Never-published photos of the doomed USS Thresher have recently surfaced, shedding new light on what the interiors of the submarine looked like before it tragically sank 60 years ago. The photos were taken in August 1961 during an unveiling ceremony at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine, where the submarine was built. The images offer a glimpse into the confined living spaces aboard the $45 million nuclear attack vessel, SSN 593, showcasing the compact stateroom of the commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander John Wesley Harvey, complete with a rotary phone and small desk area, and the crew mess, where submariners would eat and relax with checker and chess boards inlaid into the tables.
Other photos reveal the officers' wardroom, where the commissioned personnel would dine, and the tiny coffin-like bunks aboard the submarine, with some folding down from the wall to maximize space while others were stacked three high. Lockers can also be seen next to the bunks for crew to store a small stash of possessions in. According to Gary Hildreth, the deputy public affairs officer at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, the archive photos "really capture the essence of the spaces in the ship's operations compartment where the sailors spent the bulk of their off-watch time when not sleeping."
Hildreth, who worked as a submariner himself for 29 years, also remarked on the striking similarity of these spaces to those found inside today's most advanced nuclear-powered submarines. He pointed out that some of the identical features include paneled bulkheads and naugahyde (faux leather) covered benches.
Almost two years after the photos were taken, the USS Thresher met its end. On April 10, 1963, the submarine was out for a routine practice drill about 220 miles off Massachusetts' Cape Cod when it ran into trouble. The crew indicated that it was attempting to empty ballast tanks to surface after a garbled message about a "minor difficulty" was received. Sailors on an accompanying rescue ship heard something about the "test depth" before listening as the sub disintegrated under the crushing pressure of the sea.
The Thresher was the first of a new class of attack submarines that could travel farther and dive deeper than any previous sub. However, an investigation into its demise found that its capabilities outstripped the Navy's best practices based on older-generation subs. For example, the ballast system used to surface in an emergency was a legacy system that was never tested at greater depths and proved to be inadequate, and there were known problems with the silver-brazed joints in pipes throughout the sub. Training was also inadequate for a nuclear reactor shutdown at depth.
Retired Capt. James Bryant, commander of a Thresher-class submarine, agreed that a series of events led to the sinking. The sub descended too quickly without stopping to assess for leaks from previous shock testing months earlier; training concerns arose because the location of valves had changed while in dock; and ice buildup prevented the crew from effectively blowing the ballast tanks to resurface. Eventually, the main cooling pumps stopped, followed by the nuclear reactor, robbing the submarine of the ability to stop its fatal descent.
Although no one knows for sure exactly how the disaster played out, it's clear that precious minutes went by as the crew became aware of their dire situation. At one point, a message from the submarine to a rescue ship referred to "900 north," suggesting the sub was 900 feet beyond its test depth, according to documents. The test depth was redacted, but previously declassified documents indicated it was 1,300 feet. The documents revealed many of the submarine's safety systems were based on operations in shallower depths from previous-generation submarines and were inadequate in the unlikely scenario of a loss.
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