Posted on 08/12/2019 6:25:00 AM PDT by robowombat
my dad wrote a song about the thresher... wish i could find it.
Was this nuclear powered or nuclear armed? Just curious about the usual dis ingenuous scare mongering use of the terms nuclear submarine.
My Dad was the disposal officer at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and was suppose to take a ride on the Thresher that day but a surprise inspection kept him home...
One moment you're the cat, next minute you're the mouse.
“The Terrible Hours” is about USS Squalus, a diesel boat. Thresher was nuclear powered and sank decades later.
My info is from the IIRC The History Channel that happened to be on last week.
My understanding of what happened in brief was they were attempting an Emergency Blow and the Valving for the air froze over blocking the air from getting to the Ballast Tanks to displace the water in the Tanks. Then for whatever reason they had no Propulsion and sank to Crush Depth and imploded.
There were more problems that added up to the Emergency Blow I dont remember exactly.
My Condolences to Families of All lost in the Thresher incident.
I think that is the theory behind the sinking of the scorpion.
SIMULANT CAPTAIN: We have made some improvements to your craft. Now at least you may prove to be of some small amusement.
SIMULANT LIEUTENANT: You have two Earth minutes before we attack. RIMMER: Let's get out of here.
CAT: Wait, I know this game. It's called cat and mouse, and there's only one way to win; don't be the mouse.
LISTER: What are you saying?
CAT: I'm saying, the mouse never wins. Not unless you believe those lying cartoons. We don't run, we strike. It's the last thing they'll be expecting.
RIMMER: No, the last thing they'll be expecting is for us to turn into ice skating mongooses and to dance the Bolero. And your plan makes about as much sense.
LISTER: I say go with it.
KRYTEN: Agreed.
CAT: You're going to go with one of my plans? Are you nuts? What happens if we all get killed? I'll never hear the last of it!
If I recall correctly, “Blind Man’s Bluff” talks about the loss of USS Scorpion but not about the loss of the USS Thresher. I do not plan on commenting on the accuracy (if any) or flaws (if any) of “Blind Man’s Bluff” and its version of this story. The first rule of the Silent Service is you do not talk about the loss of Scorpion. The second rule of the Silent Service is you do not talk about the loss of Scorpion.
It was a lesson learned that the Navy took to heart and which generated the SUBSAFE program. Since the Threasher not a single new U.S. boat built or existing sub certified under SUBSAFE has been lost.
You may be thinking of the USS Scorpion...
A basic design for Ballast Tanks for those that may not be familiar with it.
I read that it was Ice blocking some vents or keeping vents open.
A shipmate of mines father died on that boat. Sad event.
His submarine spent three days hailing, via various means, to no avail.
That’s what I saw too. Ice was the culprit. Who really knows however.
The story I heard is a little different from yours. A valve or pipe ruptured and when they did the emergency blow they could not clear the ballast tanks quick enough, for what ever reason
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