Weekly Submarine Quotes & Tidbits 5MAY16

Background
Recently noted curiousities of a submarine variety (formerly "Tuesday Tidbits"). Color emphasis by M.E.

Quotes of the Week

-1-

“Submarines are a dangerous business. There is always tension wherever you go because we operate in a challenging environment.”  -  Cmdr. Fraser Hudson, CO USS Missouri  (SSN 780).  here

-2-

“For Russia the submarine is the crown jewel of their fleet, much in the way the aircraft carrier is the crown jewel of the U.S. Navy.” - Magnus Nordenman, a Russian military expert at Atlantic Council  [ibid].

Tidbits New to the general public's attention

 -3-

 

 May 2016 -  Russian Submarine Allegedly Collided With Polish Sub ...

"Russia’s newest Project 636.3 diesel subs like Krasnodar are often referred to that class, too (on NATO classification – Improved Kilo).

Earlier on, there were reports in the Russian press about a collision between the Russian submarine Krasnodar and the Polish one named Orzeł. Military spokesmen of the both countries rebutted that information; however, the Russian Navy officials specified that a “navigation incident” did happen though. [underscoring mine]"

"The shipyard’s authorities declined to comment the reason for the submarine’s return."

-4-

5 May 2016 -  Gibraltar |  Royal Navy used warning flares as Spain's La Guardia Civil vessel 'harrassed' USS Florida (SSGN-728) by crossing into its path.

The incident allegedly happened last month as the USS Florida docked in Gibraltar. 

The latest incident comes as tensions heighten around the UK-controlled peninsula after a series of aggressive acts by Spain that may be linked to Gibraltar's self-determination. 

Submarines are always silent and strange.

Tuesday Submarine Tidbits 2 June 2015

Background 

Today, we highlight manpower, a major challenge for Britain's senior sevice, its Royal Navy.  Some articles leading to our quest for a closer look were:

•  6 Aug 2014 -   The hidden crisis – Royal Navy manpower

•  3 May 2015 -  Royal Navy has just ONE nuclear submarine on active duty  

•  28 May 2015 - Defence Secretary rejects Ulsterman William McNeilly’s whistleblowing claims

A few SURPRISES   

• 10 Sep 2012 - Navy [takes on] just TEN 16-year old recruits in one year amid fears forces are failing to appeal to youngsters

•  6 Oct 2014 -  Royal Navy so short of personnel it has to borrow engineers from US Coast Guard   The trial partnership will begin this month when four personnel come over from America. Another 16 will follow in 2015 and 16 more in 2016, bringing the total to 36. The Royal Navy already has a number of regular and ongoing exchanges with other foreign navies including the French, Australian and New Zealand.

 

• 4 Feb 2015 -  Skills shortage leads Royal Navy to recruit overseas   Royal Navy is so sort of engineers that it is being forced to recruit in India and Canada.

Submarines are always silent and strange.

A Laughing Matter: Excercise Short Sermon 2013

Background

We can all laugh about it now because the purpose of such drills is to identify and correct serious deficiencies.   Exercise Short Sermon is held every three years to prepare local officials for an accident at a Royal Navy dockyard.  A newly released report on the 2013 drill describes some amusing chaos worthy of The Three Stooges.

September 2013

How a Nuclear Disaster Drill to prepare for a catastrophic explosion aboard a Trafalgar Class nuclear submarine became a "successful" farce. 

... HM Naval Base Devonport, the home of the Royal Navy fleet

 

Selected Excerpts [color emphasis mine]

• Officials gave the order to evacuate the wrong village, caught hospital staff off guard after a worker posing as an irradiated victim arrived at A&E, and struggled to understand which way the radioactive cloud was travelling. 

• The response at Plymouth council became chaotic after the National Resilience Extranet, a highly secure government server used to respond to major emergencies, went off-line, forcing officials to communicate using their personal email addresses.

• The local fire service complained of a “lamentable” lack of maps and charts, and said they were kept in the dark over the risk posed by the radioactive cloud, with the dispatching of fire engines “confused”. 

• Staff from Devon County Council were left confused by not knowing "whether the wind was blowing from or to the direction named.” 

•  Senior NHS officials, whose role on the day was “assess on how a nuclear emergency would impact on health services”, complained they were unable to fulfil this because “there were no plans to include casualties outside of the dockyard."

• Overall, the Office for Nuclear Regulation deemed the exercise a success, it [the report] said.

 Submarines are always silent and strange.