Joseph F. Yurso, Captain USN (retired), Director of Technical Development, Q.E.D. Systems, Inc.
On 10 April 2018 many of us will mark that date in remembrance of the 129 men, really heroes that were aboard USS Thresher SS(N) 593 when lost off the coast of Boston. MA. I must admit that my memory of that fateful date 55 years ago remains vivid and keen. As a relative young Naval Officer that is my personal day of infamy, having served as the Shipyard Watch Officer at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard that very day. Thresher was Portsmouth's pride and joy, having designed, built and brought the submarine to life. This submarine was the most advanced submarine constructed, the most deep diving submarine, with the latest weapons to locate and destroy enemy submarines and ships. This was the peak of the cold war, attack and fleet ballistic submarines were in demand.
To lose Thresher, a submarine and crew truly loved by the entire shipyard was truly a terrible blow to the shipyard people and the entire community. Portsmouth Naval Shipyard was then and still is the principal employer in the entire area of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Kittery, Maine and extending out to the states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine for many of their workers. That geographic area was changed as a result of this disaster for many years and perhaps forever. You can imagine the impact on families that lost love ones, friends, relatives, it was just endless. In the shipyard it was difficult to adjust to this monumental loss of an entire submarine and 129 precious human beings. The men on the submarine included the crew, the officers, shipyard workers, special representatives from industry and Navy Commands. Initially, the loss was hard to believe and accept. In addition, the Navy appointed a Court of Inquiry that was classified and could not reveal what they were doing. The Court was trying to determine the cause of this calamity. The cause was later "established" by the Court of Inquiry but to this very day there continues to be the understanding that the true cause or causes will never be known.
The facts remain the submarine was built with large silver brazed piping joints in salt water systems exposed to sea pressure, an inadequate blow system for the depth the submarine was designed to operate and not fully tested new systems were installed in Thresher. In addition, Thresher as the lead ship of a new class of submarines was subjected to shock trials that created damage to the submarine. After the post shakedown period, Thresher returned to Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. Some of this damage was discovered during the post shake down availability held at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. I mention some because the shipyard was to inspect for evidence of shock trial damage. Unfortunately, as the availability experienced delays, the inspection for shock damage was suspended. Also, the shipyard was instructed to inspect accessible silver brazed joints in the saltwater systems, once again as a result of the press of time and the urgency of the times (cold war demands) the plan to continue inspecting silver brazed joints was discontinued.
The true lessons of this most unfortunate submarine disaster was all involved with the decision to not continue to work the submarine and proceed to sea was a mistake. I am hopeful the US Navy will continue to do their very best to train and retrain all involved with submarines to never forget the loss of Thresher and all those men in the prime of their lives. The US Navy must never become complacent on the requirements of the Submarine Safety Program known as SubSafe.
Subsafe was created following the loss of Thresher to correct all of the known and unknown possible problems associated with the loss of Thresher. Some of the key components of the SubSafe program included a complete review of the design resulting in significant reduction of the number of hull penetrations, the reduction of salt water systems exposed to sea pressure, the establishment of an emergency blow system to insure adequate blow capability systems to dewater the ballast tanks at deepest operating depth of the submarine. The elimination of the large silver brazed piping joints in the systems exposed to sea pressure. Most important the establishment of a rigorous system to insure all the work associated with submarines are accomplished in accordance with the requirements and documentation exists to insure the proper end result is achieved. A rigorous and formal certification system to insure the submarine is ready for sea.
All of us associated with the US Navy realize that those 129 heroes did not die in vain. The loss of Thresher precipitated many improvements in the design and operation of all future submarines. The result has been successful for these 55 years. No US submarine subjected to the rigor of the SubSafe program has been lost. My personal prayer is to somehow convince the Navy to keep the lessons learned from this disaster in the forefront so as to never make the mistakes associated with the loss of Thresher.
I urge those interested to visit two websites www.ussthresher.com and www.Thresherbase.org: both provide additional information and photos of USS Thresher. For additional information on the loss of Thresher you may visit www.navalengineers.org then locate the icon Education and look for the "on demand learning", then select "Rosenblatt Lecture series" to view "Thresher, the submarine, the men, Unraveling the story".
About The Author
JOSEPH F. YURSO, Captain USN (retired), is currently Director of Technical Development for Q.E.D. Systems Incorporated of Virginia Beach, Virginia. He has been with Q.E.D. for over 30 years. Mr. Yurso has been a member of the American Society of Quality since 1989 and was a founding member and past chairman of the Tidewater section. Other positions Mr. Yurso has held include National President of the American Society of Naval Engineers. He is a past President of the American Maritime Modernization Association (AMMA). Mr. Yurso began his career as a commissioned officer serving 30 years in the United States Navy.
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