Login

 

Forgot password?
Vote History of votings
Subscription

Modify subscription

submarines shipbuilding Black Sea Fleet exercise Pacific Fleet Russian Navy Northern Fleet strategy cooperation Ukraine visits Russia piracy missiles trials Sevastopol history Sevmash presence contracts drills Baltic Fleet industry incident anti-piracy shipyards Gulf of Aden frigate training Somalia India developments reforms opinion Borei policy procurements Russia - India aircraft carrier Crimea arms exports USA St. Petersburg France tests financing Bulava Yury Dolgoruky Serdiukov US Navy Mediterranean cruise Zvezdochka NATO innovations United Shipbuilding Corporation Indian Navy Medvedev Arctic agreements commission Admiralteyskie Verfi Admiral Gorshkov Mistral Vladivostok accident hijacking corvettes overhaul Admiral Kuznetsov anniversary Russia - France Rosoboronexport Vysotsky ceremony event Yantar Severomorsk defense order negotiations aircraft conflict China deployment naval aviation Putin Black Sea investigations Varyag coast guard Novorossiysk Vikramaditya landing craft crime Far East marines Severnaya Verf meeting scandals memorials traditions Syria South Korea Japan escort statistics Yasen Neustrashimy tenders Marshal Shaposhnikov Admiral Chabanenko convoys Ukrainian Navy problems Severodvinsk Chirkov reinforcement tension firings tragedy technology Baltic Sea Almaz Moskva frontier service search and rescue Caspian Flotilla hostages provocation upgrade court Dmitry Donskoy keel laying rumors Turkey World War II death Admiral Panteleyev Atalanta helicopters Kilo class shipwreck Petr Veliky Kaliningrad Admiral Vinogradov Norway Rubin launching patrols Russia-Norway
Search
Strategy strategy Combat Capability [42%], Role and Missions, Structure of the Navy, in-service ships, surface ships, submarines, chronology.
Our friends russian navy weapons world sailing ships
 
Tell a friend Print version

Home / News / News of the day

Two nuclear subs collided in Atlantic

Two nuclear subs collided in Atlantic 16.02.2009
Two nuclear submarines – the British Vanguard and French Le Triomphant – collided deep in the Atlantic Ocean in the beginning of February, The Sun reported citing an anonymous source in the British Defense Ministry.

There was no radiation leak and no victim. The submarines had 241 people aboard between them. The collision took place reportedly on February 3 or 4, in open waters in the Atlantic Ocean. The subs carried nuclear warheads.

Last night, the Vanguard was towed to the British naval base of Faslane in Scotland. The Le Triomphant, with quite serious damage, was able to reach the western French port of Brest on its own.

"The potential damage such an accident can entail is inconceivable," the source commented.

"A nuclear explosion was unlikely, but a radioactive leak was a possibility. Worse, we could have lost the crew and warheads. That would have been a national disaster," he added.

The incident is the most serious involving the British Navy since 2007, when the Iranian Navy seized 15 British sailors who had attempted to inspect an Iranian cargo ship, The Sun reported.

According to experts, the probability of two submarines being in the same spot at the same time is very low, but if that happens, the subs might not be able to "see" each other, because of the advanced technology used on them to avoid detection by hydro acoustic means.

Despite the low probability, collisions of submarines are not rare. More than 25 collisions have been recorded since 1967, the BBC reported.

The Vanguard is the point submarine of the Royal Navy. It is armed with 16 Lockheed Trident II D5 ballistic missiles. It was commissioned in 1993. It has a water displacement of 16,000 tonnes, and can develop a speed of up to 25 knots.

The Le Triomphant is also the point submarine of the French Navy. It was commissioned in 1997. It has a water displacement of 14,300 tonnes and can develop a speed of 25 knots. It is armed with 16 M45 SLBM ballistic missiles.

Picture: The British Vanguard and a civilian tugboat (en.wikipedia.org)

Translation: RusNavy.com

Back to the list

Related Information:

News of the day
Russian Navy News