Evening star., 1963-05-12
-HRESHER
Rupture Of Water Pipe Suspected
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Continued From Page Al
mystery is officially marked
CLOSED" questions and doubts
viii persist. AS was pointed out
ct the New London (ConnO
submarine base shortly after
her loss was announced, one
normally thinks of three pos
sible causes for q submarine
casualty: Material failure. hu-
man error. enemy action.
The Navy says flatly that the
seas were clear of Russian YES
sells in the vicinity Of 4l-43N,
64-57W on the morning Of
April 10, and remained clear Of
them thereafter, so overt ac-
ton can be ruled out. There is
nothing In Thresher's last
cruise suggestive Of sabotage,
so covert action can also be
eliminated. That leaves mate
rial failure and human error.
Inside the Navy, the men who
build submarines have q vested
interest In showing their work
to be unexceptionable. The men
who select and command crews
are equally interested in dem
onstrating superior judgment
and brilliant performance Of
duty.
The court of inquiry, and
subsequently the court of pub
lie opinion, must weigh state
ments that sometimes seem
self-serving, and arrive at in
dependent judgments. From
what is known now, and likely
to become known, everything
points to material rather than
men as the primary cause Of
the submarines sudden end.
What May Have Happened
What is the real story Of
Thresher's short and tragic
life? The end is as good a
place as any to begin. Here, in
barest summary, are two alter
native reconstructions Of the
submarines death agony:
Without warning, a pipe con-
tanning water at ambient sea
pressure hundreds Of pounds
per square inch - must have
given way. 1t may have been
q large cooling pipe or a small
gauge tube no bigger around
than q pencil. In all likelihood
the break occurred at one Of
10000 silver-brazed joints In
the ships intricate plumbing.
1t probably happened in the
propulsion section aft Of mid
ships-an assumption. based on
the fact that most Of the piping
is aft.
The size Of the ruptured line i
would have had much to do !
with what ensued.
If the break occurred in a !
large pipe. hundreds Of tons of !
water rushed into the engine
room In q matter of seconds, ,
sweeping men and machinery /
before it. settling the ship
heavy by the stern, starting her
instantly on q downward course
to the bottom. Water tight
doors (h closed gave way be-
fore the flood, more swiftly
than human minds could regis
ter danger and call for help.
Charred Evidence Of Fire
AS the water rushed in, air
inside the hull was rapidly COM
pressed, simultaneously crush
ing everything in its way and
taking on a large amount Of
heat.
AS the air temperature rose
1t passed the flash point Of va
rious combustible material y
400 degrees for some fabrics,
$50 degrees for paper. 500 de-
grees for some greases. and so
on, as the water continued its
inward rush like q piston into
q cylinder. ever COMPRISING
and heating the trapped air.
Almost as quickly as flash
fires began, the chilling sea
water extinguished the flames.
leaving charred evidence Of fire
In its wake.
(It is believed this sequence
Of events could account for the
apparent charring Of plastic
material found in the area
where Thresher sank; a fire I