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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

Patch on right contributed by John J. Cook, patch on left contributed by Mike Smolinski

Thresher (SSN-593)
Keel Laying - Active Service

Radio Call Sign: November - Alpha - Delta - Quebec

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Loss & Inquiry

Thresher Class Attack Submarine: Laid down, 28 May 1958, at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kettery, ME; Launched, 9 July 1960; Commissioned, USS Thresher (SSN-593), 3 August 1961; Final Disposition, sunk. 10 April 1963, as a result of a casualty during diving tests, in 1,400 fathoms of water, approximately 220 miles east of Boston, MA; Struck from the Naval Register, 10 April 1963.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 3,540 t., Submerged: 4,200 t.; Length 278' 6"; Beam 31' 8"; Speed, Surfaced 15 kts, Submerged 30 kts; Test Depth 1300'; Complement 143; Armament, four 21" torpedo tubes, UUM-44A SUBROC, UGM-84A/C Harpoon, MK57 deep water mines, MK60 CAPTOR mines, Sensors, BQQ-5 bow-mounted sonar, TB-16 Towed Sonar Array; Propulsion System, one S5W nuclear reactor, two steam turbines, single propeller, 15,000 shp.

Size	Image Description	Contributed By
179k	Submarine Silhouettes of 1960: Nautilus (SSN-571), Seawolf (SSN-575), Skate (SSN-578), Skipjack (SS-585), Triton (SSRN-586), Halibut (SSGN-587), Thresher (SSN-593), Tullibee (SSN-597), George Washington (SSBN-598), & Ethan Allen (SSBN-608) classes.	U.S. Navy Photograph submitted by Ron Titus, courtesy of Ingersoll-Rand. Corp.
187k	Nuclear Submarine Profiles 1960: Nautilus (SSN-571), Seawolf (SSN-575), Triton (SSRN-586), Skate (SSN-578) & Skipjack (SS-585) classes, Halibut (SSGN-587) & Tullibee (SSN-597) classes, George Washington (SSBN-598) & Thresher (SSN-593) classes.	US Navy photo courtesy of Ron Titus courtesy of Ingersoll-Rand. Corp. Photo i.d. courtesy of Dave Johnston. Photo added 09/24/07.
59k	Artwork by Hultberg, circa 1960, depicting the submarine's anticipated appearance when completed. It shows two torpedoes being fired from Thresher's (SSN-593) midships torpedo tubes.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 97543, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
143k	Bow view of the Thresher (SSN-593) on the greased building ways, as workmen prepare for her launching at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine, 9 July 1960.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 97553, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
92k	Mrs. Frederick B. Warder christens the Thresher (SSN-593), during launching ceremonies at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine, 9 July 1960. Others present are (from left to right): Mrs. C. Pattisen, Lieutenant Dale E. Deverspicke (Chaplains' Corps), and Captain Henry P. Rumble. Note that the christening took place at *Thresher's* stern.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 97554, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
438k	Comdr. Dean W. Axene of the Thresher (SSN-593) and her crew salute the colors as she noses into the water for the first time, during launching ceremonies at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine, 9 July 1960. Her sponsor, Mrs. Frederick B. Warder, is standing by the Comdr. Axene's left side.	U.S. Navy Photograph courtesy of Ed Martin, LCDR, USN(Ret.)
380k	Thresher (SSN-593) entering the water for the first time, during launching ceremonies at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine, 9 July 1960.	U.S. Navy Photograph courtesy of Ed Martin, LCDR,USN(Ret.)
69k	Commemorative post mark on the occasion of Thresher's (SSN-593) launch, 9 July 1960.	Courtesy of Jim Richardson.
61k	Launching script of the Thresher (SSN-593), 9 July 1960, prepared by Bob Rawlins, former XO.	U.S. Navy Photograph courtesy of Ed Martin, LCDR, USN(Ret.)
131k	Insignia: Thresher (SSN-593). Emblem adopted in 1960 and received in October of that year. It was accompanied with this description: "The fish depicted in the subject insignia is a THRESHER shark, which is characterized by a tail that is approximately one-half of its total length. The THRESHER shark reportedly attacks its prey by flailing the long tail. The horizontal lines signify the deep diving capability of *Thresher* . The circles represent her sonar capability. The motto, 'Vis Tacita', describes the overall characteristics of the ship, 'Silent strength'."	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 91424-KN, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
40k	Launching pamphlet of the Thresher (SSN-593).	Courtesy of John J. Cook.
99k	Thresher (SSN-593), port bow aerial view, taken while the submarine was underway on 30 April 1961. Photographed by J.L. Snell.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 97547, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
92k	Thresher (SSN-593), starboard broadside view, taken while the submarine was underway on 30 April 1961. Photographed by J.L. Snell.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 97548, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
101k	Thresher (SSN-593), port broadside view, taken while the submarine was underway on 30 April 1961. Photographed by J.L. Snell.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 97549, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
94k	Port broadside view taken while the Thresher (SSN-593) was underway with water surging over her bow, 30 April 1961. Photographed by J.L. Snell.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 97550, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
102k	Thresher (SSN-593), starboard quarter view, taken while the submarine was underway on 30 April 1961. Photographed by J.L. Snell.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 97551, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
87k	Thresher (SSN-593), bow-on view, taken at sea on 24 July 1961.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 97545, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
