UK Nuclear Submarine Has an Underwater Fender Bender With Freighter

No one hurt in incident, but the HMS Ambush now has a nasty bump.

One of the Royal Navy's latest submarines was involved in a collision that damaged the submarine's conning tower. No injuries were reported in an incident the Ministry of Defense described as a "glancing collision."

The incident happened yesterday afternoon, on July 20th. The submarine, HMS Ambush, was operating out of Gibraltar at the time collision conducting a training exercise. Indications are the submarine was attempting to surface when it collided from below with a tanker.

According to the Ministry of Defence, the unnamed tanker did not suffer any damage.

The submarine was photographed with structural damage to the front of the conning tower, damage consistent with a submarine surfacing under another ship at an angle. The damage was later covered in port with scaffolding and a green tarp.

HMS Ambush is the second of seven submarines of the HMS Astute class. The submarines, which displace 7,400 tons underwater, are nuclear powered. The 318 foot-long subs are equipped with Spearfish torpedoes for engaging ships and other submarines and Tomahawk cruise missiles for land targets.

Via gCaptain

Kyle Mizokami is a writer on defense and security issues and has been at Popular Mechanics since 2015. If it involves explosions or projectiles, he's generally in favor of it. Kyle’s articles have appeared at The Daily Beast, U.S. Naval Institute News, The Diplomat, Foreign Policy, Combat Aircraft Monthly, VICE News, and others. He lives in San Francisco.

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