By Gilles Poirier
Fine folks.
Yesterday [May 6, 2020] I was watching the repatriation ceremony at CFB Trenton for the six Canadian Military members lost in a helicopter crash during a NATO exercise off Greece. With sadness I was thinking about the importance of the closure for the families to have the remains brought back. As an ex-submariner, with the rest of my brothers, we all belong to this invisible brotherhood, regardless of the nations. In our lives as submariners, there were many incidents where the families never got closure. I just want to relate here several submarine incidents; that go back to the early sixties when I joined the Canadian submarine service.
Yesterday [May 6, 2020] I was watching the repatriation ceremony at CFB Trenton for the six Canadian Military members lost in a helicopter crash during a NATO exercise off Greece. With sadness I was thinking about the importance of the closure for the families to have the remains brought back. As an ex-submariner, with the rest of my brothers, we all belong to this invisible brotherhood, regardless of the nations. In our lives as submariners, there were many incidents where the families never got closure. I just want to relate here several submarine incidents; that go back to the early sixties when I joined the Canadian submarine service.
Masked military pallbearers carry the casket of Sub-Lt. Abbigail Cowbrough during the repatriation ceremony for the six Canadian Armed Forces members killed in a helicopter crash off of Greece during Operation Reassurance, at CFB Trenton, Ont. on Wednesday. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press)
Six Hundred and Seventy Six Brothers & One Sister Lost
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USS Thresher SSN 593 (United states) 1963 113 Lost
USS Thresher, SSN 593, was an American Skipjack nuclear submarine. It sank the 10th of April 1963 while conducting a deep dive after major repairs. She had a crew of 96 sailors plus 17 civilians hired by the shipyard. She was located in 8,400 feet of water: she had imploded. The pieces were scattered over a large area. The cause was a faulty brazed joint that let go in the engine room.
u hai (germany) 1966 19 Lost
U Hai, a midget German submarine, sank on the 14th of September 1966. Due to a faulty induction system, from a crew of twenty, 7 managed to escape while she was sinking, by the time rescuers arrived, six of them had died from hypothermia, leaving one survivor.
Minerve s647 (france) 1968 52 lost
French submarine Minerve, a Daphne class diesel submarine disappeared on the 27th of January 1968 with a crew of 52, 28 miles from Toulon. She was located on the 22nd of July 2019, in 7,710 feet of water; she had imploded.
INS Dakar (Israel) 1968 69 lost
Israeli Navy diesel submarine INS Dakar (ex HMS Totem, a T boat) with a crew of 69 was reported missing on the 28th of January 1968. She was located on the 24th of May 1999 in 9,800 feet of water; she had imploded.
project 629a / k129 (ussr) 1968 98 lost
Soviet Navy Project 629A (K129), a diesel boat, disappeared on the 8th of March 1968 with a crew of 98. She was located by the American Navy on the 20th of August 1968, in 16,000 of water; she had imploded.
The American Navy tried unsuccessfully to raise her in a top secret operation, using Howard Hughes' Glomar Explorer, in the guise of a mining exploration. On the way to the surface, the hull broke up in several pieces and fell back to the ocean floor.
The American Navy tried unsuccessfully to raise her in a top secret operation, using Howard Hughes' Glomar Explorer, in the guise of a mining exploration. On the way to the surface, the hull broke up in several pieces and fell back to the ocean floor.
uss scorpion ssn 589 (united states) 1968 99 lost
USS Scorpion, an American Skipjack class nuclear submarine, with a crew of 99 was reported missing while on patrol the 22nd of May 1968. She was finally located in October 1968, of the Azores in 9,800 feet of water, she had imploded.
Eurydice s644 (france) 1970 57 lost
French submarine Eurydice, a Daphne class diesel boat, disappeared on 4th March 1970 with a crew of 57. She was located on the 22nd of April 1970, in 3,600 feet of water, there had been a massive explosion on board.
baP pacocha ss 48 (peru) 1988 8 lost
Peruvian Navy diesel boat BAP Pacocha, with crew of 52, was rammed by a tuna fishing trawler with a hull designed to ram through ice on August 26, 1988. 22 jumped overboard and 23 more were rescued (however one of the rescued died shortly after). In all, 8 died.
kursk - project 949A (K141) (russia) 2000 118 lost
Russian Navy nuclear submarine Kursk, K-141, project 949A, was an Oscar II class. The newest and largest submarine. she sank on the 12th of August 2000 with a crew of 118, in only 350 feet of water. She was getting ready to fire a practice torpedo on the battle cruiser Peter the Great. There was a small explosion followed by a massive explosion.
Hydrogen Peroxide Fueled Torpedoes
Although being very modern, they were still using hydrogen peroxide as the fuel for their torpedoes. Hydrogen peroxide is very unstable fuel and extremely corrosive. Once the fuel reached the air, it exploded, that was the first explosion, quickly followed by the massive explosion when all the warheads on the other torpedoes blew up. It was picked up as a tremor on seismographs around the world.
Although being very modern, they were still using hydrogen peroxide as the fuel for their torpedoes. Hydrogen peroxide is very unstable fuel and extremely corrosive. Once the fuel reached the air, it exploded, that was the first explosion, quickly followed by the massive explosion when all the warheads on the other torpedoes blew up. It was picked up as a tremor on seismographs around the world.
Help Refused
The Russian Navy refused the help from several navies, the American Navy even had a DSRV (deep submergence rescue vehicle) loaded on a very large aircraft. The Royal Navy and the Norwegian Navy were also standing by, but were turned down. The Royal Navy was familiar with the problems with hydrogen peroxide fuel. They lost HMS Sidon while she was tied up alongside HMS Maidstone, a depot ship in Portland harbour. The explosion was so powerful that it blew open the bow cap and rear door, it also pushed 34 bulkhead like a piston all the way to 49 bulkhead killing 13 crew members. They never attempted to use hydrogen peroxide ever again.
In the Kursk, 23 survivors made it to the ninth compartment in the after end of the boat, only to die six hours later due to lack of oxygen.
The Russian Navy refused the help from several navies, the American Navy even had a DSRV (deep submergence rescue vehicle) loaded on a very large aircraft. The Royal Navy and the Norwegian Navy were also standing by, but were turned down. The Royal Navy was familiar with the problems with hydrogen peroxide fuel. They lost HMS Sidon while she was tied up alongside HMS Maidstone, a depot ship in Portland harbour. The explosion was so powerful that it blew open the bow cap and rear door, it also pushed 34 bulkhead like a piston all the way to 49 bulkhead killing 13 crew members. They never attempted to use hydrogen peroxide ever again.
In the Kursk, 23 survivors made it to the ninth compartment in the after end of the boat, only to die six hours later due to lack of oxygen.
ARA san juan (Argentina) 2017 44 lost
The ARA San Juan, an Argentinian diesel submarine, was a TR-1700 class submarine built in Germany, with a crew of 44. She went missing on the 15th of November 2017. One of her officers was a woman. The boat was finally located on the 16th of November 2018 in 2,976 feet of water; she had imploded.
My heart goes out to these 677 'brothers'.
| . | . Gilles |  |
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