The Thresher's last dance.

[actaeon277]

The Thresher’s last dance. Part 9​

It's big news, not just to the families that have lost someone.
Americans are sure of their science.
It triumphs over nature.
Or does it?

 

[actaeon277]

[SIZE=+1]The Thresher’s last dance. Part 10
[/SIZE]​

[SIZE=+1]
Down To The Sea In Ships
[/SIZE]Charles W. Mitchell
I have gone down to the sea
I have worked the ships
I have seen the glory of the Lord
I have quenched my lips.
I have lived the life of a Mariner
The world can be a united neighborhood
I have defied the will of Lucifer
Working the ships in an adventuresome good.
I have been to many mountains
I have been through the valley of the shadow of death
I have sailed the seven seas
The lifeline of ships is a manifestation of
"Open Sesame" and God's breath.
I have gone down to the sea
I did see the sky
The Lord is my Captain
The Lord does glorify.
As ships that pass in the night
I have met the twain
I did go down to the sea
I would do it yet again.



"From The Klaxon, Submarine Force Library and Museum Association, Groton, CT"

Born in the shops of the devil.
Designed by the brains of a fiend,
Filled with acid and crude oil,
And christened: a submarine.

The poets sound in their ditties,
Of battleships spic and span.
But never a word in their columns,
Do you see of a submarine.

So I'll endeavor to depict our story,
In a very laconic way,
So please have patience and listen
Until I have finished my say.

We eat where ere we can find it,
And sleep hanging up on hooks,
Conditions under which we are existing ,
are never published in books.

Life on these boats is obnoxious,
and that is using mild terms,
We are never bothered with sickness
Because there is no room for germs

We are never troubled with cooties,
There are things even roaches can't stand,
And any self-respecting rodent ,
Quick as possible beats it for land.

And that one dollar we get per dive,
We receive to submerge out of sight,
Is often earned more than double,
By charging batteries at night.

At that extra compensation,
We received on boats like these
We really never get at all ,
It's spent on dungarees.

Machinists get soaked in crude oil,
Electricians in H2S04,
Gunners mates in their 600W
And torpedo slush galore.

When we come into the navy yard,
We are looked upon as a disgrace,
As they make out new regulations,
To suit our particular case.

Now all you battleship sailors,
When you are feeling disgruntled and mean,
Just pack your bag and hammock,
And go to a submarine

 

[actaeon277]

[SIZE=+1]The Thresher’s last dance. Part 11

[/SIZE]​

[SIZE=+1]Years go on.
Investigations and research.
Changes in operating, maintaining, designing, and building.
Men continue to sign up to travel in the claustrophobic, dirty, high stress vehicles called submarines.
[/SIZE][SIZE=+1] They all know what can go wrong, they are all taught about this.

They all think "Science has advanced. This can't happen to me."

And then.
.
.
.
22 May, 1968[/SIZE]

 

[actaeon277]

The Thresher’s last dance. Part 12

*WARDROOM, USS SCORPION SSN-589, ATLANTIC OCEAN, SOMEWHERE OFF THE AZORES*
21 May 1968: Comms was unable to contact Naval Station Rota acknowledging new orders, but due to atmosphere peculiarities was able to contact Nea Makri Greece. The launch of Sputnik in 1957 and Explorer 1 in 1958 created a firestorm of discussion about “things to come”, including world wide communications. But that was still science fiction as far as submarines were concerned.
Captain Slattery turns his mind to the task at hand. What could happen decades in the future could wait, what might happen in days was more immediate. On the way home from a Med Run (Operations in the Mediterranean), SCORPION has been retasked to observe Soviet Naval Activity in the Atlantic. The Soviet Navy was operating an Echo II submarine and Guided Missile destroyer, and the US Navy liked to keep tabs on them. Radio Freqs, Sound profiles, operating/tactical doctrine, etc. were of vital importance. Knowledge is as important, maybe more so, than strength in a war. And while there was not a war on with the Soviets, you don’t wait till it happens before you prepare. The “Old Man” brushes up on capabilities of the Soviet units, known tactics of the Soviets, and tactics his own side has used. Plans are made, modified, rejected, and made again in his mind’s eye.

