1968 was a bad year for submarines. The French, the Israelis, the Russians, and the United States all lost boats that year. For the US, the loss of Scorpion has proven to be particularly vexing. Even in Submarine School in 1982 it was discussed and debated.

At the end of the day, there are several theories as to what happened. Was it a Russian torpedo in retaliation for the loss of K-129? was it a hot running Mk 37 that couldn’t be shut down and detonated in the torpedo room? Was it a battery that exploded? Why did at least one crew member try to escape?

When everything is said and done, when we think about the loss of 99 men on this day in 1968, there is really only one thing that we know.

And that is that we don’t know…