Enduring Mystery - The Loss of USS Scorpion (SSN-589) Lost With All Hands - 22 May 1968

Forty years ago, on 22 May 1968, the nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Scorpion (SSN-589) was lost with all hands in the Atlantic while returning from a deployment to the Mediterranean.

Ninety-nine officers and crew lost their lives.

Scorpion's hull was located in 10,000 feet of water, approximately 400 miles southwest of the Azores. She is in four major pieces:

• Forward hull section (including torpedo room and part of the operations section)
• After hull section (the aft section of the engine room has "telescoped" into the forward part)
• The sail
• The propeller and shaft

The exact cause of the sinking will likely never be known for certain.

There are several books about Scorpion's loss in the AIMM library.

The Court of Inquiry report has been declassified and is available through the U.S. FOIA Site.