Two major outlets dominated the Venezuela newspaper universe when I was a child: El Universal and El Nacional. My father subscribed to the former although both were readily available in the club, in addition to the English daily, The Daily Journal (formerly The Caracas Journal).
I used to skim through the papers pausing only for the cartoons, the Caracas movie showings, the sports pages, especially anything having to do with the New York Yankees during baseball season, and whatever else might cause me to stop and look or read.
In April, 1963, something made me stop: the loss of the USS Thresher. A few months later, there was a spread with photos of the members of the crew. I believe this was in Miami but am not certain.
I cannot explain why I would spend many minutes, if not hours, over several days, looking at the photos of the crew that the newspaper had published, imagining their attempts to correct whatever might have been the issues. It left an indelible impression on me, which I have carried to this day.
A few years later, when the USS Scorpion was lost several hundred miles southwest of the Azores, or over 1,000 miles west of Portugal, my mind immediately took me back to the Thresher.
Many months ago, I made a note to write a post about the Thresher. However, I kept purposefully ignoring the note: I know nothing about submarines or the Navy; my first time attempting to maneuver a catamaran with a buddy in St. Thomas, we capsized; on my first long distance snorkeling adventure I swam right into the tentacles of a Portuguese man o’ war and would have panicked were it not for my late cousin, Max (Papaito), who saw my idiocy and calmly guided me to the nearest jetty and then treated me.
So, knowing very little about seafaring (or even snorkeling!), I kept putting this off.
But my memories about that ship have kept intruding.
So here we are.
This post is merely to bring to remembrance a ship and events of sixty two years ago which, in my opinion, ought to be remembered by us, if only to honor the men who died and the many loved ones they left behind.
As I attempted to research the Thresher and its final exercise, I was overwhelmed by the quantity and quality of the many articles, the relatively recent release of the formerly classified hearing documents, blog posts, facebook entries, and so much more.
Speaking of facebook entries, here’s a recent one:
“My grandpa’s best friend was lost in the Thresher accident. His name was Pat Garner. I believe he was a Lieutenant Commander. It’s sad that none of the bodies were never recovered and now still with the submarine and the crew time has forgot. My grandpa and him were childhood friends and it bothered my grandpa for decades that he was gone. But they have been reunited in heaven or another world.”
There are many such entries or comments in many different, easily available sources.
None of the below is original. I’ve gathered it all from sources such as noted above, should the reader be interested in looking into this event from April, 1963 for himself.
The USS Thresher was the world’s first nuclear-powered submarine to be lost at sea. Since then, there have been three submarine sinkings with all hands lost. The Thresher, with all 129 lost, is still the incident with the greatest loss of life.
And to this day, there are rival theories as to what went wrong.
She was launched from the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine in April, 1961 for a series of initial sea trials. Her reactor plant “would give her unlimited range … ” she could dive to 1,300 feet, which was unprecedented for a U.S. submarine.
Her initial trials took her down the Atlantic coast as far as San Juan, Puerto Rico, where, in port, the “crew encountered problems with her diesel generator and then had difficulty in restarting her nuclear reactor.”
She underwent “shock tests … subjected to a greater intentional pounding than any other submarine in Navy history….” She did very well, with only minor damage, most of which was repaired by the crew with their store spare parts.
She returned to the Portsmouth yard where the crew’s “wives, parents, and children were allowed on board for a ‘happy cruise'”. She was then docked for major maintenance work.
On April 9, 1963, at 7:30 AM, the Thresher was once again underway. “On board were 129 men: 12 officers and 96 enlisted men of the submarine’s crew; a Submarine Force staff officer; 3 officers and 13 civilian employees of the Portsmouth yard; a specialist from the Naval Ordnance Laboratory; and 3 civilian factor representatives.”
That next day, she was undergoing diving tests 220 miles east of Cape Cod. She reported she was suffering “minor difficulties” and would return to the surface.
She never did.
She was at her test depth of 1,300 feet, with the submarine rescue ship, USS Skylark waiting above. At 9:13 AM, fifteen minutes after reaching test depth, she reported the above as follows: “Experiencing minor difficulties. Have positive up angle. Am attempting to blow [ballast tanks]. Will keep you informed.”
At 9:14 the Skylark asked, “Are you in control?” There was no reply, even after several repetitions of the same question.
At 9:17 a garbled message was heard, ending with “test depth”. Some believe they heard the word “exceeding” preceding “test depth”.
A few seconds later, the Skylark heard what sounded like “a ship breaking up … like a compartment collapsing.”
“Thresher was never heard from again. Its hull was found at the bottom of the ocean, under a mile and a half of water, ruptured into six pieces.
A reader interested in technical discussions of possible causes can easily find such online. However, he will find that each is debated to this day.
The U. S. Navy did move to thoroughly analyze and study how to prevent a repetition of such a tragedy. Her analyses and tests resulted in SUBSAFE, “a program designed to ensure the structural integrity of submarine hulls at pressure and, if an emergency occurred, ensure that the submarine could safely surface. Ever since, no tragedy like the Thresher has occurred; the Scorpion was not a SUBSAFE certified vessel, which, of course, was no consolation to the loved ones of the 99 men lost in that event.
In the U.S. Navy, submarines lost at sea are said to be on “eternal patrol”. The Thresher, meant to be the first of a new generation of “fast, nuclear-attack submarines”, now rests, along with 129 men, under more than 8,000 feet of ocean water. On eternal patrol.
Brothers and Thresher crew members Master Chief Electrician’s Mate Benjamin Shafer (left) and Senior Chief Electrician’s Mate John Shafer (right) specifically requested to serve together.
Some of the crew of the USS Scorpion, lost at sea five years after the loss of the Thresher. I post this photo to also tip my hat to this terrible loss.