USS Scorpion (SSN-589)
USS Scorpion (SSN-589)
For other ships with the same name, see USS Scorpion.
USS Scorpion (SSN-589) was a Skipjack-class nuclear powered submarine that served in the United States Navy and the sixth vessel of the U.S. Navy to carry that name.
USS
Scorpion
(SSN-589)
USS Scorpion, 22 August 1960, off New London, Connecticut
History
United States
Name:
Scorpion
Ordered:
31 January 1957
Builder:
General Dynamics Electric Boat
Laid down:
20 August 1958[1]
Launched:
29 December 1959[1]
Commissioned:
29 July 1960[1]
Struck:
30 June 1968[1]
Fate:
Lost with a crew of 99 on 22 May 1968; cause of sinking unknown.
Status:
Located on the seabed of the Atlantic Ocean, 32°55′N 33°09′W,[2] in 3,000 m (9,800 ft) of water, 740 km (400 nmi) southwest of the Azores
Badge:
General characteristics
Class and type:
Skipjack-class submarine
Displacement:
2,880 long tons (2,930 t) light
3,075 long tons (3,124 t) full
195 long tons (198 t) deadweight
Length:
251 ft 8 in (76.71 m)
Beam:
31 ft 7 in (9.63 m)
Draft:
9.1 m (29 ft 10 in)
Propulsion:
S5W reactor
Complement:
8 officers, 75 men
Armament:
6 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes
2 × Mark 45 torpedoes
Scorpion was lost on 22 May 1968, with 99 crewmen dying in the incident. She is one of two nuclear submarines the U.S. Navy has lost, the other being USS Thresher.[3] It was one of four mysterious submarine disappearances in 1968, the others being the Israeli submarine INS Dakar, the French submarine Minerve, and the Soviet submarine K-129.
Service Edit
Scorpion slides down the ways at the launch in Groton, Connecticut, on 19 December 1959.
Scorpion's keel was laid down 20 August 1958 by General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton, Connecticut. She was launched 19 December 1959, sponsored by Mrs. Elizabeth S. Morrison, the daughter of the last commander of the World War II-era USS Scorpion (SS-278), Lt. Cdr. Maximilian Gmelich Schmidt (that ship was also lost with all hands, in 1944). Scorpion was commissioned 29 July 1960, with Commander Norman B. Bessac in command. (See USS George Washington for information on how that submarine had originally been laid down with the name and hull number, USS Scorpion SSN-589, intended to be an attack submarine.)[citation needed]
Service: 1960–1967 Edit
Assigned to Submarine Squadron 6, Division 62, Scorpion departed New London, Connecticut, on 24 August for a two-month European deployment. During that time, she participated in exercises with 6th Fleet units and NATO-member navies. After returning to New England in late October, she trained along the eastern seaboard until May 1961. On 9 August 1961, she returned to New London, moving to Norfolk, Virginia, a month later. In 1962, she earned a Navy Unit Commendation.[citation needed]
Norfolk was Scorpion's port for the remainder of her career, and she specialized in developing nuclear submarine warfare tactics. Varying roles from hunter to hunted, she participated in exercises along the Atlantic coast, and in Bermuda and Puerto Rico operating areas. From June 1963 to May 1964, she underwent an overhaul at Charleston. She resumed duty in late spring, but regular duties were again interrupted from 4 August to 8 October for a transatlantic patrol. In the spring of 1965, she conducted a similar patrol in European waters.[citation needed]
In 1966 she deployed for special operations. After completing those assignments, her commanding officer (CO) received a Navy Commendation Medal for outstanding leadership, foresight and professional skill. Other Scorpion officers and crewmen were also cited for meritorious achievement. Scorpion is reputed to have entered an inland Russian sea during a "Northern Run" in 1966, where it filmed a Soviet missile launch through its periscope before fleeing from Soviet Navy ships.[citation needed]
Overhaul: 1967 Edit
On 1 February 1967, Scorpion entered Norfolk Naval Shipyard for a refueling overhaul. However, instead of a much-needed complete overhaul, she received only eOverhaul: 1967 Edit
On 1 February 1967, Scorpion entered Norfolk Naval Shipyard for a refueling overhaul. However, instead of a much-needed complete overhaul, she received only emergency repairs to get quickly back on duty. The preferred SUBSAFE[4][5] program required increased submarine overhaul times, from 9 months in length to 36 months. Intensive vetting of submarine component quality, SUBSAFE, was required, coupled with various improvements and intensified structural inspections – particularly, hull-welding inspections using ultrasonic testing – and reduced availability of critical parts like seawater piping.[citation needed]
Cold War pressures had prompted U.S. Submarine Force Atlantic (SUBLANT) officers to cut corners. The last overhaul of the Scorpion cost one-seventh of those performed on other nuclear submarines at the same time. This was the result of concerns about the "high percentage of time offline" for nuclear attack submarines, estimated at about 40% of total available duty time.[citation needed]
Scorpion's original "full overhaul" was reduced in scope. Long-overdue SUBSAFE work, such as a new central valve control system, was not performed. Crucially, her emergency system was not corrected for the same problems that destroyed Thresher. While Charleston Naval Shipyard claimed the Emergency Main Ballast Tank Blow (EMBT) system worked as-is, SUBLANT claimed it did not, and their EMBT was "tagged out" (listed as unusable). Perceived problems with overhaul duration led to a delay on all SUBSAFE work in 1967.[citation needed]
CNO Admiral David Lamar McDonald approved Scorpion's reduced overhaul on 17 June 1966. On 20 July, McDonald deferred SUBSAFE extensions, otherwise deemed essential since 1963.[verification needed].
