Well, looks like original estimate via eBay was off. The novelization arrived today (it’s got a diagram of each level of the Rig aka Deepcore II, which is cool).
Here’s some information so far from what I’ve read:
Apparently, the sub and its crew was on its way home after a 70 day mission when they encountered an NTI. So according to the novelization, they weren’t exploring the trench as I initially thought. Barnes, the guy working the sonar, confirms the lack of the sound of screws, that Riceball noted, in addition to lack of reactor noise and cavitation, with going at the speed the NTI was going (which at that moment was 60 knots).
In the following paragraph, due to the course of the NTI and it’s speed, the captain knew that they would be within, to use the novel’s terms, “spitting distance” and they didn’t have the speed to outrun it and didn’t have any other options except to go up or down due to being in the trench. Going up wasn’t an option for the captain because the sub would be “shark bait- if the contact’s an enemy sub, we’d be dead eat up there.” Considering that the sub is carrying a full arsenal of nukes, it apparently makes the sub “the greatest prize any Russian ship could hope for,” and couldn’t be sure there wasn’t a Soviet group lurking, which appears to be why he didn’t take the sub up. In the Captains view, letting the Russians get the arsenal was worse than dying or losing the ship (which ties into the Cold War paranoia that Coffey’s superiors clearly have with the order they give Coffey to retrieve one of the warheads. Hippie’s “theory” to Bud about why Coffey’s men retrieved the nuke later on in the story does have some credence it seems). Since he was concerned about possible Russian contact on the surface, and he couldn;t turn the sub left or right, down was the only option he believed he had. So, my initial hypothesis that they were mapping the trench was incorrect, and I admit I was wrong on that regard.
It appears the Captain was aware of the sub’s maximum operating depth, and knew others of the same class went “at least half again that depth.” The Captain couldn’t risk calling for help out of concerns for giving his position away. He even considered the possibility the sonar was wrong and that the ping didn’t exist (because of he fact it was going a 60 knots). It seems like the Captain figured that if he didn’t attempt to run, that maybe it would provoke the “other guy-if he existed-into changing course, showing something of what his strange ship was capable of.” And the Captain seemed to think the Navy needed to know about the possibility of someone having a submersible capable of going 60 knots, if it were real. And if the Russians built it and move like the screens were showing, it could “sure as hell blow them out of the water.’
When the Captain reached the map table, he was questioning himself if the contact was threatening a collision or not. When the XO warned him about it “getting to tight in here,” the Captain knew there was still some room to maneuver, and was hoping to get more data when the contact would pass over them. “The contact might be going fast, but the Montana wasn’t. Besides it was a matter of pride. Even though standing orders said that when a boomer had a near encounter, it’s duty was to avoid being spotted, great powers’ under sea boats played a constant game of nuclear tag with friends and enemy alike, getting as close as they could before running away. It was like counting coups among the plains Indians-tagging up on an enemy who hasn’t spotted you count as a victory.’ But at that moment, the Captain wasn’t playing tag, but was concerned about making the sub’s presence known out of concern that being tagged or worse. So, to me, it seems like he was trying to keep the sub barely noticeable if it was an enemy contact, yet keep it in a spot where they could get readings on it.
So, apparently, when the NTI passed, it not only knocked out the power briefly, but it also caused turbulence that affected the Montana, which pushed the sub towards the wall and caused it to suffer a hydraulics failure, which got restored a moment before it impacted the wall. Apparently, the turbulence wasn’t normal to where the Captain himself couldn’t tell which direction the sub was moving until the sub was about to impact the wall. It confirms what was in the film, the sub suffered a breach, the first impact tearing open the torpedo outer tube doors and flooded the torpedo room. The forward tanks were ruptured, which is why the Montana continued to head down so sharply. The buoy being launched wasn’t a distress signal, it was a “marker for the Montana’s grave.” And it turns out that the reason why the sub landed on the outcropping was due to Barnes, the sonar guy, helping the sub’s pilot turn the sub so that it didn’t end up crashing at the bottom of the trench.
That’s what I’ve found in regards to the how and why the sub crashed, as well as the Captain’s decisions, so far from the novelization. I’ve got work tomorrow night and the night after that, I have a RL engagement. But I can transcribe what was written in the book and post it so that Riceball can read it if he likes. But it seems like the sub wasn’t chasing the NTI (unless Cameron decided to change that between writing the scene to the final edit of the film). But the novelization implies the Captain was trying to be cautious while tracking an unknown contact while trying to keep the sub safe, with the NTI passing by accidentally aiding in the demise of the Montana. Still no estimation about how fast the sub was going when it impacted.
Additional Edit: Updated to include the previously mentioned diagram of the Rig.
