THE good news was that it proved the British nuclear missile submarine was virtually undetectable. The bad news was that HMS Vanguard was rather too undetectable, apparently moving so stealthily that it was involved in a collision with a French nuclear sub in the Atlantic.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The British Ministry of Defence was under intense pressure yesterday to explain how Vanguard, which can carry 48 nuclear warheads on 16 missiles, crashed into Le Triomphant - payload 16 missiles - in an incident some experts say could have caused a nuclear catastrophe.
The collision this month was at low speed and no injuries were reported. It caused damage to both craft, which were carrying 240 sailors between them, though officials said no nuclear equipment was damaged. Independent analysts, described it as "a very serious incident" and there were widespread calls for a full investigation.
It happened on February 6 yet it was not until news leaked to The Sun that the public became aware of it.
The MoD, unsurprisingly, played it down. But the potential for harm in such an incident forced Admiral Sir Jonathon Band, the First Sea Lord, to make a statement.
It appears the French did not even realise Le Triomphant, based at L'Ile Longue, near Brest, had hit another sub. On February 6, France's defence ministry said its ship "collided with an immersed object (probably a container)" when returning from a patrol and that its sonar dome was damaged.
"Friendly submarines should not bump into each other," said Commodore Stephen Saunders, a former senior Royal Navy officer.
Officials and independent analysts said the submarines, equipped with passive sonar, were designed to be undetectable. They are also not very manoeuvrable. The accident was described as bad luck. But it raises questions which the urgent inquiries being conducted by the French and British navies will have to address.
Guardian News & Media
