USS Scorpion (SSN-589) was a Skipjack-class nuclear submarine of the United States Navy and the sixth vessel of the US Navy to carry that name. Scorpion was lost on 22 May 1968, with 99 crewmen dying in the incident. The USS Scorpion is one of two nuclear submarines the US Navy has lost, the other being USS Thresher. In November 2012, the US Submarine Veterans, an organization with over 13,800 members (all former submariners), asked the US Navy to reopen the investigation on the sinking of USS Scorpion.
Here’s what’s most interesting about the lost submarine USS Scorpion… it remains an unsolved mystery of the nuclear era. Though there are a number of compelling theories as to why the vessel was lost (some more credible than others), no one currently knows for certain.
We have the technology to mount another expedition and find out what happened to this lost ship. But do we have the will to make it happen? Or will the cause of the loss remain a mystery forever?