ON THE POSSIBILITY OF A TINY SUBMARINE BASE
While there is much we can infer regarding the nature and type of vehicle deployed from SUBASE Wellfleet, the nature of the base itself remains largely a mystery. The muddy bottom of Duck Creek would seem to offer very little in the way of a solid, secure foundation on which to build any kind of structure, and the fact that the entire area is exposed at low tide would seem to make it anything but a prime location for a covert naval facility. Where, and how, then, is this base even possible?
We can draw upon various analogs in the world of submarine operations. Since the Cold War, efforts have been made by various nations to provide extra protection to their submarines – particularly ballistic missile submarines, those charged with
But where is the base? At high tide, the marshy expanse of Duck Creek would be ideal for hiding an underwater installation, but for much of the time, the area is shallow, muddy, and, most importantly, exposed. In order to hide an operational microsubmarine base, great thought and innovative, creative thinking would be required to ensure that the base could operate autonomously, and without attracting attention, a tall order given that Wellfleet, for nearly half the year, is teeming with tourists who line the shores, enjoy dinner in the newly constructed Mac’s Shack overlooking Duck Creek, and dot the water surface in kayaks, sailboats, and powerboats. Uncle Tim’s Bridge provides access to an island walk through the Marsh, providing residents and visitors with a close-in view of the flats, further challenging efforts to establish and maintain covert underwater operations.
To understand how a covert microsubmarine base could be constructed within the confines of Duck Creek, we can look to examples from the crewed submarine world, and how hardened bunkers have been constructed to conceal them from prying satellites nuclear attack. In the Black Sea, the Soviet Navy constructed a bunker to protect its -class submarines from nuclear attack. On Hainan island, China has constructed elaborate underground bases for their SSBNs, enabling them to enter and exit while submerged to conceal their deployments from satellites. But these have been constructed within stable, rocky foundations, not muddy marshland, and also in broad daylight, fully visible to any who would look.
It is entirely possible that the construction of the base was accomplished under the cover of environmental improvements, scientific research, or other legitimate reasons. And yet, the appearance of excavating equipment, construction workers, etc. would not go unnoticed, and there are no media or first-hand witness accounts of such activity occurring in the last ten years.