Someone been making work for Bonwick?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/new...h-nuclear-submarines-collide-in-Atlantic.html

How the **** did they come to be in the same bit of sea? I mean, what
are the chances?

I reckon they must have both been chasing something else.

 

`Stealth modes work then.'

 

'tsabit like the two satellites that hit each other recently...

http://groups.google.com/group/uk.rec.motorcycles/browse_frm/thread/c9242cbc8d219c5a

 

Indeed. Although TBF the satellites do tend to operate in similar
orbits at similar heights, so it's not quite as unlikely as it may
seem.

 

Satellites operate between 200km and 36,000km up, depending on the
satellite. I don't know much about subs, but I'd guess their normal
range of operating depths wouldn't be more than a few hundred metres
from top to bottom.

And space is bigger than the sea. And satellites are smaller than
nuclear missile subs.

OTOH, since you used to drive the things, you ought to know how likely
ships are to hit each other.

We don't actually know where the subs were, do we? Is it possible they
were both heading for the Straits of Gibralter, or through the North
Sea, or somewhere else relatively constricted? And/or that they were
both sneaking around without using their sonar, like in the Hunt for Red
October?

 

Sure, but many of them are concentrated into much smaller bands, AIUI.
But I'm no expert.

Heh. Surface collisions are much more likely, of course, as there's a
dimension missing. OTOH at least you can normally see each other, on
radar if not actually.

Somewhere of the French Atlantic coast was what I understood from the
article. Most likely for collision would be if they were heading for
the channel.

 

snip>

Sooner or later I'll be told what happened but my guess is that one
was 'stalking' the other and when the potential target realised what
was happening it made a sudden maneuvered causing a bit of a coming
together.

Submarines try to track each other no matter which country they belong
to and it's the only realistic practice they get so it's not going to
stop because two of them have had an 'incident'.

Popular opinion says that British subs are the best around because
they're very quiet so they're hard to find and even harder to avoid if
they're following you. I'm not going to say anything that can't be
found on the internet but the latest propulsion system is very good
and very secret.

 

Yeah, I figured that was likely too.

Heh. Did I ever mention that one of my bro's used to work on the 'hot'
piping design up at Thurso? And indeed that I even wrote some bits of
systems for the RR&A (as was) guys in Derby?

<looks for black helicopter>

 

But these were both strategic subs. Do they hunt subs as well? I'd have
thought they'd put all their effort into not being found, in which case if
they pretended to be hunters they'd just be giving the opposition practice,
rather than themselves. Unless they were playing by prior arrangement, I
suppose.

 

snip>

I've wasted many an hour working on the reactors for various
submarines and I hate it. It's so fucking cramped and I end up banging
my head on pipework every 5 minutes yet we're not allowed to wear hard
hats in there.

That's ok because I'll shoot them down.

 

Missile subs are attack subs with an extra piece of hull tacked into
them. They all play games with each other and if a missile sub can
pick up information to pass on so the attack subs know a little bit
more they won't miss a chance.

I'm only guessing but if one of the subs got a sniff that another one
was in the area they'd be all over them like a rash until they'd got
what they wanted then they'd sneak off into the distance. Or crash
into the other one if it went wrong...

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Andy Bonwick

Why on Earth not?

 

Probably for the same reason we have to wear paper overalls, paper
overshoes, thin cotton gloves and thin cotton hats - to avoid
contamination.

I really can't post information on here regarding what causes problems
because they'd bang me up for a few years if I posted something
restricted so you'll have to take my word for it on this one.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Andy Bonwick

Fairy nuff.

Mind you, that would mean that Adie needed comforting...

 

continentals driving on the wrong side of the road ...

 

In message

Well, at least the tornado and trainer managed a near miss (by a few
tens of metres)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7892448.stm

 

both in stealth mode ...

they were playing hide and seek

 

*ding* - ouch!

 

I recall a passage in 'Supertanker' where the author described how, on a
huge expanse of open flat sea, the ship he was on and another were
inexorably drawn to each other as if by magnetism. Obviously both on the
same shipping lane, but each bloke in charge on each bridge assumed the
other would get out of the way; but fwir, the incidents of collisions
were caused largely by boredom, complacency and bad training.

 

It'd be funny if it wasn't true.