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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)
Loss & Inquiry

Radio Call Sign: November - Alpha - Delta - Quebec

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Keel Laying - Active Service

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
57k	Navy ships circle in the vicinity of the site of Thresher's (SSN-593) sinking, 15 April 1963, five days after her loss. Ships are (left to right): Thomas Jefferson (SSBN-618); Sunbird (ASR-15); Warrington (DD-843), group flagship; and Redfin (SS-272). Photographed by PHCS Parker.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 97555, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
68k	"Debris on the ocean floor 8,400 feet below the surface may be a clue to the final resting place of the nuclear submarine Thresher (SSN-593). Taken last week by an underwater camera system operated by the oceanographic research vessel *Atlantis II*, these photographs show scattered bits of unidentified debris. The round objects are sea urchins which may range in size from four to twelve inches in diameter. The Navy states that the photographs in themselves are not conclusive evidence of the location of the missing submarine which sank on April 10, 1963, 220 miles east of Cape Cod. Ships of the searching force are continuing a minute search of the area with underwater cameras, sonar and other detection devices." Quoted from the original caption released with this photograph on 22 May 1963.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 97556, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
99k	"Three of fifteen packages of neoprene 'O' rings recovered by drag lines from the Lamont Laboratories oceanographic research ship *Conrad* in the area of prime interest in the search for the nuclear submarine Thresher (SSN-593). The recovery was made on the 28th of May, and the package was forwarded to the Court of Inquiry, Portsmouth, N.H., for examination. After examination and tracing of stock numbers it was definitely determined that one of the fifteen packages could have come only from the *Thresher*. The 'O' rings are shown on the packaging material after opening." The original view, from whose caption the quoted text is taken, was released on 1 June 1963.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 97569, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
75k	"Parts of a battery recovered by the Navy's bathyscaph *Trieste* during the first series of dives June 24th through 30th, 220 miles east of Cape Cod where the nuclear powered submarine Thresher (SSN-593) sank April 10. The centered object is an internal battery grid, encircled by re-enforcing members." The original view, from whose caption the quoted text is taken, was released on 5 September 1963.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 97568, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
58k	"This brass pipe, with the inscription: 'JO 10 ... 3-O-5091-05; DM 263-109-61; PL-1862791 PC.75; 1.050 Brass Pipe; 593 Boat', was recovered by the bathyscaph *Trieste* during the second series of dives in the search for Thresher (SSN-593). The nuclear powered submarine which sank April 10 some 220 miles east of Cape Cod had the hull number '593'." The original view, from whose caption the quoted text is taken, was released on 13 September 1963.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 97570, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
121k	"Mosaic of the sail. The conning station is at Arrow (1), upside down with the leading edge to the left in this photograph. The sail planes (2) are completely reversed. Below the sail is a torpedo shutter door (3). An air bottle is at (4) ... . Actuating gear for torpedo shutter door (5)." Quoted text is from the caption released with the original image, which was received by the Naval Photographic Center in December 1966. View shows the starboard side of the sail.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 97560, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
136k	"Starboard side of the Thresher (SSN-593) sail with portions of the hull number '593' visible." Photographed from a deep-sea vehicle deployed from Mizar (T-AGOR-11). The original photograph bears the date October 1964. Quoted text is from the caption released with that print.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 97559, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
68k	High pressure air flask and other debris on the ocean floor in the vicinity of the Thresher (SSN-593)." The original view, from whose caption the quoted text is taken, is undated. It shows an area of wreckage next to the top of the submarine's sail.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 97561, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
96k	Overhead view of Thresher's (SSN-593) upper rudder, photographed from a deep-sea vehicle deployed from Mizar (T-AGOR-11). The view shows draft markings on the rudder side and a navigation light at its top. The original photograph bears the date October 1964. *Thresher* was lost on 10 April 1963.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 97557, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
132k	"Draft markings on the topside rudder of Thresher (SSN-593). Part of the port stern plane of the sunken sub can be seen in the foreground. The bit of line on the right is connected to the underwater camera-magnetometer sled towed by Mizar (T-AGOR-11)." The original photograph bears the date October 1964. Quoted text is from the caption released with that print.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 97558, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
78k	"Sonar Dome -- A section of a sonar dome from the bow of a *Thresher* class submarine photographed August 24 during the second series of dives by the bathyscaph *Trieste. The bathyscaph has completed 10 dives some 220 miles east of Cape Cod where the nuclear powered submarine Thresher* (SSN-593) sank April 10." The original view, from whose caption the quoted text is taken, was released on 5 September 1963.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 97562, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
106k	"Sonar Dome -- An external portion of a sonar dome used exclusively in *Thresher* class submarines was photographed by the bathyscaph *Trieste. August 24 during the second series of dives in the area where the nuclear powered submarine Thresher* (SSN-593) sank April 10." The original view, from whose caption the quoted text is taken, was released on 5 September 1963.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 97563, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
66k	"A fragment of the anchor from the Thresher (SSN-593) located near the wreckage." The original view, from whose caption the quoted text is taken, is undated.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 97564, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
82k	"Insulation -- Rockwool thermal insulation photographed August 24 during the bathyscaph *Trieste's* second series of dives some 220 miles east of Cape Cod where Thresher (SSN-593) sank April 10. This type of insulation is used in all U.S. submarines." The original view, from whose caption the quoted text is taken, was released on 5 September 1963.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 97565, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
57k	"Photographs taken by *Conrad, Lamont Laboratory's research ship, on 14 June 1963 in the Thresher* (SSN-593) search area. An air bottle similar to that carried aboard Navy ships. The diagonal lines and the ball in the center of the picture is part of the lighting system for the underwater camera." The original view, from whose caption the quoted text is taken, was released on 19 June 1963.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 97566, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
64k	"An internal watertight submarine door photographed August 24 during the bathyscaph *Trieste's* second series of dives some 220 miles east of Cape Cod where the nuclear powered submarine Thresher (SSN-593) sank April 10, 1963." The original view, from whose caption the quoted text is taken, was released on 5 September 1963.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 97567, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
129k	Thresher (SSN-593) Memorial plaque.	Courtesy of John J. Cook.
42k	Thresher (SSN-593) Marker Buoy Label.	USN photo courtesy of ussthresher.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.
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.
38k	Thresher (SSN-593) 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./"	Sketch and text on photo courtesy of T.K.