USS San Francisco damage pic

[evangilder]

This is the USS San Francisco in dry dock. Big damage!

 

[Medvedya]

Bet they're glad double bulkheads in the front compartment come as standard!

 

[evangilder]

I am sure of that! It could have been much worse.

 

[Nonskimmer]

We just got a brief about this today. Those boys were damn lucky! (except for the one soul, of course. )

Those LA's are one fine boat, I'll tell you that!

 

[evangilder]

They are good, but I do think there was some luck in this case. I heard that they hit something that was not on their charts. Have you heard anything different, NS?

 

[Nonskimmer]

In all honesty, that's all we were told as well (not that I could discuss it further, anyway. ). Seriously though, I don't know any heavy details.
Bad luck!

 

[evangilder]

Sorry, I should have prefaced that with; "Without violating any OPSEC, do you know anything else?"!

I can neither confirm nor deny the presence of classified information anywhere on this message board....

 

[lesofprimus]

From what I have heard and the photos damage, they did not run aground... The damage does not show typical grounding damage..... They hit something very large by the looks of it, and they were moving at a good clip too....

 

[evangilder]

I don't know that much about subs, but it did seem like some pretty substantial damage to me. Is it normal to have the noticeable bump at the top, just aft of the damage? Or is that hull warpage?

 

[lesofprimus]

Not sure evan but I dont think its normally like that......

 

[evangilder]

I would think to warp like that then must have been one hell of a hit! It is really amazing that more of our guys didn't get killed. They were very fortunate!

 

[Medvedya]

But there's more to this than first meets the eye?

 

[Nonskimmer]

I'm not certain just how fast those LA's normally cruise while submerged, but you've gotta figure: an object doing, let's say, 20kts (faster?) hits the sea mount. It's like ramming a brick wall, with your car!
As far as I'm concerned, the fact that they made it back in such good shape is a testament to the good design of the boat and the professionalism of her crew.

 

[evangilder]

I totally agree NS. To have made it back with that kind of damage was good work! I see what you are saying about the collision now. WIth the size of that sub, that's alot of mass moving along to come to a full stop so quickly.

Speaking of submarines, NS; Have you ever read the book "Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage"? It is quiet an interesting book.

 

[Nonskimmer]

No I haven't, but it's one I'll look out for.

 

[evangilder]

I figure you being a submariner (American Navy guys call them bubbleheads), it would be a good one for you to read. I found it very interesting.

 

[Nonskimmer]

Well, I'm not quite a submariner yet, but I'm working on it. 8)
Thanks for the book tip.

Thank God we don't use the term "bubblehead".

 

[horseUSA]

Here is a topside shot of the sub.

 

[Crazy]

Never read Blind Man's bluff, altough I have read the Hunt For Red October

It's indeed a tribute to the ship and crew that she made it back to port safely, with a minimal loss of life. to the whole crew, especially the one who was not so fortunate as the rest.

 

[HealzDevo]

Woah, I don't think I would have liked to be a Bridge Officer on that. It looks totalled almost.