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The mystery of the death of the nuclear submarine USS Tresher has not yet been revealed
The mystery of the death of the nuclear submarine USS Tresher has not yet been revealed

Video: The mystery of the death of the nuclear submarine USS Tresher has not yet been revealed

Video: The mystery of the death of the nuclear submarine USS Tresher has not yet been revealed
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American multipurpose submarine USS Tresher
American multipurpose submarine USS Tresher

In the entire history of the fleet, eight nuclear submarines are known that sank as a result of the accident. First on this mournful list was the American boat Thresher, which still rests on the ocean floor.

The American multipurpose nuclear submarine (nuclear submarine) USS Thresher (SSN-593) was the lead in a series of fourteen such ships. The first boat, like the entire series, got its name in honor of one of the shark species - sea foxes. Laid down at the Portsmouth shipyards in May 1958, SSN-593 entered service after lengthy trials in 1961.

A fairly large boat for its time (with a displacement of about 3500 tons), it incorporated the latest achievements of American shipbuilding. Its purpose was to search for and destroy enemy submarine missile carriers. She could also attack surface ships of all classes. To carry out these tasks, the nuclear submarine was armed with torpedoes, as well as the newly appeared rocket torpedoes of the "Sabrok" type.

Test dive

On April 9, 1963, SSN-593 went to sea for deep-sea tests, having on board, in addition to the crew (112 people), 17 civilian specialists. The boat was commanded by Lieutenant Commander John Harvey. This was his first sailing on boats of this type, although he was far from a beginner in the submarine fleet: for three years he served as an officer on the world's first nuclear submarine "Nautilus", was a participant in her historic cruise under the ice to the North Pole. The boat was accompanied by the support vessel "Skylark" ("Skylark"), equipped with the latest hydrophones - devices for maintaining communication with the submarine under water. The Skylark also carried divers and a rescue capsule designed to a depth of 260 meters.

American multipurpose nuclear submarine "Thresher" SSN-593
American multipurpose nuclear submarine "Thresher" SSN-593

By the morning of April 10, the ships left the continental shelf. Now the depth of the ocean beneath them exceeded 2.5 kilometers. Having made a test dive to 200 meters, Harvey announced that he was ready to dive to the maximum depth. It was clear calm weather with excellent visibility when the Thresher submarine disappeared under the water. It was decided to dive in steps of 65 meters, making a stop after each step to check the condition of all the ship's units. In this mode, the test should have taken about six hours.

About half an hour after the start of the dive, the boat reached a depth of 120 meters. Some time later, Captain Harvey reported that their depth was about half of the limit value (about 330 meters for the Thresher). After inspecting the boat and its systems, the dive continued. The ocean tightened its grip on the ship in its embrace. Each meter of depth increased the pressure per square meter of the hull by one ton. Another hour passed before the Thresher reported that the boat was approaching its depth limit. Then the last message, already poorly audible, followed: “We have an increasing trim aft, trying to blow through” (to make an urgent ascent).

An eternal mystery

The submarine did not get in touch anymore, but the hydrophones delivered a characteristic sound to the Skylark, mistaken for the noise of high-pressure air supplied to the ballast tanks of the boat. After another 1-2 minutes, an incomprehensible grinding sound was heard on the escort ship. The Skylark navigator, a World War II submariner, who was at the hydrophone, explained it as the crackle of a submarine's hull breaking apart. For some time the Skylark continued to call the boat unanswered. Then, still hoping that the hydrophone communication had just failed, they began to drop signal noise grenades to the depth, signaling the command for an immediate ascent. It was all in vain."Thresher" and everyone who was on it already rested under a 2.5-kilometer thick ocean waters.

Wreckage of the Thresher nuclear submarine at the bottom of the ocean. View from the bathyscaphe "Trieste". 1963 g
Wreckage of the Thresher nuclear submarine at the bottom of the ocean. View from the bathyscaphe "Trieste". 1963 g

Many surface ships and nuclear submarines, as well as the Trieste bathyscaphe, were involved in the search for the lost submarine. From the debris that surfaced to the surface, the place of the tragedy was precisely determined. Later, "Trieste" managed to find the remains of the deceased boat at the bottom and raise its individual fragments to the surface. However, the conducted research and analysis of the collected data did not allow to establish with complete certainty the reasons for the death of "Thresher". The secret remained unsolved. Presumably the culprit of the disaster was one of the tubes of the reactor cooling system, which could not withstand the outboard pressure.

The first nuclear submarine disaster in history was not the last. Both American and Soviet submariners were killed, but the number of simultaneously killed (129 people) "Thresher" remains unsurpassed.

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