Latest Court News - No Submarine Evidence (Photo)

Known Timeline (2004 - 2016)

2004 - French trawler BUGALED BREIZH sinks on January 15th with the loss of its (5-man) crew.

2007 - British and Dutch submarines were cleared by French court officials of any involvement in the sinking.

2008 - Inquiry concludes a nuclear submarine snagging the boat's trawl was the "highly probable cause" of the sinking, but the judges recommended the investigation be wound up, with no guilty party traced.

2010 - [April] A French appeal court relaunches investigation to try to identify what US submarines were in the vicinity at the time.

2010 - [May]   No "Submarine Expert" Would Even Ask: Story Unravelled   Molten Eagle's observed, "Salles is hoping that the transformational Obama administration will share more details about any subs in the area of casualty on 15 January 2004. Is he correct?" Note: Molten Eagle has always said, "Submarines are always silent and strange."

2014 - The inquiry was eventually thrown out by a court in Nantes in 2014.

2015 - Appeal court in Rennes rules there was no evidence that a submarine was involved or that it was a fishing accident.

2016 - France's Court of Cassation, France's court of final appeal for civil and criminal matters, said there was no evidence to support the claim, nor that it was a fishing accident. The latest decision of France's highest judicial court backs up the ruling by the appeal court in Rennes in May 2015. 

Photo: Salvaged Trawler BUGALED BREIZH 

Note the circled hull depression (which was evident on port side, as well).  The depressions have been explained in the opinion of some experts [translated] as follows [color emphasis mine]:

"4 / The hull of BUGALED BREIZH presents a depression of the shell, on both sides, at the fish hold. It is the sign of a quick drive to the bottom, causing the implosion of the fish hold remained closed by the water pressure. If classic shipwreck by water such as water seeps everywhere, but the process takes time and leaves the crew of survival."  five more expert opinions (untranslated) here

When state security is involved, evidential protocols regarding "Submarines are always silent and strange". 

ANSWERS: Submarine Q.O.T.W. - 28 OCT 2015

Background

There was no general theme to last week's submarine questions. Rather, we selected a variety of surprising tidbits we found interesting.  The mystery photo underlying Question 7 is  found in the original post.

Submarine Questions of the Week with ANSWERS

1 - In "the early 21st century" what typical chain of command (grade) connected with commissioned submarines reverted back to what it had been in the early years of nuclear propulsion ?   ANS: Commanding officers of SSBN crews reverted to O-5s (navy Commanders) versus O-6s (navy Captains) as had largely been routine in the 1960s. 

"In the submarine community, a captain typically commanded a ballistic-missile submarine (SSBN) until the early 21st century when the requisite rank for the position was downgraded to that of a commander. "

2 - With whose navies are "HMS" and "HMJ" associated ?  ANS (HMS): Since 1789, HMS is the British Royal Navy's prefix standing for "His/Her Majesty's Ship".  Within the Swedish and Saudi navies, HMS similarly denotes "Hans/Hennes Majestats Skepp" and "His Magesty's Ship", respectively.  ANS (HMJ): "HMJ" is American submariners' nickname for the Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarine USS Henry M. Jackson (SSBN 730).

3 - Close to what significant U.S. infrastructure system have Russian subs been detected and recently reported ? ANS:  "vital undersea internet cables".

4 - On average, a submariner is medevaced from their sub every 14 days.
   (a) for what kind of health issues ? ANS: Mental Health.

Mental health issues account for about 30 percent of the unplanned losses — where sailors leave the fleet for reasons other than normal rotation or temporary assigned duty, Force Master Chief Wes Koshoffer said.

   (b) what is the approximate percentage of unplanned submarine crew losses related to this health issue ? ANS:  After a year when submarine crews out of Norfolk had 22 "unplanned losses" for mental health reasons, the program cut that number in the following year in 14, according to Capt. Matthew Hickey, the submarine force's chief medical officer.

Read more here: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/health-and-medicine/article42132684.html#storylink=cpy

 
5 - What two recent developments does Connecticut hope will assure the Groton sub base remains off the federal government's next list for possible base closure ?  ANS: 

• Courtney announces Navy, Electric Boat support for Dredged Material Management Plan 
• Undersea Warfighting Development Center Holds Ribbon Cutting Ceremony.  Under the command of Rear Adm. Jeffrey E. Trussler, the UWDC became operational, Sept. 1, 2015.

6 - Fill in the blank: In the movie "The Hunt for Red October" the character "Seaman Jones" plays a pivotal role in his assignment as a  ___?___  technician.  ANS: "Sonar".
   (a) In particular, what did Seaman Jones notice ? ANS: an unusual sound.
   (b) In French navy parlance, what nickname would be bestowed on a technician with the prowess of Seaman Jones ?  ANS: l'oreille d'or (translation: golden ear).

7 - If you do not believe the image shown below is a 2-plus ton, bottom-crawling, anti-submarine mine launched from a surface craft, what is it ?  ANS: You would be correct. The object is a test sled launched into the James Rover by CVN-78's (the future Gerald R. Ford) Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS). 

Submarines are always silent and strange. 

