50th Anniversary of the Loss of USS THRESHER (SSN 593)

[luis]

50th Anniversary of the Loss of USS THRESHER (SSN 593)

“Fifty years ago, on April 10, 1963, while engaged in a deep test dive, the USS THRESHER (SSN 593) was lost at sea with 129 Officers and men on board. Based on the findings of a Court of Inquiry and the Joint Congressional Committee on Atomic Energy hearings into the loss, it was concluded that a flooding casualty in the engine room, resulting from a piping failure in one of the sea water systems, was the most probable cause of the loss.

From this tragic event, the SUBSAFE Program was established in July, 1963 to ensure implementation of recommendations resulting from findings of the THRESHER Court of Inquiry and THRESHER Design Appraisal Board. Today, the technical and administrative requirements of the SUBSAFE Program continue to evolve, and the most current are contained in the Submarine Safety (SUBSAFE) Requirements Manual, NAVSEA.

Simply stated, the purpose of the SUBSAFE Program is to provide maximum reasonable assurance seawater is kept out of the submarine and the submarine and crew can recover if there is a seawater casualty.”

Statements above are from Vice Admiral Kevin McCoy


"A tragic event, the incident is especially poignant for naval shipbuilders as Thresher was on her initial post-overhaul dive trials with Portsmouth Naval Shipyard engineers supplementing the crew."
From a BIW employee.

It should be noted that the Sealab program got a lot of its funding in response to the Thresher disaster. The Navy saw the need to have better deep diving capability.

The incident also spurred the formation of the Deep Submergence Systems Project, which eventually led to remotely operated deep-sea vehicles and the Alvin deep research sub, which explorer Robert Ballard used to view Titanic’s remains firsthand.

[Bubblehead628]

To those who sacrificed their lives while serving in and supporting our Submariner forces during the cold war:

USS Thresher (SSN 593)
Lost at Sea with all hands - April 10, 1963

USS Scorpion (SSN 589)
Lost at Sea with all hands - June 2, 1968


In Memoriam
"There is a port of no return, where ships
May ride at anchor for a little space
And then, some starless night, the cable slips,
Leaving an eddy at the mooring place.....
Gulls veer no longer. Sailor, rest your oar.
No Tangled wreckage will be washed ashore."


Submariners Prayer
When you’re final dive is made, and your battery's running low,
You’ll know there lies a boat for you many fathoms here below,
With your annunciators jammed on full and your depth gauge needles bent,
Your accumulator's dry of oil and your air banks all are spent,

It's then you get to wonderin', "is my life's boat rigged for dive?"
Your guessing drill commences, "am i dead or still alive?"
You pace the flooded decks with scorn and curse the flaws of man.
Into realms of Rex you've stepped, and here you'll make your stand.

To live your life, as sailors must, at the bottom of the sea,
There's one you'll have to reckon-that one, my friend, is thee.
Will your conscience do you justice when the final muster's in?
Did you lead the kind of life you should in every port you've been?

The answers to these questions and many, many more,
are locked in the hearts of sailormen from Cannes to Singapore.
So, when your day for mast rolls 'round. The choice is up to you,
sailor chart your course of life right now. Chart it straight and true.

Now's the time to flood your tanks and trim up 'fore and aft.
It's a trifle late when the klaxon sounds to square away your craft.
Your final billet lies below, on "Old Ocean’s" floor.
So, be ready when that last word's passed. Sailor, rest your oar!

[BigMike]

Thanks for posting this. As the son of a cold war era submariner, I am extremely blessed to have my dad return from every mission/patrol. I'm grateful for the dedication and sacrifice that the families of our nations military endure every day to assure our freedom. Mike

[usddude]

B'head......thanks

Steve