2/28/2005: The injured USS San Francisco

Undertoad · 02-28-2005, 02:40 PM

It's xoB again. Last month the USS San Francisco, nuclear sub, ran aground when it hit an underwater mountain. There's the result. 1 sailor was killed in the incident, and 60 injured. This story says the commander was fired although there were no underwater mountains on the charts he was given.

You won't see this very often. And if you happen to meet any of the sailors that were aboard, they won't tell you the story. Submariners have a tradition of secrecy sometimes referred to as "silent service" - silent like the ships they run, they will not tell you a single tale about their time at sea.

glatt · 02-28-2005, 02:45 PM

I'm a little amazed that the U.S. Navy is the source of these photos. All they did for secrecy was cover secret electronics in the nose with the tarp before the pictures were taken. It's obviously a good thing the inner hull wasn't breached. This picture shows how much room there actually is between the outer hull and the inner hull.

BigV · 02-28-2005, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glatt

I'm a little amazed that the U.S. Navy is the source of these photos. All they did for secrecy was cover secret electronics in the nose with the tarp before the pictures were taken. It's obviously a good thing the inner hull wasn't breached. This picture shows how much room there actually is between the outer hull and the inner hull.

I reckon the inner hull *was* breached. No way the distance between the two hulls is 80% of the radius of the ship. The green areas in the pics seem to be the interior -- people holding volume of the vessel.

Troubleshooter · 02-28-2005, 03:16 PM

I don't see the sonar sphere. If the sphere isn't visible then enough of the hull wasn't compressed to reach the people tank. I'll try to find a graphic.

Edit: A really hi-res of the second pic is here .

Troubleshooter · 02-28-2005, 03:59 PM

Ok, it looks like the (crushed) pinkish cluster in the middle may be the sphere, but there is a watertight hatch between the sphere and the people tank.

BigV · 02-28-2005, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Troubleshooter

I don't see the sonar sphere. If the sphere isn't visible then enough of the hull wasn't compressed to reach the people tank. I'll try to find a graphic.

Edit: A really hi-res of the second pic is here .

Thanks for the effort to find that picture. Really impressive. Further research came to an abrupt halt when I found this.

Troubleshooter · 02-28-2005, 05:35 PM

Strange, I use Firefox 1.1. Of course it could be a problem because of where you're browsing from.

BigV · 02-28-2005, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Undertoad

although there were no underwater mountains on the charts

but then those aren't the ones you have to drive around, then, are they? Only the ones on the seafloor matter...

Wombat · 02-28-2005, 05:07 PM

Yes I'd agree that the pink bit was the sonar dome. In the hi-res pic, the green stuff looks like blocks attached to the surface behind them... maybe they're some kind of sound-deadening blocks. On Troubleshooter's diagram the big grey disk behind the sphere is probably the green block stuff in the photos.

If all that is correct then the people part is behind the launch tubes, which are behind the green blocks, and is therefore a long way back from the damaged area. Probably no water entered the people part.

BigV · 02-28-2005, 06:46 PM

I'm relieved to learn that the wave of version envy was just a false alarm...

might still be the where...

xoxoxoBruce · 02-28-2005, 09:40 PM

When that kind of tonnage meets an immovable object at -cough- 35 knots -cough-, there must be a lot of newly deaf fish in that area.

GruntDoc · 03-01-2005, 01:07 AM

Wait until somebody does the math and tags this collision as the cause of the Tsunami.

Reading the original news reports, it looks like everyone aboard was injured to some extent or another. Good job saving it, and it's the rule of Navy command: you're responsible, even if it was unforseeable. That CO will get to retire, but he's probably done as for major command.

jimbo · 03-26-2005, 05:58 PM

This is an older submarine, and did not have bow planes or vertical launch tubes. The situation could have been much different if she did.

No water entered the people tank. Flooding is bad, and she might not have survived that. The sonar sphere seen in the diagram can be accessed from inside the submarine, but that hatch is of course pressure proof and is kept dogged at all time except when necessary to enter for maintenance of the computer equipment there. Entry is only made while going slow, shallow depth.

xoxoxoBruce · 03-26-2005, 07:27 PM

Hi Jimbo, welcome to the cellar.

You're saying the diagram in post #6 is not this sub, but a later design?

