LAST SOUND OF SUBMARINE

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30106, 15 April 1963, Page 9

LAST SOUND OF SUBMARINE

“Like Collapsing Compartment”

(A’.Z. Pres, Association— Copyright)

PORTSMOUTH (New Hampshire), April 13. The last sound to come from the lost United States submarine Thresher was “like the sound of a ship breaking up—like a compartment collapsing,” an officer of the submarine’s surface escort vessel testified today, A.P. reported.

Lieutenant James D. Watson gave his testimony to a Naval court of inquiry which is investigating the loss of the nuclear submarine which went , down with all hands —a crew of 112 and 17 civilian workmen—last Wednesday in 8400 feet of water 220 miles off the Massachusetts coast.

Watson, navigator of U.S.S. Skylark, a submarine rescue vessel which stood by on the surface during

the Thresher’s tests, testified the breakingup sounds were heard a few seconds after 9.17 a.m.

Five minutes earlier, he testified, the final exchange of messages between the Thresher and the Skylark began with a message from the submarine.

"Have positive up angle, attempting to blow up.” Thresher reported. Watson explained the phrase "blow up" was submarine language meaning the crew was using air pressure to blow water from her ballast tanks to bring the vesse! to the service. At 914 a.m., Watson said that Skylark notified the Thresher she was cleared to surface inasmuch as there •were no other vessels in the vicinity

The Skylark followed with another message one minute later asking the Thresher to give her course and position in relation to the surface vessel.

“There was no reply," Watson testified. He said the commanding officer of the Skylark then took over the microphone of the underwater telephone equipment after a minute of silence and repeatedly asked the Thresher. "Are you in control?”

He said the question was asked at least four times. At 916 am. he said the Skylark received a garbled message from the Thresher, but only the last two words were distinct.

These were “test depth,” he said Watson said he believed there were two or three other

words before those two. but they could not be understood.

"What then did you hear?” he was asked. “We heard sounds that are familiar to me, from having seen ships blown up by torpedoes in World War ll—the sound of a ship breaking up —like a compartment collapsing." he replied. Watson said that sound was “a muted, dull thud.” There was no further word or sound from Thresher, he said.

Vice-Admiral Bernard Austin. president of the court of inquiry asked Watson: "Do you have any theory based on the garbled sound what any of those words might have been?”

“We feel we heard the word ‘exceeding’ before the clearer words ‘test depth’.” Wa’son replied. The former skipper of the lost submarine testified earlier that instantaneous flooding probably caused the sudden sinking. A.P. said A former skipper of the Thresher testified that the vessel had "trouble’’ on the first deep dive soon after it was commissioned in August. 1961.

Commodore Deane L. Axene said the dive was virtually at the same spot in ‘he Atlantic where Thresher sank on Wednesday with a loss of 129 men.

Axene said that during the test dive “we took the submarine to an assigned depth.” It then became necessary “to halt the course of the dive because the instrument gauges indicated something was wrong ” He said he did not believe the difficulty was in the hull of the submarine During the test, he said, there were several civilian technicians aboard, as there were when the Thresher sank Axene said that during training exercises off Fort I aude-rdale. Florida, in 1962. Thresher was in/olved in a c. llision with a tug and received a hole in a ballast tank But the damage was considered superficial and the submarine continued later from Florida to Portsmouth while submerged

Another witness. Boatswain's Mate Roy S Mowen. jun.. aged 23, a telephoneradio operator on the Skylark. testified the last clear message from the Thresher was written in log shorthand r. ther than in full aboard 'he Skylark He said it was as follows:

Experiencing minor difficulty Have positive up angle: attempting to blow Will keep you informed ” He said the person who makes the log entries did not hear all the words in the record because he was 6ft *n Bft away from the receiver Mowen concurred with Watson’s testimony tha-t soon after that message they heard wnat sounded like air blowing into the submarine's ballast tanks Both estimated the air

sound lasted about four sec ends.

Watson testified the message from the Thresher calling attention to the up angle sounded as if it was being given by the skipper of the Thresher. Watson said he was led to believe it was the skipper from the “tenor of the voice and the fact that it was not hurried and gave no sign of hysteria" Both Watson and Mowen testified that constant efforts to reach the Thresher were made after the partially garbled message was received During his testimony. Watson disclosed that about 13 minutes after the Thresher began a deep dive the submarine took a “Gertrude check"—Navy language for a communications check. U P I said. Two minutes later, at 400 feet, the Thresher reported “checking for a leak " There was apparently no difficulty at the time and the dive was continued. Watson told the Court