P-3 finds a sub

[Schnugg]

Off SOCAL on a work up in the early 90s I spotted a sub at the 180 during a day Case I recovery. Called it in to the Boss on tower freq as we passed the 90.

He goes high warble and pulls the helo in to lok for it...way too late, the sub immediately sent up some flares to indicate he'd sunk the CVN. Game over.

It was really cool to see this huge tiger striped (wave shadows) outline below the surface.

Also was tower flower once when we did a right to right with a submarine just under the surface...whether the CO/Nav knew it was there...who knows...it was about 300' off the starboard side opposite direction.

They're everywhere.

 

[cisforsmasher]

Math look right to everyone ??

you need a better hobby, but yes the arithmetic checks

 

[HercDriver]

I was working with these guys when this went down (had been working with them all week...good bunch of guys); we were RTB for bingo, and they went and refueled and headed back out. Got the bust a few hundred miles from where we were working...good on them as they had 7+ hours at refuel. Not sure if it was visual though, they have upgraded surface radar that does OK (despite being a dome aircraft). And there is quite a bit of area above the water (as you can see from the picture) that can make a decent return.

Also, they seized 5 metric tons, as stated in the article (in the opening line and under the pic). So that would be 5000 kilos...I'll let others math that one out. And in my experience bales are not a standard size/weight; often smugglers bundle their packages to fit the mode of transport. Also, whenever I've been involved in busts, we just get the street value figure from DEA or Customs and don't factor in the cost of the vessel. Just my experience.

I asked one of my crewmembers what their P-3 was like after he was on board having a sched discussion with them.

"It smells like old people", was his reply.

 

[HAL Pilot]

Off SOCAL on a work up in the early 90s I spotted a sub at the 180 during a day Case I recovery. Called it in to the Boss on tower freq as we passed the 90.

He goes high warble and pulls the helo in to lok for it...way too late, the sub immediately sent up some flares to indicate he'd sunk the CVN. Game over.

I was flying in an exercise in Vacapes around 1995 and was about 6 or 7 miles from the carrier. We get a radar riser in the carrier's wake and immediately report it. The Admiral was in Combat, grabbed the radio and said "F' the recovery, attack that sub". So we did.

My pilots were smart enough to have been monitoring the recovery on the radios. They told everyone we were inbound and to get the hell out of the way. The Boss went ballistic and was still shouting when the sub surfaced about a minute after our attack right on the carrier's ass. The Boss shut up after the sub CO came up on freq and said "where the hell did that come from? We were seconds from launching our green flare. Good job whoever you were!"

 

[A4sForever]

....."It smells like old people", was his reply.

YOU gotta problem with that, youngster ... ???

 

[Rasczak]

wow.

 

[xj220]

I was flying in an exercise in Vacapes around 1995 and was about 6 or 7 miles from the carrier. We get a radar riser in the carrier's wake and immediately report it. The Admiral was in Combat, grabbed the radio and said "F' the recovery, attack that sub". So we did.

My pilots were smart enough to have been monitoring the recovery on the radios. They told everyone we were inbound and to get the hell out of the way. The Boss went ballistic and was still shouting when the sub surfaced about a minute after our attack right on the carrier's ass. The Boss shut up after the sub CO came up on freq and said "where the hell did that come from? We were seconds from launching our green flare. Good job whoever you were!"

Just curious, but how do you "attack" the sub?

 

[zab1001]

with "weapons"

 

[FLYTPAY]

I still don't see even using the logic below how they are getting the $352 million number but here is how street value is determined according to the DEA.

Street Value

When illegal drugs are seized by police or a drug law-enforcement agency, the officers or agents determine the street value of the drugs. Street value is the total income that drug traffickers would make if each gram were sold at the price currently being offered on the street. The street value then determines the significance of the seizure. In other words, a major drug seizure is one that has a very high street value.
However, the street value of drugs that have been seized is not always equal to the actual amount of income drug traffickers have lost. This is because the price of drugs rises sharply as they move down the distribution chain from the point of entry into the country. The following example shows how street value can be calculated:

• When cocaine comes into the United States, it could be sold at a pure-gram price of about $20 per gram. A 100-kilogram unit contains 100,000 pure grams—thus its costs (to the drug trafficker) could represent $2 million. In 2001 a gram of cocaine could sell on the streets directly to cocaine users for about $100. One gram equals 1,000 milligrams. Of these 1,000 milligrams of cocaine sold on the streets, about 250 milligrams are "filler" substances. In other words, only 750 milligrams are actually pure cocaine. The price of a true "pure gram" of cocaine—1,000 milligrams of pure cocaine with no filler added—would be $133.
• 100 kilograms of cocaine, then, has a street value of $133 times 100,000 grams. In other words, the street value of 100 kilo- grams of cocaine equals $13.3 million, more than six times as much as its initial cost ($2 million).

