Ship Photo of the Day

[Randy Daytona]

The USS Thresher (SS-593) suffered the worst US submarine loss in history, sinking during a dive test on 10 April 1963 with all 129 crewmen aboard. The Navy learned many lessons and started the extremely successful SUBSAFE program as a result of the mishap.

Length: 279 ft, Beam: 32 ft, Displacement: 3400 tons

Powerplant: 1 Westinghouse S5W reactor producing 15,000 HP

Commissioned: 3 August 1961. Lost at sea: 10 April 1963

USS Thresher (SSN-593) - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

USS Thresher (SSN-593) underway, 30 April 1961



Thresher at sea on 24 July 1961

 

[Randy Daytona]

While reading about the Thresher, the near fatal accident of the USS Chopper (SS-342) was mentioned. A WW2 diesel-electric Balao class submarine, the sequence of events it went through in 1969 is terrifying: (its test depth was listed as 400 ft)

From wikipedia:

On 11 February 1969, Chopper was participating in an ASW exercise off the coast of Cuba with Hawkins when her electrical power tripped off-line. Chopper was making 7–9 kn (8.1–10.4 mph; 13–17 km/h) at a depth of 150 ft (46 m) with a slight down angle when she lost power.

Within seconds, Chopper's angle increased to 45° down and her bow passed 440 ft (130 m) of depth. Because of the power loss, the Officer of the Deck was unable to communicate with the Senior Controllerman in Maneuvering room, but the senior man in the Maneuvering Room independently ordered both main motors back full. Despite the backing bell, blowing ballast, and other efforts to regain control of the submarine, the down angle continued to increase, and within one minute of the power failure, Chopper was nearly vertical in the water, bow down. Chopper's bow is estimated to have reached a depth of 1,011 ft (308 m), her stern reaching 720 ft (220 m).

The crew’s efforts began to take effect. Chopper lost the headway that was taking her deeper, and even began to make sternway. Her bow began to rise, reached level, and continued to climb. Chopper began to ascend with a rapidly increasing up-angle until she was again nearly vertical in the water, now bow up.

About two minutes after losing electrical power, Chopper shot through the surface of the ocean, nearly vertical. The entire forward section of the submarine, to the aft edge of the sail, cleared the surface before she fell back. Her momentum carried her down to a depth of about 200 ft (61 m) before she surfaced again, leveled out, and remained on the surface.

Chopper returned to port under her own power. Inspection discovered that her hull had suffered extensive structural damage during the deep dive and rapid ascent. Chopper was decommissioned on 15 September 1969.


Aerial view of Chopper (SS-342) in February 1947.


President JFK and Chopper (SS-342) meet, 26 November 1962.

Port side view of Chopper (SS-342) entering port in February 1947. Note the six Mk 51 rockets launcher on the bow of the submarine.

 

[ABMD]

While reading about the Thresher, the near fatal accident of the USS Chopper (SS-342) was mentioned. A WW2 diesel-electric Balao class submarine, the sequence of events it went through in 1969 is terrifying: (its test depth was listed as 400 ft)

From wikipedia:

On 11 February 1969, Chopper was participating in an ASW exercise off the coast of Cuba with Hawkins when her electrical power tripped off-line. Chopper was making 7–9 kn (8.1–10.4 mph; 13–17 km/h) at a depth of 150 ft (46 m) with a slight down angle when she lost power.

Within seconds, Chopper's angle increased to 45° down and her bow passed 440 ft (130 m) of depth. Because of the power loss, the Officer of the Deck was unable to communicate with the Senior Controllerman in Maneuvering room, but the senior man in the Maneuvering Room independently ordered both main motors back full. Despite the backing bell, blowing ballast, and other efforts to regain control of the submarine, the down angle continued to increase, and within one minute of the power failure, Chopper was nearly vertical in the water, bow down. Chopper's bow is estimated to have reached a depth of 1,011 ft (308 m), her stern reaching 720 ft (220 m).

The crew’s efforts began to take effect. Chopper lost the headway that was taking her deeper, and even began to make sternway. Her bow began to rise, reached level, and continued to climb. Chopper began to ascend with a rapidly increasing up-angle until she was again nearly vertical in the water, now bow up.

About two minutes after losing electrical power, Chopper shot through the surface of the ocean, nearly vertical. The entire forward section of the submarine, to the aft edge of the sail, cleared the surface before she fell back. Her momentum carried her down to a depth of about 200 ft (61 m) before she surfaced again, leveled out, and remained on the surface.

Chopper returned to port under her own power. Inspection discovered that her hull had suffered extensive structural damage during the deep dive and rapid ascent. Chopper was decommissioned on 15 September 1969.

View attachment 30298
Aerial view of Chopper (SS-342) in February 1947.

View attachment 30299
President JFK and Chopper (SS-342) meet, 26 November 1962.
View attachment 30300
Port side view of Chopper (SS-342) entering port in February 1947. Note the six Mk 51 rockets launcher on the bow of the submarine.

I can't imagine what that must have felt like!