*BERTHING,SCORPION*
“Wake Up. Watch in half an hour”, is how the Planesman start’s his day, his dreams of sunlight and fresh air disturbed by the watch stander in charge of waking people up. As he wakes, his mind registers the inputs from his senses. The smell of a hundred crewmen stuffed into a sewer registers through the nose. Time has made him almost oblivious to the smell, but not quite. Next his eyes barely show him small dim red lights, the only lighting in berthing. His ears report the sounds of people still sleeping, and some others being woken to stand their own watch.
He climbs out of his “rack”, puts on his “poopy suit” and shoes, and wonders what’s for breakfast, dinner, or whatever meal it is. Time on a submarine is an illusion. The meal sometimes is the only way to tell the time.

*SONAR ROOM, SCORPION*
The men in sonar kept watch on the surrounding ocean. There are no “eyes”, only “ears”. Nearby merchants, warships, biologics, etc. are detected by hearing them, not seeing them. Like the movies, the men wear headphones and listen. Unlike the movies, the men watch a screen, where sound is converted to a visual display called a “waterfall”.
As they scan their screens, and listen to their headphones, they think about the recent news. They were completing a Med Run, ON THEIR WAYHOME, and then the Navy changed its mind. They were used to it, most of the crew were seasoned and well aware “the needs of the Navy supersede the needs of its sailors”. That really didn’t make it suck any less though.

 

[actaeon277]

The Thresher’s last dance. Part 13​

USS Scorpion,SSN-589
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Scorpion_(SSN-589)

Skipjack class submarine drawing:
1. Sonar arrays
2. Torpedo room
3. Operations compartment
4. Reactor compartment
5. Auxiliary machinery space
6. Engine room

 

[actaeon277]

The Thresher’s last dance. Part 14​

*ENGINEERING,SCORPION*
Cheng (Sub talk for Chief ENGineer) walks, checking his spaces, looking at the equipment but mostly talking to the officers and the watch standers. Anyone that’s ever been in command knows the equipment is important, but the men more so. Admiral Rickover himself not only not only was instrumental in creating the Naval Nuclear Power Program, but he personally interviewed EVERY SINGLE prospective officer in the program.
Mostly, Cheng was reassuring himself. It was his job to worry, he WAS the Chief Engineer, in charge of all in Engineering Department, men and equipment. He and the other department heads (Weaps, Comms, Supply, Med, etc.) were only subordinate to the CO and XO. Scorpion had had some problems recently, it was a highly complex machine operating in a dangerous environment. A Freon leak in the refrigeration systems, an electrical fire in the escape trunk, various equipment tagged to be looked at once in port, and she was operating with a depth restriction due to incomplete SUBSAFE upgrades (lessons learned from Thresher). Really, nothing more or less than had happened in any sub of the fleet. He heard the men gripe about not going straight to “the barn”, but soldier’s and sailor’s gripe, it’s their escape in highly stressful environments.
It wasn’t just the Scorpion that had had some problems. So far, 1968 had been a bad year for submarines across the globe.
INS Dakar was lost to the Israeli Sea Corp 25 January. On her way to port, she had periodically transmitted. But the transmissions ceased. The Dakar was lost with all hands, no known cause, no known location.
The Minerve S647 was lost to the French Navy 27 Jan. One hour from pulling into port, she radioed her status. She never made it to port. She hasn’t been found.
And more recently, K-129 was lost to the Soviets. 24 Feb she made a test dive and a listening station picked her up reporting completion to base. She submerged, never to be seen again.
This would not happen to the Scorpion, Cheng would see to that.


*ENGINEERING, SCORPION*
The ensign standing an “under instruction” watch at EOW (Engineer of the Watch, pronounced ee-ow) was tired. Physically tired, mentally tired. He swore his bones were tired. After long hours at nuke school was even longer hours at nuke prototype, studying and even standing watch simulating a submarine on land. After nuke prototype, do you think he could take a break or get a pat on the back? No. He was assigned to the Scorpion….. all 252 foot, 3 thousand tons of her. There were other NUBs onboard (sub talk for Non Useable Body, someone that sucks down oxygen but provides no useful output.), but NUBs were usually put with senior crew, to break them in. How was he going to lead these men, when they had years of experience at what they were doing. And it showed in the way they stood their watches. They made their reports, talked about everything from nuclear power to what they were going to do when they made port, and still scanned their equipment with the ease that could only come from hours and hours, days after days, of doing their jobs.
After all, the Scorpion was not a new vessel out on trials, like the Thresher. Her keel had been laid 10 years before. Numerous missions, racking up hour upon hour, mile upon mile. She was as safe as she could be, operating in a hostile environment.

