Silent Steel / USS Scorpion SSN-589 / Stephen Johnson / Nuclear / SubmarineBooks.com

Nuclear submarine USS Scorpion (SSN-589) was commissioned in 1960, and soon joined America's underwater fleet, testing cold war sub tactics in exercises around the world. On February15, 1968, Scorpion departed Norfolk, Virginia, and sailed east to the Mediterranean Sea. Following four months of duty with the American Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean, Scorpion turned toward home. On May 21, she radioed her position to be about 50 nautical miles south of the Azores. Six days later, on May 27, Scorpion was due to appear at Norfolk but no further word came from the sub or her crew. Reported overdue at Norfolk, the United States Navy quickly launched its largest air-sea search in history. Scorpion had gone to the bottom of the Atlantic on May 22, taking a seasoned crew of 99 submariners to their death. Four months later the Navy finally located pieces of the ships' hull in more than 10,000 feet of water. At the time, no one could come to a definitive conclusion about what caused the demise of Scorpion. Was it a Soviet attack? Did one of her torpedoes accidentally detonate? Did the sub's hull rupture from poor maintenance? Did a storage battery explode?

Author Stephen Johnson painstakingly details the final 18 months of the fast-attack nuclear submarine USS Scorpion. After 37 years, a court of inquiry, and three undersea investigations—the latter two headed by Dr. Robert Ballard, best known for his discovery of the Titanic—why the sub sank has not been determined. Johnson offers a very readable account of the very tragic mystery, complete with sketches of crew members and a well delineated picture of the naval and submarine culture of that time. While he describes the evidence generated by all three investigations, the question of what caused the Scorpion to implode and smash with such force on the floor of the Atlantic is still somewhat a controversy.

New hardback with dust jacket, 292 pages, 29 B/W photographs, 2 diagrams, a complete USS Scorpion crew roster and an index.

Only $25.95

BOOK REVIEWS

"The magnitude of the tragedy of the USS Scorpion is matched only by the depth of the mystery surrounding her loss. Stephen Johnson has done a remarkable job of shining new light on this dark moment in U.S. submarine history." Sherry Sontag, co-author of Blind Man's Bluff

"I cannot thank Stephen Johnson enough for bringing to light the details of the birth, life, and death of my brother John's boat. [USS Scorpion] I read this book non-stop but for 8hrs of sleep in between reading. My emotions ran from high to low, physically sobbing, spiritually praying, mentally exhausting. The last words implanted in my mind that my brother spoke to me the last time I saw him in January 1968 were: "The nuclear navy isn't all it's crapped up to be". How prophetic! John's picture is in the book and I never quite figured out what the occasion of the "smile" was until I read the chapter of "TORPEDO ROOM POLKA", where his photo is located. Now that last photo of him puts the meaning and value to the smile...something I never would have known if it were not for Stephen's attention to detail. I commend Mr. Johnson for the excellent and detailed portrayal of the life of the Scorpion and the crew... ever on "ETERNAL PATROL." Erich A. Livingston

"Stephen Johnson has crafted a forensic masterpiece that leads the reader back through time to unravel the gnawing enigma of the tragic 1968 loss of the nuclear attack submarine USS Scorpion. Sifting through a maze of conflicting theories, he meticulously lays out a tale of undersea detectives searching for conclusive evidence to one of the most baffling mysteries of the cruel sea." Rear Admiral Thomas Evans, former officer on the USS Scorpion

"Mr. Johnson has probably spent more time then anyone on the planet analyzing a wider range of data than has ever been available to one person regarding the death of the Scorpion. His summary of these facts, the history of the various analyses, and most of all the human factors leading up to the disaster are informative and instructive to the general public and interesting to ex-submariners such as me. But as the new "ultimate expert" Johnson never tips his hat toward one scenario or another. We may never know the for sure what happened, but I'd like to know what Johnson feels in his gut." R.P. "Bob" Musselman, Hartford, CT.

"...This book is clearly the most important, most extensively researched on the subject. It is well written, almost like a novel. Yet it has the ring of truth as we best understand it without deliberately trying to emphasize one theory over another. An intriguing point: In the forward torpedo room of the boat lie two nuclear warheads. But somehow I suspect that if you parked your ship over the site for very long it wouldn't be very long before someone came looking to check you out." John Matlock "Gunny," Winnemucca, NV.