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USS Thresher SSN-593....April 10, 1963


RustyCanteen
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RustyCanteen

In memory of the 129 crew and civilians lost when USS Thresher (SSN-593) sank April 10, 1963.

 

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"In company with Skylark (ASR-20), Thresher put to sea on 10 April 1963 for deep-diving exercises. In addition to her 16 officers and 96 enlisted men, the submarine carried 17 civilian technicians to observe her performance during the deep-diving tests.

Fifteen minutes after reaching her assigned test depth, the submarine communicated with Skylark by underwater telephone, apprizing the submarine rescue ship of difficulties. Garbled transmissions indicated that far below the surface things were going badly wrong. Suddenly, listeners in Skylark heard a noise "like air rushing into an air tank"--then, silence.

Efforts to reestablish contact with Thresher failed, and a search group was formed in an attempt to locate the submarine. Rescue ship Recovery (ASR-43) subsequently recovered bits of debris, including gloves and bits of internal insulation. Photographs taken by bathyscaph Trieste proved that the submarine had broken up, taking all hands on board to their deaths in 5,500 of water, some 220 miles east of Boston. Thresher was officially declared lost in April 1963.

Subsequently, a Court of Inquiry was convened and, after studying pictures and other data, opined that the loss of Thresher was in all probability due to a silver-brazed piping joint welding failure that flooded the engine room with water. Salt water spray on electrical components caused short circuits, reactor shutdown and loss of propulsion power. The main ballast tank blow system then malfunctioned, most probably owing to ice formation in the piping, and the inadequate blow rate could not overcome resulting in flooding in the engine room.

Thresher is in six major sections on the ocean floor, with the majority in a single debris field about 400 yards square. The major sections are the sail, sonar dome, bow section, engineering spaces, operations spaces, and the tail section." - DANFS

 

View of the Thresher underway:

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Skylark, the last to have contact with Thresher April 10, 1963:

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Search efforts:

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Thresher's Sail with part of the hull number (593) visible.

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Mosaic of the sail. The sail is upside down in the photo, and the dive plane clearly visible in the up position:

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Sail in 1961 for comparison with the above photo:

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129 still on eternal patrol.

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Link to a 1964 Proceedings article: http://www.navalhistory.org/2013/04/01/uss-thresher-ssn-593-3-august-1961-10-april-1963

 

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I have remarkable grouping of one of the Sailors on the Thresher when she was lost. the telegrams sent to the Mother starting with missing at sea to "We are sorry to inform you." It is a complete group including a signed letter from President John F. Kennedy. Burial Flag, photos and numerous Thresher items. One of my favorites. Pony.

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RustyCanteen

I have remarkable grouping of one of the Sailors on the Thresher when she was lost. the telegrams sent to the Mother starting with missing at sea to "We are sorry to inform you." It is a complete group including a signed letter from President John F. Kennedy. Burial Flag, photos and numerous Thresher items. One of my favorites. Pony.

 

 

Hi,

 

Please feel free to post it.

 

RC

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Charlie Flick

RC:

 

I was a kid in elementary school when this happened. It left a vivid imprint on my young mind. I well remember reading everything I could about the boat and its loss. Very tragic. It is also a reminder of the 1968 loss of the USS Scorpion SSN-589 which, to this day, has never been satisfactorily explained.

 

Regards,

Charlie

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RC:

 

I was a kid in elementary school when this happened. It left a vivid imprint on my young mind. I well remember reading everything I could about the boat and its loss. Very tragic. It is also a reminder of the 1968 loss of the USS Scorpion SSN-589 which, to this day, has never been satisfactorily explained.

 

Regards,

Charlie

 

Same here. For a grade school kid it was stunning that a state of the art submarine could just disappear. I followed every news story about finding the sub, as well as the deep sea search technology that was just coming into being. Tragic and inspiring at the same time.

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