its captain while investigators determine whether he bears any blame.
Military officials have said that the submarine's main chart was prepared in 1989 and did not show any potential hazards within three miles of the crash site. Satellite images taken since then show the wedge-shaped outline of the undersea mountain. But officials have said the agency that prepared the charts had never had the resources to use the satellite data to improve them.
Also yesterday, Kent D. Lee, the chief executive of East View Cartographic Inc., a map company based in Minneapolis, said Russian Navy charts indicate more hazards in that part of the ocean than were on the American charts, though they also fail to show the undersea mountain.
Mr. Lee said the Russian charts have been available for five years. He said one of the Russian charts noted that the area where the crash occurred had been "insufficiently surveyed." It also warned: "Cautionary measures should be taken when sailing."
Hmmm. I guess the crew of the USS San Francisco was pretty lucky. The real question that comes to my mind almost immediately is: why is the US Navy relying on Russian navigation charts?
I don't think it's a good idea to have a an American chart company not have the resources (such as satellite surveys) to make safe charts. I bet the Navy is reevaluating all of its Navigation charts. The submarine was running at 30+ knots, huh? They are pretty darn lucky they're not at the bottom right now--was anybody killed onboard, Jaro? 30+knots is like 36+ mph--a pretty violent crash by any standard! I don't think they have 'airbags' on submarines yet....
Yup...USN subs are build to take punishment !! Pending an investigation, I think the crew should get a medal at least most survived a bad situation which says something about how submariners are trained in the USN - survive to fight, fight to survive!
