During World War II, of all the varieties of combat service one could enter, submarine service was the most statistically dangerous.

The casualty rate for US submariners was 20 percent.

The US Navy alone lost 52 submarines during World War II – killing over 3,500 men in the process.

A lot can go wrong beneath the surface of the sea.

Modern submarine warfare is not nearly as dangerous, given the composition of contemporary conflict, and given improvements in submarine technology.

But still, a lot can go wrong beneath the surface of the sea – as one 21st century incident involving a Chinese submarine demonstrated.

Tragedy in the Yellow Sea

In 2003, a Chinese submarine was operating off the country’s northeast coast when an accident onboard killed the entire 70-man crew.

The incident marked the worst known peacetime military disaster in the history of Communist China.

The accident occurred in the Yellow Sea between the Shandong and Korean peninsulas.

The submarine involved was the diesel powered Navy Submarine No. 361 – a Ming class submarine built during the 1980s and featuring outdated Soviet technology.

China Lost a Submarine Crew: What Happened?

According to a news report issued just after the accident, “a mechanical malfunction.”

That’s pretty vague and could mean a lot of things from fire to hull breach to oxygen loss.

Communist China is not regarded for their transparency, so one wouldn’t expect a detailed break down of exactly what happened aboard Submarine No. 361.

We do know that the submarine was towed to port.

And we do know that all 70 crew members died in what was likely a terrifying manner.

“If the sub was towed back to port, as the Chinese report suggests, that means it didn’t actually sink,” said David L. Shambaugh, an expert on Chinese military at George Washinton University. “I doubt very much the Chinese have the ability to raise a sub from the bottom of the ocean floor. So the cause of death remains a mystery. Torpedoes? Engine? Chemical? Who knows? There are questions to be answered.”

According to China: “the officers and sailors of 261 remembered their sacred duty entrusted by the Party and the People,” said former president Jiang Zemin.

“They died on duty, sacrificed themselves for the country, and they are great losses to the People’s Navy.”

Shrouded in Secrecy

The specifics of the incident will likely never be known to the west. “China’s military cloaks itself in secrecy,” The Washington Post reported in an article following the accident. “And it is not clear why it decided to release the report today, while the government was dealing with the epidemic of sever acute respiratory syndrome. 

China’s mishandling of the SARS outbreak, particularly its acknowledgment that it concealed information about the epidemic’s extent and spread, has caused a crisis of public trust.” (Sound familiar?)

“The most startling thing about this episode is that they issued a public report,” said Rand Corp. China expert Evan Medeiros. “Maybe Jiang Zemin just judged that in this crisis of faith and accountability it would be better to get out in front of something like this.”

While there seem to be many possibilities, suffocation was possible for many reasons. 

About the Author 

Harrison Kass is a senior defense writer with over 1,000 published articles.  An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.

Image Credit: Creative Commons.