 

[taxi1]

Within seconds, Chopper's angle increased to 45° down and her bow passed 440 ft (130 m) of depth. Because of the power loss, the Officer of the Deck was unable to communicate with the Senior Controllerman in Maneuvering room, but the senior man in the Maneuvering Room independently ordered both main motors back full. Despite the backing bell, blowing ballast, and other efforts to regain control of the submarine, the down angle continued to increase, and within one minute of the power failure, Chopper was nearly vertical in the water, bow down. Chopper's bow is estimated to have reached a depth of 1,011 ft (308 m), her stern reaching 720 ft (220 m).

The crew’s efforts began to take effect. Chopper lost the headway that was taking her deeper, and even began to make sternway. Her bow began to rise, reached level, and continued to climb. Chopper began to ascend with a rapidly increasing up-angle until she was again nearly vertical in the water, now bow up.

About two minutes after losing electrical power, Chopper shot through the surface of the ocean, nearly vertical. The entire forward section of the submarine, to the aft edge of the sail, cleared the surface before she fell back. Her momentum carried her down to a depth of about 200 ft (61 m) before she surfaced again, leveled out, and remained on the surface.

Chopper returned to port under her own power. Inspection discovered that her hull had suffered extensive structural damage during the deep dive and rapid ascent. Chopper was decommissioned on 15 September 1969.

To quote Game of Thrones..."And there is only one thing we say to Death: 'not today',"

 

[GroundPounder]

I can't imagine what that must have felt like!

I bet for some of those folks, it felt like their last day on a submarine.


Just for clarification, it was a smart ass joke. What I meant is that I bet at least some of them would have left the submarine service and found another rate. No disrespect intended for those involved.

 

[Treetop Flyer]

Submarine Report - Vol. 1, War Damage Report No. 58

CONFIDENTIAL Submarine Report Depth Charge, Bomb, Mine, Torpedo and Gunfire Damage Including Losses in action 7 December 1941 to 15 August 1945 Volume 1 The Chief of Naval Operations directs that this report be shown only to those persons to whom the report would be of value in the performance...

www.history.navy.mil

Lots of harrowing accounts here, all of which make me glad I’m not underwater. Tang getting hit by her own torpedo and the subsequent escape from the sea floor by some crew is especially crazy.

 

[Jim123]

I can't imagine what that must have felt like!

Helluva ride. It's sorta like when you're a kid you crash your toy car because that's what you do with toys, you throw your toy airplane and sometimes it hits stuff, you dunk a toy boat so it shoots up to the surface and broaches. Years later you're inside the real thing and it turns out to be scary as hell.

 

[Gatordev]

Lots of harrowing accounts here, all of which make me glad I’m not underwater. Tang getting hit by her own torpedo and the subsequent escape from the sea floor by some crew is especially crazy.

My dad told me at one point that they got hit by a P-3's torp on a range. Fortunately it was only an EXTORP, but he said it did do some damage to sail and/or external deck structure.

 

[Treetop Flyer]

My dad told me at one point that they got hit by a P-3's torp on a range. Fortunately it was only an EXTORP, but he said it did do some damage to sail and/or external deck structure.

That account of what happened to Tang is pretty much everything I don’t want about submarines. Sad and terrifying to read about the guys trying to escape but the experience in the pressure locker was bad enough they elected to return and stay in the burning/flooding torpedo room and die than attempt it again.

 

[Gatordev]

That account of what happened to Tang is pretty much everything I don’t want about submarines. Sad and terrifying to read about the guys trying to escape but the experience in the pressure locker was bad enough they elected to return and stay in the burning/flooding torpedo room and die than attempt it again.

I'm with you. Certainly a far worse scenario. I just added my comment as that relatively benign scenario my dad was in was still more than I'd care to take part in regularly. Let alone do it in a fighting war.

 

[Jim123]

My dad told me at one point that they got hit by a P-3's torp on a range. Fortunately it was only an EXTORP, but he said it did do some damage to sail and/or external deck structure.

It's been a while since I thought about an EXTORP and I thought the guidance is supposed to include a last-second "turn away" (that the warshot obviously doesn't have). Maybe I'm confusing it with something else, and the rest of what I remember of how those things are supposed to work is they search/acquire/track/home/repeat until the motor runs out. I remember hearing about one that ran into the side of a sub when it wasn't supposed to—that's probably happened a few times over the years—but kept doing it in this particular story. I thought that seemed pretty funny but the sub crew was less than impressed, as it went something like search/acquire/track/home/BONK/repeat (and repeat, and repeat). They're meant to run for a few miles so if they happen to hit something and bounce off only a few yards, I guess that leaves plenty of juice to try again.

I remember reading a sea story about an air dropped practice torpedo, somewhere on a usenet newsgroup in the 1990s so probably a Mk44 or Mk46, going stupid and getting airborne to a surprising height. That's an interesting prospect if you're using dipping sonar. A "lightweight" torpedo is about eight feet long, it weighs as much as a Harley Davidson, and it goes about as fast too.