Service: 1967–1968 Edit
Tallahatchie County with Scorpion alongside, outside Claywall Harbor, Naples, Italy, in April 1968 (shortly before Scorpion departed on her last voyage). This is believed to be one of the last photographs taken of Scorpion.
In late October 1967, Scorpion started refresher training and weapons system acceptance tests, and was given a new commanding officer, Francis Slattery. Following type training out of Norfolk, Virginia, she got underway on 15 February 1968 for a Mediterranean Sea deployment. She operated with the 6th Fleet into May and then headed west for home.[citation needed]
Scorpion suffered several mechanical malfunctions, including a chronic problem with Freon leakage from refrigeration systems. An electrical fire occurred in an escape trunk when a water leak shorted out a shore power connection. There is no evidence that Scorpion's speed was restricted in May 1968, although it was conservatively observing a depth limitation of 500 feet (150 m), due to the incomplete implementation of planned post-Thresher safety checks and modifications.[6]
After departing the Mediterranean on 16 May, the Scorpion dropped two men at Naval Station Rota in Spain, one for a family emergency (RM2 Eric Reid), and one for health reasons (ICS Joseph Underwood). Some U.S. ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) operated from the U.S. Naval base Rota; it is speculated that USS Scorpion provided noise cover for USS John C. Calhoun when they both departed to the Atlantic. As well as Soviet intelligence trawlers, there were Soviet fast nuclear attack submarines[7] attempting to detect and follow the U.S. submarines going out of Rota; in this case, two fast 32-knot Soviet November-class hunter-killer subs.[6]
Scorpion was then detailed to observe Soviet naval activities in the Atlantic in the vicinity of the Azores. An Echo II-class submarine was operating with this Soviet task force, as well as a Russian guided-missile destroyer.[8] Having observed and listened to the Soviet units, Scorpion prepared to head back to Naval Station Norfolk.[citation needed]
Disappearance: May 1968 Edit
Scorpion attempted to send radio traffic to Naval Station Rota for an unusually long period beginning shortly before midnight on 20 May and ending after midnight on 21 May, but it was only able to reach a Navy communications station in Nea Makri, Greece, which forwarded the messages to COMSUBLANT.[6] Lt. John Roberts was handed Commander Slattery's last message that he was closing on the Soviet submarine and research group, running at a steady 15 kn (17 mph; 28 km/h) at a depth of 350 ft (110 m) "to begin surveillance of the Soviets".[6] Six days later, the media reported that she was overdue at Norfolk.[9]
Search: 1968 Edit
U.S. Navy photo 1968 of the bow section of Scorpion, by the crew of bathyscaphe Trieste II
The Navy suspected possible failure and launched a search, but Scorpion and her crew were declared "presumed lost" on 5 June. Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 30 June. The search continued with a team of mathematical consultants led by Dr. John Piña Craven, the Chief Scientist of the Navy's Special Projects Division. They employed the methods of Bayesian search theory, initially developed during the search for a hydrogen bomb lost off the coast of Palomares, Spain in January 1966 in the Palomares B-52 crash.[citation needed]
Some reports indicate that a large and secret search was launched three days before Scorpion was expected back from patrol. This and other declassified information led to speculation that the Navy knew of Scorpion's destruction before the public search was launched.[10]
At the end of October 1968, the Navy's oceanographic research ship Mizar located sections of the hull of Scorpion on the seabed, about 400 nmi (740 km) southwest of the Azores[11] under more than 9,800 ft (3,000 m) of water. This was after the Navy had released sound tapes from its underwater "SOSUS" listening system which contained the sounds of the destruction of Scorpion.[12] The court of inquiry was subsequently reconvened, and other vessels were dispatched to the scene to collect pictures and other data, including the bathyscaphe Trieste II.
