9. The Submarine Sighting (1976)
One of the most remarkable and well-documented incidents of ball lightning in a submerged vessel occurred in November 1976 among the crew of a Soviet nuclear submarine patrolling the North Atlantic. Several crew members, including the captain and top officials, reported seeing several spheres of light showing within the sealed hull of the submarine as it negotiated an area renowned for strong underwater electrical activity. Seen wandering around various compartments of the vessel, these glowing orbs—which ranged in size from a few millimeters to roughly thirty centimeters in diameter—seemed unconcerned about the metallic walls and watertight doors. The crew took thorough studies of the balls’ behavior for the hitherto unheard-of 15 minutes that comprised the occurrence. The setting in which this occurrence happened makes it very noteworthy. Deeply below in more than 100 meters, the submarine was remote from any atmospheric electrical activity usually linked with ball lightning. The spheres were said to be pale blue and to radiate a mellow, pulsating light by witnesses. When the orbs passed close by, some crew members claimed to have a minor static charge in the air; no damage or interference with the submarine’s equipment was noted. The most confusing feature of this observation was the seeming ability of the ball lightning to show far beneath and pass through a submarine’s solid metal hull. This experience disproved accepted wisdom regarding the origin and spread of ball lightning by implying that the phenomena may have characteristics allowing it to occur in hitherto unthinkable surroundings. Military academics as well as civilian scientists have examined the comprehensive report the captain of the submarine turned in closely, which included measurements and sketches. Talks on the possible plasma character of ball lightning and its connection to electromagnetic fields now revolve mostly around the Submarine Sighting. It has motivated fresh lines of investigation on the interplay between electrical events and conductive materials as well as on the behavior of plasmas in high-pressure surroundings. Moreover, this event has had major consequences for submarine safety procedures and resulted in additional observation of strange electromagnetic events in undersea surroundings.
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