E-Mail Shows Toll of Crash on Submarine

[seriousstan]

The nuclear submarine that ran aground Saturday in the South Pacific hit so "incredibly hard" that about 60 of its 137 crew members were injured and the sailor who died was thrown 20 feet by the impact, according to internal Navy e-mail messages sent by a top admiral.

The messages said the submarine's hull was severely damaged after the head-on crash into what Navy officials believe was an undersea mountain that was not on the navigation charts. One message said the submarine, the San Francisco, was traveling at high speed, and the impact practically stopped it in its tracks and caused flooding in parts of the bow.

The messages were written by Rear Adm. Paul F. Sullivan, the commander of submarines in the Pacific. They paint a more dire picture of the accident, which occurred 360 miles southeast of Guam, than had previously been disclosed. They also hint at the extensive efforts to steady the vessel and save the sailor who died.

The e-mail indicated that the Navy had tried to evacuate the fatally injured man, Machinist Mate 2nd Class Joseph A. Ashley, within hours after he had been thrown forward and hit his head on a metal pump, which knocked him unconscious.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/12/national/12sub.html?ei=5006&en=b0fff208ce95aa79&ex=1106110800&partner=ALTAVISTA1&pagewanted=print&position=

[benburch]

1. People don't realize how unmapped the ocean really is.

It is amazing that this sub ever surfaced.

[bemildred]

2. Must have been running blind, it would be hard to miss a mountain. nt

[Stella_Artois]

3. They always do.

They hardly ever use active sonar. Ping-Ping sound effects are Hollywood only. Its like shining a million candlepower searchlight on a moonless night when there armed people looking for you.

[TahitiNut]

4. The fathometer should have shown an anomaly.

:shrug:

[hunter]

5. Imagine being inside a very big railroad engine and hitting a mountain.

"Stopped it in it's tracks," indeed.

There are a lot of questions here.

[Moderator]

6. duplicate topic, please discuss here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1143020