Craven received much credit for locating the wreckage of Scorpion, although Gordon Hamilton was instrumental in defining a compact "search box" wherein the wreck was ultimately found. He was an acoustics expert who pioneered the use of hydroacoustics to pinpoint Polaris missile splashdown locations, and he had established a listening station in the Canary Islands which obtained a clear signal of the vessel's pressure hull imploding as she passed crush depth. Naval Research Laboratory scientist Chester Buchanan used a towed camera sled of his own design aboard Mizar and finally located Scorpion.[11]
Observed damage Edit
Learn more
This section does not cite any sources.
Skipjack-class submarine drawing:
1. Sonar arrays
2. Torpedo room
3. Operations compartment
4. Reactor compartment
5. Auxiliary machinery space
6. Engine room
The bow of Scorpion appears to have skidded upon impact with the globigerina ooze on the sea floor, digging a sizable trench. The sail had been dislodged, as the hull of the operations compartment upon which it perched disintegrated, and was lying on its port side. One of Scorpion's running lights was in the open position, as if it had been on the surface at the time of the mishap, although it may have been left in the open position during the vessel's recent nighttime stop at Rota. One Trieste II pilot who dived on Scorpion said that the shock of the implosion may have knocked the light into the open position.
The secondary Navy investigation – using extensive photographic, video, and eyewitness inspections of the wreckage in 1969 – suggested that Scorpion's hull was crushed by implosion forces as it sank below crush depth. The Structural Analysis Group, which included Naval Ship Systems Command's Submarine Structures director Peter Palermo, plainly saw that the torpedo room was intact, though it had been pThe secondary Navy investigation – using extensive photographic, video, and eyewitness inspections of the wreckage in 1969 – suggested that Scorpion's hull was crushed by implosion forces as it sank below crush depth. The Structural Analysis Group, which included Naval Ship Systems Command's Submarine Structures director Peter Palermo, plainly saw that the torpedo room was intact, though it had been pinched by excessive sea pressure. The operations compartment collapsed at frame 33, this being the king frame of the hull, reaching its structural limit first. The conical/cylindrical transition piece at frame 67 followed instantly. The boat was broken in two by massive hydrostatic pressure at an estimated depth of 1,530 feet (470 m). The operations compartment was largely obliterated by sea pressure, and the engine room had telescoped 50 ft (15 m) forward into the hull due to collapse pressure, when the cone-to-cylinder transition junction failed between the auxiliary machine space and the engine room.
The only damage to the torpedo room compartment appeared to be a hatch missing from the forward escape trunk. Palermo pointed out that this would have occurred when water pressure entered the torpedo room at the moment of implosion.
The sail was ripped off, as the hull beneath it folded inward. The propulsion shaft came out of the boat; the engineering section had collapsed inward in a telescoping fashion. The broken boat fell another 9,000 feet (2,700 m) to the ocean floor.
Photos taken in 1986 by Woods Hole Alvin, released by Navy in 2012, shows the broken inboard end of the propulsion shaft.
Navy investigations Edit
Court of Inquiry report – 1968 Edit
Shortly after her sinking, the Navy assembled a Court of Inquiry to investigate the incident and to publish a report regarding the likely causes for the sinking. The court was presided over by Vice Admiral Bernard L. Austin, who had presided over the inquiry into the loss of Thresher. The report's findings were first made public on January 31, 1969. While ruling out sabotage, the report said: "The certain cause of the loss of the Scorpion cannot be ascertained from evidence now available."[13]
In 1984, the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star obtained documents related to the inquiry and reported that the likely cause of the disaster was the detonation of a torpedo while the Scorpion's own crew attempted to disarm it.[14] The U.S. Navy declassified many of the inquiry's documents in 1993.[15]
Naval Ordnance Laboratory report – 1970 Edit
An extensive, year-long analysis of Gordon Hamilton's hydroacoustic signals of the submarine's demise was conducted by Robert Price, Ermine (Meri) Christian, and Peter Sherman of the Naval Ordnance Laboratory (NOL). All three physicists were experts on undersea explosions, their sound signatures, and their destructive effects. Price was also an open critic of Craven. Their opinion, presented to the Navy as part of the Phase II investigation, was that the death noises likely occurred at 2,000 ft (610 m) when the hull failed. Fragments then continued in a free fall for another 9,000 ft (2,700 m). This appears to differ from conclusions drawn by Craven and Hamilton, who pursued an independent set of experiments as part of the same Phase II probe, demonstrating that alternate interpretations of the hydroacoustic signals were possibly based on the submarine's depth at the time it was stricken and other operational conditions.[citation needed]
