USS San Francisco damage pics

[Keith Heitmann]

[Keith Heitmann]

NATIONAL DESK | January 12, 2005, Wednesday

E-Mail Shows Toll of Crash On Submarine And Sailors

By CHRISTOPHER DREW (NYT) 825 words
Late Edition - Final , Section A , Page 18 , Column 4

ABSTRACT - Internal Navy e-mail messages sent by Rear Adm Paul F Sullivan show that nuclear submarine San Francisco, which ran aground in South Pacific on Jan 10, hit so 'incredibly hard' that about 60 of its 137 crew members were injured and that crew member who died, Jospeh A Ashley, was thrown 20 feet by impact; messages say that submarine's hull was severely damaged after head-on crash into what Navy officials believe was undersea mountain not on navigation charts; one message says that San Francisco was traveling at high speed and that impact practically stopped it in its tracks and caused flooding in parts of bow (M)

[Keith Heitmann]

Pictures of the SSN 711 USS San Francisco in better days:





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USS SAN FRANCISCO is the 24th submarine in the LOS ANGELES class and the sixth ship of that class built by Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Va. The USS SAN FRANCISCO is the third ship in the Navy to bear the name.

General Characteristics: Awarded: August 1, 1975
Keel laid: May 26, 1977
Launched: October 27, 1979
Commissioned: April 24, 1981
Builder: Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Va.
Propulsion system: one nuclear reactor
Propellers: one
Length: 360 feet (109.73 meters)
Beam: 33 feet (10 meters)
Draft: 32,15 feet (9.8 meters)
Displacement: Surfaced: approx. 6,100 tons Submerged: approx. 6,900 tons
Speed: Surfaced: approx. 15 knots Submerged: approx. 32 knots
Armament: four 533 mm torpedo tubes for Mk-48 torpedoes, Harpoon and Tomahawk missiles
Cost: approx. $900 million
Homeport: Apra Harbor, Guam
Crew: 12 Officers, 115 Enlisted

History of USS SAN FRANCISCO:

USS SAN FRANCISCO was built at Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Virginia and was commissioned on 24 April 1981. After initial shakedown operations, the ship joined the Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet and transited to its homeport of Pearl Harbor. While enroute, the ship conducted its initial visit to San Francisco, participating in Fleet Week 1981.

During its first operating cycle the ship completed deployments to the Western Pacific in 1983, 1985, and 1986, conducting a variety of operations and exercises as a member of the U.S. Seventh Fleet. The ship conducted independent submarine operations deployed to the Northern Pacific in 1986 and 1988, and earned the coveted Battle Efficiency "E" for Submarine Squadron SEVEN in 1985 and 1988.

During a demanding DEPOT Modernization Period (DMP) at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard in 1989-1990, the ship was equipped with the newest and most capable submarine sensor and combat systems and made fully ready to perform the variety of missions assigned to the submarine force.

Following the DMP, SAN FRANCISCO completed sea trials and a series of rigorous certification inspections and returned to the fleet to resume operations. Two highly successful deployments to the Western Pacific were completed in 1992 and 1994 with ports of call in Hong Kong, Singapore, Chinhae, South Korea, Guam, Sasebo, Japan and Yokosuka, Japan. In December 1994, the ship conducted a dependents cruise to Lahaina, Maui.

In January of 1995, SAN FRANCISCO was awarded the 1994 Commander Submarine Squadron SEVEN "T" for excellence in tactical operations. SAN FRANCISCO was also awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation for its outstanding performance during the WESTPAC deployment in 1994.

USS SAN FRANCISCO was the host ship for the COMSUBPAC Change of Command ceremony on February 23, 1996. From June - December 1996 the ship deployed to the Western Pacific, visiting Yokosuka and Sasebo, Japan; Subic Bay, Philippines; and Guam, USA.

In October of 1999, SAN FRANCISCO returned to it's namesake city of San Francisco to participate in Fleet Week 1999.

In its life, USS SAN FRANCISCO has carried the pride and charm of its namesake city to the far reaches of the Pacific including: Pattaya, Thailand; Hong Kong; Yokosuka and Sasebo, Japan; Okinawa; Subic Bay, Philippines; Singapore; Guam; Chinhae, Korea; Perth, Australia; Esquimalt, BC; as well as the stateside ports of Bremerton, Washington; San Diego and San Francisco, California; Lahaina, Maui, and Kona, Hawaii.

In 2000, SAN FRANCISCO changed homeport to Norfolk, Va., and on December 18, 2002, the submarine again changed homeport to Apra, Guam.

Accidents aboard USS SAN FRANCISCO:

January 8, 2005

350 miles south of Guam

At 12 noon, January 8, Guam Time, the USS SAN FRANCISCO hits an unchartered undersea mountain while travelling at high speed about 500 ft below surface. The submarine is able to surface and head back to Guam. One critically injured sailor died January 9, while 23 other crewmen are treated for injuries by SEAL medical personnel that came aboard January 9. On its way back to Guam, the SAN FRANCISCO is escorted by USNS GYSGT FRED W. STOCKHAM (T-AK 3017) and USCGC GALVESTON ISLAND (WPB 1349). USNS KISKA (T-AE 35) as well as military aircraft stood by to assist if required.

