Submariners on Ice Advised to take along Slow Crewman

StrategyPage, January 7, 2021 carries this Travel Advice for Russian Submariners. See article here.

“In late 2020 a Russian nuclear submarine had a bear problem. A brown bear and her cub swam up to the sub, which was docked at the Russian Kamchatka Peninsula [Rybachiy Nuclear Submarine Base] on the Pacific coast. Fearing the bears might stay awhile the sub commander called for a bear hunter who arrived with a shotgun that could kill the bear and not harm the hull, as a high-velocity rifle bullet would. First the cub was shot and fell off the sub. The mother, who looked ill and emaciated, did not follow and was shot dead as well.

What was interesting about this incident was that it was not unusual. There are over 10,000 brown bears in Kamchatka and not many people outside the naval base. Hunters are called out to kill bears who wander into or near the base or any other settlement and during 2020 at least fifty of them were killed. The bears are largely vegetarian but will kill and consume humans if they feel threatened, or very hungry.”

COMMENT

Polar bears may be even more dangerous. US submarines, coming from a frequent gun owning society, can be counted on to pack assault rifles to despatch bears that try to attack submariners.

But Russian or Chinese submariner icepack pedestrians may not be so “lucky”. Russian or Chinese submarine officers are advised to travel on the ice with a slow junior crewman they can outrun. Polar bears are, after all, carnivorous non-respecters of rank.

Three Polar bears approach the bow of Los Angeles-class submarine
USS Honolulu (SSN 718) surfaced 280 miles from the North Pole. The bears checked out the boat for almost 2 hours before leaving. No animals were harmed during the making of this picture. (Photo courtesy US Navy via Wikipedia.)
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