After almost six decades, they’re finally going to release the documents. This was one of the case studies I did for NASA when I was supporting S&MA at HQ a decade and half ago, but even at that time, questions remained. This may answer them.
One thought on “The Thresher”
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I’ve always wondered about that one. The theory of a pipe burst scramming the reactor (via a panel short), coupled with an inability to blow the ballast (due to ice buildup) sending Thresher below crush depth has always been a bit controversial.
Thresher had batteries too, and could have used those to drive for the surface. She had some time; she imploded at about twice test depth. That makes me think, coupled with the SOSUS data lacking the noise of a leak, that it was indeed an electrical buss problem, leaving her with no propulsion, and then the inability to blow sealed her fate.
Maybe, if this goes through, we’ll eventually learn more about the loss of Scorpion, too.