Author’s Note: I highly recommend reading about Admiral Rickover.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyman_G._Rickover

 

[actaeon277]

The Thresher’s last dance. Part 15​

*SUBMARINE PIERS, NORFOLK NAVAL BASE*
27 May 1968, 1 PM: The submarine pier was populated with families of the Scorpion. Wives, children, some mothers and fathers, they hadn’t seen their sailors since the sub departed on 15 February. People talked to each other while waiting, children ran around chasing each other.
The shadow of the sub tender moved as the sun moved across the sky. Some of the people not familiar with the sea noticed the aged timbers, the smell of the garbage bins, and the swarms of seagulls. After a while, the talk began to turn. “I wonder what’s taking so long”, “They should have been here hours ago”. Babies became cranky, and children started to tire. The wives that had been through this many times reassured the newer wives, “This happens all the time”, but they were putting on a brave face themselves.

*SUBMARINE PIERS, SUBRON 6 (SUBmarine squadRON 6), NORFOLK NAVAL BASE*
27 May 1968, 3:15PM: The phone lines are burning up. There is a sense of a worry in the air,overriding the new paint smell. SUBLANT(SUBmarines atLANTic) is notified….. the SCORPION IS OVERDUE!
FLASH traffic is sent to all Naval vessels and bases in the Atlantic and Mediterranean…
“Executed Event SUBMISS at 271915Z for USS Scorpion ETA NORVA 271700Z … All submarine units surface or remain surfaced until this message cancelled. Units in port prepare to get underway on one hour’s notice …”

 

[actaeon277]

The Thresher’s last dance. Part 16​

*SUBMARINE PIERS, SUBRON 6 (SUBmarine squadRON 6), NORFOLK NAVAL BASE*
27 May 1968: There had actually been no word from Scorpion since the 21 May Comm acknowledging orders to shadow the Soviets. At the time, no one worried. A submarine shadowing the Soviets is not going to give its position away by radioing base. Coming back home, they might have been shadowed themselves, so they still wouldn’t have radioed. But by now, Scorpion should have radioed for a tug, a berth assignment, and a harbor pilot. The tug was sometimes not used, but most Captains used them. After all, banging up a sub could be a bad mark on a Captain’s record. But a berth and harbor pilots were definitely needed.
By now, SUBRON 6 and SUBLANT were worried. Scorpion could have been delayed with an engineering casualty. But not advising SUBRON 6, not normal.
It was “not normal” enough, the media was told Scorpion was overdue.
Naval vessels are advised to keep an eye out for any signs of the missing submarine.
Soon a search is conducted.


5 June 1965: USS Scorpion SSN-589 and crew are listed as “Missing, Presumed Lost”.


30 Jun 1965: USS Scorpion SSN-586 is stricken from the Naval Vessel Register.

 

[david890]

One of the big issues was that MBT Blow. There had been so much air driven into the ballast tanks from the air system (you let air escape to provide more water and negative buoyancy, you pump air in for the opposite.) that moisture in the compressed air froze (some) of the ballast tank valves in position.

IIRC, a MBT Blow was performed on Thresher's sister ship, but in just a few hundred feet of water. The problem was traced to fine wire screens installed to catch particles of rust being blown through the system. The rust particles formed the nucleus (nuclei?) for ice formation on the screens, thus blocking the flow of air. Once those screens were removed, no more problem.

As for the Scorpion, I believe the cause was a malfunctioning torpedo. One had started to run inside the Torpedo Room, and the ship was executing a turn to activate the safety that prevents a circular shot (more than one sub has sunk itself with its own torpedo; Google "USS Tang"). The torpedo exploded, expanding the pressure hull enough for the propulsion compartments - operating at full power - to drive forward, much like closing a telescoping antenna.

We almost lost Natilus as well. During high-speed runs, the sub would experience a profound, low-frequency vibration. Upon returning to the shipyard and into drydock, large sections of the pressure hull were found to be warped and close to failure. A few more high-speed runs and she would have gone down as well.

