Deep Throne (San Diego -- 300 fsw)

[beldridg]

I'm guessing that quite a few people here know about the USS Thresher, but maybe not about the outcome from that tragic accident....

This story originates with the mysterious sinking of the nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Thresher (SSN-593) east of Cape Cod on April 10th, 1963 and ends with a deep dive on a piece of submarine safety history off the coast of San Diego, California with a detour to Morro Bay Maritime Museum in-between.

It is a long but fascinating piece of U.S. Navy submarine safety history.

Below is a link to the blog post. I've also included a lot of pictures of Deep Throne.

Deep Throne (San Diego, California — 300 fsw)

Introduction This story originates with the mysterious sinking of the nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Thresher (SSN-593) east of Cape Cod on April 10th, 1963 and ends with a deep dive on a pie…

wreckedinmyrevo.com

Photo below is by Drew Wilson. I'm illuminating the structure with a couple Keldan video lights and taking photos.

Enjoy,

- brett

 

[Brant Emery]

Brett, Thanks for the great write-up. My father worked on the Thresher while she was under construction in Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in New Hampshire. We got to see her launched, and I still have some of the stamps and cards from the USPS commemorating the launch.

 

[Akimbo]

I had the opportunity to see the DSRVs several times. The first was in 1969 at the Lockheed plant in Sunnyvale. I was in my last year of high school when UPS (Underwater Photographic Society) members were invited to see them. These boats were the second and third manned deep submersibles built there. The Lockheed Deep Quest was built there in 1967 and operated out of Lockheed's facility on Harbor Island in San Diego, which I also saw at the invitation of a dive buddy that worked there.

I was sent over to DSRV-2 Avalon's hanger at North Island several times to sort out acoustic communications compatibility with the Mark II Deep Dive System I was on. We talked about their two simulated sub docking systems, one deep and one shallow. I don't recall hearing the name Deep Throne, but really didn't have a reason to get that specific.

Here are some images I took of the Avalon at Morro Bay in 2015:

There were also some DSRV mockups built to test and train deployment on subs. It is not clear to me if these original mockups were converted into the saturation systems on the Halibut and Seawolf for the Ivy Bells cable tapping or not.

 

[beldridg]

Brett, Thanks for the great write-up. My father worked on the Thresher while she was under construction in Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in New Hampshire. We got to see her launched, and I still have some of the stamps and cards from the USPS commemorating the launch.

Hi Brant. Thanks for reading and thanks for your comments. It is cool that your dad worked on the USS Thresher. I have another friend who just replied to my blog saying that his dad also worked at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard as well. Small world.

- brett

 

[beldridg]

I had the opportunity to see the DSRVs several times. The first was in 1969 at the Lockheed plant in Sunnyvale. I was in my last year of high school when UPS (Underwater Photographic Society) members were invited to see them. These boats were the second and third manned deep submersibles built there. The Lockheed Deep Quest was built there in 1967 and operated out of Lockheed's facility on Harbor Island in San Diego, which I also saw at the invitation of a dive buddy that worked there.

I was sent over to DSRV-2 Avalon's hanger at North Island several times to sort out acoustic communications compatibility with the Mark II Deep Dive System I was on. We talked about their two simulated sub docking systems, one deep and one shallow. I don't recall hearing the name Deep Throne, but really didn't have a reason to get that specific.

Here are some images I took of the Avalon at Morro Bay in 2015:

View attachment 710971

View attachment 710972

View attachment 710973​

There were also some DSRV mockups built to test and train deployment on subs. It is not clear to me if these original mockups were converted into the saturation systems on the Halibut and Seawolf for the Ivy Bells cable tapping or not.

Cool bit of history. I figured you would have some pretty close ties to this one.

The Avalon is now moved off of the parking lot and closer to the museum building.

- brett