Originally Posted by
Octane
Sorry if this is a daft question, but why wasn't turning away an option?
If he had turned to port he would have hit the other sub - the passive bearing is not that precise, and you don't know how close he is to you and how much time you would have to clear datum - at least for that sensor era.
By PM request, here is my (his) Admiral Rickover story. I'm a straight shooter, and my relative is a straight shooter - so for me this dit is gospel, but please make up your own mind (I actually have 2 stories, but this is my pick of them).
Back in those days Rickover would testify to Congress that he had personally interviewed every reactor officer in the fleet, and could therefore personally attest to their competence. It is perhaps worth noting that the US Navy has a record of reactor safety that is pretty much unparalleled. For the purposes of this story let's call my relative Dave, as it also happens to be his name.
Came the day for Dave's interview with Rickover as a very young, and prospective, reactor officer. Rickover simply asked him about his schooling and education, focusing on which college he went to, and that was that, Dave got a straight pass. He walked out wondering what all the fuss had been about, this had been a breeze - it was to be the second guy who caught Rickover's attention. Rickover started out by asking him if he was married and he replied that he was not, but that he was engaged to be married, "well I don't agree with my reactor officers being married, what if I told you that your appointment was contingent on you breaking off your engagement?" the young officer replied that he would break off the engagement, hoping that it would satisfy Rickover, but apparently it didn't. Rickover paused for a moment and then handed the phone to the candidate - "Call her now" he said, and the young officer did just that, calling his fiancee at work and telling her that the engagement was over. On putting the phone down with a sobbing girl on the other end Rickover turned to him and said:
"Any man who would treat a young woman in that way has no place as a reactor officer in one of my boats, now GET OUT !"
True story.