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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

Contributed by Mike Smolinski

Scorpion (SSN-589)
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Radio Call Sign: November - Victor - Charlie- Foxtrot

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Keel Laying - Loss

Skipjack Class Attack Submarine: Laid down, 20 August 1958, at the Electric Boat Division, General Dynamics Corp., Groton, CT.; Launched, 19 December 1959; Commissioned, USS Scorpion (SSN-589), 29 July 1960; Last reported position, 21 May 1968, about 50 miles south of the Azores. Six days later, she was reported overdue at Norfolk; Crew declared "presumed lost," 5 June 1968; Struck form the Naval Register 30 June 1968; Final Disposition, in October 1968 Mizar (T-AGOR-11) located sections of Scorpion's hull in more than 10,000 feet of water about 400 miles southwest of the Azores. Subsequently, the Court of Inquiry was reconvened but, despite the myriad of data and pictures collected and studied, the cause of the loss remains a mystery.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 2,880 t., Submerged: 3,500 t.; Length 251' 9"; Beam 32'; Draft 28 ft.; Speed, Surfaced 15 kts, Submerged 30+ kts; Depth Limit 700'; Complement 118; Combat Systems, Sonar, BQR-12, BQR-2 passive, BQS-4 (modified) active/passive; Radar BPS-12; Fire Control, MK-101 torpedo FCS, ASW MK-48; Armament, six 21" torpedo tubes, forward; Propulsion System, one S5W nuclear reactor, two Westinghouse steam turbines, one propeller 15,000 shp.

