Re:Citing new evidence, families sue feds, Raytheon, Lockhee...
by detaro on Sunday September 25, 2022 @03:49PM
(#32975304)
And it has happened to others that almost certainly weren't trying to kill each other: In 2009, a French and a UK ballistic missile sub collided
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Vanguard_and_Le_Triomphant...
not to mention quite a few more incidents of subs ramming surface vessels, which should be even easier to avoid.
Secondly, the circumstance of an accidental collision seems very believable. Such collisions would not have been freak accidental encounters; the main mission of US attack subs at the time was to tail Soviet ballistic missile subs very closely and not be detected. The Soviet submarine commanders had some inkling of this, and responded by making erratic maneuvers to "clear their baffles" (essentially, look behind themselves, where their sonar was otherwise blind.) Trailing an unpredictable submarine very close is inherently risky. I think the blame falls on the circumstance of the Cold War itself, which compelled both sides to believe their actions were necessary.