Submarines are Capital Ships in the Far East

Submarines, it seems, are the focus of navies in the Far East (or is it now the Far West, in terms of our view of the Pacific).
China is more and more dependent on foreign trade, and therefore shipping. Its reliance on shipping mandates a more powerful navy, which is in fact happening. China's latest large ship is an aircraft carrier, Liaoning, as it extends its navy's reach globally.

But even more interesting is the reaction of China's smaller Pacific neighbours. Vietnam has acquired its first submarine, a Russian-made Kilo. Japan and South Korea are adding significant numbers of submarines to their fleets. Malaysia is buying submarines. Other Pacific nations such as Australia and India are well into the submarine business, and Russia is churning out Kilos for external sales.

The point of all this is that countries without the ability of China, Russia and the US to build and man large surface fleets are turning to the submarine to neutralize the large powers' threats in times of tension or war.

Submarine Forces are Expanding

Many of the nations of Southeast Asia are developing or expanding their submarine fleets. Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia already possess submarines.
Vietnam has taken possession of the first of six Russian-built Kilo class boats, with Myanmar determined to have a submarine force by 2015. Thailand has naval officers training abroad in Germany and South Korea.
The New York Times sees this expansion as a direct result of recent aggressive Chinese activities in the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean. For more, see the article here.

Death of a Kilo--Part Two of Two

The Kilo-class Russian submarines have been very successful for the Soviets and now the Russians. The Russian navy  has some seventeen Kilos in service, with more in reserve. More than thirty have been exported to countries like China, India, and Poland. Here is a cutaway view of a typical Kilo.

Note the two battery compartments low in the boat, one forward and one aft of the periscopes. As a diesel-electric boat, the Kilo has to charge its batteries by running its diesel engines to provide propulsion. According to one newspaper report, that was just what the INS Sindhurakshak was doing after midnight in the early hours of August 14th, 2013, when something went wrong.

There was a fire on board, and some of the boat's ordnance blew up. It is not clear at this point whether the fire preceded or followed the explosions. It may be that the causation of both fire and explosions was hydrogen gas given off by a battery, which did cause an earlier fire in 2010 in the same boat. In any event, the Indian navy is left with a tragedy to deal with. Eighteen officers and men were killed, and can only be identified by DNA analysis. And the Sindhurakshak remains on the bottom, alongside in Mumbai Harbour, most of her munitions still on board and perhaps just waiting to explode. Not a happy place to be engaged in a salvage operation.

One newspaper account has the Russian navy, who carried out the very extensive refit 2010-2012, stating that a possible cause of the explosions and fire is human error. No doubt the Indian navy will be reviewing the refit and whether there was a design or installation fault involved.

A board of inquiry has yet to report.

Death of a Kilo--Part One of Two

Wednesday, August 14^th, just after midnight, a hideous fireball lit the night sky over the Mumbai, India waterfront. It signalled the deaths of eighteen submariners, officers and crew members of the Indian navy’s submarine INS Sindhurakshak. The blast was felt around the world in the submarine community, as is every serious submarine accident.  

A Kilo class boat built in Russia, the Sindhurakshak was commissioned in 1997, undergoing an extensive refit in 2010-2012. 

 Pictured here during a visit to Portsmouth, England, the boat when operational would carry a crew of 52 officers and men.

Slightly larger than the Canadian navy’s Victoria-class, the Kilos have similar characteristics and capabilities in terms of antisurface and antisubmarine warfare. In both classes the main weapon is the 21-inch torpedo, although the Kilos are also fitted with cruise missiles designed to target surface ships.
It is noteworthy that the extensive refit was necessitated by a fire that occurred on board in 2010 with the loss of a life. Later, it was reported that the fire had been caused by an explosion in the submarine's battery compartment. Battery compartment fires are usually caused by a buildup and explosion of hydrogen, a constant source of risk for submariners. 

Confession Time

It’s confession time. To my horror, I note the last blog I posted, prior to this one, was dated August 2^nd 2013. The dog days of July and August caught up with me, at least as far as keeping up the blog is concerned.

My only defence is that the days have been very busy. My next book, working title “Sailor Down”, is due on the editor’s desk by September 1^st, meaning it's panic stations to get the story put to bed. The next deadline will be November 1^st, with an edited manuscript in to the publisher.

“Soldier of the Horse”, my first book, has also been receiving some attention. The audio book rights have been bought by Amazon, and production is under way with a professional narrator on the job.

In the meantime, potential topics for future items are piling up. Personal stories from submariners, the loss of an Indian navy Kilo class boat, World War I centennial observations...

Great things to come. Thanks for hanging in.

"Soldier of the Horse" is available as an ebook or hard copy from Amazon here.