An Indian submarine exploded at a dock killing several.
More detail at: http://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2013/08/14/fatal_explosion_is_2nd_for_indian_sub_in_3_years_106773.html
Did they get their subs from Canada?
I was going to ask if they got their welders from Maine.
Quote from: LongBlade on August 14, 2013, 10:52:32 AM
I was going to ask if they got their welders from Maine.
touche
Quote from: airboy on August 14, 2013, 10:49:15 AM
...Did they get their subs from Canada?
Hey we bought the crappy things from the Brits! >:(
According to the article they appear to buy them from Russia.
Russian built Indian subs explode, catch fire and sink. Somehow there is a makings of a joke here just cant quite see it yet.
Might need to work in a corner store and and vodka into it
Con
According to the article India's military is rife with scandals while it attempts to modernize. The sub was also shipped back to Russia from where it was purchased for refit due to an explosion on the same craft back in 2010. Either the Russians did not do a good job refitting the sub or some scandalous Indian military man did something to blow it up. Or maybe India needs more trained sub operators.
I had always thought that India would be the only counterweight in the region to China but if news like this is only the tip of the iceberg with India's military then they won't pose much of a threat to China.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/submarine-ins-sindhurakshak-sinks-after-serial-blasts-18-navymen-still-missing/articleshow/21826510.cms
INS Sindhurakshakv Kilo class
They should've called themselves for tech support.
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on August 14, 2013, 04:41:18 PM
They should've called themselves for tech support.
D'oh!
------
Seriously, though. How many of its own sailors are Russian subs meant to kill? They're like nunchuks: more dangerous to the person than to the target.
first of all RIP to the sailors. internal explosions are no way to die.
from what Ive read there might have been a hydrogen leak while the batteries were being charged from dockside. that explosion probably took place under or near the torpedo room which also exploded.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fsobchak.files.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F03%2Fkiloclass_cutaway.jpg&hash=d0ce173e943fd0ee925b074765fb25896973b358)
Quote from: Con on August 14, 2013, 12:22:29 PM
Russian built Indian subs explode, catch fire and sink. Somehow there is a makings of a joke here just cant quite see it yet.
Might need to work in a corner store and and vodka into it
Con
Don't tell me it took out the Quickymart!
Ouch, sorry to hear people were killed.
18 according to reports.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-8-03QGqAdg0%2FUgub-HckfMI%2FAAAAAAAAUzI%2F5V800GqOVkE%2Fs1600%2FDPR_8298-734562.JPG&hash=06688beb84448cadb9886806b02c3fcb96ebb162)
The explosion on board the INS Sindhurakshak was possibly a result of the buildup of volatile hydrogen gas during a battery charging. Sources told India Today that the submarine had faced a similar explosion when she was docked in Visakhapatnam in February 2010 which killed one crew member.
The navy's Board of Inquiry in 2010 pinned the cause to a faulty battery valve that leaked hydrogen. The submarine was lightly manned at the time of the accident and later sent for a 2.5-year refit to Russia that year. It had returned to the naval dockyard on April 29 this year after the refit that cost approximately $80 million.
Conventional submarines like the Sindhurakshak are powered by a combination of diesel generators and electric batteries. The 2300-ton Sindhurakshak has 500 batteries. These have to be 'over charged' once every few months during which process each cell is manually checked. The presence of a large crew early in the morning points to a supervised battery overcharge.
"The Kilo-class submarines do not have automatic monitoring systems which mean the overcharging is manually supervised," says a former Kilo-class submarine skipper. The built-up hydrogen during a battery charging is sucked out by two blowers. The performance of these blowers can be affected if a proper vacuum is not maintained in the exhaust pathway. If the vacuum as well as the exhaust pathway is not maintained, hydrogen settles in small pockets which can be triggered off by any small spark like a falling utility tool.
Sindhurakshak is the ninth of a series of ten 'Sindhughosh' class submarines that were bought from the erstwhile Soviet Union beginning in 1985. India and China, with ten submarines each, are the world's largest operators of the Soviet-designed Kilo class submarines. Seven Indian Kilo-class submarines have been given mid-life refits in Russia. Refits of two other Kilo-class submarines, Sindhukirti and Sindhushastra, are underway at the naval dockyard in Vizag.
All those boat names start with 'Sindhu'. does anyone know any Hindi? Is that name prefix significant as far as naval tradition?
The Sanskrit word Sindhu means river, stream or ocean, probably from a root sidh meaning "to keep off". Sindhu is still the local appellation for the Indus River
-- wikipedia
The Indians are saying the sinking may have been caused by a weapons malfunction.
http://news.usni.org/2013/08/20/indian-sub-explosion-likely-caused-by-detonated-munitions
I wonder if they had any of those rocket propelled torps on board.
Isn't the modified Kilo supposed to carry the new missle, the Klub?
It's specs make it sound really dangerous, but it is Russian tech. Not the most reliable and stable equipment out there.
Yeah, I'm pretty sure the Kilos can carry the Klub. And I think the Shkval (rocket propelled torpedo) can fit in any of the standard Russian torpedo tubes. I don't know what the Indian Navy has for sub weapons, but I read one account of the recent explosion with one witness saying they heard something that sounded like a rocket and then there was the explosion. That could mean just about anything but my first thought was of the Shkval. I know there are rumors that the Kursk was testing a Shkval when he sank.
I would be surprised if the Russians sold those abroad or if they even went into service.
They're supposedly in service with the Russian Navy. And Wikipedia claims there is a "less capable" export version. I thought the Iranians had some and had copied it to make their own homebrew version. Nothing screams safety like a reverse engineered Russian rocket torpedo. Our sonar boys are going to be at risk of hearing loss listening to Iranian subs blowing themselves up.
Quote from: mirth on August 21, 2013, 09:02:37 AM
The Indians are saying the sinking may have been caused by a weapons malfunction.
http://news.usni.org/2013/08/20/indian-sub-explosion-likely-caused-by-detonated-munitions
I wonder if they had any of those rocket propelled torps on board.
They didn't buy their torps from China, or Pakistan did they? Somehow that would be a bit predictable...
<Lifts up torp to read manufacturers plate>
"MADE IN CHINA"
<Puts torp down VERY carefully and tip-toes out>
the data plate read ACME Torpedo
ROFL!