What sank the USS Scorpion?

Subnuts · 08-20-06, 07:16 PM

I recently read Stephen Johnson's recent book Silent Steel about the mysterious sinking of the USS Scorpion. While he pretty much ruled out a torpedo explosion (internal or external), the author raised a lot of interesting points.

Consider some of these points:
-On the wreck, two of the antennaes and one of the periscopes is in the raised position, and the starboard running light is in the deployed position.
-Scorpion's sister ship Scamp suffered a near-catastrophic loss of her propeller shaft in 1961.
-The stern planes are at a five-degree up angle, and the rudder is shifted 15 degrees left.
-The Scorpion's bow section is unaffected by implosion damage.
-An internal torpedo explosion would not have blown off the bow and stern escape hatches.
-The Scorpion was a maintanence nightmare in 1968, and leaked large quantaties of hydraulic and lubricating oil, along with freon, on her last deployment.

It doesn't add up, and I'm still befuddled. What do you think sank the Scorpion?

View Poll Results: What caused the loss of the Scorpion?
Internal torpedo explosion	1	4.17%
Battery fire and explosion	3	12.50%
Catastrophic failure of propeller shaft	1	4.17%
Circle-running torpedo	3	12.50%
The Russians	3	12.50%
Alien Space Bats	7	29.17%
Failure of the Trash Disposal Unit	1	4.17%
A combination of some of the above	3	12.50%
Something else (explain)	2	8.33%
Voters: 24. You may not vote on this poll

08-20-06, 07:16 PM	#1
Subnuts The Old Man Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Connecticut Posts: 1,658 Downloads: 14 Uploads: 0	What sank the USS Scorpion? I recently read Stephen Johnson's recent book Silent Steel about the mysterious sinking of the USS Scorpion. While he pretty much ruled out a torpedo explosion (internal or external), the author raised a lot of interesting points. Consider some of these points: -On the wreck, two of the antennaes and one of the periscopes is in the raised position, and the starboard running light is in the deployed position. -Scorpion's sister ship Scamp suffered a near-catastrophic loss of her propeller shaft in 1961. -The stern planes are at a five-degree up angle, and the rudder is shifted 15 degrees left. -The Scorpion's bow section is unaffected by implosion damage. -An internal torpedo explosion would not have blown off the bow and stern escape hatches. -The Scorpion was a maintanence nightmare in 1968, and leaked large quantaties of hydraulic and lubricating oil, along with freon, on her last deployment. It doesn't add up, and I'm still befuddled. What do you think sank the Scorpion? __________________ My Amazon.com reviews