As she submerged, the increasing pressure of the ocean reminded the crew of its presence with familiar popping and creaking noises as the hull was compressed. The next morning, Thresher began her controlled dive in 100-foot increments. LT CDR John Wesley Harvey, Class of ’59 from Annapolis and veteran of three years and 100,000 miles on the USS Nautilus, prepared his crew to take Thresher to test depth. Late that evening, Thresher completed the final leg of her journey to the dive point 220 miles off of Cape Cod in 8,400 feet of water. On her way out to the dive point, Thresher made several shallow dives in practice for her dive to test depth and performed them perfectly.
#THRESHER SUBMARINE TRIAL#
on Tuesday, April 9, 1963, three red tugboats nestled up against the dew-covered hull of the USS Thresher as her crew and riders anxiously awaited departing for the sea trial that would prove the new capabilities and improvements made to the ship at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. Thresher had just completed nine months in the shipyard for this Post Shakedown Availability (PSA). The men on board were not only looking forward to a great PSA sea trial, but also the party that was planned for that Thursday night to celebrate the 63rd Anniversary of the US Navy Submarine Force. As the tugs pulled her away from the pier, they signaled and commanded each other with high pitched whistle blasts. In return, the children of the crewmen and shipyard workers watched intently out of their car windows on shore, giggled and pointed, as the moms honked their car horns back at the tugboat whistles. As Thresher departed, many of them stood on the water’s edge waving to the sailors, shipyard workers, husbands and fathers, many of which were topside, until the boat was out of sight. Little did they know, they would never see them again. Those children and those wives had just hugged, kissed and waved off their father or their husband for the very last time. Life would never be the same for any of them.
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