USS Thresher (SSN-593)
USS Thresher (SSN-593) under way, 30 April 1961 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| United States | |
| Name | Thresher |
| Namesake | Thresher shark |
| Ordered | 15 January 1958 |
| Builder | Portsmouth Naval Shipyard |
| Laid down | 28 May 1958 |
| Launched | 9 July 1960 |
| Commissioned | 3 August 1961 |
| Stricken | 10 April 1963 |
| Motto | Vis Tacita (Silent Strength) |
| Fate | Lost with all hands during deep diving tests, 10 April 1963; 129 died |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Permit-class submarine |
| Displacement | 3,540 short tons (3,210 t) light, 3,770 short tons (3,420 t) submerged |
| Length | 279 ft (85 m) |
| Beam | 32 ft (9.8 m) |
| Draft | 26 ft (7.9 m) |
| Propulsion | 1 Westinghouse S5W PWR, Westinghouse Geared Turbines 15,000 shp (11 MW) |
| Speed | 33 knots (61 km/h; 38 mph) |
| Complement | 16 officers, 96 enlisted |
| Armament | 4 × 21 in (530 mm) torpedo tubes amidships |
USS Thresher (SSN-593) was the lead boat of her class of nuclear-powered attack submarines in the United States Navy. She was the U.S. Navy's second submarine to be named after the thresher shark.
On 10 April 1963, Thresher sank during deep-diving tests about 350 km (220 mi) east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, killing all 129 crew and shipyard personnel aboard. Her loss was a watershed for the U.S. Navy, leading to the implementation of a rigorous submarine safety program known as SUBSAFE. The first nuclear submarine lost at sea, Thresher was also the third of four submarines lost with more than 100 people aboard, the others being the French Surcouf, sinking with 130 personnel in 1942, USS Argonaut, lost with 102 aboard in 1943, and Russian Kursk, which sank with 118 aboard in 2000.