The Thresher was lost on 10 April 1963. In the decades since, all sorts of theories and conjectures have floated about the causes of her loss mostly due to the secrecy surrounding it.
Today a slightly redacted copy was made available of the Record of Proceedings of the Board of Inquiry.
The 300-page PDF can be found here, or at USNI News here. I’ve only read about 30-pages of it so far, but a few things caught my eye.
First was how quickly things can go bad. From the ship SKYLARK and Commander Oceanographic Systems Atlantic’s observations at the time of her loss, we get a 2nd had view of events.
– 0908.8R to 0911.3R: possible blowing of ballast tanks.
– 0911R: THRESHER’s main coolant pumps ceased functioning in “FAST mode.”
– 0913: THRESHER reports, “Experiencing minor difficulties. Have positive up angle. Am attempting to blow. Will keep you informed.”
– 0913.5R to 0914R: possible blowing of ballast tanks.
– 0916R: garbled transmission from THRESHER containing the words, “…test depth.”
– 0917R: garbled transmission from THRESHER containing the words, “…nine hundred north.”
– 0918.1R: high energy, low frequency disturbance that may have been an implosion.
That was the time her loss. It wasn’t until 1435R that the Commander Submarine Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet (VADM Grenfell, USN) was notified.
In the Opinions Section, paragraphs 2 and 3 stick with me, as they apply to many things.
2. That there is a danger that, in melding together fact and conjecture, conjecture may be stretched too far and become accepted as fact, thus narrowing the field of search for possible causes of the casualty.
3. That the fact that the court has singled our certain cases for study should not deter others, particularly members of the crews of similar ships, from continuing to study the many questions raised by THRESHER”s loss.
That speaks well of the leadership in 1963 to put that in there.
I will read more this week, and I encourage others to as well. This loss may have occurred before most of us were born, but what I have read so far still holds a great value for today.