Troubleshooter · 03-01-2005, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

When that kind of tonnage meets an immovable object at -cough- 35 knots -cough-, there must be a lot of newly deaf fish in that area.

Just under 7000 tons.

I've seen conflicting stories on the speed though. Especially considering a speed that high falls into the clearance level information.

02-28-2005, 02:40 PM	#1
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	2/28/2005: The injured USS San Francisco It's xoB again. Last month the USS San Francisco, nuclear sub, ran aground when it hit an underwater mountain. There's the result. 1 sailor was killed in the incident, and 60 injured. This story says the commander was fired although there were no underwater mountains on the charts he was given. You won't see this very often. And if you happen to meet any of the sailors that were aboard, they won't tell you the story. Submariners have a tradition of secrecy sometimes referred to as "silent service" - silent like the ships they run, they will not tell you a single tale about their time at sea.

02-28-2005, 03:16 PM	#4
Troubleshooter The urban Jane Goodall Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Florida Posts: 3,012	I don't see the sonar sphere. If the sphere isn't visible then enough of the hull wasn't compressed to reach the people tank. I'll try to find a graphic. Edit: A really hi-res of the second pic is here . __________________ I have gained this from philosophy: that I do without being commanded what others do only from fear of the law. - Aristotle Last edited by Troubleshooter; 02-28-2005 at 03:54 PM.

02-28-2005, 03:59 PM	#5
Troubleshooter The urban Jane Goodall Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Florida Posts: 3,012	Ok, it looks like the (crushed) pinkish cluster in the middle may be the sphere, but there is a watertight hatch between the sphere and the people tank. Attached Images __________________ I have gained this from philosophy: that I do without being commanded what others do only from fear of the law. - Aristotle

02-28-2005, 05:35 PM	#7
Troubleshooter The urban Jane Goodall Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Florida Posts: 3,012	Strange, I use Firefox 1.1. Of course it could be a problem because of where you're browsing from. __________________ I have gained this from philosophy: that I do without being commanded what others do only from fear of the law. - Aristotle

02-28-2005, 05:07 PM	#9
Wombat (marsupial with backward-facing pouch) Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Canberra Posts: 251	Yes I'd agree that the pink bit was the sonar dome. In the hi-res pic, the green stuff looks like blocks attached to the surface behind them... maybe they're some kind of sound-deadening blocks. On Troubleshooter's diagram the big grey disk behind the sphere is probably the green block stuff in the photos. If all that is correct then the people part is behind the launch tubes, which are behind the green blocks, and is therefore a long way back from the damaged area. Probably no water entered the people part. __________________ If you don't do it properly, you'll get to the pub sooner.

02-28-2005, 02:45 PM	#2
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	I'm a little amazed that the U.S. Navy is the source of these photos. All they did for secrecy was cover secret electronics in the nose with the tarp before the pictures were taken. It's obviously a good thing the inner hull wasn't breached. This picture shows how much room there actually is between the outer hull and the inner hull.

02-28-2005, 06:46 PM	#10
BigV Goon Squad Leader Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Seattle Posts: 27,063	Whew. I'm relieved to learn that the wave of version envy was just a false alarm... might still be the where... __________________ Be Just and Fear Not.

02-28-2005, 09:40 PM	#11
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	When that kind of tonnage meets an immovable object at -cough- 35 knots -cough-, there must be a lot of newly deaf fish in that area. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

03-01-2005, 01:07 AM	#12
GruntDoc Provocateur Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Texas Posts: 9	Ooh, boy Wait until somebody does the math and tags this collision as the cause of the Tsunami. Reading the original news reports, it looks like everyone aboard was injured to some extent or another. Good job saving it, and it's the rule of Navy command: you're responsible, even if it was unforseeable. That CO will get to retire, but he's probably done as for major command.

03-26-2005, 05:58 PM	#13
jimbo Kinda New Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 1	about SSN711 This is an older submarine, and did not have bow planes or vertical launch tubes. The situation could have been much different if she did. No water entered the people tank. Flooding is bad, and she might not have survived that. The sonar sphere seen in the diagram can be accessed from inside the submarine, but that hatch is of course pressure proof and is kept dogged at all time except when necessary to enter for maintenance of the computer equipment there. Entry is only made while going slow, shallow depth.

03-26-2005, 07:27 PM	#14
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	Hi Jimbo, welcome to the cellar. You're saying the diagram in post #6 is not this sub, but a later design? __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

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