Answers to Submarine Questions of the Week

Answers to last Friday's Questions of the Week:

1. What error of fact has the author clearly made in the above paragraph? (NavyCS got this one right)

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Ans.: Contrary to the author's description appearing in the excerpt, USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) is not nuclear-powered, but is propelled by 8 conventional steam boilers.
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2. Did the Kitty Hawk make the proposed deployment, and if so, which U.S. submarine accompanied Kitty Hawk?

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Ans.: Yes, Kitty Hawk did deploy - On 18 November, 1979, USS Midway (CV-41) arrived in the northern part of the Arabian Sea in connection with the continuing hostage crisis in Iran. Midway was joined on 21 November by USS Kitty Hawk, and both carriers, along with their escorts were joined by the USS Nimitz (CVN-68) carrier group on 22 January 1980. Kitty Hawk returned to San Diego in late February 1980.

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Ans.: [WARNING: Wikipedia article does not reference a source for this information, which implies a leak of classified subject matter, shoddy substantiation, or bogus fact] In September 1979, USS Pintado (SSN-672) deployed to the Indian Ocean and supported Carrier Battle Groups Alpha and Bravo during the early weeks of the Iranian hostage crisis. The Pintado also returned to San Diego in February 1980.

Bonus Question:
3. What is the title of the book? Ans.: The Siege of Mecca: The 1979 Uprising at Islam's Holiest Shrine, by Yaroslav Trofimov; Random House, New York, November 1, 2007.

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Submarines are always silent and strange.