USS Thresher: A Tragic Piece of Portsmouth Maritime History
The sinking of the USS Thresher was one of the worst peacetime naval tragedies of the 20th century.
The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (actually located in Kittery, ME - but that’s a different story) was established in 1800. At that time, the shipyard constructed wooden sailing ships for the burgeoning US Navy, first completing the 74-gun USS Washington in 1815. Later, the USS Constitution, “Old Ironsides”, perhaps the most famous American old-school wooden warship, was overhauled here in 1855 inside the Franklin Shiphouse; a massive wooden structure built to house shipbuilding activities, and keep construction moving in the cold New England winter.
Anyone trying to pull off some boat projects during the winter in the Northeast can appreciate how valuable a structure like this is. The alternative is to build ships outdoors. The 240 feet long x 131 feet wide x 72 feet high Franklin Ship House, constructed in 1854 and rumored to be the biggest wooden building in the world at the time of its construction, would eventually house the first submarine built in any US Navy shipyard: the USS L-8. The Franklin ship house would later burn down on March 10th, 1936. However, this wouldn’t stop the indomitable tide of submarine building at PNSY.
By the end of WWII, 70 subs, including Balao- and Gato-class submarines- amongst others - had been built at the yard. The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNSY) a significant contributor to the bulk US submarine force that helped win WWII. Most notably, USS Archerfish, a Balao-Class submarine, sunk the Japanese aircraft carrier Shinano. Archerfish holds the record of the largest warship ever sunk by a submarine.
After WWII, PNSY became the center of the Navy’s cutting edge submarine design and development. The war-fighting value of submarines was not lost on US Navy leadership. In the early Cold War, wth the ever-present pressure to feverishly match and exceed technology developed by the Soviet Union, submarine technology advanced rapidly. In 1952, construction began of the USS Albacore. Albacore changed the submarine forever, representing the first, modern “tear-drop” submarine hull that was designed to operate mainly underwater for extended periods of time. The Albacore submarine, ushered in by forward-thinking, technical maverick Admiral Charles "Swede" Momsen, would set a submerged sub speed record for her time: 40 MPH. Although USS Albacore would never by propelled by a nuclear reactor, by the early 1960’s, the technological advances associated with Albacore’s hull shape would be combined with nuclear propulsion technology to produce cutting-edge submarines that, when submerged, were fast, maneuverable, deep-diving, and able to stay underwater for extended periods of time. These modern submarines were formidable weapons. The Navy desired to continue a fast-paced development.
USS Albacore - The ship that would change the submarine forever. Since 1985, she has served as a museum in Portsmouth, NH after she was rescued from destruction by the Portsmouth Submarine Memorial Association.
The Franklin Shiphouse - Anyone trying to pull off some boat projects during the winter in the Northeast can appreciate how valuable a structure like this is when the alternative is to build ships outdoors in sub-freezing temperatures and snow.
USS Albacore Underway - Showing her innovative “X-tail” configuration, fitted at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in 1960-1961 as an experimental way to improve submerged stability.
1960: the USS Thresher is Launched in Portsmouth
USS Thresher, built at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, was launched on July 9th, 1960 as the first submarine of her class. Thresher was launched to great fanfare. In her day, she was the most technologically advanced submarine in the US Navy’s fleet. Fast and quiet, she was designed and built specifically to find and destroy Soviet submarines. She carried the Navy’s most advanced sonar equipment, able to detect objects at unprecedented range, as well the Navy’s advanced SUBROC anti-submarine missile system.
She was propelled with Westinghouse 5SW nuclear reactor which allowed her to stay indefinitely submerged, and sported the “tear drop'“ hull of the Albacore. Thresher was a technological marvel for her day; the product of all the Navy’s efforts to develop submarine technology as fast as possible in order to meet and exceed the capabilities of the Soviet Navy. During a scary time when the threat of nuclear war loomed, Thresher was a powerful symbol of America’s advancing military power and triumph over the Soviets during the uncertainty of the Cold War.
Launching USS Thresher - July 9th, 1960, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Classic News Reel Footage of USS Thresher’s Launching: Portsmouth, NH 1960
Submarine Rescue Ship - USS Skylark
After Thresher’s launch and commissioning, Thesher undertook a raft of sea trials and task force exercises to test her broad array of technology and capability between 1961 and 1962. Her activities took her throughout the western Atlantic, including water off of Florida and Caribbean Sea. After her initial testing and trials, she returned to Portsmouth in July, 1962 for a post-shakedown evaluation of her systems and make repairs. By April 8th, 1963 she was ready to depart PSNY and enter the Atlantic once again.
On April 9th, 1963, USS Thresher left the dock at PSNY and was speeding east toward the deep waters off the Atlantic shelf, eventually reaching a deep water location 190-miles off Cape Cod, MA for diving trials. On location, she rendezvoused with the USS Skylark, a Penguin-class submarine rescue ship recently returning from deployment in the Mediterranean Sea. Skylark was equipped with an underwater telephone system that was capable of communicating with Thresher while she conducted her test dives.
On the afternoon of April 9th, Thresher, with 35-year old John Wesley Harvey in command, began to conduct a routine dive to 650 feet; half of her 1,300 foot test depth. Thresher had been to her test depth around 40 times prior to entering PNSY for maintenance in 1962. Deep dives were nothing out of the ordinary for Thresher.
Circling slowly under Skylark in order to maintain underwater communications, Thresher slowly submerged. Nearing her test depth, Thresher sent a message to Skylark, indicating some issues: "...minor difficulties, have positive up-angle, attempting to blow". Then another, unclear and distorted message that is believed to contain the number “900”, possibly indicating Thresher’s current depth. No further communications from Thresher were received.
Why Did Thresher Sink?
Capt. Jim Bryant (RET) discussing what caused the loss of Thresher was lost.
USS Thresher was, tragically, lost in 8,400 feet of water during a routine test dive, carrying her 129-man crew of officers, enlisted men, and PNSY civilian technicians that were on board for trials. The loss of Thresher hit the local community hard, as well as the nation- and NATO-submarine communities. Exactly what caused her loss is a mystery, but several theories exist: a combination of burst pipes due to inadequately joined pipes, loss of propulsion due to an emergency shutdown “scram” of her nuclear reactor, and an inability to perform an emergency blow of her ballast tanks. The Navy classified many of the details regarding Thresher, possibly in an effort to contain the fallout of such a high-profile submarine loss. Much ink has been spilled attempting to explain exactly why Thresher sank.
SubSafe - The Legacy of Thresher
After the loss of Thresher, the Navy dramatically revamped its approach to submarine safety. Another tragic loss of a submarine simply could not happen. In response to the loss of Thresher, the Navy decided to institute a new program called the Submarine Safety Program, or SUBSAFE. SUBSAFE tightly controls the materials, manufacture, and testing of all systems and components exposed to pressure from seawater, as well as systems related to flooding recovery. The SUBSAFE program has been a tremendous success; a SUBSAFE-certified submarine has never been lost.
Remember the crew of USS Thresher.