The Structural Analysis Group (SAG) concluded that an explosive event was unlikely and was highly dismissive of Craven and Hamilton's tests. The SAG physicists argued that the absence of a bubble pulse, which invariably occurs in an underwater explosion, is absolute evidence that no torpedo explosion occurred outside or inside the hull. Craven had attempted to prove that Scorpion's hull could "swallow" the bubble pulse of a torpedo detonation by having Gordon Hamilton detonate small charges next to air-filled steel containers.[citation needed]
The 1970 Naval Ordnance Laboratory "Letter",[16] the acoustics study of Scorpion destruction sounds by Price and Christian, was a supporting study within the SAG report. In its conclusions and recommendations section, the NOL acoustic study states: "The first SCORPION acoustic event was not caused by a large explosion, either internal or external to the hull. The probable depth of occurrence ... and the spectral characteristics of the signal support this. In fact, it is unlikely that any of the Scorpion acoustic events were caused by explosions."[16]
The Naval Ordnance Laboratory based much of its findings on an extensive acoustic analysis of the torpedoing and sinking of the decommissioned submarine Sterlet in the Pacific in early 1969, seeking to compare its acoustic signals to those generated by Scorpion. Price found the Navy's scheduled sinking of Sterlet fortunate. Nonetheless, Sterlet was a small World War II-era Diesel-electric submarine of a vastly different design and construction than Scorpion with regard to its pressure hull and other characteristics. Its sinking resulted in three identifiable acoustic signals, as compared to Scorpion's fifteen.[16][better source needed]
The NOL acoustics study provided a highly debated explanation as to how Scorpion may have reached its crush depth by anecdotally referring to the near-loss incident of the Diesel submarine Chopper in January 1969, when a power problem caused her to sink almost to crush depth, before surfacing.[citation needed]
In the same May 2003 N77 letter excerpted above (see 1. In the same May 2003 N77 letter excerpted above (see 1. with regard to the Navy's view of a forward explosion), however, the following statement appears to dismiss the NOL theory, and again unequivocally point the finger toward an explosion forward:[citation needed]
The Navy has extensively investigated the loss of Scorpion through the initial court of inquiry and the 1970 and 1987 reviews by the Structural Analysis Group. Nothing in those investigations caused the Navy to change its conclusion that an unexplained catastrophic event occurred.
Wreck site Edit
Bow section of the Scorpion contains two nuclear Mark 45 anti-submarine torpedoes. U.S. Navy photo.
A 1985 image of the submarine's fractured stern section.
The remains of the Scorpion are reportedly resting on a sandy seabed at 32°54.9′N 33°08.89′W in the North Atlantic Ocean.[17] The wreck lies at a depth of 3,000 m (9,800 ft) approximately 400 nmi (740 km) southwest of the Azores on the eastern edge of the Sargasso Sea.[citation needed]
The U.S. Navy periodically visits the site to determine whether wreckage has been disturbed and to test for the release of any fissile materials from the submarine's nuclear reactor or two nuclear weapons. Except for a few photographs taken by deep water submersibles in 1968 and 1985, the U.S. Navy has never made public any physical surveys it has conducted on the wreck. The last photos were taken by Robert Ballard and a team of oceanographers from Woods Hole using the submersible in 1985. The U.S. Navy secretly loaned Ballard the submersible to visit the wreck sites of the Thresher and Scorpion. In exchange for his work, the U.S. Navy then allowed Ballard, a USNR officer, to use the same submersible to search for RMS Titanic.[18]
Due to the radioactive nature of the Scorpion wreck site, the U.S. Navy has had to publish what specific environmental sampling it has done of the sediment, water, and marine life around the sunken submarine to establish what impact it has had on the deep-ocean environment. The information is contained within an annual public report on the U.S. Navy's environmental monitoring for all U.S. nuclear-powered ships and boats. The reports explains the methodology for conducting deep-sea monitoring from both surface vessels and submersibles. These reports say the lack of radioactivity outside the wreck shows the nuclear fuel aboard the submarine remains intact and no uranium in excess of levels expected from the fallout from past atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons has been detected during Naval inspections. Likewise the two nuclear-tipped Mark 45 anti-submarine torpedoes (ASTOR) that were lost when the Scorpion sank show no signs of instability. It is likely the plutonium and uranium cores of these weapons corroded to a heavy, insoluble material soon after the sinking. The material remain at or close to their original location inside the boat's torpedo room. If the corroded materials were released outside the submarine, their density and insolubility would cause them to settle into the sediment.[citation needed]
Call for inquiry: 2012 Edit
In November 2012, the U.S. Submarine Veterans, an organization with over 13,800 members, asked the U.S. Navy to reopen the investigation on the sinking of USS Scorpion. The Navy rejected the request. A private group including family members of the lost submariners stated they would investigate the wreckage on their own since it was located in international waters.[19]
For other ships with the same name, see USS Scorpion.
