Our Allies?

[Praxeas]

British and French nuclear submarines which collided deep under the Atlantic could have sunk or released deadly radioactivity, it emerged on Sunday.

The Royal Navy’s HMS Vanguard and the French Navy’s Le Triomphant are both nuclear powered and were carrying nuke missiles.
Between them they had around 250 sailors on board.


A senior Navy source said: “The potential consequences are unthinkable. It’s very unlikely there would have been a nuclear explosion.


As inquiries began, naval sources said it was a millions-to-one unlucky chance both subs were in the same patch of sea. Warships have sonar gear which locates submarines by sound waves.


But modern anti-sonar technology is so good it is possible neither boat “saw” the other.


http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,493425,00.html

[pelathais]

A similar though lesser known incident occurred between French and British naval forces on October 20, 1805.

French Admiral Pierre de Villeneuve was aboard the Napoleonic flagship Bucentaure enjoying his usual breakfast of escargot on Melba toast. Much to the admiral's dismay, the cook had run short of snails and had added caviar to the spread. Spying the fish eggs, the French Admiral indignantly screamed "ROE!" - French for "Fish egg."

As fate would have it, the morning salute was being conducted at that time by a group of Irish marine conscripts who mistook the Admiral's shriek for a command to put oars in the water. Instant obedience of the mistaken command resulted in the ship swinging astern several degrees as the salute was fired, mortally wounding a British Admiral named Horatio Lord Nelson who was at that moment enjoying the Spanish seas in the typical British fashion, après le petit déjeuner sans culottes.

This little known event led to the more well known events which occurred the next day.