US nuke sub hit “an object” on 2 Oct while submerged in the Indo-Pacific region
BREMERTON, Wash. (Dec. 15, 2016) – The Seawolf-class fast-attack submarine USS Connecticut (SSN 22) departs Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for sea trials following a maintenance availability. (U.S. Navy photo by Thiep Van Nguyen II/released)
ChipNASA sends in word that USS Connecticut (SSN 22) hit something last weekend while submerged in the “Indo-Pacific Region” (i.e. the area of the world China is constantly claiming is theirs). The Navy released a press release just today in regards to the incident, its first disclosure. The very brief message says, in full;
he Seawolf-class fast-attack submarine USS Connecticut (SSN 22) struck an object while submerged on the afternoon of Oct. 2, while operating in international waters in the Indo-Pacific region. The safety of the crew remains the Navy’s top priority. There are no life threatening injuries.
The submarine remains in a safe and stable condition. USS Connecticut’s nuclear propulsion plant and spaces were not affected and remain fully operational. The extent of damage to the remainder of the submarine is being assessed. The U.S. Navy has not requested assistance. The incident will be investigated.
Let the speculation begin. Did they hit one of China’s notorious underwater drones? An uncharted rock? A particularly unfortunately placed blue whale?
Connecticut is the boat that surface through some arctic ice in 2003 and was attacked by a polar bear. Perhaps Whitey the polar bear swam to the South China Sea for a second go at it?
030427-O-0000B-001
Near the North Pole (Apr. 27, 2003) — During Exercise ICEX 2003, the Seawolf-class attack submarine USS Connecticut (SSN 22) surfaced and broke through the ice. This polar bear, attracted by the hole which can be used to find food, was seen through the sub’s periscope and these photos were captured as the image was projected on a flat-panel display. After investigating the Connecticut for approximately 40 minutes, the bear left the area, with no damage to the sub or to the bear. U.S. Navy photo by Mark Barnoff. (RELEASED)
Category: Breaking News, Navy
I commented to Mason just as he said he posted this…
“ I can only imagine if there’s an 11 on the pucker factor scale, scraping, groaning or popping on a Sub,
😩😳😭
I think my pucker factor would be much higher.
Can confirm.
Things that go bump in the night…
Glad no one was seriously injured, as was onboard USS Greenville. Both times.
Greeneville was one incident. San Fran was the other.
Neither went well.
Amazing how little we know about the oceans.
If I remember right, the Greenville was a major foul up on the subs part.
I know they surfaced into the New Orleans, and put a giant hole in her side. Laid the New Orleans up in Bahrain for 50-something days and saw my unlucky ass stuck at sea on the Boxer for a full 90 day stint. Should have been 30 days and a bunch of ports if the Comstock hadn’t blown an engine so bad she spent the deployment in Sasebo, and the aforementioned Greenville incident hadn’t happened.
I’m still salty 12 years later.
The boat that hit the New Orleans was USS Hartford. They were out of Groton, IIRC.
Greeneville was 2001.
Some day when I am old
The stories that might be told
Things of Fear
Things of Fright
Things that really go bump in the night
Whatever was contacted was not likely on any charts or reasonably expectable. Never underestimate Joe’s ability to fuck things up.
Thank goodness that this sort of thing does not happen in the clouds. You can only wonder what depth they were cruising at.
Reminds me of passage making between the Long Island Sound and East River, in the dark. Stuff happens around Hell’s Kitchen that can just ruin a perfectly good day/night.
Glad my bubble-head nephew has ETS’d now.
OK, I admit to it: it’s my fault. I gave the Mess Cooks the recipe for penne w/sausage and tomato sauce and forgot to tell to NOT throw the tomato sauce jar overboard.
My bad.
Looks like I’ll have some upcoming emergent work. In other news, an informal poll conducted on PSNS bathrooms stalls shows that F**k Joe Biden has a high popularity.
I’m proud of my underwater Brothers!
My theory, goes something like this: COB and the sonar men whats jawjackin’
https://youtu.be/kX4–ATyq9U
And all this happens on my no-good ex wife’s birthday none-the-less…
A long metal tube filleted a whale. Shocked I say!
I have a buddy who’s a plank owner on the Seawolf, they unofficially took out a large mammal, (no more ex jokes!) sounds about right.
That movie almost didn’t insult me.
I’m guessing that coffee mug is empty.
A senior non-commissioned officer’s coffee cup is NEVER empty! Moses himself brought that down on that third tablet!
COB’s coffee mug was clean. The technical advisor lost all credibility missing this.
The remote detonating torpedo was pure fantasy, too.
Whale probably? This Chief has always stayed on top of the water, so I defer to some of my bubblehead brethren.
BTW, congrats to all the FY22 new Chief Selects. See you soon.
https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/News-Stories/Article/2802875/fy-22-active-duty-e7-selection-results-announced/
Doubtful.
Sea mount is more likely.
And they made it back to Guam, albeit on the surface.
My guesses: they weren’t at a flank bell like San Fran was when they hit. They’ll have divers in the water as soon as they’re moored next to the Frank Cable, and might hit drydock there if they find anything.
Either way, probably not leaving Guam for a while, and will likely leave with a new CO, NAV, ANAV, and whoever was standing OOD and QMOW at the time.
Concur with this ^. Whales aren’t a particular navigation hazard as they squish when exposed to HY- 80 steel, so they tend to avoid it. 😉
Speedbumps are everywhere nowadays… Glad they reached Guam with no problem and hope the injuries are minor and heal fast with no long-term issues. Heck of a long surface journey back to Bangor, WA and the nearby Bremerton Naval Shipyard.
“South China Sea”
Didn’t we dump a lot of large objects in that area back around 1975?
They found MH370…???
That would be a little off course…but that is what I was thinking (just different missing aircraft…maybe a long silver mule!)
At least they weren’t near that pipeline off Cali.
Watching China’s sub pens for the next week or two ought to be interesting to see what(if, at all), comes back to harbour..
Everyone is saying it was not another sub! Does that mean it was another sub?!?!!
Funny how China only says tell us what its mission was…you know for safety sake!
Milley should call and ask them.
😎👍
Geico’s stock price might lend a clue.
Acoustically, Chinese subs are whistling shitcans. The sonar watch on the Connecticut would have to have been asleep NOT to detect/avoid one.
It’s not uncommon for containers to be lost off container ships in storms…they are fairly decently sealed and sink/float around a surprising amount of time. Hit something that can weigh 25+tons at any kind of speed and you are in for a bad day. An empty container weighs close to 7000 pounds.
That’s my untrained uneducated guess as well.
Word is the Beijing Biden is going to abandon the submarine and let the Taliban have it….
U.S. Navy submersible had an encounter w/ a swordfish in 1967.
https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/off-duty/military-culture/2021/09/16/we-have-been-hit-by-a-fish-lest-we-forget-the-great-submarine-vs-swordfish-battle-of-1967/
Looks like Navy can hit just about anything…except an end zone…on a December Weekend.