Sidney Lynn Middleton MM1 – April 10, 1963 – USS Thresher (SSN-593) Approximately 300 miles off the coast of New England. Most likely cause of the sinking was a failure of a silver-brazed pipe allowing sea water to spray onto a panel. The resulting short circuit resulted in an automatic shutdown of the reactor (scram) which at that time required shutting the Main Steam Stops (valves) with no power the crew attempted to blow ballast tanks to rise to the surface but moisture in the Air lines froze as it passed through the valve, blocking any further air flow. With no power or air to empty the ballast tanks the Thresher sank below its crush depth and imploded. This tragedy resulted in several design changes among them was minimizing sea water piping within the hull and installing air dryers for compressed air. Sidney Middleton was from Nampa, Idaho