USS Scorpion (SSN-589)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Scorpion.

USS Scorpion (SSN-589)
USS Scorpion, 22 August 1960, off New London, Connecticut
History
United States
NameScorpion
Ordered31 January 1957
BuilderGeneral Dynamics Electric Boat
Laid down20 August 1958[1]
Launched29 December 1959[1]
Commissioned29 July 1960[1]
Stricken30 June 1968[1]
Nickname(s)USS Scrapiron[2]
FateLost with all 99 crew on 22 May 1968; cause of sinking unknown
StatusLocated on the seabed of the Atlantic Ocean, 32°55′N 33°09′W / 32.917°N 33.150°W / 32.917; -33.150,[3] in 3,000 m (9,800 ft) of water, 740 km (400 nmi) southwest of the Azores
BadgeInsignia of USS Scorpion
General characteristics
Class and typeSkipjack-class submarine
Displacement
  • 2,880 long tons (2,930 t) light
  • 3,075 long tons (3,124 t) full
  • 195 long tons (198 t) deadweight
Length251 ft 8 in (76.71 m)
Beam31 ft 7.75 in (9.6457 m)
Draft9.1 m (29 ft 10 in)
PropulsionS5W reactor
Complement8 officers, 75 enlisted
Armament

USS Scorpion (SSN-589) was a Skipjack-class nuclear-powered submarine that served in the United States Navy, and the sixth vessel, and second submarine, of the U.S. Navy to carry that name.

Scorpion was believed to have sunk on 27 May 1968. She is one of two nuclear submarines the U.S. Navy has lost, the other being USS Thresher.[4] She was one of the four submarine disappearances in 1968, the others being the Israeli submarine INS Dakar, the French submarine Minerve, and the Soviet submarine K-129.

The wreckage of the Scorpion remains in the North Atlantic Ocean with all its armaments and nuclear reactor.

  1. ^ a b c d "USS Scorpion (SSN 589) May 27, 1968 – 99 Men Lost". United States Navy. 2007. Archived from the original on 12 March 2008. Retrieved 9 April 2008.
  2. ^ USNI Magazine July 1988
  3. ^ CINCLANTFLEET History Log June 1968 to July 1969, page 104 at 4. a.
  4. ^ Sontag & Drew (2000), p. 432.