Photo of USS San Francisco (sub that ran aground)

[underpants]

Boy has this been under reported.


The Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS San Francisco (SSN 711) is in dry dock in Apra Harbor, Guam, January 27, 2005 to assess damage sustained after running aground approximately 350 miles south of Guam Jan. 8, 2005. The Navy former dry dock known as 'Big Blue' is capable of docking ships that weigh up to 40,000 Long Tons. The Navy certified Big Blue for the one-time docking of San Francisco. San Francisco is the second fast-attack submarine to be attached to the forward-deployed Submarine Squadron Fifteen, home ported on board Naval Base Guam. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY REUTERS/Mark A. Leonesio/U.S. Navy (news - web sites) photo/Handout

[xultar]

1. DAYUM, It looks like they tore that shit UP!!! The media said nothing

about how much damage there was. MSM made it sound like a dent.

[RobertSeattle]

2. Wow - amazing we didn't lose the whole U-boat

[dave123williams]

5. Agreed. Guess the guys in New London, CT know what they're doing.

Really amazing it didn't go down.

[Billy Ruffian]

17. I think the San Franciso was built in Newport News n/t

[fryguy]

3. helluva lot of damage

the reports i've seen have all centered on the flaws in the maps the boat's captain was using, with mentions of the 3 (i think) crew members killed....but looking at the hit the sub took when it was some 200 feet down and running at high speed its amazing the boat wasn't lost completely....

[bobthedrummer]

4. Holy Moly, no wonder half the crew were injured and one sailor killed.

Quite an impact. Something tells me there's more to this story than has been reported.

[dave123williams]

6. They're saying it rammed an undersea mountain because of...

...no active pinging. And, it was going all ahead full when it hit.

[Ganja Ninja]

8. Subs rarely use active sonar.

They rely on knowing where they're at and on charts to keep this type of thing from happening.

[fryguy]

9. bad maps also played a role

the maps the boat was using showed a hazard miles away from where a more recent satellite picture showed an undersea mountain rising to within 100 feet of the surface. boat was avoiding the mapped hazard and ran right into the mountain which hadn't been added to maps yet....apparently the defense maping agency hadn't deemed it a priority to update that section of the ocean....

[Ganja Ninja]

7. My brother served on the USS Theodore Roosevelt back in

the late 60's. They had a similar accident. They hit a mountain while submerged and it drove them upward to the surface. The torpedo room flooded and they had to pressurize it to keep the water out. He was in the opposite crew at the time. (Ballistic Missile subs have two crews that rotate every three months.)

[mattclearing]

10. Wow. How can this not get reported?

Unreal.

I love the "FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY" Some free press.

[Ezlivin]

12. It's called the Silent Service for a reason

When I served, every mission was secret.

My boat was a fast attack and so it could be dispatched anywhere in the world; ballistic missile subs are typically limited to certain areas.

There are another class of subs that undertake even more sensitive missions than the ones I participated in. Even most sub sailors do not know the names of these subs!

[Billy Ruffian]

14. Free Press?

The picture belongs to the USN. They hold the copyright, and can restrict the use of the picture.

If you take your own picture, you can do with it what you will.

This is NOT a first amendment issue.

[mattclearing]

18. You are correct, but I don't have to like it.

It's being posted here as fair use.

Individual citizens have the right to copyright photographs. I think the Federal Government and its military, being owned by We The People, should be restricted from issuing editorial guidelines regarding obviously publicly owned information.

If they want to classify it, let them.

This is just another example of the Armed Forces attempting to manipulate the media, and I do not approve.

On edit, if I were an editor, I would call them on it and put it up front and center. They are bluffing, and they will not fight it in court.

[slor]

11. Gee Whiz...

they made it sound like an underwater fender bender. This certainly proves otherwise.

[Billy Ruffian]

13. More pictures here

at least for now ... this link is to the latest pictures at the USN web site:

http://www.news.navy.mil/view_photos.asp

If they've aged out, click on 'Featured Galleries' and then look for Submarines, and you should find the pictures.

The Navy seems to be making information available (one sailor died, not three) but it appears that it is not newsworthy enough for the big news outlets to continue to report

[KansDem]

15. At first I thought that Japan must be making bigger, heavier fishing boats

Then I saw that it had "run aground."

Someone is in big trouble over this!

[LibertyLover]

16. Bad Map

According to a story I read on this a day or so ago, the map showed the sea mount the San Francisco ran into, but located it 3 miles away from its actual position. The article also said that the sub went from 30 knots to 4 almost instantly, and that since only 3 people in a sub normally wear seatbelts it was no wonder that the crew got thrown around and injured. (While reading the article, scenes from the classic Star Trek flashed in my head, with the bridge crew always getting thrown all over the place.) I knew that the sub would be damaged, but this photo is worse than I suspected.

[Zynx]

19. No way can that be repaired - sub is scrap

You're never going to get a hull back over that that is anywhere near good enough for safe deep diving.

Pretty expensive mapping mistake.