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Navy Releases Documents from Sinking of the USS Thresher; Submarine Lost 57 Years Ago

U.S. Navy
A bow view of the nuclear submarine Thresher (SSN-593), 24 July 1961.

The Navy has begun releasing documents from the investigation into the deadliest submarine disaster in U.S. history.

A judge ordered the release of the documentspertaining to the sinking of the USS Thresher 57 years ago, and the first batch was made public Wednesday.

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The Navy will release more information in coming months but doesn't believe the documents will shed any new light on the cause of the sinking.

The nuclear-powered submarine, which was first launched from Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in 1960, went down in 1963 during a test dive. All 129 men aboard were lost.

The submarine came to a rest on the ocean floor, about 220 miles off Massachusetts' Cape Cod.

- David Sharp, The Associated Press

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