 

[actaeon277]

IIRC, a MBT Blow was performed on Thresher's sister ship, but in just a few hundred feet of water. The problem was traced to fine wire screens installed to catch particles of rust being blown through the system. The rust particles formed the nucleus (nuclei?) for ice formation on the screens, thus blocking the flow of air. Once those screens were removed, no more problem.

As for the Scorpion, I believe the cause was a malfunctioning torpedo. One had started to run inside the Torpedo Room, and the ship was executing a turn to activate the safety that prevents a circular shot (more than one sub has sunk itself with its own torpedo; Google "USS Tang"). The torpedo exploded, expanding the pressure hull enough for the propulsion compartments - operating at full power - to drive forward, much like closing a telescoping antenna.

We almost lost Natilus as well. During high-speed runs, the sub would experience a profound, low-frequency vibration. Upon returning to the shipyard and into drydock, large sections of the pressure hull were found to be warped and close to failure. A few more high-speed runs and she would have gone down as well.

Air dryers and moisture separators were also added to keep the air dry.

As for the Scorpion, I am going to briefly cover the search, and possible causes. As for the torpedo theory, it is just a theory. The navy has not released anything other than possibilities. It is possible to never know. The sub is deep. It died without witnesses, except a few recordings from SOUSUS.

I still have a bit more to go.
I started with the Thresher, because I was writing it's story.
But I believe it's story continues. In the men and machines that have evolved due to the tragedy of the Thresher.
In my mind, that is the "Thresher's Last Dance", not that fateful day in April.

 

[1911ly]

Awesome ACT, Just awesome!

 

[actaeon277]

Awesome ACT, Just awesome!

Thanks.
Being a submariner, this story is a bit close to home for me. I hope that I'm able to bring the scenes to life for those that haven't been there.

 

[Leadeye]

Good stories, remember both events in the news at the time. Scary.

 

[actaeon277]

The Thresher’s last dance. Part 17​

The search for the Scorpion involved a wide variety of resources. The SOSUS network (SOund SUrveillance System) was reviewed to check for anything. Several noises were checked out, the oceans are full of noise. But one stood out. A series of noises which triangulated to Scorpion’s Area of Operation. Noises consistent with the break up of a vessel.

25 Jul 1965: A Board of Inquiry determines it can not determine the cause of Scorpion’s loss with available data.

28 Oct 1965: SCORPION IS FOUND. Her remains are approximately 400 miles southwest of the Azores. She is in 11,000 feet of water. USNS Mizar (T-AGOR-11) takes thousands of photographs.

6 Nov 1965: A Board of Inquiry reconvenes to determine the cause of the loss of Scorpion.

Jan 1966: The Board of Inquiry again can not determine the cause.

2 Jun 1969 to 2Aug 1969: The Navy allocates the bathyscaphe Trieste II to further investigate the wreckage. 9 dives were made. Cause of the loss still undetermined.

 

[actaeon277]

The Thresher’s last dance. Part 18

Theories of the loss of Scorpion.​

Sunk by the Soviets. No known Soviet or Warsaw Pact units were within 1000 miles of Scorpion at the estimated time of death. The Soviets at this time relied on Whiskey Class submarines. Diesel powered, lacking sophisticated weapons or sensors, it is highly unlikely. There was the Echo class submarine, but it was primarily used in anti-surface roles, with surface to surface missiles.
Sabotage by a foreign power.
Sabotage by a crew member.
Collision with an undersea mountain.
Nuclear accident.
Structural failure.
Loss of control.
Weapons accident. Earlier, Scorpion had a problem with a Mk 37 torpedo which activated in the tube. Scorpion ejected the weapon. If it happened again, the torpedo could detonate in the torpedo tube, detonate in the torpedo room, or if ejected, could circle around and attack Scorpion. This bears a possibility and might explain why Scorpion was running East, away from Norfolk (determined by SOSUS).
Flooding through the TDU (Trash Disposal Unit). Scorpion had previously had a problem with some flooding through the TDU. Due to the position of masts and periscopes,Scorpion was estimated to have been at PD (Periscope Depth) at the start of the casualty, and the TDU is operated at PD or above.
Battery casualty. Hydrogen from the battery is a common problem on submarines.

