I was a machinist stationed at NAVSUBASE Pearl Harbor from 1990 to 1994, and I was there for two historic anniversaries, the fiftieth observance of the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the thirtieth of the loss of the USS Thresher. Of the two, it was the second that had a more direct impact on our lives--it was the Thresher disaster that led to the implementation of the QA system that governs all maintenance procedures on naval vessels, aircraft, and secondary materiel.
If I remember correctly, the boat had just undergone an overhaul of its hydraulic power plant--even though it had only been commissioned a year earlier, it had been depth tested continuously during that year, for it was the first of its class of nuclear subs. Testing on the wreckage revealed improperly brazed fittings in the engine room and metal chips left over from machining inside of seawater valves, either of which could have led to a catastrophic failure of the ship's controls.
The final report I believe is still classified, but it was and remains ultimately speculative, as there were no eyewitness accounts--the Thresher went to the bottom with all hands, 129 men, no survivors.
Something that was never far from our minds when we did any repair work or fabrication for any of the submarines.
Fair winds and following seas, shipmates.
Eternal Father, Strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bid'st the mighty Ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
O hear us when we cry to thee,
for those who serve beneath the sea.
O Christ! Whose voice the waters heard
And hushed their raging at Thy word,
Who walked'st on the foaming deep,
and calm amidst its rage didst sleep;
Oh hear us when we cry to Thee
For those who serve beneath the sea!
Most Holy spirit! Who didst brood
Upon the chaos dark and rude,
And bid its angry tumult cease,
And give, for wild confusion, peace;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee
For those who serve beneath the sea!
Lord God, our power evermore,
Who arm doth reach the ocean floor,
Dive with our men beneath the sea;
Traverse the depths protectively.
O hear us when we pray, and keep
them safe from peril in the deep.
O Trinity of love and power!
Our brethren shield in danger's hour;
From rock and tempest, fire and foe,
Protect them wheresoe'er they go;
Thus evermore shall rise to Thee,
Glad hymns of praise from land and sea.
"Eternal Father, Strong to Save": The Navy Hymn
