|
 WASHINGTON
(CNN) -- The Navy has published the first photographs
of the damaged nuclear attack submarine USS San Francisco
now in dry dock in Guam.
The submarine's front end was severely
damaged when the submarine struck an undersea mountain
350 miles south of Guam on January 8.
Machinist Mate 2nd Class Joseph Allen
Ashley, 24, of Akron, Ohio, died of injuries suffered
in the accident, which occurred when the submarine was
en route to Brisbane, Australia.
(Tony's Note:
I have heard from Navy sources that this sub didn't hit
a "structure that was not mapped in the Pacific.
It actually collided with a Russian Akula-class sub, and
that sub is lying dead on the ocean floor.)
A Navy official said the submarine went
into dry dock on January 26.
Divers cut off the sonar dome from the
front end beforehand because it was "hanging,"
the official said, but otherwise the damage visible on
the submarine occurred in the accident.
The pictures show extensive damage to
the outer hull of the vessel, whose front end was virtually
destroyed. It shows that the sub had a catastrophic collision.
The inner hull was not penetrated.
The pictures also show a blue tarp covering
classified sonar equipment at the sub's front end.
The Navy official said it now appears
the undersea mountain was not on the navigation charts
the crew was using. The Navy official says that the sub
was using 1956-era navigational charts, and one torpedoe
was fired and missed its target before the collisiom,
when it hit the earth.
The incident remains under investigation,
and the commander has been reassigned pending the outcome
of that inquiry.
The Associated Press reported last week
that Cmdr. Kevin Mooney was reassigned to a unit in Guam
pending the completion of the investigation, citing a
statement from the U.S. 7th Fleet.
The USS San Francisco carried a crew of
137, 60 of whom were injured in the accident.
|
