Memorial Day

[Marlin]

A little mental meandering on this Memorial Day I am watching the president at the Tomb of the unknown soldier. It is difficult not to think about how they died and the suffering they endured. My thoughts drifted to the sailors on the USS Scorpion and USS Thresher. I know how they died and that they did not suffer. The mechanism of loss in each case was hull collapse. Scorpions hull collapsed at 1530 feet and the Threshers hull collapsed at 2400 feet. It happens faster than the 13 milliseconds it takes you to perceive an event. Water pressure at 100 feet is 43.3 lb/in2 (6,235.2 lb/ft2) at 1000 feet the pressure is 433 lb/in2 (62,3520 lb/ft2). The velocity and pressure of the collapse are much faster than the ability to even know it happened. Theoretically the sailors' bodies may have burned up due to the rapid pressure increase like in a diesel piston cylinder. This may not be a good recruiting tool for the submarine force, but I slept, watched movies, ate well with some of the best food in the military and stood watch on the reactor plant without any problem.

Sailors rest your oars we have the watch.