USS Scorpion (SSN-589) was a Skipjack-class nuclear powered submarine that served in the United States Navy and the sixth vessel of the U.S. Navy to carry that name.
USS
Scorpion
(SSN-589)
USS Scorpion, 22 August 1960, off New London, Connecticut
History
United States
Name:
Scorpion
Ordered:
31 January 1957
Builder:
General Dynamics Electric Boat
Laid down:
20 August 1958[1]
Launched:
29 December 1959[1]
Commissioned:
29 July 1960[1]
Struck:
30 June 1968[1]
Fate:
Lost with a crew of 99 on 22 May 1968; cause of sinking unknown.
Status:
Located on the seabed of the Atlantic Ocean, 32°55′N 33°09′W,[2] in 3,000 m (9,800 ft) of water, 740 km (400 nmi) southwest of the Azores
Badge:
General characteristics
Class and type:
Skipjack-class submarine
Displacement:
2,880 long tons (2,930 t) light
3,075 long tons (3,124 t) full
195 long tons (198 t) deadweight
Length:
251 ft 8 in (76.71 m)
Beam:
31 ft 7 in (9.63 m)
Draft:
9.1 m (29 ft 10 in)
Propulsion:
S5W reactor
Complement:
8 officers, 75 men
Armament:
6 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes
2 × Mark 45 torpedoes
Scorpion was lost on 22 May 1968, with 99 crewmen dying in the incident. She is one of two nuclear submarines the U.S. Navy has lost, the other being USS Thresher.[3] It was one of four mysterious submarine disappearances in 1968, the others being the Israeli submarine INS Dakar, the French submarine Minerve, and the Soviet submarine K-129.
Service Edit
Scorpion slides down the ways at the launch in Groton, Connecticut, on 19 December 1959.
Scorpion's keel was laid down 20 August 1958 by General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton, Connecticut. She was launched 19 December 1959, sponsored by Mrs. Elizabeth S. Morrison, the daughter of the last commander of the World War II-era USS Scorpion (SS-278), Lt. Cdr. Maximilian Gmelich Schmidt (that ship was also lost with all hands, in 1944). Scorpion was commissioned 29 July 1960, with Commander Norman B. Bessac in command. (See USS George Washington for information on how that submarine had originally been laid down with the name and hull number, USS Scorpion SSN-589, intended to be an attack submarine.)[citation needed]
Service: 1960–1967 Edit
Assigned to Submarine Squadron 6, Division 62, Scorpion departed New London, Connecticut, on 24 August for a two-month European deployment. During that time, she participated in exercises with 6th Fleet units and NATO-member navies. After returning to New England in late October, she trained along the eastern seaboard until May 1961. On 9 August 1961, she returned to New London, moving to Norfolk, Virginia, a month later. In 1962, she earned a Navy Unit Commendation.[citation needed]
Norfolk was Scorpion's port for the remainder of her career, and she specialized in developing nuclear submarine warfare tactics. Varying roles from hunter to hunted, she participated in exercises along the Atlantic coast, and in Bermuda and Puerto Rico operating areas. From June 1963 to May 1964, she underwent an overhaul at Charleston. She resumed duty in late spring, but regular duties were again interrupted from 4 August to 8 October for a transatlantic patrol. In the spring of 1965, she conducted a similar patrol in European waters.[citation needed]
In 1966 she deployed for special operations. After completing those assignments, her commanding officer (CO) received a Navy Commendation Medal for outstanding leadership, foresight and professional skill. Other Scorpion officers and crewmen were also cited for meritorious achievement. Scorpion is reputed to have entered an inland Russian sea during a "Northern Run" in 1966, where it filmed a Soviet missile launch through its periscope before fleeing from Soviet Navy ships.[citation needed]
Overhaul: 1967 Edit
On 1 February 1967, Scorpion entered Norfolk Naval Shipyard for a refueling overhaul. However, instead of a much-needed complete overhaul, she received only eOverhaul: 1967 Edit
On 1 February 1967, Scorpion entered Norfolk Naval Shipyard for a refueling overhaul. However, instead of a much-needed complete overhaul, she received only emergency repairs to get quickly back on duty. The preferred SUBSAFE[4][5] program required increased submarine overhaul times, from 9 months in length to 36 months. Intensive vetting of submarine component quality, SUBSAFE, was required, coupled with various improvements and intensified structural inspections – particularly, hull-welding inspections using ultrasonic testing – and reduced availability of critical parts like seawater piping.[citation needed]
Cold War pressures had prompted U.S. Submarine Force Atlantic (SUBLANT) officers to cut corners. The last overhaul of the Scorpion cost one-seventh of those performed on other nuclear submarines at the same time. This was the result of concerns about the "high percentage of time offline" for nuclear attack submarines, estimated at about 40% of total available duty time.[citation needed]
Scorpion's original "full overhaul" was reduced in scope. Long-overdue SUBSAFE work, such as a new central valve control system, was not performed. Crucially, her emergency system was not corrected for the same problems that destroyed Thresher. While Charleston Naval Shipyard claimed the Emergency Main Ballast Tank Blow (EMBT) system worked as-is, SUBLANT claimed it did not, and their EMBT was "tagged out" (listed as unusable). Perceived problems with overhaul duration led to a delay on all SUBSAFE work in 1967.[citation needed]
CNO Admiral David Lamar McDonald approved Scorpion's reduced overhaul on 17 June 1966. On 20 July, McDonald deferred SUBSAFE extensions, otherwise deemed essential since 1963.[verification needed].
