[Patton@Bastogne]

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SWE,

Good post ... the Brit sub was a boomer (missile boat) ... and possibly the "bait" if they suspected that a ChiCom or Soviet attack-class was trying to follow them ...

Then ... the French boat was assigned to follow and track the enemy sub ...

On the other hand ... not to sound corny ... but perhaps the Brit (boomer) was trying a Mad Ivan on the French boat ... in some kind of war game exercise ... and things got too close and they collided ...

However, I suspect that most of the story's details are highly classified at this point, and even publicly released "damage accounts" are ficticious ... which renders "any" civilian analysis an almost complete waste of time ...


Patton-at-Bastogne


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[Screaming_Gerbil]

.... perhaps the Brit (boomer) was trying a Mad Ivan on the French boat ... in some kind of war game exercise ... and things got too close and they collided ...

That sounds like a good guess too - testing the boomer's stealth vs the attack sub's listening abilities, and would explain them colliding in the middle of the Atlantic ocean like that.

I thought the sonar operator on the following sub was supposed to listen for the sound of the sub in front turning - but I guess it's hard to be sure and things can happen fast.

[Brellium]

Your post makes the best sense, it’s unlikely any two boats would be able to make it to the surface if they were both going flank or anything close to it, and hit each other.

Even 20 knots under the ocean in a head on crash would likely leave both boats with damage so extensive that it becomes unlikely one would make it to surface.

[Forward the Light Brigade]

If there was a third boat my guess it was a Russian. They have been aggressive of late.