New Chinese SSN sank pierside

[Markus Becker]

Reporting from the WSJ (paywalled) that the brand new Type 041 Zhou nuclear attack submarine had a big boo-boo while pierside this spring and sank.

https://www.wsj.com/world/china/chinas-newest-nuclear-submarine-sank-setting-back-its-military-modernization-785b4d37

[TrustMe]

Just now, Markus Becker said:

Reporting from the WSJ (paywalled) that the brand new Type 041 Zhou nuclear attack submarine had a big boo-boo while pierside this spring and sank.

https://www.wsj.com/world/china/chinas-newest-nuclear-submarine-sank-setting-back-its-military-modernization-785b4d37

I can't read the article but let's hope the nuclear reactor wasn't live when it sank  

[Markus Becker]

If so we would have had a thread the same day. 

[RETAC21]

Goes into the probably fake section: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/09/26/politics/chinese-nuclear-powered-submarine-sank/index.html

[shep854]

Given how the US Navy had a carrier (LPH) burn at pierside, we probably shouldn't gloat too much...

[Markus Becker]

Maintenance is dangerous! 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Normandie

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Düsseldorf_Airport_fire

https://www.railwayforum.net/showthread.php?t=20

Not to mention Norte Dame. 

Edited September 28 by Markus Becker

[shep854]

3 hours ago, Markus Becker said:

Maintenance is dangerous! 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Normandie

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Düsseldorf_Airport_fire

https://www.railwayforum.net/showthread.php?t=20

Not to mention Norte Dame. 

Indeed.

[RETAC21]

5 hours ago, shep854 said:

Given how the US Navy had a carrier (LPH) burn at pierside, we probably shouldn't gloat too much...

USS Guitarro

[shep854]

21 hours ago, RETAC21 said:

USS Guitarro

'Mare Island Mud Puppy'

From Wiki: "In an attempt to correct what they thought was an out of trim condition, the non-nuclear construction team in the forward part of the boat purposefully defeated safety measures preventing accidentally filling ballast tanks while the sub was under construction. During construction, steel plates are welded over the ballast tanks flood ports to prevent water from getting into the tanks and putting the submarine in an unsafe condition. The construction crew put a fire hose down the tank's vent pipe and forced it past the check valve."

[Josh]

I think the Spanish and maybe Indians had this happen as well? And lots of Soviet accidents. Submarines are a tricky tech; a ship that inherently wants to sink.

[Corinthian]

Well, it is a submarine. It's supposed to sink....

The new PLAN submarine was just super duper eager to go about its work for the People's Republic, it sank with typical eager-beaverness.

😆

 

 

[Stuart Galbraith]

You are a bad boy Tomas.

We had a similar accident here in the UK in the 1970's, when a diesel electric had its trim disturbed by refueling, and they hadnt offloaded the correct amount of ballast to account for it. Result, boat sinks, and some Royal Navy cadets get to experience life in the fast lane by getting expedient training on escape gear. Though as it was about 15 feet underwater, they all made it.

I cant think how they would have upset the ballast there though, unless they were doing something like bombing up and didnt have anyone on hand to set the trim.

 

Edited October 2 by Stuart Galbraith

[RETAC21]

15 hours ago, Josh said:

I think the Spanish and maybe Indians had this happen as well? And lots of Soviet accidents. Submarines are a tricky tech; a ship that inherently wants to sink.

Nope, us never lost a sub this way, the Indians lost a Kilo to a fire.

[Josh]

1 minute ago, RETAC21 said:

Nope, us never lost a sub this way, the Indians lost a Kilo to a fire.

My mistake.

[Renegade334]

Maybe you're mistaking it with Argentina's loss of the ARA San Juan in 2017?

Edited October 2 by Renegade334

[DB]

Interesting if confirmed.

https://www.twz.com/sea/chinese-submarine-that-sunk-had-exotic-hybrid-nuclear-powerplant-report

[sunday]

1 hour ago, DB said:

Interesting if confirmed.

https://www.twz.com/sea/chinese-submarine-that-sunk-had-exotic-hybrid-nuclear-powerplant-report

Nuclear reactors could be made very small, like the SUPO prototypes. Wonder what kind of reactor is in that submarine.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aqueous_homogeneous_reactor

[DB]

Could be anything from an RTG on up.

[nemo]

The only Chinese shipyard that build NUCLEAR subs is Huludao -- which is by the sea.  Wuhan only build CONVENTIONAL subs.  Whoever wrote the article does not know enough to verify the information.

 

[KV7]

4 hours ago, nemo said:

The only Chinese shipyard that build NUCLEAR subs is Huludao -- which is by the sea.  Wuhan only build CONVENTIONAL subs.  Whoever wrote the article does not know enough to verify the information.

 

Yes. The whole story seems to be over eager runaway of some speculation.

[Josh]

On 10/6/2024 at 2:14 AM, nemo said:

The only Chinese shipyard that build NUCLEAR subs is Huludao -- which is by the sea.  Wuhan only build CONVENTIONAL subs.  Whoever wrote the article does not know enough to verify the information.

 

The rumor is that this was some kind of experimental unit with a hull plug that contained a very small nuclear reactor essentially as an AIP alternative for power generation. I do not know how valid that assumption is; I would think a more probable explanation was a VLS. Not sure where the nuclear rumors come from; certainly this is not an SSN in the traditional sense.