Description

One Navy admiral called it "one of the greatest unsolved sea mysteries of our era." To this day, the U.S. Navy officially describes it as an inexplicable accident. For decades, the real story of the disaster has eluded journalists, historians, and the family members of the lost crew. But a small handful of Navy and government officials knew the truth from the very beginning: The sinking of the USS Scorpion and its crew of 99 men on May 22, 1968, was an act of war. In this major work of historical reporting, Ed Offley reveals that the sinking of the USS Scorpion has never been a mystery, but rather a secret buried by the U.S. government in a frantic attempt to keep the Cold War from turning into a hot war. The Soviets had torpedoed the Scorpion in reprisal for the destruction of the Soviet missile sub K-129, which the Americans had sunk in the Pacific just ten weeks earlier. But why does the U.S. Navy continue to hide the real story of what happened on that fateful day in 1968? In Scorpion Down, military reporter Ed Offley tells the true story of the USS Scorpion for the first time and dramatically recounts a little-known episode that nearly brought about World War III. And he conclusively demonstrates that the Navy's official account of the Scorpion incident—from the frantic open-ocean hunt for the wreckage to a court of inquiry's final conclusions—is nothing more than a carefully constructed series of lies.

Praise for Scorpion Down:

". . . this well-told narrative history holds much appeal for naval historians and conspiracy buffs."
—Publishers Weekly

"Based on 25 years of research, which included investigating declassified navy documents, Offley reveals details of the events that led to the vessel's sinking and the cover-up that followed. He has written a searing account of this tragedy at sea."
—Booklist

"Offley . . . has put together an astoundingly detailed picture of the last cruise of a nuclear attack submarine. The USS Scorpion, with a crew of 99, was reported lost on May 27, 1968."
—Library Journal

"Here's the payoff when a veteran military affairs correspondent spends almost a quarter century investigating one of the greatest mysteries in U.S. Naval submarine history. A meticulously researched, gripping narrative that draws you in with the first sentence. Read Scorpion Down and prepare to be jarred."
—Douglas Waller, author of Big Red: Inside the Secret World of a Trident Nuclear Submarine

About the Author

Ed Offley has been a military reporting specialist for newspapers and online publications since 1981, including the Ledger-Star in Norfolk, Virginia, and Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Stripes.com, and Defensewatch magazine. He is currently Military Reporter for the News Herald in Panama City, Florida. A graduate of the University of Virginia, Offley served in the U.S. Navy in Vietnam. He lives in Panama City Beach, Florida, with his wife Karen T. Conrad.

Extended Copyright Information

Copyright 2007 by Ed Offley.

"The Scorpion Departs But Never Returns" lyrics copyright 1969 by Phil Ochs (A&M Records).

All rights reserved.

Previously published by Basic Books, a member of the Perseus Books Group.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Cover design by Eric Fuentecilla.
Cover photograph copyright Bettmann/CORBIS.

Opening Lines (Experimental)

The truth was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became truth.
The radio is begging them to come back to the shore, all will be forgiven, it'll be just like before.
All you've ever wanted will be waiting by your door, we will forgive you, we will forgive you, tell me we will forgive you. . ...

Copyright

Copyright 2007 by Ed Offley.

All Rights Reserved.