Who put that there

[Cheery]

Just seen on Sky news, a US submarine has crashed into an 'underwater mountain' 350 miles from Guam, at 30 knots. How the hell does that sort of thing happen. This is surely in one of the most common areas for the world's police force, does it not appear on any charts or is that too obvious?

 

[rickp]

Apparently, their chart was 15 years out of date - definitely a salutory lesson in updating charts!

The amazing thing is how it survived, considering the damage:

No forward torpedo tubes, just sonar - the worlds most expensive crumple zone?

Rick

 

[omega2]

Re the yank's charts, the Royal Navy will get the blame due to cut backs world wide surveys have been dropped?

 

[Talbot]

How do things like this happen. It is very easy, the majority of chart data was achieved by survey ships doing soundings over a plotted course, and confirmed by doing a number of legs of that course. - If you look at some of the more obscure locations, you can see the plan of the soundings as specific legs. The rest of the chart where there were no soundings is then assumed to be of roughly equivalent depth to those adjacent soundings - I am sure you make the same judgement every time you use your chart. However, there are a few very steep mountain peaks underwater that are not charted, or are formed underwater due to volcanic activity. An RFA was badly damaged by one of these abt 25 years ago in the Gulf area. This problem is compounded for submarines cause they tend to travel a bit closer to the bottom than us chaps. Personnally I reckon it is a miracle that they got that boat back. look at the bulge in the pressure hull half way back to the conning tower.

 

[clyst]

Sorry talbot but that aint the pressure hull . The outer fairing or casing is free flooding the pressure hull is inside that again.
Cheers
Terry