| Skipjack
Class was the first "top to bottom" new attack
submarine design using nuclear propulsion. In 1954 the USS
Nautilus, the world's first nuclear powered submarine, was
launched. Nuclear power enabled this submarine to become the
first true "submersible" - able to operate
underwater for an indefinite period of time. In 1958 the the
USS Albacore entered service with a "tear drop"
hull design to reduce underwater resistance and allow
greater submerged speed and maneuverability.
The
first submarine class to combine nuclear power with the new
hull design was the USS Skipjack. USS Skipjack was
also unique in that it was the first nuclear submarine with
a single shaft. Placement of the bow planes on the sail
greatly reduced flow noise at the bow-mounted sonar.
Deep-diving and high speed capabilities were the result of
HY-80 construction and a new reactor design, the S5W. This
reactor became the US Navy’s standard until the Los
Angeles class joined the fleet in the mid-1970’s.
SSN
589 SCORPION was lost on 22 May 1968 with 12 officers and 87
enlisted men -- one of the worst casualties in the Navy's
history. Based on prior experience with such problems and an
analysis of the accoustic signature of the Scorpion
loss, the Navy initially concluded that the most probable
cause of the loss of the Scorpion was the launch of
an inadvertently activated torpedo, which turned and struck
the submarine. A six-month search eventually located the Scorpion's
wreckage some 400 miles southwest of the Azores.
Investigation of the boat's wreckage on the ocean floor
found no evidence of torpedo damage. A six-month expedition
in 1969 by Trieste II found no direct evidence to
support the theory that the Scorpion was destroyed by
a torpedo. While some portions of the Scorpion's hull
were never found, the wreckage that was examined did not
exhibit the conditions expected from the hydrostatic
implosion of a submarine hull structure.
In
1970 a Navy panel completed a classified report that
disavowed the Court of Inquiry's conclusion. Instead of an
accidental torpedo strike, the new group suggested a
mechanical failure caused an irreparable leak that flooded
the submarine. That report said the bulk of the evidence
suggested an internal explosion in the sub's massive
electrical battery caused the sub to flood and sink. The
large number of accoustic signals detected from the loss of
the Scorpion was characteristic of a submarine going
through deep depths after experiencing substantial flooding,
rather than an intact submarine passing through collapse
depth. At the time of its loss, the boat had a history of
unresolved maintenance problems, poorly functioning safety
systems, and had received an extremely abbreviated overhaul
prior to its final mission. |
