Keeping the blogosphere posted on the goings on of the world of submarines since late 2004... and mocking and belittling general foolishness wherever it may be found. Idaho's first and foremost submarine blog. (If you don't like something on this blog, please E-mail me; don't call me at home.)

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Transiting The Straits Of Malacca

In a Stars & Stripes article about USS Frank Cable (AS 40) returning to Guam after a five week "deployment", I saw this interesting paragraph:
After the ship left Malaysia, it acted as a “sea shield” for USS Houston through the Straits of Malacca, from Port Klang to Singapore. Submarines navigating the straits are safer on the surface due to underwater obstacles, so shielding is critical in case of confrontation from an enemy, the Navy said.
I only went through the Straits once on a submarine, and we had to follow behind a skimmer as well. I remember manning the 'scope, verifying range every 2 minutes while watching the movie they were showing on the destroyer's helo deck. Anyone else have a story about being escorted on the surface?

2 Comments:

Blogger Chap said...

I gots me a good 'un, but involves Bad Words.


How about this one...oh, crap, that one was classified.

Uh, how about...oh, poop.

Well a Japanese periscope from 800 yards looks pretty cool from the bridge of a surface ship when you're doing a little escorting...

10/15/2006 12:53 AM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Frank Cable commanding officer Capt. Leo Goff told Stars and Stripes in August that although “there have been no plans for us yet” as the Navy’s sub-tender force evolves, changes in the service make this time “an opportunity for growth.”"

Sounds like "The Navy's thinking about turning us into razor blades, so we'd better prove that we're still useful. COMEX Operation Look, we can do stuff!" Not looking good for the submarine force...

10/15/2006 1:04 AM

 

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