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Although I was never in the US Navy, I had the opportunity to climb around quite a few submarines in my younger days. Although this did not make me privy to all the rules surrounding a submarine, I imagine keeping the boat off the river bottom and out of the mud has to be one of them. However, in the case of the USS Guitarro, this rule was broken.
The USS Guitarro (SSN-665) was a nuclear powered, fast attack submarine of the Sturgeon-Class. Built at the Mare Island Naval Ship Yard in Vallejo, California, she was launched on July 27, 1968. After a submarine is launched, however, it does not immediately get commissioned. A series of acceptance tests must first be passed before the boat is admitted into service for the US Navy. However, in the case of the USS Guitarro, this rule was broken.
On May 15, 1969, the Guitarro was moored at Mare Island during its acceptance testing phase. On this day, a group of workers began instrument calibrations in the rear of the ship. This calibration required 5 tons of water be taken into the aft ballast tanks. About 30 minutes later, a different group began working on a project which required the boat be within a half degree of trim. The group reported a two-degree up-bow attitude (a result of the water added by the first group of workers) and added water to the ballast tanks towards the front to achieve their objective. These two groups, each unaware of the other, continued to add water to their respective ballast tanks for 3 ½ hours. Twice during this time, security personnel informed the trim workers that the boat was sitting so low that water was occasionally entering an uncovered manhole in the bow section. There was no response to this warning.
While the trim workers were on lunch, the aft workers finished their calibrations and began emptying the rear ballast tanks. About the time the trim workers returned from their break, both groups noticed that the boat was severely lower at the bow and that water was pouring into the open front hatches. Although the workers attempted to close the hatches and watertight doors within the submarine, lines and hoses running through them prevented it. The Guitarro continued to fill with water until she sat in the mud on the bottom of the Napa River, earning her the nickname “Mare Island Mud Puppy.”
The Guitarro was raised from the mud three days later. The sinking caused a 32-month delay in her commissioning and damages were estimated at $15 to $22 million. She was finally commissioned on September 9, 1972 and remained in service until May 29, 1992.
Investigation into the sinking identified a problem in the construction process – it lacked centralized control and responsibility. As the saying goes, the bow half didn’t know what the aft half was doing.
References:
http://ussnautilus.org/blog/the-sinking-of-uss-guitarro-ssn-665/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Guitarro_(SSN-665)
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Re: The Submarine That Got Stuck in the Mud
