USS Connecticut has undersea collision

The USS Connecticut, SSN-22, one of three Seawolf class submarines, collided with a submerged object October 2nd while operating in the South China Sea. There were eleven injuries reported to the crew, ranging from minor to moderate. According to reports, the hull is intact, and she's underway and stable. She's expected to arrive at the Navy base at Guam within the next day. No word on what the object they hit was.

The last major incident involving a submarine was in 2005, when the USS San Francisco impacted an underwater mountain at full speed. One sailor was killed in that incident, and the sub suffered substantial damage to the bow. They replaced the bow of the San Francisco with the bow of the USS Honolulu, and she remained in service until 2016 when she was retired and became a moored training ship.

Almost a dozen sailors have been injured after a U.S. nuclear attack submarine hit an unknown underwater object in the South China Sea, USNI News has learned.

The Seawolf-class nuclear attack submarine USS Connecticut (SSN-22) suffered an underwater collision while operating in international waters on Oct. 2 and is returning to port in U.S. 7th Fleet, a U.S. Pacific Fleet spokesman confirmed to USNI News on Thursday.

“The Seawolf-class fast-attack submarine USS Connecticut (SSN-22) struck an object while submerged on the afternoon of Oct. 2, while operating in international waters in the Indo-Pacific region. The safety of the crew remains the Navy’s top priority. There are no life-threatening injuries,” Capt. Bill Clinton told USNI News.
“The submarine remains in a safe and stable condition. USS Connecticut’s nuclear propulsion plant and spaces were not affected and remain fully operational. The extent of damage to the remainder of the submarine is being assessed. The U.S. Navy has not requested assistance. The incident will be investigated.”

news.usni.org...

Guess it wasn't tasty to that megalodon.lol.Glad whatever they hit didn't cause any deaths or disable the ship.

a reply to: Zaphod58

A whale?
A whale would bounce off not causing damage.

China putting anchored objects in known U.S. pathways?

originally posted by: Bigburgh
a reply to: Zaphod58

A whale?
A whale would bounce off not causing damage.

China putting anchored objects in known U.S. pathways?

It’s the silent service. They’ll never tell.

Just as likely the USAF as the Chicoms at this stage.
a reply to: Bigburgh

originally posted by: 1947boomer

originally posted by: Bigburgh
a reply to: Zaphod58

A whale?
A whale would bounce off not causing damage.

China putting anchored objects in known U.S. pathways?

It’s the silent service. They’ll never tell.

(Chills and Goosebumps)
I love the way I read that....

a reply to: REDMORGAN

Lol😆

Maybe USN and PLA Navy were playing a dangerous game of underwater tag and had a submarine collision. Likely, we will never hear details about it from either.

a reply to: Zaphod58

maybe I missed it but did it say a depth?

also this doesnt sounds like a navigation error and sounds like they really bumped into by 'something'.


the fact there was no real damage makes me think it was something alive(or dead) like a whale or squid.

that being said it is highly unlikely however if it hit another boat you think it would have more serious damage and at least some outer hull issues

that is the problem with subs. they are all driving around blind. the could "see" if they wanted to, but that would also tell everyone where they are, which is a big no, no for subs.

seriously it could have hit literally anything. other subs, whales or any other big sea creature, even something like submerged logs, or even a lost container from a ship, or washed out to sea in a storm or tsunami.

a reply to: generik

there is passive sonar and other interments that don't require a sub to 'ping' a target

a reply to: Zaphod58

Underwater UAP. Like the object observed under the surface of the water in the early 2000’s Nimitz case.

a reply to: MDDoxs

My personal theory is they were monitoring a USV test and got caught too close unexpectedly.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: MDDoxs

My personal theory is they were monitoring a USV test and got caught too close unexpectedly.

In the South China Sea? Hmm, seems a bit risky for such an exercise?

Oooo, did you mean another nations USV?

a reply to: 1947boomer

A naval sonar officer would know. But he couldn't tell.

a reply to: MDDoxs

Yes. China reportedly has at least one, possibly as many as three different types in development.

a reply to: Zaphod58

You don’t think that would have blown up in more of a geopolitical situation?

I guess either nation would not admit anything. But if they were trying to cover it up, why not release they hit a whale instead of “unknown object”.

a reply to: MDDoxs

There were multiple sub collisions with manned Soviet boats when they were playing Cossacks and Cowboys. Colliding with a USV, even with China, would barely be a blip on the radar. They aren't going to want to admit that they have programs of record developing USVs or how far along they are, and we don't want to admit that we're still playing Cossacks and Cowboys.

Once pictures get out, and they probably will, you'll have a pretty good idea what they hit. A whale would leave very specific damage as opposed to a manmade vehicle.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Well I live near by where this sub is stationed, and I heard a few different stories, but yeah mostly side notes at best due to the nature of what seems to be going around. What you said about following a USV or hitting a sunken Chinese sub seem to be the most believable stories. The most common seems to involved it hitting some kind of giant sea salamander or something. I tuned out when the story was weird.

I'm going to go with USV collision until the ship gets back here to be worked on, and trusted eyes can tell me what it looked like.

a reply to: Zaphod58

if it is all scraped up it hit a boat

if it hit a whale or other big organic object it will be dented.

Russia's new cable spying sub is a set of 3 bathyspheres made out of titanium so it can go DEEEP.

I could see the US playing with an underwater drone getting to close to its mother ship(the sub) a bumping in to it.