Hi CobaltBlue; I wouldn't worry about Britain damaging a sub by running it aground. Every submarine force in the world has similar little problems. If you know anyone who's been in the service ask them to tell you some stories. If you fly close to the ground (like the air force loves to do), every now and then you're going to fly into the ground. If you like to creep close to the bottom, (like the submariners love to do), every now and then you're going to hit the damn thing.
Back during the Cold War most of this was kept under wraps. I am unaware of any submarines that were actually lost this way. The more usual technique for losing subs is to have them fill with too much water and sink to crush depth. People get hurt during groundings because the submarine suddenly stops when it hits the ground.
It's just a simple fact of life that equipment designed for war is dangerous. Soldiers get killed when their M1A1 tank turns over. But total peacetime losses in the submarine service are particular high, given the relatively small number of people out on the boats.
The US hasn't lost any ships recently to groundings, except maybe the USS Nathaniel Greene, which was so badly damaged in a classified grounding that they chose the ship for early scrapping. Note that this link only shows groundings serious enough that it made the news (most groundings are no big deal, except for the reputation of the people on board):
lostsubs.com
Information on the USS Memphis (not shown in the above link because the Memphis wasn't hurt much), which took out a chunk of coral reef at 30 meter depth by grounding:
nova.edu
I don't know if this next source is accurate. The numbers seem high, but most "collisions" are at 0.5 knots and don't result in any damage.
Between 1983 and 1987 American submarines reported 56 collisions, 113 fires, 12 groundings, 85 explosions, and 48 instances when sections of ships were flooded.
wps.ru:8101/chitalka/kursk/en/0912_00.html
This is not anything new, it's hard to see stuff when you're underwater:
Upon its capture on December 8, 1941, the submarine was examined and found to be damaged as a result of several groundings. This included damage to the rudders, torpedoes, propellers, and the bow net cutter. Other than this, the vessel was in good condition and was hauled ashore, dismantled, and subjected to exhaustive documentation by the U.S. Navy.
atule.com
Also see:
ntsc.navy.mil
ntsc.navy.mil
princeton.edu
acq.osd.mil
cnet.navy.mil
cnn.com
-- Carl |
