Scorpion Down

by Edward Offley

The Hunt for Red October meets Blind Man's Bluff in the untold story of an American submarine torpedoed at the height of the Cold War—and the 40-year cover-up that followed.

The last thing they heard was the faint scree-scree of a high-speed propeller. Then the torpedo hit, the warhead detonated, the ocean thundered in, and 99 men died. On May 22, 1968, an American submarine was sunk by the Soviets as reprisal for the sinking of a Soviet sub just 10 weeks before. The tragic loss of the USS Scorpion and its crew is still described by the U.S. Navy as an "inexplicable accident." In fact, it was a secret buried by both the U.S. and the Soviet governments to prevent the Cold War from turning into World War III.

For nearly 40 years, researchers, journalists, and family members of the lost crew have tried to learn the truth while the Navy and U.S. intelligence communities have covered up the facts. Based on a quarter-century of research, an extraordinary array of new resources, and hundreds of interviews with military personnel with direct connections to the disaster, Scorpion Down is the first book to tell what really happened. It's the first to reveal that the official Scorpion story—the sub s failure to make port, the frantic open-ocean hunt, the search that ultimately "found" the wreckage, and the Court of Inquiry's carefully crafted conclusions—was all a lie.

Genres: Nonfiction, Military Fiction, War

496 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Erik · Rating 2 out of 5]

I should probably preface this with saying that I've done a fair bit of research into the loss of the USS Scorpion myself, so my review is going to reflect that and probably not give a ton of details.

This book is generally well written, but is unfortunately based upon speculation and tremendously suspicious sources in order to generate a new tale on the USS Scorpion's tragic loss. Mr. Offley is a knowledgeable writer on the topic, but tries too hard to create a drama that simply is not supported by facts or onsite inspections. Acoustic data reviews gave pretty clear evidence back at the time that the sub was not sunk in combat, and later reviews not only confirmed that but narrowed it down to 2 small internal explosions which set a chain of events into motion which doomed the sub. Rather than say the sub was likely lost due to a mundane issue like a known faulty torpedo battery, it is far more exciting to speculate that the Russians did it. Sounds rather like our 2016 elections...

The final nail for me was the physical inspections performed at the wreck, which failed to show any kind of damage indicating a torpedo/missile hit. It is so easy to write that the damage is buried by the bottom sand/muck. It is so easy to say a large number of folks are lying to cover up an incident. Are there irrefutable arguments that say this author is 100% wrong? No. Is there any actual proof that the USS Scorpion was sunk by the Russians? Also no. I'm simply left feeling like I am hearing someone say "I'm not saying it was aliens, but it was aliens!".

The book is tremendously thin on actual information surrounding the event, with just a handful of pages covering the actual timeline. Nearly a third of the book are references and notes... a seemingly wonderful addition but spoiled by the fact that they really yield little that supports the main premise of the book. A significant amount of the front portions cover all the history of earlier events, which are intended to make it look like the Russians would be wanting to sink the Scorpion. Maybe, maybe not. Certainly the Russians were well known for some "Crazy Ivan-like" stunts that could put submarines into harm's way.

Conspiracy theories are not a favorite topic of mine when it comes to reading history. This book did little to change my opinion of that. The author does write well, and does give a sterling effort in describing submarine life and the perils encountered while performing this service to country. I simply think he has forgotten that in general the most likely answers to the USS Scorpion "mystery" do not need to be complicated. There are many things that can kill sailors, which I can confirm with my years in the US Navy. Often times stupidity, poor designs, or fatigue are obvious accident causes, and we do know the issues surrounding the torpedoes carried aboard the USS Scorpion had a history of battery overheats. A battery explosion followed by a 2nd item like a failure to close a watertight door or toxic gases created overcoming personnel before they could surface the boat seems extremely more likely than a potential WW3 risked attack on one of our subs. Sometimes simple works. Or it was aliens.

In any case, the book read pretty well, but it being factually challenged left me wanting to give it a 1 Star for sensationalizing this tragedy. I opted to be kind and bump it to 2 Stars since it is well referenced, albeit ineffectively supporting the book's premise.

[Paul Pessolano · Rating 3 out of 5]

’”Scorpion Down, Sunk by the Soviets, Buried by the Pentagon: The Untold Story of the U.S.S. Scorpion” by Ed Offley, published by Basic Books.

Category – Military/Submarines Publication Date – August 01, 2007.

On May 22, 1968 the Skipjack Class submarine Scorpion disappeared. Although a search was made for the submarine no trace of her could be found and it and its 99 men aboard were considered lost at sea. An inquiry was made concerning the disappearance and the Navy put forth several plausible reasons for her disappearance, although none seemed to ring true. This was the time of the cold war and submarines were used to gather intelligence. This led to a cat and mouse game between the Soviet Navy and the United States Navy. These games sometimes came close to real confrontation and possible nuclear war. It was only after years of looking into this incident that Ed Offley found out what really happened to the Scorpion. It seems that the Soviets blamed us for the sinking of their submarine K-129 and in retaliation sunk the Scorpion. This potentially dangerous situation was resolved by the U.S. Navy by hiding the real reason for the sinking of the Scorpion.

A thorough study of the Cold War Naval Tactics being used by the two countries that came close to actual confrontation. A thorough study of the secrets maintained by both countries for over forty years.

[Kendrick Hughes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting topic, convoluted writing style

[Nathaniel Irvin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is BORING. Edward Offley may have been a journalist longer than I've been alive, but he still hasn't learned how to engage with the reader. I'm glad he did a lot of thorough research, but I didn't need to hear about the minutia of his efforts, the nitty-gritty of his analysis. I just wanted him to present his findings.

And the thing is, his eventual conclusion is not even remotely interesting. He simply states what it says on the cover, and has been proposed in a multiplicity of other sources: the USS Scorpion was sunk by the USSR because the Soviet Navy believed the Americans had sunk the Russian submarine K-129 a few months before. He offers no insight, not even a theory, as to how the sinking occurred, or even any real, physical evidence that the Soviet attack theory is valid. While I respect a journalist who refuses to speculate, it was just BORING.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author presents a thoroughly documented case history of the sinking of the USS Scorpion the fast attack submarine that was lost in the Atlantic in 1968. The sub's operation at the time of the sinking, the search for the vessel and the possible causes of the sinking are considered. In addition, the book deals with many topics related to submarine operations during the Cold War, the Walker spy case, and the sinking of several Soviet submarines. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in digging deeper into incidents that were briefly discussed in " The Silent War" by John Craven, "Blind Mans Bluff" by Sherry Sontag & Chris Drew and "Red Star Rogue" by Kenneth Sewell.

[Rod Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great (and true) story/analysis on the mysterious disappearance of a U.S. submarine during the Cold War. The author diligently tracks the scraps of information (almost obsessively) to try and bring closure to the "accident". There's a lot of military jargon to absorb and at times I had to push through the book but the underlying driver for me was that it was based on a real event and satisfactory answers had been deliberately buried. Would recommend if you're a military or political history reader.

[Jim Mccormick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating account and credible reporting. Hope more deteils will be revealed over the coming decades, but the case demonstrates how critical it is to protect sensitive technology and tactics - even 45 years later.

[Dwight Moran · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's okay if you like the militray and government conspiracy book

[Peter Minton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book utterly fascinating.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read. If you're interested in this mystery I suggest you read this book. I believe the conclusion of the author and will leave the rest to anyone who wants to read this book.

[Teddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating book. I had no idea all of this was going on under our oceans and just how close to war we were for so long - and may still be for all we know!