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Photo # NH 97555:  Navy ships circle in the vicinity of the loss site of USS Thresher, April 1961

Online Library of Selected Images:
-- U.S. NAVY SHIPS --

Loss of USS Thresher (SSN-593)


This page features views related to the loss of USS Thresher on 10 April 1963, the search for her wreckage and recovery of artifacts from her debris field.

For photographs of Thresher's Commanding Officer at the time of her loss, see:

  • Lieutenant Commander John W. Harvey, USN.

    For more views of USS Thresher, see:

  • USS Thresher (SSN-593), 1961-1963.

    If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."

    Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.

    Photo #: NH 97555

    Loss of USS Thresher (SSN-593), April 1963


    Navy ships circle in the vicinity of the site of Thresher's sinking, 15 April 1963, five days after her loss.
    Ships are (left to right): USS Thomas Jefferson (SSBN-618); USS Sunbird (ASR-15); USS Warrington (DD-843), group flagship; and USS Redfin (SS-272).
    Photographed by PHCS Parker.

    Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.

    Online Image: 57KB; 740 x 605 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 97556

    Loss of USS Thresher (SSN-593), April 1963


    "Debris on the ocean floor 8,400 feet below the surface may be a clue to the final resting place of the nuclear submarine USS Thresher. Taken last week by an underwater camera system operated by the oceanographic research vessel Atlantis II, these photographs show scattered bits of unidentified debris. The round objects are sea urchins which may range in size from four to twelve inches in diameter. The Navy states that the photographs in themselves are not conclusive evidence of the location of the missing submarine which sank on April 10, 1963, 220 miles east of Cape Cod. Ships of the searching force are continuing a minute search of the area with underwater cameras, sonar and other detection devices."
    Quoted from the original caption released with this photograph on 22 May 1963.

    Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.

    Online Image: 68KB; 740 x 605 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 97569

    Wreck of USS Thresher (SSN-593)


    "Three of fifteen packages of neoprene 'O' rings recovered by drag lines from the Lamont Laboratories oceanographic research ship Conrad in the area of prime interest in the search for the nuclear submarine Thresher. The recovery was made on the 28th of May, and the package was forwarded to the Court of Inquiry, Portsmouth, N.H., for examination. After examination and tracing of stock numbers it was definitely determined that one of the fifteen packages could have come only from the Tresher. The 'O' rings are shown on the packaging material after opening."
    The original view, from whose caption the quoted text is taken, was released on 1 June 1963.

    Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.

    Online Image: 99KB; 740 x 595 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 97568

    Wreck of USS Thresher (SSN-593)


    "Parts of a battery recovered by the Navy's bathyscaph Trieste during the first series of dives June 24th through 30th, 220 miles east of Cape Cod where the nuclear powered submarine Thresher sank April 10. The centered object is an internal battery grid, encircled by re-enforcing members."
    The original view, from whose caption the quoted text is taken, was released on 5 September 1963.

    Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.

    Online Image: 75KB; 740 x 600 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 97570

    Wreck of USS Thresher (SSN-593)


    "This brass pipe, with the inscription: 'JO 10 ... 3-O-5091-05; DM 263-109-61; PL-1862791 PC.75; 1.050 Brass Pipe; 593 Boat', was recovered by the bathyscaph Trieste during the second series of dives in the search for USS Thresher. The nuclear powered submarine which sank April 10 some 220 miles east of Cape Cod had the hull number '593'."
    The original view, from whose caption the quoted text is taken, was released on 13 September 1963.

    Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.

    Online Image: 58KB; 740 x 595 pixels

     

    For photographs of Thresher's Commanding Officer at the time of her loss, see:

  • Lieutenant Commander John W. Harvey, USN.

    For more views of USS Thresher, see:

  • USS Thresher (SSN-593), 1961-1963.


    If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."


    Return to Naval Historical Center home page.

    30 March 2001