"Forgotten" Submarine Uh-Ohs
In a comment, Chapomatic mentioned the USS Birmingham drydock tipping incident, which I had completely forgotten. I guess this opened up a dormant section of my brain, because I immediately thought back to the "Bremerha" collision of the mid-80s (short story -- the Bremerton and Omaha were moored one in front of the other, the one in front was testing Main Engines astern and got a little carried away, and backed into the one astern). Anyone else had a "funny now that it's done" memory of a submarine "aw crap" story that you just remembered? (Note: The Kentucky-San Juan collision is probably too recent to be added to the "humorous" section yet.)
Update 2111 03 Apr: I can't believe I almost forgot what is arguably the biggest "uh-oh": USS Guittaro (SSN 665) sinking at the dock at Mare Island in May 1969.
posted by Bubblehead at 8:02 AM
11 Comments:
Our (USS Memphis 691) infamous amphibious assault on Florida
post-action pictures
4/02/2006 11:30 AM
The time Oly tried to mate with one of the boats in San Diego....
4/02/2006 12:47 PM
Hmmm, I think it was BREMERTON that tipped due to a failure to move the blocks into position before pumping down the drydock. This occured in Hawaii in about 1993, I think.
Yes, the BREMERTON and OMAHA - Bremerton backed into the Omaha's sonar sphere due to stuck throttles, methinks. Little known trivia: BREM was about to deploy and needed a new screw after the collision, so they took...OMAHA's of course! Talk about taking it in both ends. This event inspired the famous MS-3 and 4 watchstanders on the maneuvering watch, and also the remote MS-3 and 4 closure valves in Maneuvering, and also the requirement to have a tug mated up when testing the shaft on the main engines. I think this event occured in 1985 timeframe, also in Hawaii.
4/02/2006 5:00 PM
You may be right about which B boat it was. IIRC the divers didn't set the blocks right, and whoopsie.
I only remember the view from the end of the Comptent, and the front page of the Advertiser, and the looks on the CO and commodore because the last drydock move was with an XO in charge.
4/03/2006 12:18 AM
USS Houston in 1986/7 returning to San Diego from the first West Pac deployment. Returning deployers were usually placed at Mike Pier, North side, #1 Berth (first position on the pier). Looks like they had "going home turns" as they were approaching the pier, so much so that they were getting close to the rocks at the head of the pier, dragging the tug with them (wimpy Navy tug, not the later Choest contract tug).
The extreme backing bell that was applied caused them to back into the sonar dome of the boat in the #2 position on the pier (Gurnard? Had a steel dome still).
So there they were, lei on the sail, families on the pier, a band, and the brass. And they back into the sub behind them.
4/03/2006 10:25 AM
SD currents can be a byotch
4/03/2006 3:57 PM
"Pintado" forward trim test and after trim test conducted separately and at same time. While at MINSY and at the pier. Circa 1968. Followed by chloride stress test of the interior.
4/03/2006 8:49 PM
What about Wiskey on the rocks
4/04/2006 5:52 PM
The Birmingham tipping incident happened the same day the Pintado returned from its UNITAS in '93. I remember being on the shore power detail and looking at the Competene and thinking, "What's wrong with this picture?".
The Birmingham later played a role in our being hit by a practice torpedo during her TRE and our subsequent return to Papa Hotel on the surface from the Kaui test range. (I later went to work for a manufacturing company and worked with the FT who fired that weapon!)
4/12/2006 10:09 AM
TINS: Guardfish on the Rocks
http://tinyurl.com/2nhfyb
The way I heard it was that COMSUBPAC was so pissed off he made the boat (SSN-612) wait over Xmas "on the rocks."
11/21/2007 10:58 PM
Now, this is a skimmer story, but... either it was '96 or '97 in Pearl, and the USS Arkansas was just pulling in from... something. Anyway, we got in, and the tug wanted to spin us around so that we were pointing outwards. They proceed to do so, and we got a bit too close to the oiler (I think it was the Sacramento...) on the other side of the wharf we were pulling into. So close, in fact, that we knocked our own flagpole akilter on our fantail when it struck the oiler. We never set off our collision alarm, but the oiler did.
1/08/2010 8:58 AM
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