Quote:
Originally Posted by MMNETSEA
The most tell statement carried by the report, for me was " The question that must be answered is how a state-of-the-art destroyer boasting advanced air defense capabilities did not notice a small fishing vessel ahead of it"
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Because fishing vessels don't fly!
Joking aside, it is a very valid question. The air defence radar would not pick the fishing vessel up as it was probably looking in the wrong place (skywards) and the computer , if it did pick the fishing vessel up, would delete the information from the operator's screen as there would be a lower speed limit set so that targets below flying speed and false echos are not presented to avoid confusing the picture.
Of course, the ship's surface and navigational radars should have picked up the fishing vessel as should the hydrophones not to mention the lookouts standard issue Mark 1 eyeballs!
I noticed that the destroyer was on its way into Tokyo Bay. It is a long time since I was in Japan but I remember the entrances to both Tokyo Bay and the Inland Sea as being more difficult than the Dover Straits due to the volume of traffic and particularly the numbers of fishing boats. No C/O in his right mind would think of being in that area without lookouts posted. I smell a rat. This could be a cover up. I am guessing but I assume the lookout reported the fishing boat, the O.O.W. mentioned it to the C/O too but he "knew" there was no danger and just kept on going. Speculation I know but I have learned that collisions and grounding are in 99.9% of the time due to human error on the part of the ship's officers.
Very embarrassing for the Japanese Defence Force.
Aye // Stephen
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