After 23 Years, a Former Naval Officer Reveals the Truth About His Mission.
Shortly after the Titanic sank in April 1912, extensive efforts were made to locate the wreckage and the bodies that went down with the ship. However, the diving technology at that time was limited, making this recovery impossible for over 70 years.
Wreckage of the Titanic. (Photo: AP).
In 1985, the shipwreck was discovered during a joint expedition led by former naval officer and oceanographer Robert Ballard and French oceanographer Jean-Louis Michel.
Initially, this dive expedition had nothing to do with the Titanic; it was a secret mission aimed at locating two sunken American nuclear submarines, the USS Scorpion and the USS Thresher.
Of course, this secret was not revealed until 2008 during an interview with National Geographic magazine. Ballard first approached the U.S. Navy in 1982 to seek funding for a new type of submarine technology so that he could search for the Titanic.
The Navy agreed to fund the project on the condition that he would also search for the two sunken submarines. The USS Thresher sank in April 1963, and the USS Scorpion went down in May 1965. These were two nuclear submarines lost by the Navy.
Robert Ballard on a book tour in 1987. (Photo: Getty).
The Navy agreed that Ballard could search for the Titanic if there was time left after locating the two submarines and confirming whether they had sunk due to Soviet attacks. Subsequently, the Navy confirmed there was no evidence that the submarines had been sunk by external weapons.
With just 12 days left in the search mission, Ballard discovered the Titanic based on a hunch that the ship had broken in two, leaving behind debris as evidence. “It was like drowning and grabbing a stick. It turned out to be true” – he said.
A photo of the Titanic wreck taken in 1996. (Photo: Getty).
According to him, the Navy was concerned that the public would learn the real reason behind their search mission.
“The Navy didn’t think I could find the Titanic, so when I did, they were very worried about making this public. But people were too focused on the Titanic legend to pay attention to those other things,” Ballard stated.
Thus, after 23 years, Ballard revealed the truth about his mission. He also wrote about this event in his book titled “Exploring the Titanic.”
In the book, he mentions that finding the ship was a victory, something more than just a mission, a part of a strange and captivating journey.