Size	Image Description	Contributed By
69k	"...... Side view of the towed sled used by the Navy research ship Mizar (T-AGOR-11) in the search for the nuclear submarine Scorpion (SSN-589). Various types of search and detection equipment can be mounted on this vehicle. Mizar yesterday located objects identified as portions of the hull of the *Scorpion* at a depth of more than 10,000 feet, about 400 miles southwest of the Azores." Quoted from the original caption, released with this photograph under date of 31 October 1968.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 97577, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
94k	"...... Bottom view of the towed sled used by the Navy research ship Mizar (T-AGOR-11) in the search for the nuclear submarine Scorpion (SSN-589). Various types of search and detection equipment can be mounted on this vehicle. Mizar yesterday located objects identified as portions of the hull of the *Scorpion* at a depth of more than 10,000 feet, about 400 miles southwest of the Azores." Quoted from the original caption, released with this photograph under date of 31 October 1968.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 97578, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
133k	View of the sunken submarine's bow section, on the Atlantic Ocean floor 10,000 feet deep, some 400 miles southwest of the Azores. Probably taken when Scorpion (SSN-589) was located by Mizar (T-AGOR-11) in October 1968. This image shows the top of the bow section, from the vicinity of the sail (which has been torn off)--at left-- to the tip of the bow--at top center. The torpedo room hatch is visible about half-way along the length of this hull section, with a lifeline track running aft from it. The original photograph bears the date 30 January 1969.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # USN 1136658, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
149k	View of the sunken submarine's sail, on the Atlantic Ocean floor 10,000 feet deep, some 400 miles southwest of the Azores. Probably taken when Scorpion (SSN-589) was located by Mizar (T-AGOR-11) in October 1968. This image shows the starboard side of the sail, with its after end at top left, and the starboard access door in lower left. Debris is on the ocean bottom nearby. The device in top center is part of the equipment used in locating and photographing the wreckage. The original photograph bears the date 30 January 1969.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # USN 1136656, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
102k	"A mosiac of the sail of the Scorpion (SSN-589) showing the starboard side and starboard fairwater plane. Located at the top center is the periscope fairing and masts protruding from the sail. An access door is clearly visible in the center of the picture. The white area is an area not photographed in this mosaic." Probably taken when Scorpion (SSN-589) was located by Mizar (T-AGOR-11) in October 1968. The original photograph bears the date 30 January 1969.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 97219, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
98k	Section of the sunken submarine's hull, on the Atlantic Ocean floor 10,000 feet deep, some 400 miles southwest of the Azores. Probably taken when Scorpion (SSN-589) was located by Mizar (T-AGOR-11) in October 1968. This image shows the top of the hull, aft of amidships. The large oval opening is the stowage bay for the messenger bouy. Also visible are circular ballast tank vents, two rectangular access hatches into the superstructure and damaged snorkel exhaust piping. The original photograph bears the date 30 January 1969.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # USN 1136662, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
85k	"Damaged section of the Scorpion's (SSN-589) snorkel exhaust piping fairing. The rectangle white areas are zinc plates attached to the fairing to retard corrosion. This section is referred to as the 'turtleback' of this class submarine." Quoted from the original photo caption, which bears the date 30 January 1969	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 97217, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
121k	"Debris located on the bottom of the ocean floor in the area 400 miles southwest of the Azores Islands where the Scorpion (SSN-589) was located." Quoted from the original photo caption, which bears the date 30 January 1969.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 97218, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
116k	"Atlantic Ocean (August 1986)....Depth 10,000 feet, 400 miles southwest of the Azores; view of the bow section of the nuclear-powered attack submarine Scorpion (SSN-589) where it rests on the ocean floor. Note the forward messenger bouy cavity and escape trunk access hatches." Quoted from the caption released with this photo in 1995. The view was taken by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 97220-KN, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
110k	"400 miles Southwest of the Azores: Forward compartment of Scorpion (SSN-589) where it rests on the ocean floor in more than 10,000 feet of water. ... A portion of a periscope protrudes from the hull; its shadow is visible on the hull." Quoted from the original photo caption, which is one of five views, dated August 1986, taken by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. This view looks down at the after end of the wreck's bow section with the port side toward the top. It shows massive structural distortion at and forward of the area where the hull separated.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 97222-KN, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
152k	Atlantic Ocean (August 1986)....Depth 10,000 feet, 400 miles southwest of the Azores; A view of the detached sail of the nuclear-powered attack submarine Scorpion (SSN-589) laying on the ocean floor. The starboard fairwater plane is visible protruding from the sail. Masts are visible extending from the top of the sail (located at the lower portion of the photograph). A large segment of the after section of the sail, including the deck access hatch, is missing. Various articles from the operations compartment are scattered in this vicinity." Quoted from the caption released with this photo in 1995. The view was taken by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 97223-KN, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
