6 Foot Hole: A Nuclear Submarine Was ‘Severely Damaged’ Tracking Russian Ships

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Key Points: The Royal Navy’s HMS Talent, a Trafalgar-class submarine, survived a collision with an ice flow in 2015, suffering significant damage, including a six-foot tear in its conning tower.

-While the Royal Navy remained tight-lipped about the incident, it likely occurred in the Arctic during an intelligence-gathering mission against Russian subs.

-Despite the damage, the sub returned to port and remained operational until its decommissioning in 2022.

-Similar incidents, like the USS Connecticut’s seamount collision and HMS Ambush’s merchant ship accident, highlight the inherent risks of undersea warfare, where increasing tensions with Russia and China are pushing submarines to their limits.

British Submarine Suffered a Six-Foot Tear to Conning Tower But Survived

Sometimes, submarines have bad luck but survive and continue to serve gallantly. 

You would think that major damage in accidents would destroy a submarine or at least take it out of action for a few years. 

This happened to the USS Connecticut, a nuclear-powered submarine that somehow lived through a crash into a sea mount in the South China Sea in October 2021. 

We know submarine service is dangerous, but some boats can take a pounding in an accident and write home to tell about it. Such was the case with the United Kingdom’s HMS Talent. 

This submarine was perhaps born under a bad sign, but it also had some good luck surviving a collision with an ice flow in 2015.

The Royal Navy Was Hush-Hush About the Accident

The Talent was a Trafalgar-class sub snooping around for Russian subs during a patrol. 

The Royal Navy has yet to tell the media exactly where the accident happened or many details about the crash.

It was hoping to keep the Russians in the dark about the operation. We know the Talent suffered a massive dent in its conning tower and what also appeared to be a six-foot hole.

Navy officials at the time denied that this was some kind of collision with a Russian vessel. 

Meanwhile, the Talent struggled back to port after sustaining the damage. It was finally decommissioned in 2022.

Tensions with Russia Were Growing

In 2015, the British ramped up anti-submarine warfare because the Russian navy was sneaking close to Great Britain in the North Sea. 

Russia also had designs in the Arctic, and the Royal Navy wanted to gather intelligence on what Vladimir Putin’s boats were doing in that region.

Did It Happen in the Arctic?

It then stands to reason that the accident happened in the Arctic when the Talent was trying to surface. With all the ice flowing around, this maneuver, which is usually automatic and safe in calm seas, can be dangerous. 

The Royal Navy explained the peril involved when operating in icy seas. “A submarine is a very pressured environment, and a lot can go wrong. You’re in a tin can under the sea tracking Russian subs and trying not to get found ourselves. HMS Talent’s captain, helmsman and her officers will have been making multiple calculations simultaneously and working in very testing conditions,” a naval source told the Daily Mail.

To Better Hunt and Kill

HMS Talent first hit the water in 1988. It was a “hunter-killer” submarine that could also collect intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance data. Modern periscopes and cameras assisted with this mission. Spearfish heavyweight torpedoes added to its firepower. Tomahawk cruise missiles were also on board to destroy ground targets. 

The Brits suffered another accident when the Astute-class nuclear attack boat HMS Ambush struck a merchant ship near Gibraltar in 2016. This created some external damage, but no one was hurt, and the nuclear power plant was not affected.

Firing the Command Team After Accidents

Accidents happen during undersea warfare deployments, but the British assuredly investigated the mishaps carefully and likely relieved the command team on each boat. That’s what happened to the leadership of the USS Connecticut. The U.S. Navy calls this “loss of confidence in his [or her] ability to command.” And it can end the career for whoever suffers this indignity.

While Connecticut, Talent, and Ambush did not sink or suffer any loss of life, we should take these incidents seriously. Undersea warfare is becoming increasingly dangerous due to the aggressiveness of the Russian and Chinese navies. The Americans and British want to keep sea lines of communication open for civilian shipping, which is so important for global trade. That means more vessels in the water. 

The risk of miscommunication or a mishap involving a collision with an enemy ship or submarine could spark some shooting incidents. 

Tempers are frayed due to the high operational tempo in all the navies involved in subsea warfare in the 21st century. That’s why submarine crews are so well-trained in most navies. 

The stakes are high, and collisions are costly. Let’s hope the U.S. Navy and its allies will learn from these incidents so no sailor loses his or her life or causes an international crisis that could lead to actual combat.

About the Author: Dr. Brent M. Eastwood 

Brent M. Eastwood, PhD, is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare, plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for U.S. Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former U.S. Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.