A trio of red tugboats nuzzled SS(N) 593—the nuclear submarine Thresher—away from her berth at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. The tug whistles blasted, and three small children, still flushed from farewells to their fathers aboard Thresher, honked back from a car parked near by. The submarine headed out toward a sunny sea.
Thresher's departure caused little excitement around the shipyard. Behind her were nine months of overhaul and modernization. New electronic and sonar gear had been installed. To put in the intricate equipment, several holes had been cut in the boat's hull—the largest was a yard square, to make way for...
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