152k	"400 miles southwest of the Azores: The after messenger bouy cavity from the Scorpion (SSN-589) resting on the ocean floor in more than 10,000 feet of water. The messenger bouy is used to mark the position of the escape hatch of a distressed submarine. This area was also used to store mooring line, some of which is visible protruding from the hatch." Quoted from the original photo caption, which is one of five views, dated August 1986, taken by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 97224-KN, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
354k	Stern view of the nuclear-powered attack submarine Scorpion (SSN-589) showing the upper portion of the rudder (with draft markings) and the port stern plane. Note that the impact with the ocean floor has caused the after portion of the engine room section to be telescoped into the machinery room. The ribs of the stern planes can be seen due to the deformation of the metal covering then and display the massive force which was imparted to the ship upon impact with the sea bottom.	Official US Navy photo # DN-SC-95-00199 by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil, Defense Visual Information Center.
307k	Depth 10,000 feet, 400 miles southwest of the Azores; a view of the detached sail of the nuclear-powered attack submarine Scorpion (SSN-589) laying on the ocean floor. The starboard fairwater plane is visible protruding from the sail. Masts are visible extending from the top of the sail (located at the lower portion of the photograph). A large segment of the after section of the sail including the deck access hatch is missing. Various articles from the operations compartment are scattered in this vicinity.	Official US Navy photo # DN-SC-95-00200 by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil, Defense Visual Information Center.
26k	Francis Atwood Slattery, Commander (Commanding Officer)of the Scorpion (SSN-589) at the time of her loss.	USN photo courtesy of oneternalpatrol.com.
91k	Memorial plaque at Independence Seaport Museum, Philadelphia PA, July 2006 for the crews of United States submarines lost during peace time accidents: F-1 (SS-20), F-4 (SS-23), G-2 (SS-27), H-1 (SS-28), O-5 (SS-66), O-9 (SS-70), S-4 (SS-109), S-51 (SS-162), Squalus (SS-192), Scorpion (SSN-589) & Thresher (SSN-593).	Photo courtesy of Wendell Royce McLaughlin Jr. Photo added 05/13/07.
276k	Mk 37 Mod 2 torpedo of the type carried by the Darter (SS-576), and other submarines during the Cold War. A 19 inch diameter weapon powered by batteries, it swam out of the tube instead of the traditional impulse shot, making it hard for the enemy to detect. Early versions of this torpedo were notoriously finicky. An overheating battery that lead to an explosion is one of the leading theories of the loss of the Scorpion (SSN-589). During the 80's, the *Darter* normally carried two of these weapons in her after torpedo room, although up to four could be carried if two were tube loaded. Carried as a supplement to the normal loadout of Mk 48's in the forward torpedo room, they were mostly intended to be shot at pursuers during an evasion. The *Darter* had the honor of shooting the last Mk 37 exercise rounds during a Tactical Readiness Evaluation at Pearl Harbor in June, 1985. That same month she offloaded the last operational Mk 37 warshots, sending them to storage. This particular weapon is part of the Lexington CVT-16 museum at Corpus Christi, Texas.	Photo by Dave Johnston.
117k	The wife of a World War II U.S. submarine veteran, tosses a flower into a reflecting pool to honor the memory of one of the 52 submarines lost during World War II at the National Submarine Memorial-West on board Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, Calif. On this Veterans Day, the Submarine Veterans of World War II transferred ownership of the memorial to the U.S. Navy. The following text is from The Coming Fury by Bruce Catton., pg. 478. "Major Sullivan Bullen of Illinois was killed in the battle, and just before it he had written to his wife, Sarah, to tell her that he believed he was going to be killed and to express a tremulous faith that could see a gleam of light in the dark: "But O Sarah! If the dead can come back to this earth and float unseen around those they loved, I shall always be near you in the gladdest days and in the gloomiest nights, always, always, and if there be a soft breeze upon your chest it shall be my breath, as the cool air fans your throbbing temple it shall be my spirit passing by. Sarah, do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait, for we shall meet again!"	U.S. Navy photo N-1159B-021 by Journalist 2nd Class Brian Brannon, courtesy of news.navy.mil.
135k	Scorpion (SSN-589) memeorial in NOB Norfolk VA. In Memorium: In the Second Book of Shmuel (Samuel), 22nd chapter, 5th through the 20th verses, translated from the original in Hebrew and published by the Koren Publishers of Jerusalem, Israel, 1982, can perhaps aptly describe the fate of the crew and all other U.S. submariners who died defending their county: "When the waves of death compassed me / the floods of ungodly men made me afraid; / the bonds of She'ol encircled me; / the snares of death took me by surprise; / in my distress I called upon the Lord, / and cried to my G-D: / and he heard my voice out of his temple, / and my cry entered into his ears. / Then the earth shook and trembled; /the foundations of heaven moved / and shook because of his anger /...the heavy mass of waters, and thick clouds of the skies /... And the channels of the sea appeared, / the foundations of the world were laid bare, / at the rebuking of the Lord, at the blast at the breath of his nostrils. / He sent from above, he took me; / he drew me out of many waters; / he delivered me from my strong enemy, and from those who hated me; for they were too strong for me. / They surprised me in the day of my calamity: / but the Lord was my stay / He brought me forth also into a large place: / he delivered me because he delighted in me./"	Photo courtesy of Wendell McLaughlin.