Service: 1967–1968 Edit
Tallahatchie County with Scorpion alongside, outside Claywall Harbor, Naples, Italy, in April 1968 (shortly before Scorpion departed on her last voyage). This is believed to be one of the last photographs taken of Scorpion.
In late October 1967, Scorpion started refresher training and weapons system acceptance tests, and was given a new commanding officer, Francis Slattery. Following type training out of Norfolk, Virginia, she got underway on 15 February 1968 for a Mediterranean Sea deployment. She operated with the 6th Fleet into May and then headed west for home.[citation needed]
Scorpion suffered several mechanical malfunctions, including a chronic problem with Freon leakage from refrigeration systems. An electrical fire occurred in an escape trunk when a water leak shorted out a shore power connection. There is no evidence that Scorpion's speed was restricted in May 1968, although it was conservatively observing a depth limitation of 500 feet (150 m), due to the incomplete implementation of planned post-Thresher safety checks and modifications.[6]
After departing the Mediterranean on 16 May, the Scorpion dropped two men at Naval Station Rota in Spain, one for a family emergency (RM2 Eric Reid), and one for health reasons (ICS Joseph Underwood). Some U.S. ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) operated from the U.S. Naval base Rota; it is speculated that USS Scorpion provided noise cover for USS John C. Calhoun when they both departed to the Atlantic. As well as Soviet intelligence trawlers, there were Soviet fast nuclear attack submarines[7] attempting to detect and follow the U.S. submarines going out of Rota; in this case, two fast 32-knot Soviet November-class hunter-killer subs.[6]
Scorpion was then detailed to observe Soviet naval activities in the Atlantic in the vicinity of the Azores. An Echo II-class submarine was operating with this Soviet task force, as well as a Russian guided-missile destroyer.[8] Having observed and listened to the Soviet units, Scorpion prepared to head back to Naval Station Norfolk.[citation needed]
Disappearance: May 1968 Edit
Scorpion attempted to send radio traffic to Naval Station Rota for an unusually long period beginning shortly before midnight on 20 May and ending after midnight on 21 May, but it was only able to reach a Navy communications station in Nea Makri, Greece, which forwarded the messages to COMSUBLANT.[6] Lt. John Roberts was handed Commander Slattery's last message that he was closing on the Soviet submarine and research group, running at a steady 15 kn (17 mph; 28 km/h) at a depth of 350 ft (110 m) "to begin surveillance of the Soviets".[6] Six days later, the media reported that she was overdue at Norfolk.[9]
Search: 1968 Edit
U.S. Navy photo 1968 of the bow section of Scorpion, by the crew of bathyscaphe Trieste II
The Navy suspected possible failure and launched a search, but Scorpion and her crew were declared "presumed lost" on 5 June. Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 30 June. The search continued with a team of mathematical consultants led by Dr. John Piña Craven, the Chief Scientist of the Navy's Special Projects Division. They employed the methods of Bayesian search theory, initially developed during the search for a hydrogen bomb lost off the coast of Palomares, Spain in January 1966 in the Palomares B-52 crash.[citation needed]
Some reports indicate that a large and secret search was launched three days before Scorpion was expected back from patrol. This and other declassified information led to speculation that the Navy knew of Scorpion's destruction before the public search was launched.[10]
At the end of October 1968, the Navy's oceanographic research ship Mizar located sections of the hull of Scorpion on the seabed, about 400 nmi (740 km) southwest of the Azores[11] under more than 9,800 ft (3,000 m) of water. This was after the Navy had released sound tapes from its underwater "SOSUS" listening system which contained the sounds of the destruction of Scorpion.[12] The court of inquiry was subsequently reconvened, and other vessels were dispatched to the scene to collect pictures and other data, including the bathyscaphe Trieste II.
