News Argentine navy loses contact with submarine

[boogabooga]

Explosion or implosion?
In any case, this does not sound good at all.

Most of the search area is in the 100-200m depth range, right?

I would be surprised if 200m is enough depth to implode a modern submarine.

 

[Urwumpe]

I would be surprised if 200m is enough depth to implode a modern submarine.

If you have a fire onboard, it could be enough.

Also, the older German submarines had been designed for shallow oceans. The old 206 class had a "reference dive depth" of just 100 meters, because of the amagnetic alloy being rather soft.

On the other hand, the Israeli boats had a maximum dive depth of 350 meters.

 

[Notebook]

The head of the Argentine navy has been sacked following the loss of a submarine and its crew in the South Atlantic last month.
The defence minister placed Adm Marcelo Srur in retirement on Friday night, it has emerged.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-42379720

 

[Urwumpe]

At the same time, there is an investigation against the German companies that supplied the batteries for the last overhaul. Its not like there is much to expect than politics (after all, the reported start of the problems had been saltwater entering the submarine), but it had to happen.

 

[Notebook]

I hadn't heard that saltwater had entered the submarine(was that regarding the batteries, not the loss of the submarine?).
There was reporting here that families of the crew reported poor maintenance, but that could just be distressed folk trying to rationalise whats happened.
Nothing to suggest that the Argentine Navy is less than competent as far as I know.

N.

 

[Urwumpe]

Not sure, the submarine looked pretty battered for a German submarine in the last pictures. Not even the 201 class looked that bad in the end.

Also, the submarine is pretty special, since the Argentinians ordered it with additional space in the engineering department for installing an Argentinian nuclear reactor there.

 

[Notebook]

Good Greif, a nuclear hybrid? why would they want something like that?

N.

 

[Urwumpe]

Good Greif, a nuclear hybrid? why would they want something like that?

N.

Well, Likely they wanted to get rid of the Diesel Electric, but during the first major overhaul, they cancelled the idea with the reactor and installed new batteries instead

 

[Notebook]

In a bigger sense why would Argentina want a nuclear powered submarine fleet? Except for prestige.
Also, is Germany developing nuclear powered submarines?

N.

 

[Urwumpe]

In a bigger sense why would Argentina want a nuclear powered submarine fleet? Except for prestige.
Also, is Germany developing nuclear powered submarines?

N.

No, Germany considered them once upon a time and decided that they don't need it. German submarines are optimized for the German coast, which means they are optimized for silence and very shallow waters and are far more silent than any nuclear submarine can get. The idea is not to hunt the enemy, but to wait for him. For example by waiting in waters so shallow, that a bigger submarine couldn't even dive in. Maximum depth was no issue. The shallow muddy waters here not only confuse whales, but also man-made sonar - active sonar has to be really close to detect a small submarine here. That is also why German submarines are pretty small compared to others - the Russian Kilo class displaces more than twice as much as a rather large 212A - the 206A was even smaller. And the US Virginia class is even four times larger. Also, German submarines can afford to be slow - they are supposed to run silently at 3 knots.


Now, remember: The Argentinians bought this submarine shortly before the Falkland war, it was delivered after the war. They had big ambitions at that time, a nuclear submarine would have been interesting for them.

 

[Notebook]

I didn't know the submarine was that age. I did know that modern German submarine design are very quiet, have been for the reasons you state.

N.

 

[Urwumpe]

I didn't know the submarine was that age. I did know that modern German submarine design are very quiet, have been for the reasons you state.

N.

Well, the order was signed in 1982, with negotiations starting in 1977. The ARA Santa Cruz got its keel laid down at the 26th June 1981.

 

[Notebook]

he wreckage of a submarine which went missing with 44 crew on board a year ago has been found, the Argentine navy says.
The ARA San Juan submarine disappeared 430km (270 miles) off the Argentine coast on 15 November 2017.
The navy stopped its rescue mission two weeks after the sub's disappearance.
However, a year and a day after it went missing, officials announced it had been found 800m (2,620ft) below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-46245686

 

[NukeET]

Sailor, rest your oar.

http://goatlocker.org/resources/nav/restoar.htm

We have the watch.