During the opening days of WWI, Australia’s first submarine, the AE1, was sailing the waters of coastal New Guinea when it disappeared. Now, Australian searchers have found the lost vessel in 984 feet of water. More
10 Comments on A 100-Year-Old Mystery Solved
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God Bless them then and now.
requiescat in pace
“Speaking the truth in times of universal deceit is a revolutionary act.” Geo. Orwell
RIP good brave men.
My neighbor was reassigned from the
My neighbor was transferred off the rusher to another sub during Cuba crises. Years later he was o be assigned to the Scorpion but it never made it to port. He quit the service after that
“Many brave hearts are asleep in the deep…”
May the families find closure and peace knowing their sons have been found, no longer missing in action.
May all those who are listed as missing in action find their way home to their country, family and friends.
anyone that goes, willingly into a submarine has my utmost respect … God rest these men’s souls
never had agoraphobia except when I was replacing rabble arms & plates in a sewage furnace (9 levels) … had to choke down the mounting fear of oppressive entrapment throughout the whole experience
correcting my post, the Tresher, not rusher.
Thresher.
The results of investigation into what caused the Thresher to sink led to the creation of the SUBSAFE system.
I don’t now recall the details clearly, but if I recall correctly when I was in nuclear power school in Bainbridge Md (1973) we were given a presentation by an officer assigned to the Threasher who was on shore that day, and later was part of the investigation team.
http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/one-the-us-navys-greatest-tragedies-the-sinking-the-uss-18296 .
“..Though it had been in service for two years, the U.S. Navy was still attempting to determine the true strength of its hull…”
Also if I recall correctly, the Thresher had depth charges dropped near it, part of what is between the lines in the above quote. A training film I never saw, but heard guys talking about it, was filmed inside a submarine while depth charges were dropped on it. They described deck plates snapping their bolts, flying up and hitting the overhead. Needles on pressure gauges snapping off, etc. I think they said it was filmed on the Thresher.
The above article states the cause of the loss of Scorpion was never determined. Read Blind Man’s Bluff, the story about sub ops during the cold war.
I believe a guy in that book who predicted where the Scorpion would be found, and the direction it would be headed when found ( and he was correct, the Scorpion was pointing east, not west toward Norfolk) made a good case for the cause being faulty batteries in a torpedo caused the torpedo to arm itself. And the sub was sank by its own torpedo. He wrote there was a safety bulletin on the torpedo batteries, during severe vibration, they could connect to the torpedo engine, causing the torpedo to arm itself. As though it had been launched. And to disarm it, while still in side the torpedo tube, the procedure was for the sub to do a 180 degree turn, within a time limit. The Navy never accepted or acknowledged that cause. However, that theory was put forth by the guy who accurately predicted where the Scorpion would be found heading east, and farther east than Navy command’s initial search area. The Scorpion is in one piece, with a hole in the hull. The Thresher otoh, imploded and was blown apart. I was told only relatively small pieces were found.