A few months before 9/11 the Navy was testing the Mk54 at AUTEC at the same time we were detted down there for our own normal workups/practice torp drops. I remember sitting in the blockhouse with nothing to do (too late to sleep but too early to drink, yeah yeah AUTEC I know). One of the torpedos went a little haywire during a test and broached the surface. In the blockhouse we all looked at each other like, "Did he just say what I think he just said??" Later I happened in the chow line with a couple of their pilots, "Did I hear you guys right this morning? Did you say it 'broached?'" Yes and yes. For some reason I didn't ask the obvious follow up, broached like "oh look, there it is over there" or broached like Shamu. I want to say it was HS-75 doing that work (as opposed to HX or whoever else) anyhoo...


(I've probably told this story somewhere else here on AW.)

 

[Gatordev]

It's been a while since I thought about an EXTORP and I thought the guidance is supposed to include a last-second "turn away" (that the warshot obviously doesn't have).

Same same. The safety failed apparently. Not sure what kind of torp it would have been c. 1968-ish. As for the constant re-attack, that was certainly a thing with the -46. I only ever dropped one runner, and it was on my last actual pre-deployment qual. When I thought I had missed my drop point, I later got to see the tape and watched it reattack the sled. I was just glad I didn't have to go fly another event.

A few months before 9/11 the Navy was testing the Mk54 at AUTEC at the same time we were detted down there for our own normal workups/practice torp drops. I remember sitting in the blockhouse with nothing to do...

I believe previous correct nomenclature was RUB ONE. Proper radio procedure was, of course, the preferred technique.

We were testing the -54 in Hawaii at I'm sure the same time frame. We had several testing windows, but for one of them (or at least the one I was scheduled for) we were basically flying constant sorties to launch some absurd number of torps (like 10 or more) in a day. Events started at something like 0200 in the morning and kept going, with the AOs continually uploading runners on one bird while the other would fly over to Maui and drop one or two at a time. By my launch time, which was around 0700, we were told to stand down due to "issues on the range." Apparently the logic software was very good at finding the sea bed and not anything else. After several torps had been obliterated by what could only be presumed to be hostile sea mounts, they stopped testing for that day to analyze what was wrong with the software. Oops.

 

[Randy Daytona]

USS Alabama (SSBN-731) is the 6th of the Ohio class of ballistic missile submarines. All of the Ohio class submarines are named after states with the exception of the USS Henry M. Jackson (SSBN-730) - (sidenote - what is the logic of the Navy's ship naming procedures today ???) Hard to believe these boats have been around since the late 1970's - Alabama was commissioned on 25 May 1985. Featured in the movie "Crimson Tide".

Length: 560 ft, Beam: 42 ft, Displacement (submerged):19,000 tons
Powerplant: 1 S8G nuclear reactor
Armament: Trident II ballistic missiles, Mark 48 torpedoes



The nuclear-powered strategic missile submarine Alabama (SSBN-731), left, and the nuclear-powered attack submarine San Francisco (SSN-711) are moored together at a pier in front of the guided missile cruiser Chosin (CG-65) during the change of command ceremony for the commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet on 1 February 1991.



The USS ALABAMA (SSBN 731) passes Cabrillo National Monument as it heads for the Naval Submarine Base Point Loma, California.

2 time Academy Award winner Gene Hackman, who played the skipper in the movie Crimson Tide, lied about his age and joined the Marines at 16, serving 4 1/2 years a field radio operator stationed in China. (actor Harvey Keitel did the same, joining the Marines at age 16)

 

[Jim123]

USS Alabama (SSBN-731) is the 6th of the Ohio class of ballistic missile submarines. All of the Ohio class submarines are named after states with the exception of the USS Henry M. Jackson (SSBN-730) - (sidenote - what is the logic of the Navy's ship naming procedures today ???) Hard to believe these boats have been around since the late 1970's - Alabama was commissioned on 25 May 1985.

Something significant about the Ohios was that they were exceptionally quiet when they came out- almost too quiet. Their reputation was that their passive sonar signature was like a "hole in the water" that was sometimes less than the ambient noise in the ocean. This was when the Navy was making some really big leaps in controlling the radiated noise from the ship's engines and machinery (much harder to do with a nuclear reactor than with a batteries + electric motor plant), propeller design, sound absorbent material on the outside of the hull (sort of the difference between yelling inside a gymnasium or a concert hall compared to yelling inside an anechoic chamber). The Ohios were really great in that way in an era when Russian boats were relatively loud and brawny- refined and effective vs crude and effective, the story of a lot of west vs east military hardware in the Cold War.

 

[Gatordev]

The nuclear-powered strategic missile submarine Alabama (SSBN-731), left, and the nuclear-powered attack submarine San Francisco (SSN-711) are moored together at a pier in front of the guided missile cruiser Chosin (CG-65) during the change of command ceremony for the commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet on 1 February 1991.

It's funny, when I saw this picture, even though it was from 10+ years, I immediately recognized that pier. I've come to collect my stuff after a homecoming twice from that corner in the basin.