Comments by "Winston Smith" (@kryts27) on "China’s Nuclear Sub Sinks: Jaw-Dropping Reason—Hatch Remained Open" video.

  1. Shallow water operations are much tougher for submarines (regardless of size) due to several key reasons; water depth, detection and mines. With regard to sea mines; deep waters are very difficult to mine, whearas shallow waters can be easily mined (at different depths), with the minefield being tethered in place on the sea floor. Submarines are particularly vulnerable to hitting mines where one mine can rapidly sink the submarine and kill the entire crew. To avoid mines, the sub must turn on it's active sonar to find them, making the, immediately visible to surfacce ASW hunters. Secondly shallow depth. A submarine often escapes detection by running to deep waters. This is not possible in shallow water environments. Thirdly, undewater detection. Despite shallow water echoes of active sonar, submarines are most easily detected at shallow depth by sonar. Deep waters include layers of differing densities which if between the sonar and the submarine, makes the submarine more difficult to detect. This is 101 of submarine warfare. US and US allies submarines mostly will be working in deeper waters off the continental shelf of China for this reason.
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