Picture of the Week 101

A collision at sea can ruin your entire day. USS Stickleback (SS-415) was a Balao-class submarine which was commissioned at the end of the Second World War. In 1952-53 she underwent a GUPPY IIA modernization which installed a snorkel, improved batteries, and made several modifications to reduce underwater drag. On 29MAY58 she was exercising with the Destroyer Escort USS Silverstein (DE-534) off Hawaii when an engineering casualty forced her to surface unexpectedly, unfortunately directly in the path of Silverstein. The collision breached Stickleback’s pressure hull, the resultant flooding could not be stopped and eventually Stickleback sank. There were no fatalities, her entire crew was rescued safely.