Craven received much credit for locating the wreckage of Scorpion, although Gordon Hamilton was instrumental in defining a compact "search box" wherein the wreck was ultimately found. He was an acoustics expert who pioneered the use of hydroacoustics to pinpoint Polaris missile splashdown locations, and he had established a listening station in the Canary Islands which obtained a clear signal of the vessel's pressure hull imploding as she passed crush depth. Naval Research Laboratory scientist Chester Buchanan used a towed camera sled of his own design aboard Mizar and finally located Scorpion.[11]
Observed damage Edit
Learn more
This section does not cite any sources.
Skipjack-class submarine drawing:
1. Sonar arrays
2. Torpedo room
3. Operations compartment
4. Reactor compartment
5. Auxiliary machinery space
6. Engine room
The bow of Scorpion appears to have skidded upon impact with the globigerina ooze on the sea floor, digging a sizable trench. The sail had been dislodged, as the hull of the operations compartment upon which it perched disintegrated, and was lying on its port side. One of Scorpion's running lights was in the open position, as if it had been on the surface at the time of the mishap, although it may have been left in the open position during the vessel's recent nighttime stop at Rota. One Trieste II pilot who dived on Scorpion said that the shock of the implosion may have knocked the light into the open position.
The secondary Navy investigation – using extensive photographic, video, and eyewitness inspections of the wreckage in 1969 – suggested that Scorpion's hull was crushed by implosion forces as it sank below crush depth. The Structural Analysis Group, which included Naval Ship Systems Command's Submarine Structures director Peter Palermo, plainly saw that the torpedo room was intact, though it had been pThe secondary Navy investigation – using extensive photographic, video, and eyewitness inspections of the wreckage in 1969 – suggested that Scorpion's hull was crushed by implosion forces as it sank below crush depth. The Structural Analysis Group, which included Naval Ship Systems Command's Submarine Structures director Peter Palermo, plainly saw that the torpedo room was intact, though it had been pinched by excessive sea pressure. The operations compartment collapsed at frame 33, this being the king frame of the hull, reaching its structural limit first. The conical/cylindrical transition piece at frame 67 followed instantly. The boat was broken in two by massive hydrostatic pressure at an estimated depth of 1,530 feet (470 m). The operations compartment was largely obliterated by sea pressure, and the engine room had telescoped 50 ft (15 m) forward into the hull due to collapse pressure, when the cone-to-cylinder transition junction failed between the auxiliary machine space and the engine room.
The only damage to the torpedo room compartment appeared to be a hatch missing from the forward escape trunk. Palermo pointed out that this would have occurred when water pressure entered the torpedo room at the moment of implosion.
The sail was ripped off, as the hull beneath it folded inward. The propulsion shaft came out of the boat; the engineering section had collapsed inward in a telescoping fashion. The broken boat fell another 9,000 feet (2,700 m) to the ocean floor.
Photos taken in 1986 by Woods Hole Alvin, released by Navy in 2012, shows the broken inboard end of the propulsion shaft.
Navy investigations Edit
Court of Inquiry report – 1968 Edit
Shortly after her sinking, the Navy assembled a Court of Inquiry to investigate the incident and to publish a report regarding the likely causes for the sinking. The court was presided over by Vice Admiral Bernard L. Austin, who had presided over the inquiry into the loss of Thresher. The report's findings were first made public on January 31, 1969. While ruling out sabotage, the report said: "The certain cause of the loss of the Scorpion cannot be ascertained from evidence now available."[13]
In 1984, the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star obtained documents related to the inquiry and reported that the likely cause of the disaster was the detonation of a torpedo while the Scorpion's own crew attempted to disarm it.[14] The U.S. Navy declassified many of the inquiry's documents in 1993.[15]
Naval Ordnance Laboratory report – 1970 Edit
An extensive, year-long analysis of Gordon Hamilton's hydroacoustic signals of the submarine's demise was conducted by Robert Price, Ermine (Meri) Christian, and Peter Sherman of the Naval Ordnance Laboratory (NOL). All three physicists were experts on undersea explosions, their sound signatures, and their destructive effects. Price was also an open critic of Craven. Their opinion, presented to the Navy as part of the Phase II investigation, was that the death noises likely occurred at 2,000 ft (610 m) when the hull failed. Fragments then continued in a free fall for another 9,000 ft (2,700 m). This appears to differ from conclusions drawn by Craven and Hamilton, who pursued an independent set of experiments as part of the same Phase II probe, demonstrating that alternate interpretations of the hydroacoustic signals were possibly based on the submarine's depth at the time it was stricken and other operational conditions.[citation needed]