The ANSWERS: Q.O.T.W. 11 APR 2014

Background information and photo (s) presented when the Questions of the Week (Q.O.T.W.) answered below were originally posted may be found here: Anti-subD 641marine Q.O.T.W. 11 APR 2014.

Q & A

 1.  An "anti-submarine" vessel is shown transiting a "cut". The nation which launched this ship has no destroyers in its entire navy. What are the ship's nationality and type?  ANS:  The ship is the French navy's (Marine Nationale Française). It is a type F70 "anti-submarine" frigate en route to the Black Sea for Ukraine crises.

2.  What are the name, hull number, and top speed of this ship?  ANS:  MNF Dupleix (D 641) has a top speed of 30 knots.
 
3.  What is its crew complement (officers and men)?  ANS:  20-22 officers and 145 sailors.

4.  With what anti-submarine equipment is this ship armed?  ANS:   • 10 L5 Mod4 torpedoes
• 2  L5 torpedo launchers
• 2 Lynx WG13 Mk.4 helicopters, each with DUAV4 sonar, Rheseda system for acoustic data transmission, and 12 Mark 46 torpedoes

5.  What are the vessel's draft and the canal's mean depth (in feet)?  ANS:  MNF Dupleix's  draft is 19 ft versus the canal's nominal depth of 26 ft.

6.  What is the purpose of that buoy to which the ship appears tied? ANS: What appears to be a buoy in last week's photo is actually a canal tug seen from a head-on perspective.
 
7.  What is the name of the canal and how does its length compare to the Panama Canal?  ANS:  The Corinth Canal's  is 3.9 miles in length (the Panama Canal is 12 times longer at 48).

8.  Did the pictured canal have strategic value in WW2?  ANS:  Yes, serious damage was inflicted on the canal during World War II by both by both British and Nazi forces, when it was twice the scene of fighting due to strategic importance.

9.  This canal has a fairly unusual submarine feature; what is it?  ANS: The Canal has submersible bridges [ YouTube video] at either end. When a vessel approaches, the bridges are  submerged allowing ships to proceed.

Submarines are always silent and strange.

Islamist Terrorist / U.S. Spy

There can be little doubt about this man's courage and the danger in which he lives, only doubts about from where most of that danger actually originates.   April 05, 2013, - Vigilis  

 

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP)  September 12, 2013 — A rapping jihadi from Alabama who ascended the ranks of Somalia's al-Qaida-linked militant group and was on the FBI's Most Wanted list with a $5 million reward for his capture was killed Thursday in an ambush ordered by the militant group's leader ... who gave his name as Sheik Abu Mohammed.  

Omar Hammami, a native of Daphne, Alabama, who was known as Abu Mansoor Al-Amriki, or "the American," died in southern Somalia following several months on the run after a falling-out with al-Shabab's top leader, the militants said.

Reports of Hammami's death crop up every few months in Somalia, only for him to resurface a short while later. But a U.S. terrorism expert who closely follows the inner workings of al-Shabab says he thinks that the current reports of the death are accurate.

..."Hammami brought a lot of unwelcome outside scrutiny on Shabab from the international jihadist community[color emphasis added]. His story will likely be a case study on what can go wrong when Westerners join jihadist movements," Berger said.

********** 

Notes with M.E.'s Comments

1)  Hammami was once a prominent figure in Shabaab's propaganda arm, having also served as a recruiter, financier, and military commander.  U.S. officials say al-Shabab ranlk include several hundred foreign fighters, including several dozen Somali-Americans from Minnesota.  ... Simply amazing! Who would have expected young Hammami to be so talented?

2) In 2010, US officials said they knew of no other American citizen who had risen as high as Hammami in Al-Shabaab. [ibid]    ... and even the U.S. Government admitted this!

3) Al-Shabaab has lost overt most control of major town and cities in southern and central Somalia, it still dominates many villages and rural areas. [ibid] ... Al-Shabab does not appear to be winning its terrorism campaign in Somalia. Perhaps an embedded spy has been working with forces against them.

4) Al-Shabab and al-Qaida announced their formal merger in February 2012, but the Somali militant group maintained a reputation as being hostile to foreign fighters. [ibid]  ... hostile to foreign fighters, with foreign fighters in its ranks?  Wouldn't untrusting of foreign fighters be a more accurate description?

5) The US has kept Hammami on its list of global terrorists with ties to al Qaeda since July 2011. In November 2012, the FBI added Hammami to its "Most Wanted Terrorist" list and in 2013 offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture. [ibid]  ... was the reward intended as evidence Hammami was not actually working with the U.S.?  While we should probably never expect an official answer, this may be as close to transparency for a spy as it ever gets. 

It also helps explain why a father might feign ignorance of his son's true principles, "whatever they were."


How did Hammami (a.k.a. Abu Mansour al Amriki) antagonize al-Shabab? Hammami accused al-Shabab's leaders of living extravagant lifestyles with the taxes fighters collect from Somali residents. Another Hammami grievance was that Somali militant leaders sideline foreign militants inside al-Shabab and are concerned only about fighting in Somalia, not globally. Shabaab's leaders believed Hammami a narcissistic self-promoter using high-profile media attention to sow dissent between the Somali group and foreign fighters.

Submarines are always silent and strange.