So by the math above unless I missed something.

1 bale at 500lbs = 227 kilos

11 bales = 2497 kilos total

2497 / 100 to find 100 kilo packages = 13.3million

24.97 (100 kilo packages) * 13.3 million = $332,101,000.00



Math look right to everyone ??

Street value is calculated off of the Miami street price per Kilo which has remained relatively constant over the past 15 years. (Sonny Crocket)

 

[Gatordev]

1 bale at 500lbs = 227 kilos

I think that's the flaw in your math. That's just a hell of a lot of coke in one spot to be able to move. The amount is typically much smaller/bale. If you look at Exhibit C (the last pic I posted), that was buried in a vessel w/ no intent to actually move the product. It took a day just to find it on a 65-ish foot boat, and we knew it was there. But it still was packaged in a much smaller form factor, ie about 20 kilos/bale.

Also, they seized 5 metric tons, as stated in the article (in the opening line and under the pic). So that would be 5000 kilos...

That makes a lot more sense. You and your "facts." And FWIW, my original post was in part, tongue and cheek. I've seen first hand how the dollar amounts go up each time a new message or award is written.

So for the drug-unsavvy, what do they do with all this coke? Put it on a boat, drive a few miles offshore and push it overboard, or....?

Duh, the CIA gets it and sells it in the projects! Honestly...

They send it to an incinerator. Occasionally it's used for other LE needs like training or operations. It's pretty much a deadly chemical in its pure form, so I'm sure there's different handling "techniques."

 

[Steve Wilkins]

They send it to an incinerator. Occasionally it's used for other LE needs like training or operations. It's pretty much a deadly chemical in its pure form, so I'm sure there's different handling "techniques."

We treat it like any other kind of hazmat. Hide it from the divo.

 

[TheDrakester]

No shit. Visuals .... sometimes we don't neeeed no steeeenkin' sonar, sonobuoys or MAD gear ....

It's true, and I can vouch for one ... right off the Horn of Africa in 1974 near the island of Socotra .... it was later determined to be a Golf I or a possible converted Zulu class ... we were never really sure 'cause both were supposed to be in the area ....

We got one "spike/warble" on the RHAW gear @ 25 miles or so as he popped up and painted us -- once. Only one sweep from the sub. I probably would have blown it off as some electronic anomaly -- but my B/N -- experienced in sub hunting and the Navy's oldest living, breathing, flying LT -- fact is; he'd flown in the final days of WW2 (and later, retired as the TOP HOOK for any Naval Aviation tailhook cockpit )) shouted: "THAT'S A SUB!! THAT'S A SUB!! HIT IT !! HIT IT !! LET'S GO!! LET'S GO !!"

He didn't have to ask me twice ..... I nearly bent the throttles off full forward as we unloaded and accelerated. The sail was still above water in a mad crash dive as we passed over the conning tower @ 500 KIAS and @ 5' .... I'm pretty sure the Rooskies "heard" us ... . It would have been so easy --- had we carried Rockeyes and were "switches on, guns hot" --- one Rooskie submarine mort. The Dream Message would have read something like: Saw sub, sank same .......

As it was -- we buzzed him (with extreme prejudice) and marked his position for the task force. Just another day in the Cold War. :sleep_125

It was a big deal on the ship, however, especially since the STOOFs and HELOs were finding NOTHING. Not really their fault .... they were slow birds and it was a big ocean --- and we got lucky.

Like I say ... visuals??? I'd rather be "lucky" than good any day ...

I believe I remember hearing about that one - I was deployed to Iceland with VP49 at the time - if memory serves that far back.

 

[zippy]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/08/23/guatemala.sub.ap/index.html?iref=newssearch

Word on the street is a USN P-3 was there as well.

 

[robav8r]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/08/23/guatemala.sub.ap/index.html?iref=newssearch

Word on the street is a USN P-3 was there as well.

You know, the funny part about this will be trying to get sonobuoys down to the SOUTHCOM AOR and telling crews they'll need to re-base there ASW qual should they "stumble" across a submerged contact !!!

 

[fudog50]

Hey FLASH!

Thanks for rephrasing exactly what I typed!

Hope you cleared that up for yourself..,,,????