Cold war?

[thedrifter]

Cold war? No, just a polar bear's submarine snack
The Virginian-Pilot
? May 31, 2003 | Last updated 1:07 PM May. 31

NORFOLK -- Just south of Ice Camp, the submarine Connecticut engaged a cunning enemy.
The crew had, no doubt, been trained to handle just about any situation

But what is the correct military response to a combatant chewing on your rudder?

When the enemy is a polar bear, there's only one thing to do.

Film it.

Navy officials in Norfolk said Friday that the unusual visit by a polar bear took place April 26 during the submarine's surfacing between the North Pole and Alaska, just south of an area known as Ice Camp.

A camera attached to the Connecticut's periscope captured the encounter.

``He was 700-800 pounds and curious about the rudder,'' said a crew member in a message released by the Atlantic Fleet Submarine Force in Norfolk.

``He nosed around it for about 40 minutes, looked like he thought there might be a seal hiding under the ice and using the broken area around the rudder as an air hole.''

The bear hung around just over an hour before noise from an approaching helicopter chased it away.

The bear apparently tried to chew on the rudder of the Seawolf-class submarine that is based in Groton, Conn. It also batted it with its paws.

``There was no damage to the rudder,'' the crew member said. ``Or the bear.''


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Sempers,

Roger