On a seemingly ordinary spring day, a catastrophic event unfolded at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in California, which would mark one of the most unusual chapters in U.S. naval history. The date was May 15, 1969, and the USS Guitarro, a Sturgeon-class nuclear-powered attack submarine, was undergoing construction. What was meant to be a routine day of work would lead to an incident that exposed severe flaws in Navy shipyard practices and became a case study in disaster prevention and management.
“The Guitarro should not have sunk. It was not overwhelmed by cataclysmic forces of nature or an imperfection in design or an inherent weakness in its hull. Rather, it was sent to the bottom by the action, or inaction, of certain construction workers who either failed to recognize an actual or potential threat to the ship’s safety or assumed that it was not their responsibility,” the report concerning the incident would later reveal.
According to the official chronology, on that fateful afternoon, two civilian construction groups, one nuclear and one nonnuclear, commenced simultaneous operations that would unwittingly seal the Guitarro’s fate. The nuclear group began an instrument calibration assignment, filling aft tanks with water, while the nonnuclear group, oblivious to the activities of their counterparts, sought to adjust the ship’s trim by adding water to the forward tanks. As both groups proceeded with their tasks, a security watch issued warnings that the submarine was riding perilously low at the bow. These warnings were disregarded, and by 8:55 PM, after failed attempts to correct the situation, the USS Guitarro sank.
This negligence resulted in damages estimated between $15.2 million and $21.85 million—a costly error that would delay the ship’s commissioning by 32 months. The report’s findings emphasized “the culpable negligence of certain shipyard employees,” exacerbated by “inadequate coordination of both the ship construction activities and the assignment of specific responsibilities.”
However, the story of the USS Guitarro did not end in tragedy. Refloated three days later, she was eventually commissioned in January 1970, earning the nickname “Mare Island Mud Puppy.” Despite the auspicious start and a couple of other minor incidents throughout her service, the Guitarro played an influential role in U.S. naval history, serving notably as the primary testbed for the Submarine Launched Tomahawk Cruise Missile testing program from 1977 through 1984.
Relevant articles:
– Sinking of the USS Guitarro, Navy (.mil)
– Submarine Force Library & Association, The Submarine Force Museum
– Kursk submarine disaster | Russian Navy, Nuclear Accident & Loss of Life, britannica.com
– USS Guitarro: This U.S. Navy Nuclear Attack Submarine Sank and Caught Fire, The National Interest, Jan 25, 2024