This is what happens when you're too stealthy

[Bailo]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7892294.stm

 

Nuclear subs 'collide in ocean'

 

A Royal Navy nuclear submarine was involved in a collision with a French nuclear sub in the middle of the Atlantic, it has been reported.

 

It is understood HMS Vanguard and Le Triomphant were badly damaged in the crash in heavy seas earlier this month.

 

Despite being equipped with sonar, it seems neither vessel spotted the other, the BBC's Caroline Wyatt said.

 

The UK's Ministry of Defence is not commenting on the reports, but insisted nuclear security had not been breached.

 

Our defence correspondent said HMS Vanguard, with "very visible dents and scrapes", had to be towed back into its home base at Faslane on the Firth of Clyde. The submarines were both "seriously-armed", she also said.

 

The reported incident is being investigated on both sides of the Channel.

 

The two submarines are key parts of each nation's nuclear deterrent, and would have been carrying missiles, though both the UK and France have insisted there was no danger of a nuclear incident.

 

The two 150m-long (492ft) submarines were carrying around 240 sailors between them. A French naval spokesman said the collision did not result in any injuries to the crew.

 

Le Triomphant is based at L'Ile Longue near Brest, north-west France. HMS Vanguard arrived back in Faslane on Sunday night.

 

France's defence ministry said in a statement that Le Triomphant "collided with an immersed object (probably a container)" when coming back from patrolling.

 

"The sonar dome, at the front, was damaged. This incident did not cause any injuries among the crew and did not threaten the nuclear security at any time," it said.

 

"The submarine came back by its own means to L'Ile Longue, escorted by a frigate, as it is the usual practice when leaving or coming back."

 

The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament described the reported collision as "a nuclear nightmare of the highest order".

 

CND chair Kate Hudson said: "The collision of two submarines, both with nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons onboard, could have released vast amounts of radiation and scattered scores of nuclear warheads across the seabed."

 

 

Do you criticise the captains for colliding or congratulate the engineers for making them invisible to each other?!

[Spike]

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