RE: U-boat found search for USS Scorpion in 196
Posted by:
Michael Lowrey
()
Date: August 27, 2001 04:22AM
<HTML>Axel/Al,
I have to agree that the location would likely be the most sensitive issue. I doubt though that it matters that much anymore. Remember the Soviet\'s submarine-based nuclear forces of the 1960s carried missiles of pretty limited range, so protecting near the coast would be crucial. With the introction of longer-range SLBMs and the decommissioning of the Soviet boats of that era, the reason for the secrecy should have greatly decrease. Of course, getting the USN to admit that might be a different story.
(Note also that the 100 miles from Norfolk line could even have been in and of itself a distortion. If you don\'t want to reveal the position as discussed for national security reasons, you might also mistate the location of the U-boat wreck. After all, one could link the distance to an attack to obtain an exact location.)
That said, I\'m not convinced these issue will be significant. The key is WHY they were looking east of Norfolk. If it was something they were doing anyway as part of an effort to make ASW easier against the Soviets, that\'s one thing. If they had some reason to believe the Scorpion was lost in the area and were searching as a result, then there would be much less reason to be worried about releasing information.
In any case, the interest in the loss of the Scorpion in recent years has already forced the USN to go through their files. I suspect that a friendly letter explaining your interest with a photocopy of a few English language articles about the U-boat wreck (to aid them in figuring out the context of your inquiry - date, who was the presenter) would get an answer fairly quickly.
I doubt that there would be much additional information in U.S. papers on the U-boat wreck. Remember most papers - even fairly large ones - get their national and international stories from a wire service or other syndiacte. (If there\'s a local angle, they might add something on to the wire service article.) There might have been (say) six or eight different stories on any given day. The exact location of a WWII U-boat simply would not have rated as newsworth in the States unless the wreck was thought to be the Scorpion for some period of time. A possible exception might have been for Tidewater (Norfolk) area papers for which it would very much be a local story and national story (local residents lost, search off local waters) and from whom greater detail in the location would be expected. Naval/maritime publications might also have provided more detailed (precise) coverage as well.
If you know someone in the Norfolk area, a quick trip by the library should provide a copy of the appropriate newspaper articles.
Best wishes,
Michael</HTML>
I have to agree that the location would likely be the most sensitive issue. I doubt though that it matters that much anymore. Remember the Soviet\'s submarine-based nuclear forces of the 1960s carried missiles of pretty limited range, so protecting near the coast would be crucial. With the introction of longer-range SLBMs and the decommissioning of the Soviet boats of that era, the reason for the secrecy should have greatly decrease. Of course, getting the USN to admit that might be a different story.
(Note also that the 100 miles from Norfolk line could even have been in and of itself a distortion. If you don\'t want to reveal the position as discussed for national security reasons, you might also mistate the location of the U-boat wreck. After all, one could link the distance to an attack to obtain an exact location.)
That said, I\'m not convinced these issue will be significant. The key is WHY they were looking east of Norfolk. If it was something they were doing anyway as part of an effort to make ASW easier against the Soviets, that\'s one thing. If they had some reason to believe the Scorpion was lost in the area and were searching as a result, then there would be much less reason to be worried about releasing information.
In any case, the interest in the loss of the Scorpion in recent years has already forced the USN to go through their files. I suspect that a friendly letter explaining your interest with a photocopy of a few English language articles about the U-boat wreck (to aid them in figuring out the context of your inquiry - date, who was the presenter) would get an answer fairly quickly.
I doubt that there would be much additional information in U.S. papers on the U-boat wreck. Remember most papers - even fairly large ones - get their national and international stories from a wire service or other syndiacte. (If there\'s a local angle, they might add something on to the wire service article.) There might have been (say) six or eight different stories on any given day. The exact location of a WWII U-boat simply would not have rated as newsworth in the States unless the wreck was thought to be the Scorpion for some period of time. A possible exception might have been for Tidewater (Norfolk) area papers for which it would very much be a local story and national story (local residents lost, search off local waters) and from whom greater detail in the location would be expected. Naval/maritime publications might also have provided more detailed (precise) coverage as well.
If you know someone in the Norfolk area, a quick trip by the library should provide a copy of the appropriate newspaper articles.
Best wishes,
Michael</HTML>
| Subject | Written By | Posted |
|---|---|---|
U-boat found search for USS Sturgeon in 196
|
Axel | 08/25/2001 09:24AM |
|
RE: U-boat found search for USS Scorpion in 196
|
Michael Lowrey | 08/25/2001 10:51AM |
|
RE: U-boat found search for USS Scorpion in 196
|
AL Wellman | 08/25/2001 04:07PM |
|
RE: U-boat found search for USS Scorpion in 196
|
Axel | 08/25/2001 05:20PM |
|
RE: U-boat found search for USS Scorpion in 196
|
Tim | 08/26/2001 03:39AM |
|
RE: U-boat found search for USS Scorpion in 196
|
AL Wellman | 08/26/2001 11:43PM |
|
RE: U-boat found search for USS Scorpion in 196
|
Michael Lowrey | 08/27/2001 04:22AM |