Thursday, October 7, 2021

Things That Go Bump in the Night, at Sea and Underwater

UPDATED: Attack Submarine USS Connecticut Suffers Underwater Collision in South China Sea - USNI News

What is going on out there? Initial reports are coming in from unclassified sources which report that the USS Connecticut SSN-22, second of the Seawolf Class, has struck an unknown object in the South China Sea.  11 members of the crew were injured but none were life threatening.

The South China Sea is currently a heavy naval operations area for the last couple of years with the Red Dragon trying to bully there way to more lebensraum.

While the accounts do state the object was struck while submerged, there is no word on what depth the event occurred at and we are very likely never to hear how deep it was other than somewhere between 400 feet and the surface.

The real question is this:

Did the Connecticut hit a Chicom Sub?  

Sub to Sub collisions are not unheard of.  You can read a whole list of them here.

Is this a sign of a Cold War style Sub conflict emerging with the Chicoms? 

Alternatively, could this have been another uncharted undersea mount ala the USS San Francisco?

Lots of questions.  Few answers. But you already knew this is the Silent Service.

At the end of the day, all we can say is that the Connecticut is definitely:

NO SLACK, FAST ATTACK!




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