USS Thresher (SSN-593) on Eternal Patrol - April 10, 1963

[zsmith]

It was on this day in 1963 that the USS Thresher was lost at sea with all hands. There were 129 men on board: 16 officers, 96 enlisted men, and 17 civilian personnel. Today the submarine community tolls the bell for these men. Rest easy brothers, we have the watch.

 

On 9 April 1963 Thresher, now commanded by Lieutenant Commander John Wesley Harvey, got underway from Portsmouth at 08:00 and rendezvoused with the submarine rescue ship Skylark at 11:00 to begin its initial post-overhaul dive trials, in an area some 190 nm (220 mi; 350 km) east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. That afternoon Thresher conducted an initial trim dive test, surfaced and then performed a second dive to half test depth. It remained submerged overnight and re-established underwater communications with Skylark at 06:30 on 10 April to commence deep-dive trials. Following standard practice, Thresher slowly dived deeper as it traveled in circles under Skylark—to remain within communications distance—pausing every additional 100 feet (30 m) of depth to check the integrity of all systems. As Thresher neared her test depth, Skylark received garbled communications over underwater telephone indicating "... minor difficulties, have positive up-angle, attempting to blow", and then a final even more garbled message that included the number "900". When Skylark received no further communication, surface observers gradually realized Thresher had sunk. By mid-afternoon a total of 15 navy ships were en route to the search area. At 18:30, the Commander, Submarine Force Atlantic, sent word to Portsmouth Naval Shipyard to begin notifying next-of-kin—starting with Commander Harvey's wife, Irene Harvey—that Thresher was "missing." By morning the next day all hope of finding Thresher was abandoned and at 10:30 the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) went before the press corps at the Pentagon to announce that the submarine was lost with all hands. President John F. Kennedy ordered all flags to be flown at half-mast on 12–15 April in honor of the 129 lost submariners and shipyard personnel.

 

As a submariner, you are quickly introduced to the USS Thresher. When I went through Sub School some 36 years later, her sinking was still being used as a training topic and it will probably continue as long as there are submariners. The USS Thresher probably had the greatest impact on the submarine community as a whole due to the changes that resulted from her loss. The SUBSAFE program was developed and is still in place today to prevent another casualty such as this.

 

The disaster forced improvements in the design and quality control of submarines. Twenty-five years later, in 1988, Vice Admiral Bruce Demars, the Navy’s chief submarine officer, said “The loss of Thresher initiated fundamental changes in the way we do business–changes in design, construction, inspections, safety checks, tests, and more. We have not forgotten the lessons learned. It’s a much safer submarine force today.”

 

[swmdo]

Sad story.

[Salvage Sailor]

USS THRESHER - On Eternal Patrol

 

 

 

As a submariner, you are quickly introduced to the USS Thresher. When I went through Sub School some 36 years later, her sinking was still being used as a training topic and it will probably continue as long as there are submariners. The USS Thresher probably had the greatest impact on the submarine community as a whole due to the changes that resulted from her loss. The SUBSAFE program was developed and is still in place today to prevent another casualty such as this.

 

 

Likewise in the Surface Fleet, our training was crafted by the USS FORRESTAL, USS EVANS & later USS BELKNAP incidents.

 

In Salvage training we read up on THRESHER and other previous losses. Each one provided lessons and improvements in our methods and gear used to rescue Submariners

[zsmith]

We occasionally had training that covered the Forrestal fire for damage control. We also covered the USS Iwo Jima steam line rupture that killed 10 sailors due to incorrect fasteners being used on a steam valve.

 

One thing I always liked about the Navy was the fact that they apply lessons learned across the fleet to help prevent future casualties.

[zsmith]

In Salvage training we read up on THRESHER and other previous losses. Each one provided lessons and improvements in our methods and gear used to rescue Submariners

And I just wanted to add... as a submariner I'm glad I never had to meet you!

 

But I am glad you guys are out there.