A chief petty officer described the scene as looking like a “slaughterhouse,” with blood running everywhere. Ninety-eight crewmen were injured with one fatally injured
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The smiling newspaper reporters in this photograph belie the seriousness of the moment. The elfin figure in the center is none other than Vice Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, the man in charge of the U.S. Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. The AP photo was taken at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on April 19, 1963, nine days after the Portsmouth-built submarine USS Thresher sank in deep waters east of Boston. All 129 crew and shipyard personnel aboard were killed.
Rickover, now considered “the father of the atomic submarine,” was in town to testify about the tragedy at a closed door session of the Navy Board of Inquiry. He spoke to reporters during a 15-minute lunch break at the hearing - a meeting that remains controversial to this day.
Aftermath: How a U.S. Navy Submarine Crashed Into a Mountain
The sub s survival was a testament to the design of the submarine and the training and professionalism of her crew.
Here s What You Need to Know: The heroic actions of the crew were essential to the submarine’s survival.
In 2005, a U.S. Navy attack submarine collided head-on with an undersea mountain at more than thirty miles an hour. Despite the damage the ship sustained and the crew’s injuries, the USS San Francisco managed to limp to her home port of Guam on her own power. The incident was a testament to the design of the submarine and the training and professionalism of her crew.