British nuclear missile malfunctioned last year off Florida

[kscarbel2]

Reuters  /  January 21, 2017

A test firing of an [allegedly] unarmed British nuclear Trident missile from a submarine off the coast of Florida malfunctioned last June.

The missile could have veered off in the wrong direction toward the American mainland.

It was [allegedly] the only test firing of a British nuclear missile in four years and came shortly before Theresa May became Prime Minister last year in the wake of Britain's vote to leave the European Union.

May omitted any mention of the failed test when she persuaded parliament to spend 40 billion pounds on new Trident submarines in her first major speech before parliament last July.

Parliament, which in 2007 agreed in principle to replace the deterrent system, last year voted to approve the building of four submarines to ensure Britain can have nuclear weapons continuously on patrol at sea.

Trident missiles have been test-fired only five times by UK submarines this century because they cost 17 million pounds ($21.03 million) apiece.

May's office and Britain's Ministry of Defence said in a joint statement: "In June, the Royal Navy conducted a routine [allegedly] unarmed Trident missile test launch from HMS Vengeance, as part of an operation which is designed to certify the submarine and its crew.

"Vengeance and her crew were successfully tested and certified, allowing Vengeance to return into service. We have absolute confidence in our independent nuclear deterrent.

"We do not provide further details on submarine operations for obvious national security reasons."

[HeavyGunner]

So why was another country testing their missiles off of our coast and noth their own?  I'm sure they must've had permission from the US but reading that just seemed odd to me. 

[1958 F.W.D.]

5 hours ago, HeavyGunner said:

So why was another country testing their missiles off of our coast and noth their own?

AUTEC: The Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center. I am guessing that AUTEC was probably taking noise emission measurements during the test. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Undersea_Test_and_Evaluation_Center
 

[HeavyGunner]

3 hours ago, 1958 F.W.D. said:

AUTEC: The Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center. I am guessing that AUTEC was probably taking noise emission measurements during the test. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Undersea_Test_and_Evaluation_Center
 

Very interesting read, thanks.

[1958 F.W.D.]

1 hour ago, HeavyGunner said:

Very interesting read, thanks.

Boomers are the quietest things out there.....More quiet than a church mouse. Have to make sure the hinges on the missile hatches don't squeak, lest some commie attack boat is out there listening.....

[HeavyGunner]

5 hours ago, 1958 F.W.D. said:

Boomers are the quietest things out there.....More quiet than a church mouse. Have to make sure the hinges on the missile hatches don't squeak, lest some commie attack boat is out there listening.....

The technology out there is absolutely fascinating. I remember when they used the stealth bombers in Iraq for the first time and seeing the videos of the skies filled with tracer rounds from the Iraqis firing aimlessly at something they could not see on the radar. I was even more amazed to find out that tech was figured out in the seventies. Can't even imagine what cool things we have that are classified. 

[1958 F.W.D.]

11 hours ago, HeavyGunner said:

The technology out there is absolutely fascinating. I remember when they used the stealth bombers in Iraq for the first time and seeing the videos of the skies filled with tracer rounds from the Iraqis firing aimlessly at something they could not see on the radar. I was even more amazed to find out that tech was figured out in the seventies. Can't even imagine what cool things we have that are classified. 

If you like to read, and want to read a good book involving Boomer/Attack Boats, Anti-Submarine Warfare and sonar use, read the book "Red Storm Rising" by Tom Clancy. Another good Clancy book with sonar use is "The Hunt for Red October."

Edited January 23, 2017 by 1958 F.W.D.

[41chevy]

6 hours ago, 1958 F.W.D. said:

If you like to read, and want to read a good book involving Boomer/Attack Boats, Anti-Submarine Warfare and sonar use, read the book "Red Storm Rising" by Tom Clancy. Another good Clancy book with sonar use is "The Hunt for Red October."

Wasn't your dad a submariner?

[1958 F.W.D.]

On 1/23/2017 at 5:54 PM, 41chevy said:

Wasn't your dad a submariner?

No, he was a fleet tug sailor. USS Seneca ATF91. IC Electrician Third. He wanted to be a bubblehead but he failed the eye exam for that. 

 

Edited January 25, 2017 by 1958 F.W.D.

[kscarbel2]

41 minutes ago, 1958 F.W.D. said:

No, he was a fleet tug sailor. USS Seneca ATF91. IC Electrician Third. He wanted to be a bubblehead but he failed the eye exam for that. 

 

Built to last, she was sunk off North Carolina in target practice in 2003, a sad end for a ship commissioned 60 years earlier in 1943.

[kscarbel2]

 

[1958 F.W.D.]

3 hours ago, kscarbel2 said:

Built to last, she was sunk off North Carolina in target practice in 2003, a sad end for a ship commissioned 60 years earlier in 1943.

I have the throttle stand from the Seneca (long story involving the USCGC Tamaroa which is ex-USS Zuni ATF95) The throttle stand was Dad's special Sea Detail station and his GQ station. I had the chance to go aboard the Seneca with him when she was laid up in the James River Reserve Fleet at Fort Eustis, VA back around 1999 or 2000.

[kscarbel2]

2 hours ago, 1958 F.W.D. said:

I have the throttle stand from the Seneca (long story involving the USCGC Tamaroa which is ex-USS Zuni ATF95) The throttle stand was Dad's special Sea Detail station and his GQ station. I had the chance to go aboard the Seneca with him when she was laid up in the James River Reserve Fleet at Fort Eustis, VA back around 1999 or 2000.

The U.S. Army Transportation Museum at Fort Eustis is quite good. A lot of rare trucks, aircraft (CH-54 Skycrane, Piasecki H-25 Mule, CH-21 Shaunee, CH-37 Mojave and VZ-9 Avrocar), the "exoskeletal" Letourneau-Westinghouse XM437 "GOER"*, and all the amphibians including the LARC-V, LARV-XV and massive 100-ton BARC-3X (LARC-LX prototype).

You can also see U.S. Army locomotives and train cars, recalling how the Army has had its own railroad from the Civil War up to the present day (733RD Logistics Readiness Division).

Down by the river, you can see the ships belonging to the U.S. Army's own "navy" including their 4,200 ton displacement General Frank S. Besson class LSVs. 1099th Transportation detachment, 329th Transportation Company, 159th Transportation Battalion?

*  https://books.google.com.hk/books?id=vyoDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA110&lpg=PA112&ots=-CZz_DPkaj&focus=viewport&dq=army+GOER&hl=zh-TW

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