In a harrowing incident, a Royal Navy nuclear submarine narrowly averted a catastrophic fate as approximately 140 crew members onboard escaped death. Reports from British media reveal that the Vanguard-class submarine faced a perilous situation when a crucial depth gauge malfunctioned, causing the vessel to sink towards an unsafe depth during its deployment in the Atlantic Ocean.
The Sun news outlet disclosed that the malfunction occurred on the aging submarine, which had been in service for 30 years and was equipped with two Trident 2 missiles. The depth gauge failure led commanders to erroneously believe the submarine was at a stable level, unaware that it was descending perilously towards the sea floor.
Prompt action by vigilant engineers on the opposite side of the 500-foot-long vessel saved the day. They noticed a secondary dial indicating the actual depth just as the submarine approached the “danger zone.” The alarm was raised in the nick of time, preventing a potential tragedy as the crew averted submersion at an unsafe depth.
The episode highlights how important the submarine’s engineering team was in averting what may have been a disastrous situation. Regarding the incident, the Royal Navy has not yet issued an official statement.
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