On 22 May 1968 the nuclear submarine USS Scorpion (SSN 589) was lost with all hands 400 miles southwest of the Azores. In late October 1968, her remains were found on the sea floor over 10,000 feet below the surface.
On 21 February 1945 the aircraft carrier USS Bismark Sea (CVE-95) was struck by a kamikaze off Iwo Jima and sunk in 90 minutes, with the loss of 318 men. Bismark Sea was last carrier lost in combat during World War II. This image shows a large explosion on board Bismark Sea following the kamikaze strike.
National Archives image 80-G-335103.
On 10 April 1963, during diving tests, the nuclear submarine USS Thresher (SSN-593) was lost with all hands (112 crew and 12 civilians) east of Cape Cod, MA. This bow-on view of Thresher was taken on 24 July 1961. NHHC Photo NH 97545.
“Remember the Maine, to hell with Spain!”
In the evening of 15 February 1898, the battleship USS Maine exploded and sank in Havana Harbor, Cuba. While the cause was likely an accidental explosion in her forward gunpowder magazines, the American media and public pointed the finger at Spanish treachery and war soon broke out between the U.S. and Spain. This 1898 painting by A. Melero depicts the wrecked ship sitting on the bottom. NHHC Photo KN-10967.
USS Lafayette (AP 53) lies on her side in a New York City East River dock. She had rolled over when fire swept her on 9 February 1942, while undergoing conversion at New York City pier 88. Lafayette’s list during the fire-fighting gradually increased, and she rolled over, coming to rest on her port side, at an angle of about 80 degrees. Successfully righted in 1943, Lafayette was too damaged to be repaired, and was sold for scrap in 1946. National Archives photograph, K 3874.
