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| East Asia |
| Japanese Navy Spots Submarine, Has Flashback to 1945 |
| 2003-11-12 |
| The Japanese Navy says it’s spotted a Chinese attack submarine off its coast. The 2,000-ton Ming-class vessel was traveling on the surface through a strait about 25 miles off the southern coast of Japan’s main island. It was in international waters but it’s the first such sighting so close to shore. Japan said it doesn’t know what the sub was up to and hasn’t said whether it plans to seek an explanation from China. Humm, The Ming is a remodeled Romeo class boat based on the German Type 21 U-boat of 1944. The Chinese have about 19 in service. Seems a odd place for a coastal defense sub to be. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #5 France immediately surrendered to the PRC upon hearing the news. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-11-12 8:51:51 PM |
| #4 Hope the seas get rough. Then you'll see whether the thing can still submerge. If they plan to deploy it, they will have to make arrangements to refuel it. Hope it doesn't disappear without a trace. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2003-11-12 7:26:50 PM |
| #3 Any sub that displaces 2,000 tons isn't likely to be a coastal boat. That puts you square into pelagic territory. Consider these subs, past and present, with their displacements: USS Balao class: 1,526 tons (US fleet subs ranged all over the Pacific) German Type IXC: 1,540 tons (Used during 'Paukenschlag' to attack as far south as Florida) German Type XXI: 1,819 tons (Precursor of the Romeo's) Finally, considering that the Mings have a range of 8,000 miles (see: http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/row/plan/ming.htm ), and that southern Honshu is only about 600 miles from the Chinese mainland, the only surprising thing is that they haven't found them sooner. |
| Posted by: Bill 2003-11-12 2:08:31 PM |
| #2 Getting out is tougher. Nah, getting out is easy. You wait for the bombing raid, then scoot out when they open the nets to let the fleet escape. That's when you get the shot at the carrier. |
| Posted by: Steve 2003-11-12 12:55:07 PM |
| #1 Let's see. As I recall, you can get through the anti-sub nets at the mouth of Tokyo Bay by hiding underneath a freighter as it passes through the mine fields and the net. Getting out is tougher. Oh, wait... WWII flashback. Time for my meds. The Romeo is very noisy, I believe. |
| Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2003-11-12 11:56:47 AM |