An Investigation Found Navy Nuclear Attack Submarine USS Thresher Most Likely Sank Because 1 Pipe Joint Was Brazed Instead of Welded. 129 Men Died in a Chain of Failures That Took Minutes

An Investigation Found Navy Nuclear Attack Submarine USS Thresher Most Likely Sank Because 1 Pipe Joint Was Brazed Instead of Welded. 129 Men Died in a Chain of Failures That Took Minutes

On April 10, 1963, the world’s most advanced submarine told the rescue ship USS Skylark it was having “minor difficulties,” tried to blow ballast, and was gone within minutes with 129 men. The Navy’s reconstruction: seawater sprayed through a brazed, not welded, pipe joint, the reactor scrammed, and ice in the high-pressure air system choked the emergency blow. Caleb Larson traces the chain from Project Nobska’s quiet-sub mandate to the SUBSAFE …