100k	Thresher (SSN-593), starboard bow view, taken at sea on 24 July 1961.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 97544, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
97k	Stern-on view of the Thresher (SSN-593), taken at sea on 24 July 1961. Note upper rudder in the foreground, with draft markings painted on its side and navigation light at its top.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 97546, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
38k	Commissioning pamphlet of the Thresher (SSN-593).	Courtesy of Ken Hart.
121k	Order of events for the commissioning for the Thresher (SSN-593), 3 August 1961, prepared by Bob Rawlins, former XO.	U.S. Navy Photograph courtesy of Ed Martin, LCDR, USN(Ret.)
410k	Dock yard workers and other officials setting up the commissioning platform for the Thresher (SSN-593), shortly before she was officially entered into the USN on 3 August 1961.	U.S. Navy Photograph courtesy of Ed Martin, LCDR,USN(Ret.)
293k	Officers & crew salute the colors onboard the Thresher (SSN-593), 3 August 1961, outside building # 5 at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kettery, ME.	U.S. Navy Photograph courtesy of Ed Martin, LCDR,USN(Ret.)
154k	Thresher (SSN-593), underway on the surface, circa 1961-63.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 82320, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
40k	Oil on canvas by the artist C.G. Evers entitled "USS Thresher ".	Courtesy of usni.org
121k	Cut out of the Thresher (SSN-593) class, showing the offending periscope in the after part of the sail. Masts, fore to aft, are: snorkel/air induction; SS-2A radar; VLF loop; UHF/IFF & MHF antenna; ECM; and periscope. The emergency diesel generator was in the lowest level compartment of the bottle-nose, directly under the snorkel, with a sonar equipment room forward of it. Crew's quarters were above it. The sonor room was on the upper level near the ship's control center and attack center.	Photo & text courtesy of U.S. Submarines Since 1945, An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman & James L. Christley. Naval Institute Press.
157k	Thresher (SSN-593) was designed around her sonar. This is the passive side of the sonar control room, with consoles for (left to right) BQG-1 (PUFFS), BQR-7, & BQQ-3. BQG-1 correlated the outputs of a pair of subarrays, hence the two small displays and the big screen to match them. BQR-7 had two beams, one steered manually (using the handwheel, with a bearing indicator above it) and one continuously scanned (feeding a bearing-time recorder, whose paper output showed in the rectangle above). BQQ-3 was a Lofargram recorder; the pen movedacross the paper along the bar visible in the middle of the paper.	Photo courtesy of Raytheon Corp & text courtesy of U.S. Submarines Since 1945, An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman & James L. Christley. Naval Institute Press.
62k	Thresher (SSN-593) sonar arrangement, showing the bow sphere, the staves of BQR-7, and the equipment space control room (which was not in the control or attack center).	Photo & text courtesy of U.S. Submarines Since 1945, An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman & James L. Christley. Naval Institute Press.
161k	Thresher's (SSN-593) BQS-6/BQA-3 sonar room: passive BQS-6 console, active BQS-6 active console, and a BQA-3 graphic indicator, which measured target Doppler. As in BQR-7, there were two passive beams, one steered for tracking (using the handwheel, with bearing indicated on the dial above) and one continuously scanning (feeding the bearing-time paper recorder above the handwheel). Raw video, its beams formed by an amplifier-scanner, went to the passive console. A sonar receiver processed video to extract echoes for the active console and for BQA-3. The active console could also receive pings extracted by a separate receiver-scanner. The triangular indicator (SSI, sector-scan indicator) alongside the PPI allowed comparison of right and left hand beams for finer measurement; it also could be used to measure depression/elevation angle. Above the main PPI of the active console are direction and depression/elevation indicators for the single-ping pencil-beam active mode. Retrofit III sonars (BQS-11 -13) had a new active sonar receiver in place of the earlier receiver-scanner. Signals passed via the active console to the BQA-3 (BQS-11-12) or via a new data computer and processor to an auxillary active console. In Retrofit III sonars (BQS-11-13), the up/down & left/right indicators were moved to the lower panel; their place was taken by a small diameter CRT for active operation and the lower displays were replaced by a larger diameter CRT for an A-scan. These sonars also lack the SSI, because they auto-track. Only in BQS-13, the BQA-3 electronic cabinet and display were replaced by a data computer and processor (fed by the active receiver) feeding an auxillary active console with a single rectangular window. BQS-12 (but not BQS-13) had a modified passive console without a handwheel. Shown here is First Class Sonarman Robert Edwin Steinel, who was on board *Thresher* on her final dive.	Photo courtesy of Raytheon Corp & text courtesy of U.S. Submarines Since 1945, An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman & James L. Christley. Naval Institute Press.
158k	The BQQ-2 operating concept included a secure underwater communications system (SESCO, BQA-2). Its console is shown on board Thresher (SSN-593) across a passageway from the BQS-6 passive console). SESCO died, mainly of multipath. That turned out to be fortunate because space for additional sonar equipment was soon needed.	Photo courtesy of Raytheon Corp & text courtesy of U.S. Submarines Since 1945, An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman & James L. Christley. Naval Institute Press.
19k	John Wesley Harvey, Lieutenant Commander (Commanding Officer) of the Thresher (SSN-593) at the time of her loss.	USN photo courtesy of oneternalpatrol.com.