None of those casualties had to be catastrophic, they may just have initiated a series of actions causing Scorpion to eventually go below crush depth.
Scorpion’s Med Run was a last minute change. She was replacing Sea Wolf, which had suffered a collision. Cutting short her own overhaul, she sailed with 109 work orders unfulfilled. She had NOT been retrofitted with an emergency blow system. She suffered hydraulic problems, which could cause a “Jam Dive”, where the dive planes jam in the “down” position, and cause a “corkscrew” problem. Also, her emergency sea valves were still operated locally, they had not been retrofitted for centralized control.
Ultrasonic testing had found 317 defects in her welds, which were to be fixed in overhaul, the overhaul that had been cut short to replace Sea Wolf.
Her own crew nicknamed her the USS Scrap Iron.


Author’s Note: Here is a good source if you wish to look at the investigation.
US Naval Institute, “Why They Called Scorpion - Scrap Iron”
http://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1998-07/why-they-called-scorpion-scrapiron



Scorpion hit the ocean floor so hard, it dislodged her sail (what was formerly called the conning tower)

 

[actaeon277]

The first part of my tale told the story of the loss of the Thresher, in 1963.
The second part of my tale told the story of the loss of the Scorpion, in 1968.
The third and last part of my tale (at least as planned) will occur in the late 1980s.

 

[actaeon277]

If you've read this far, you may also be interested in these submarine links.


Submarine 101
Submarine 101 - The Basics about U.S. Nuclear Powered Submarines


Submarine Slang, Terms, and Phrases (not family friendly)
https://www.facebook.com/notes/randy-pace/submarine-slang-terms-and-phrases/10151136788588486


Photos, life onboard a sub.
http://www.businessinsider.com/17-incredible-photos-of-life-on-a-us-navy-submarine-2015-1

Saluting the silent heroes of the US Navy's submarine force
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/12/07/saluting-silent-heroes-us-navys-submarine-force/

 

[oldpink]

I had no idea that you were a writer, and a good one, Act...that is, until I stumbled upon this thread just now.
I've read some detailed technical accounts about what the Navy now believes caused both the Thresher and Scorpion to go down.
It was in the book "Blind Man's Bluff," that I highly recommend to anyone who really wants to know more about what the British call the "Silent Service."
So many of the stories in that book are absolutely hair-raising, especially details of the Thresher and the Scorpion, but also the loss and recovery (by our own Navy!) of the Soviet's Golf class sub and the harrowing account of the barely survived Soviet sub dubbed the "Hiroshima."
I also highly recommend "A Time to Die," about the needless loss of the entire crew of the post-Soviet Russian sub the Kursk.

 

[actaeon277]

I had no idea that you were a writer, and a good one, Act...that is, until I stumbled upon this thread just now.
I've read some detailed technical accounts about what the Navy now believes caused both the Thresher and Scorpion to go down.
It was in the book "Blind Man's Bluff," that I highly recommend to anyone who really wants to know more about what the British call the "Silent Service."
So many of the stories in that book are absolutely hair-raising, especially details of the Thresher and the Scorpion, but also the loss and recovery (by our own Navy!) of the Soviet's Golf class sub and the harrowing account of the barely survived Soviet sub dubbed the "Hiroshima."
I also highly recommend "A Time to Die," about the needless loss of the entire crew of the post-Soviet Russian sub the Kursk.

I tried not to bog the story down with too much technical talk. I'm trying to reach the average reader. I throw in a little terminology, to set the backdrop. Too much and I lose people.

I remember, and was saddened by the loss of the Kursk. Some people thought I'd be happy, them being Russians. But they were submariners. I had more in common with them, then I did many of my own countrymen. Their loss was a tragedy. Even more so because they probably could have been helped if the Russians had accepted help.

 

[actaeon277]

I had no idea that you were a writer, and a good one, Act...that is, until I stumbled upon this thread just now.
I've read some detailed technical accounts about what the Navy now believes caused both the Thresher and Scorpion to go down.
It was in the book "Blind Man's Bluff," that I highly recommend to anyone who really wants to know more about what the British call the "Silent Service."
So many of the stories in that book are absolutely hair-raising, especially details of the Thresher and the Scorpion, but also the loss and recovery (by our own Navy!) of the Soviet's Golf class sub and the harrowing account of the barely survived Soviet sub dubbed the "Hiroshima."
I also highly recommend "A Time to Die," about the needless loss of the entire crew of the post-Soviet Russian sub the Kursk.

I have Blind Man's Bluff. Good book. But some of what they wrote is guesstimates, or WAGs (Wild Assed Guesses)