SEARCH FOR THE THRESHER — SPIESS AND MAXWELL 375 



completed research ship of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institu- 

 tion, was at sea within 150 kilometers of the accident and immediately 

 joined the destroyers, aircraft, submarines, and other Navy craft 

 which responded to the emergency signals from the Skylark. The 

 search initially was concentrated on effects observable at the surface, 

 although the Atlantis II began use of its precision echo somider early 

 in the operation. The many ships plowed the area looking for slicks 

 and debris, while the aircraft, in addition, surveyed the area with 

 radiological monitoring equipment. Negative results with this equip- 

 ment eliminated the fear that some reactor accident had occurred, 

 with associated high-level contamination of the sea. As this phase 

 developed it became clear not only that the boat was lost but that 

 there was an uncertainty of several kilometers concerning the position 

 of Thresher at the time of her last contact with the Skylark. 



Determination to find the wreck m order to ascertain the cause of 

 the disaster developed very quickly. During this same time the Navy 

 began to realize that it had no operational techniques, in the con- 

 ventional sense, adequate for the job. The Navy has, however, 

 strongly supported research activity at sea, and thus had available 

 a pool of interested scientists and research ships eager to assist with 

 this new problem. Soon other research laboratories in the vicinity 

 joined the search: Lamont Geological Observatory with its new 

 (Navy-provided) ship Conrad; Hudson Laboratories with Gihhs, 

 Allegheny, and Mission Capistrano; the Navy Research Laboratory, 

 the Naval Oceanographic Office, and the Naval Ordnance Laboratory, 

 working together, with another new research ship, Gillis, in addition 

 to the Rockville and the Prevail. 



Some organization of this effort was required, and for this purpose 

 a seagoing unit was established — Task Group 89.7, under the command 

 of Captain Frank Andrews, whose normal assignment was that of 

 Commander Submarine Development Group Two, based at New Lon- 

 don, Conn. Overall teclinical coordination was vested in the Thresher 

 Advisory Group, under the direction of Arthur E. Maxwell, Office 

 of Naval Research. This group included representatives from the 

 laboratories mentioned above as well as from the University of Rhode 

 Island School of Oceanography, the University of Miami Marine 

 Laboratory, the Bureau of Ships, and the Office of the Chief of Naval 

 Operations. The group met from time to time during the search 

 to lay out plans and evaluate results. In addition, they were backed 

 up by a full-time analysis staff assembled at Woods Hole and utilizing 

 personnel from Woods Hole, the Navy Oceanographic Office, Sub- 

 marine Development Group Two, the Naval Underwater Ordnance 

 Station, and the Navy Electronics Laboratory. 



Throughout this phase of the search there was a sense of urgency. 

 Initially this was a residue of the urgency that characterized the ini- 



