A British Submarine Hit 'Ice' And Now Has A Massive Dent

[Major Shaitan Singh]

All Royal Navy Trafalgar-class submarines have specially strengthened hulls and conning towers for breaking through massive polar icepacks. Yet for some reason, HMS Talent returned to port sporting a massive dent in its forehead, and the British Ministry of Defence is blaming it on “ice.” Okay.

Royal Navy submarine suffers £500,000 damage after 'hitting ice'

The Daily Mail reports that the sub was tracking Russian vessels when it collided with, well,something, though MOD officials are apparently adamant that it was ice and definitely nothing else. An unusually cheery and delightful MOD spokesperson confirmed to us that theTalent was involved in a collision resulting in that massive crumpling you see above, though they couldn’t provide any explanation beyond that.

But that would definitely be weird.

Now it is entirely possible that the Talent hit some ice, in a horizontal fashion, while not very deep. Though it is unlikely, considering how the Trafalgar-class is designed to avoid damage from ice, as you can see from this one sticking its face out of the icy polar crust:

But since the Trafalgar class attack subs tend to wander through ice with no problems whatsoever, we're left to grasp at straws a bit. As the Mail notes, the collision occurred on an undetermined date last year. And British submarines in the past have claimed that they've hit frozen water when they've actually slammed into Russian vessels, as the crew of the HMSSceptre did when they hit a Russian submarine in 1981. It's not like similar incidents are relegated to decades past, either, as the HMS Vanguard managed to bump into the French submarine Le Triomphant in the middle of the open ocean back in 2009.

Furthermore, submarines tend to cruise along without banging away on active sonar to hide themselves, which is fine for most situations but can lead to unexpected collisions, with ice, submarines, surface vessels, or otherwise.

But who knows? Maybe it was ice, and the MOD isn't fibbing about it this time. Or maybe it was something else. Have any wild theories as to what could've left the Talent looking like someone took a bat to its nose? Let us know in the comments below.

 

[T90TankGuy]

knowing a bit about Subs i know for a fact their the conning tower are strengthened so they can break through the ice when they surface . this does not look like ice damage , more like a collision with another vessel.

 

[Guynextdoor2]

British Nation hit ice and now has a dent on it's forehead

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

There is a limit as to how much ice they can break through. If the pack is like 10 meters thick they are going to get a big dent.

 

[babbar]

Certainly how much ice? If you hit a large enough chuck you will be damaged.

So it cant be ice is wrong.

 

[SipahSalar]

I suspect an angry Russian sub captain decided to ram them but the Brits are too embarrassed to admit it.

 

[AMCA]

Captain Sure has Viking Instincts!!

 

[Penguin]

It is one thing to surface through ice (for which the sub is designed). Another would be to move forward just under the ice: it might hit something sticking down.

Or possibly

The Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Hartford (SSN 768) pulls into Mina Salman pier in Bahrain where U.S. Navy engineers and inspection teams will assess and evaluate damage that resulted from a collision with the amphibious transport dock ship USS New Orleans (LPD 18) in the Strait of Hormuz March 20. Overall damage to both ships is being evaluated. The incident remains under investigation. Hartford is deployed to the U.S. 5th fleet area of responsibility to support maritime security operations.
Date 21 March 2009

Photos provided by Kevin Masters (1980-1983)

On 9 April 1962, 200 miles east of Norfolk, Va., EDISON collided with the USS WADLEIGH (DD 689) during antisubmarine warfare exercises. The submarines topside rudder was slightly bent and the destroyer's forward bottom plates were pierced. The EDISON was repaired at Newport News Shipbuilding in several hours while the WADLEIGH spent several weeks in dry-dock. According to the Navy the collision resulted from a misunderstanding between the two ships and occurred as the EDISON was surfacing. No one was injured.
On 29 November 1982, 40 miles east of Subic Bay, Philippines, EDISON collided with the USS Leftwich (DD 984) while conducting ASW excercises. The EDISON was at periscope depth preparing to surface; it damaged its sail and sail planes, but there was no flooding. After the collision the boat never submerged again. She went into Subic Bay for temporary repairs then made a 35-day transit across the Pacific to Bremerton WA, where she had home ported as an SSN. Kevin Masters was onboard during this incident and recalled: "We transiting back from the Philippines, with a make shift bridge, and no fairwater planes. Over 12,000 miles on the surface, in a sewer pipe. Talk about some green sailors..."

The original plan for EDISON, after some preliminary testing in the Philippines, was for it to become the test platform for the Seal Delivery system, as the EDISON was in the best material shape of the Ethan Allen Class boats, so it was chosen for this mission. The Navy had planned to decommission the 608 or 609, but after the collision it was decided to decommission EDISON instead

 

[Víðarr]

knowing a bit about Subs i know for a fact their the conning tower are strengthened so they can break through the ice when they surface . this does not look like ice damage , more like a collision with another vessel.

Submarines will move at low speeds and move up as straight as possible to break through ice, they virtually come to a standstill and force their ways up. However, moving ice or a submarine surfacing without stopping, coming into contact with a multi-ton, moving ice block will do damage to the sub. Their towers are reinforced, but not to withstand moving ice-chunks.

Submarines break through pack ice by surfacing vertically at zero horizontal speed— the sail can easily be damaged if it hits ice while moving under the pack, however.

talk to @SvenSvensonov - he knows a lot more about subs than anyone of us.

 

[East or West India Best]

The only sub I care about is subway.

 

[Penguin]

The RN refused to provide details on when or where the incident happened, adding to the mystery of how the 5,300-tonne SSN returned home damaged. Naval sources suggested the submarine hit undetected floating ice as it surfaced in an ice field.
In a brief statement a navy spokeswoman said, "HMS Talent suffered minor superficial damage after striking some floating ice last year. She remained fully operational and continued with her deployment."

Ice damage evident as UK SSN returns home - IHS Jane's 360

Related SubmarineSailor.com - Photos of Submarines That Bumped Into Things