Nuclear Subs Collide

In the stuff of which Tom Clancy novels are made, two nuclear subs collided with each other in mid-Atlantic earlier this month. Although the collision between the British HMS Vanguard and France’s Le Triomphant took place back on February 6, the news was apparently withheld until this morning. In what has to be a one in a bazillion chance, the two subs "came into contact at low speed" — while underwater! Fortunately, none of the combined 240 crew aboard either ship were injured and there was no damage to either ship’s nuclear reactors or weapons. However, both ships are said to have been badly damaged, and HMS Vanguard needed to be towed home.

How could it happen? Don’t subs use sonar to detect other ships? They do, but they also employ ‘anti-sonar’ devices to mask detection from other subs. As one expert pointed out, “Maybe those systems were too effective” in this case. The collision obviously caused embarassment for both Navies (the French originally said that Le Triomphant had hit a container) and both are investigating the incident. The best quote in all this came from British Defense spokesman Nick Harvey: “While the British nuclear fleet has a good safety record, if there were ever to be a bang it would be a mighty big one.”