The Dark Descent: USS Thresher’s Tragic Nuclear Submarine Implosion – SlashGear

The Thresher was a technological marvel (like certain other submarines) on its creation. Designed for pursuing naval targets and delivering optimal damage, it boasted a streamlined design to boost its agility and maneuverability beneath the waves, and armaments – planned to include the ASROC – to allow it to tackle a variety of potential targets. April 1961 saw it begin the painstaking trial process, which would occur at Maine’s Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

Tragically, the very nuclear power that powered the formidable Thresher would seemingly play a vital part in its downfall. As technologically advanced as it was, it was intended to reach new depths in the ocean that the U.S. Navy hadn’t plumbed before. It was in deep sea trials to demonstrate this capacity, however, that the Thresher was lost.

On the morning of April 10, 1963, Thresher was engaging in deep dives to its estimated maximum depth: 1,300 feet. It was regularly reporting to the nearby USS Skylark, to which it had been designated during this period. Just after 9:12 am, the last communication was received, suggesting that the Thresher was experiencing an issue.

It’s believed that water entered the vessel through insecure joints and that this caused the reactor and other systems to shut down. When this happened, the Thresher would have continued to descend helplessly until it imploded in waters deeper than it could withstand.