Fate Of USS Scorpion (SSN-589)

Here is a great narrative regarding the loss of USS Scorpion (SSN-589):

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/where-scorpion-creepy-unsolved-mystery-americas-lost-nuclear-attack-submarine-119776

It is quite disheartening when you realize she probably sank because of a known problem which could have been fixed. I find that hypothesis easy to believe, since I know from experience the Navy often sent subs to sea with known serious problems.

Here's another example:

A sub I served on had known problems with the status of welds in her pressure hull. Even though I was Chief Engineer of the vessel, when the boys from NAVSEA came down to "monitor" those welds no one told me they were there or what their inspection revealed. Had we encountered a leak while submerged, I wouldn't have had a clue why it was happening. I guess it wouldn't have mattered, since flooding of the affected compartment would have doomed us to the same watery grave where Scorpion lies.

Now you can blame that on my failures as Chief Engineer or on NAVSEA's desire to keep their fubars hush-hush. But had something gone wrong, I know damn well who the scapegoat would have been.