USS SAN FRANCISCO arrived at Guam the afternoon of January 10.

There were no reports of damage to the reactor plant which is operating normally.

The photos below show the SAN FRANCISCO dry-docked at Guam on January 27. Clearly visible is the heavy bow damage.

[Keith Heitmann]

01-12-2005

Guest Column: ‘Everything Went Flying’



Editor’s Note: This is an email sent by a chief petty officer onboard the nuclear attack submarine USS San Francisco describing the grounding incident that killed one crewman and injured several dozen others. The email has been widely circulated within the U.S. Navy Submarine Service and has been provided to DefenseWatch:



To All,



I thought that I would put out a note since a lot of you have been calling and writing to find out how things are and if I’m OK and what happened. If you hadn’t heard, my boat hit a uncharted submerged sea mount at the highest speed we can go at about 500 ft. below the surface. There were about 30 of us that were seriously hurt and, unfortunately, one of my shipmates didn’t make it.



First off, I am OK. I am pretty beat up with my entire left side and butt as one big bruise. My shoulder is separated and may require surgery. They will evaluate later this week. I am very fortunate that I hit the wall and didn’t go down a ladderwell that was right next to where I hit. If I had gone down that, I would have got really messed up.



I took a tremendous shot to my left thigh from something. If it had been slightly lower in the knee area it would have been really ugly. But all in all I am in good shape. We hit it at about noon right after field day (where all of us clean the boat for several hours). Thank God we didn’t hit while we were doing this or it would have been much worse. We would have had flying deck plates through the air and such. Not good.



As it was, it happened while chow was going on and most people were either sitting and eating or on watch. I don’t remember much of the collision. People describe it as like in the movie, “The Matrix,” where everything slowed down and levitated and then went flying forward faster that the brain can process. My mind has blanked it out exactly what happened. Adrenaline kicked in and I have no real memory of how I got down to middle level or what I did immediately following.



I helped carry several shipmates to the crew mess deck (adrenaline is a wonderful thing - my shoulder was wrecked and I had no idea until about 4 hours later). I sat with several of my junior guys that had bad head wounds and talked with them to keep them conscious until doc could see them. It seemed like an eternity but I’m sure [it] wasn’t that long.



For those Navy folks that ever wondered why Chiefs stomp around and preach, “Stow for Sea,” this was a perfect example. It definitely saved lives.



I am extremely proud of the crew to do damage control, help the wounded and get the boat safely to the surface (for the boat guys we blew the tanks dry on the emergency blow but unbeknownst to us we were missing some ballast tanks – some didn’t have integrity).



The ship’s control party did every thing exactly right even though they were hurt as well. The Diving Officer of the Watch had just unbuckled his belt to update a status board and hit the Ship’s Control Panel hard enough to break some of the gauges. To add insult to injury, his chair came up right behind him. Several people were injured in the Engine Room Lower Level area. Lots of metal and sharp edges in the area as well as that’s where the boat’s smoking area is. Several crew members are reevaluating that habit now.



Once again, we got lucky in the fact that we had an extra corpsman onboard. One of our officers was a prior enlisted corpsman who was a Fleet Marine Force medic so he was a Godsend for us. Our Corpsman did an outstanding job getting everyone stabilized and did the best he could for our fallen shipmate.



I am surprised that he got him to hold on as long as he did. Our corpsman is definitely a hero in my book. He didn’t sleep for 2 or 3 days. We finally put him down when the SEAL docs helicoptered in to help. Like I said, I am extremely proud of my crew and how they handled themselves.



My Chief of the Boat was an inspiration of what a leader should be and my Captain was as well. My XO took out an EAB manifold with his back but still managed to help coordinate things. No matter what happens later, these men did a superior job under difficult circumstances. I am humbled by the entire crew’s performance from the CO down to the seaman that I was checking in two days before.



For those of you wondering, I am sure there will be an investigation into what happened and, no, I was not part of the navigation preps for this voyage. I work on the inertial/electronic navigation and interior communications part of my rate and didn’t have anything to do with the conventional navigation part of it. I will be lending support to my comrades who were to help them prepare for the pending investigation.



I thank you all for your concern and appreciate your prayers not only for myself, but for my shipmates. We are doing well, we band of brothers and will pull through just fine.



Thanks,



Brian Frie, ETC (SS), USS San Francisco (SSN 711)

[Keith Heitmann]

Damaged bow of the Los Angeles-class attack submarine San Francisco (SSN-711) at her home port of Apra Harbor, Guam, following an incident in which it ran aground approximately 350 miles south of the U.S. territory on Jan. 8, 2005.

[Keith Heitmann]

Here's a few more pics of the damage under the tarp: