Deadliest Submarine Disaster in US Remembered (USS Thresher)
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) — Family and friends who lost loved ones when the USS Thresher sank 50 years ago joined in tossing wreaths into the water Saturday in an emotional service in remembrance of the 129 Navy crew members and civilian technicians who lost their lives in the deadliest submarine disaster in U.S. history.
Hundreds gathered for the memorial service at Portsmouth High School that concluded with a small group tossing three wreaths into the Piscataqua River. During the service, a bell tolled 129 times.
The event, along with the dedication of a flagpole Sunday in Kittery, Maine, aim to call attention to the tragedy 220 miles off Cape Cod, which became the impetus for submarine safety improvements.
Vice Adm. Michael Connor, commander of the Navy’s submarine forces, acknowledged Saturday that the safety upgrades came at a steep cost to Thresher families.
“I’ve talked a lot about the good that comes from the Thresher and the Thresher’s loss, but that’s probably not a consolation to the families who’ve lost a father or a son,” Connor told a packed high school auditorium.
The USS Thresher, built at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and based in Connecticut, was out for a routine deep-diving test when it ran into trouble on April 10, 1963.
The Navy believes the failure of a brazed weld allowed sea water to spray onto electrical panel, causing an emergency shutdown of the sub’s nuclear reactor. The ballast system also failed, preventing the sub from surfacing.