The USS Scorpion Memorial Committee is selling tee shirts for $25.00 to raise money for the 45th Anniversary Memorial Service in May 2013. If interested, please contact Mary Etta at maryettanolan@msn.com
Mary Etta is the surviving daughter of Scorpion’s Chief Of the Boat (COB) TMC (SS) Walt Bishop.
The U.S.S. Scorpion (SSN-589) was a Skipjack class nuclear powered attack submarine. While on patrol, the Scorpion went down with all hands (99 men). Scorpion’s wreckage is located about 400 nautical miles southwest of the Azores. The last contact made with Scorpion was on 20 May and 21 May, 1968.
The ship was officially declared lost on 5 June 1968. Although the cause of its demise is not known officially, the general consensus, and one I support, is a main sea water intake system failure flooded the ship. Upon hearing the news, initial speculation was that Scorpion was a “Cold-War” casualty, but that was simply scuttlebutt.
Pictures of the wreckage show no signs of explosions; in fact, most of the pressure hull is intact with no signs of implosions, which suggest that the Scorpion was completely flooded before impact on the bottom. Due to the nature of submarine operations the day-to-day dangers faced by submariners is rarely discussed.
Scorpion’s Stern
Forward of the sail
FOG HORN 