A day to be remembered by the author is some time in 1982. That day was chosen as the Submariners Families' Day, which means the INS Amba, mother ship of submariners would put out to sea carrying submariners' families for a day at sea. This was a rare occasion for families to see how their near and dear ones operated a submarine, how a submarine dived and how it surfaced close to INS Amba.
The author was the medical officer on board the submarine Vela when she cast off at two in the morning to make it on time to the exercise area off Bombay almost 50 nautical miles away. INS Amba along with the families cast off at eight in the morning. The rendezvous point of the Vela and Amba had been earlier planned in such a way that the families would have completed their lunch on board.
INS Vela reached the diving area well in time and had carried out a check dive, with no problem at all. It was at about 2 pm that INS Amba arrived with the excited voices of all the families clearly audible across the flat calm sea, as she approached the Vela. It was a beautiful clear day with a few cumulus clouds here and there. The Vela rocked gently on the surface in the gentle swell. The crew was ready to show off their submarine.
As per the laid down schedule, the Vela commenced her dive with all the families watching. The depth of water was 80 metres. The submarine disappeared below the sea surface. The crew was a very well worked up crew and the dive was flawless. As Vela passed the 30 Metre mark, a major problem arose in the forward compartment of the submarine. The Vela was an old boat, scheduled for a major refit in a couple of months. One of the fuel ballast tanks (empty at the time) gave way i.e. the old steel plate developed a hole, and seawater gushed into this empty tank. The submarine, which was 5 degrees forward, became 39 degrees forward. The submarine went out of control as she crashed into the sandy seabed and got stuck with only one propeller sticking out of the sea. The sound of a submarine striking the seabed is something, words cannot describe unless one has been actually exposed to such a terrible experience. It was like, " Well this is it. This is how submariners have died in the past". Helpless and with painful eardrums.
{{/usCountry}}As per the laid down schedule, the Vela commenced her dive with all the families watching. The depth of water was 80 metres. The submarine disappeared below the sea surface. The crew was a very well worked up crew and the dive was flawless. As Vela passed the 30 Metre mark, a major problem arose in the forward compartment of the submarine. The Vela was an old boat, scheduled for a major refit in a couple of months. One of the fuel ballast tanks (empty at the time) gave way i.e. the old steel plate developed a hole, and seawater gushed into this empty tank. The submarine, which was 5 degrees forward, became 39 degrees forward. The submarine went out of control as she crashed into the sandy seabed and got stuck with only one propeller sticking out of the sea. The sound of a submarine striking the seabed is something, words cannot describe unless one has been actually exposed to such a terrible experience. It was like, " Well this is it. This is how submariners have died in the past". Helpless and with painful eardrums.
{{/usCountry}}The CO of INS Amba raised an alarm and signaled " Submarine Sunk" to the HQ.
The families on board were thunder struck, awe struck, shocked and stunned.
Their own submarine had sunk in front of their very own eyes. The only fortunate aspect of the whole episode was that the depth of the sea was only 80 metres and the length of the submarine 90 metres and hence a propeller sticking out from the sea.
Within the submarine, men and material went flying. All the crockery was smashed. A 100 people on board including the author and the sailor Javed had to hang onto a pipe, a valve, anything, to avoid sliding further downwards. A few cries of pain were heard in the forward most compartments. The submarine was in a precarious position stuck in the soft mud of the ocean bed. Had the submarine struck rocks at that speed, she would have been split wide open and all personnel would have drowned. Professionals that they are, not one member of the submarine crew uttered a word. The Captain and XO were trained to cope with just such an emergency. " Full astern three motors"
" All motors going astern"
The captain was basically attempting to enable the submarine to cut loose from the ocean bed." Blow all tanks"
In spite of all possible maneuvers the submarine remained stuck. An hour later, as this process continued, it is possible that the soft mud started to release the bow of the submarine. The author and Captain meanwhile went into a huddle to decide exactly as to when to order the crew to dress up in their escape suits, and attempt individual escapes through the storm torpedo tubes, one of which had no torpedo within.
However, as the decision was being reached and a final attempt made to get the submarine loose, wonder of wonders the ocean bed let go of the submarine, a sudden jerk was felt by all on board, as the Captain and the author scrambled into the control room.
The submarine hit the sea surface like a projectile, breaking the surface with the propellers high in the air followed by the conning tower and the rest of the vessel. The families on board INS Amba gasped in horror at what they visualised. It was like a movie as someone described the scene much later that evening. Finally, the submarine's stern hit the surface as she violently settled down in an effervescence of surf in an ocean with a sea state of one, with just a gentle swell.
A major tragedy had been averted- just.