The Structural Analysis Group (SAG) concluded that an explosive event was unlikely and was highly dismissive of Craven and Hamilton's tests. The SAG physicists argued that the absence of a bubble pulse, which invariably occurs in an underwater explosion, is absolute evidence that no torpedo explosion occurred outside or inside the hull. Craven had attempted to prove that Scorpion's hull could "swallow" the bubble pulse of a torpedo detonation by having Gordon Hamilton detonate small charges next to air-filled steel containers.[citation needed]
The 1970 Naval Ordnance Laboratory "Letter",[16] the acoustics study of Scorpion destruction sounds by Price and Christian, was a supporting study within the SAG report. In its conclusions and recommendations section, the NOL acoustic study states: "The first SCORPION acoustic event was not caused by a large explosion, either internal or external to the hull. The probable depth of occurrence ... and the spectral characteristics of the signal support this. In fact, it is unlikely that any of the Scorpion acoustic events were caused by explosions."[16]
The Naval Ordnance Laboratory based much of its findings on an extensive acoustic analysis of the torpedoing and sinking of the decommissioned submarine Sterlet in the Pacific in early 1969, seeking to compare its acoustic signals to those generated by Scorpion. Price found the Navy's scheduled sinking of Sterlet fortunate. Nonetheless, Sterlet was a small World War II-era Diesel-electric submarine of a vastly different design and construction than Scorpion with regard to its pressure hull and other characteristics. Its sinking resulted in three identifiable acoustic signals, as compared to Scorpion's fifteen.[16][better source needed]
The NOL acoustics study provided a highly debated explanation as to how Scorpion may have reached its crush depth by anecdotally referring to the near-loss incident of the Diesel submarine Chopper in January 1969, when a power problem caused her to sink almost to crush depth, before surfacing.[citation needed]
In the same May 2003 N77 letter excerpted above (see 1. In the same May 2003 N77 letter excerpted above (see 1. with regard to the Navy's view of a forward explosion), however, the following statement appears to dismiss the NOL theory, and again unequivocally point the finger toward an explosion forward:[citation needed]
The Navy has extensively investigated the loss of Scorpion through the initial court of inquiry and the 1970 and 1987 reviews by the Structural Analysis Group. Nothing in those investigations caused the Navy to change its conclusion that an unexplained catastrophic event occurred.
Wreck site Edit
Bow section of the Scorpion contains two nuclear Mark 45 anti-submarine torpedoes. U.S. Navy photo.
A 1985 image of the submarine's fractured stern section.
The remains of the Scorpion are reportedly resting on a sandy seabed at 32°54.9′N 33°08.89′W in the North Atlantic Ocean.[17] The wreck lies at a depth of 3,000 m (9,800 ft) approximately 400 nmi (740 km) southwest of the Azores on the eastern edge of the Sargasso Sea.[citation needed]
The U.S. Navy periodically visits the site to determine whether wreckage has been disturbed and to test for the release of any fissile materials from the submarine's nuclear reactor or two nuclear weapons. Except for a few photographs taken by deep water submersibles in 1968 and 1985, the U.S. Navy has never made public any physical surveys it has conducted on the wreck. The last photos were taken by Robert Ballard and a team of oceanographers from Woods Hole using the submersible in 1985. The U.S. Navy secretly loaned Ballard the submersible to visit the wreck sites of the Thresher and Scorpion. In exchange for his work, the U.S. Navy then allowed Ballard, a USNR officer, to use the same submersible to search for RMS Titanic.[18]
Due to the radioactive nature of the Scorpion wreck site, the U.S. Navy has had to publish what specific environmental sampling it has done of the sediment, water, and marine life around the sunken submarine to establish what impact it has had on the deep-ocean environment. The information is contained within an annual public report on the U.S. Navy's environmental monitoring for all U.S. nuclear-powered ships and boats. The reports explains the methodology for conducting deep-sea monitoring from both surface vessels and submersibles. These reports say the lack of radioactivity outside the wreck shows the nuclear fuel aboard the submarine remains intact and no uranium in excess of levels expected from the fallout from past atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons has been detected during Naval inspections. Likewise the two nuclear-tipped Mark 45 anti-submarine torpedoes (ASTOR) that were lost when the Scorpion sank show no signs of instability. It is likely the plutonium and uranium cores of these weapons corroded to a heavy, insoluble material soon after the sinking. The material remain at or close to their original location inside the boat's torpedo room. If the corroded materials were released outside the submarine, their density and insolubility would cause them to settle into the sediment.[citation needed]
Call for inquiry: 2012 Edit
In November 2012, the U.S. Submarine Veterans, an organization with over 13,800 members, asked the U.S. Navy to reopen the investigation on the sinking of USS Scorpion. The Navy rejected the request. A private group including family members of the lost submariners stated they would investigate the wreckage on their own since it was located in international waters.[19]
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