The mysterious loss of the USS Scorpion... whodunit?

[Pat Hurley]

Internal torpedo explosion? Multiple system failures? Fire? Or perhaps, was she fired on and destroyed by the Soviet Navy? The most secretive and unsolved submarine disaster ever.

http://members.aol.com/bear317d/scorpion.htm

[DWARREN123]

I have an alibi.

[JohnK3]

Walker sunk it. Not directly, per se, but he was the responsible party.

[Pistolenschutze]

Originally Posted by JohnK3

Walker sunk it. Not directly, per se, but he was the responsible party.

I tend to agree, John. That man should have been fried and dumped into an unmarked grave somewhere, not merely imprisoned.

Like the Kennedy assassination, there's always been--and likely always will be--considerable controversy over the USS Thresher disaster. I think it is at least possible that the Soviets sank it, but honestly, I think that is rather unlikely. Consider the risk they would have been taking. Such an attack, in international waters, if detected, would almost certainly have meant a full scale war with the U.S. Would such a risk be worth the minimal gain they would have achieved? The Soviets were many things, but stupid wasn't one of them. If we apply Occam's Razor (the simplest explanation is most likely the correct one) to the equation, it seems more likely that the vessel sank from internal explosion or other failure of some sort. There's a lot of things that can go wrong on a submarine.

[Pat Hurley]

Originally Posted by Pistolenschutze

I tend to agree, John. That man should have been fried and dumped into an unmarked grave somewhere, not merely imprisoned.

Like the Kennedy assassination, there's always been--and likely always will be--considerable controversy over the USS Thresher disaster.

Pistol, don't you mean the Scorpion? To my knowledge, there is no remaining controversy concerning the Thresher - it was concluded to be sea water intrusion caused the reactor to shut down and it was caused by failed pipes and failed ballasts, which made it incapable of doing anything except sink to crushing depth.

The Scorpion, on the other hand, is FAR from a settled matter.

I regret the death of my uncle (Admiral Eli Reich), because he was very high atop the Navy's command structure when the Scorpion was lost, and I wish I had the chance to pick his brain after a getting a few double malt scotches under his belt. To me, there is much more than meets the eye in this story. I believe the chances of a Soviet ambush on the Scorpion are greater than most would concede. I lean toward the scenario that the Soviets, laying in wait, planted a torpedo in Scorpions port side and sent all aboard to their deaths.

Like the Hunt for Red October, this story has the kind of twists and turns that would make for a fabulous movie script.

[Pistolenschutze]

Originally Posted by Pat Hurley

Pistol, don't you mean the Scorpion?

Yup, Pat. Thinking "Scorpion" and typing "Thresher." Must be a bad keyborad, you know, I need a new one that types better (either that or a new brain).

What I said, though, does apply to the Scorpion. As you said, the incident is still highly controversial, and yes, it certainly could have been the Soviets and there is some evidence of that possibility as I understand it. Yet, I still think that is highly unlikely considering the risk they would have run by killing an American warship on the high seas. To do so is a causus belli. I'm not saying they couldn't have, just that it's more likely that an internal failure of some kind caused the sinking.

[Marlin]

Originally Posted by Pistolenschutze

Yup, Pat. Thinking "Scorpion" and typing "Thresher." Must be a bad keyborad, you know, I need a new one that types better (either that or a new brain)......

Boy, did you leave the barn door W I D E open !!!!!

[Colour today dedicated to St. Pat.....]

[Tuttle]

You guys should read the book Blind Man's Bluff