tyagi
FULL MEMBER
- Joined
- Sep 11, 2007
- Messages
- 306
- Reaction score
- 0
British and French submarines packed with nuclear missiles crash underwater | Mail Online
British and French nuclear submarines loaded with missiles collide underwater
British and French submarines armed with ballistic missiles threatened a nuclear disaster after colliding in the Atlantic, it emerged last night.
The crash is believed to have occurred after state-of-the-art technology fitted in both vessels, which is designed to detect other submarines, apparently failed completely.
Each boat is a key part of their respective countries' nuclear deterrent, ready to unleash hugely destructive weapons at a moments notice.
While both countries claim that security was not comprised during the collision, wide-scale enquiries are currently underway on both sides of the Channel.
French Navy sources confirm that Le Triomphant, one of four strategic nuclear submarines of the Force de Frappe (Strike Force), was returning from a 70-day tour of duty when it collided with HMS Vanguard.
During heavy seas in the middle of the night between February 3 and 4, French sailors heard a loud bang that all but destroyed the submarine's sonar dome.
This part of the boat should have detected the Vanguard in the first place, but Le Triomphants crew of 101 neither saw or heard anything before the collision.
Between them the submarines had 250 sailors on board.
A senior Navy source told The Sun: 'The potential consequences are unthinkable. It's very unlikely there would have been a nuclear explosion. But a radioactive leak was a possibility. Worse, we could have lost the crew and warheads. That would have been a national disaster.'
As inquiries began, naval sources said it was a million to one unlucky chance both subs were in the same patch of sea.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: 'It is our policy not to comment on submarine operational matters, but we can confirm that the UKs deterrent capability has remained unaffected at all times and there has been no compromise to nuclear safety.'
The French last night also tried to play down the collision, with a Navy spokesman saying: The collision did not result in injuries among the crew and did not jeopardise nuclear security at any moment.
Le Triomphant took at least three days to limp back to her home port, although she did not have to be towed.
HMS Vanguard, by contrast, apparently had to be towed back to her home base in Faslane, Scotland.
With a complement of 135, she is the lead boat of the Vanguard class of submarines which carry Trident ballistic missiles around the world.
Le Triomphant is also the lead ship in her own class of French nuclear submarines.
Both vessels boast 16 M45 ballistic missiles, weighing 35 tons each, which carry six warheads with a range of around 5000 miles.
Frances Atlantic coast is notorious for being a submarine graveyard because of the number of underwater craft, mainly German U-Boats, sunk in the area during the Second World War. The story of one was immortalised in the classic 1981 film Das Boot.
Two sailors died from a blast on a British nuclear submarine in March 2007. An oxygen generator blew up as HMS Tireless cruised beneath the Arctic ice. The tiny compartment the men were in quickly filled with smoke, but rescuers could not open doors buckled by the explosion.
Operator Mechanic Anthony Huntrod, 20, from Sunderland, and Leading Mechanic Operator Paul McCann, 32, from Halesowen, West Midlands, were dead by the time their shipmates reached them.
The deaths led to Armed Forces Minister Bob Ainsworth issuing an 'unreserved' apology in the House of Commons, after it emerged that the oxygen machine which exploded had been contaminated with oil.
A Board of Inquiry heavily criticised the Navy and the Ministry of Defence blamed 'systematic failings' for the tragedy.
British and French nuclear submarines loaded with missiles collide underwater
British and French submarines armed with ballistic missiles threatened a nuclear disaster after colliding in the Atlantic, it emerged last night.
The crash is believed to have occurred after state-of-the-art technology fitted in both vessels, which is designed to detect other submarines, apparently failed completely.
Each boat is a key part of their respective countries' nuclear deterrent, ready to unleash hugely destructive weapons at a moments notice.
While both countries claim that security was not comprised during the collision, wide-scale enquiries are currently underway on both sides of the Channel.
French Navy sources confirm that Le Triomphant, one of four strategic nuclear submarines of the Force de Frappe (Strike Force), was returning from a 70-day tour of duty when it collided with HMS Vanguard.
During heavy seas in the middle of the night between February 3 and 4, French sailors heard a loud bang that all but destroyed the submarine's sonar dome.
This part of the boat should have detected the Vanguard in the first place, but Le Triomphants crew of 101 neither saw or heard anything before the collision.
Between them the submarines had 250 sailors on board.
A senior Navy source told The Sun: 'The potential consequences are unthinkable. It's very unlikely there would have been a nuclear explosion. But a radioactive leak was a possibility. Worse, we could have lost the crew and warheads. That would have been a national disaster.'
As inquiries began, naval sources said it was a million to one unlucky chance both subs were in the same patch of sea.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: 'It is our policy not to comment on submarine operational matters, but we can confirm that the UKs deterrent capability has remained unaffected at all times and there has been no compromise to nuclear safety.'
The French last night also tried to play down the collision, with a Navy spokesman saying: The collision did not result in injuries among the crew and did not jeopardise nuclear security at any moment.
Le Triomphant took at least three days to limp back to her home port, although she did not have to be towed.
HMS Vanguard, by contrast, apparently had to be towed back to her home base in Faslane, Scotland.
With a complement of 135, she is the lead boat of the Vanguard class of submarines which carry Trident ballistic missiles around the world.
Le Triomphant is also the lead ship in her own class of French nuclear submarines.
Both vessels boast 16 M45 ballistic missiles, weighing 35 tons each, which carry six warheads with a range of around 5000 miles.
Frances Atlantic coast is notorious for being a submarine graveyard because of the number of underwater craft, mainly German U-Boats, sunk in the area during the Second World War. The story of one was immortalised in the classic 1981 film Das Boot.
Two sailors died from a blast on a British nuclear submarine in March 2007. An oxygen generator blew up as HMS Tireless cruised beneath the Arctic ice. The tiny compartment the men were in quickly filled with smoke, but rescuers could not open doors buckled by the explosion.
Operator Mechanic Anthony Huntrod, 20, from Sunderland, and Leading Mechanic Operator Paul McCann, 32, from Halesowen, West Midlands, were dead by the time their shipmates reached them.
The deaths led to Armed Forces Minister Bob Ainsworth issuing an 'unreserved' apology in the House of Commons, after it emerged that the oxygen machine which exploded had been contaminated with oil.
A Board of Inquiry heavily criticised the Navy and the Ministry of Defence blamed 'systematic failings' for the tragedy.
