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American engineer. David Bushnell was born and raised on a farm near the town of Saybrook, Connecticut. His Bushnell ancestors had emigrated from England in 1639, just over a century before he was born. Between chores on his father’s hardscrabble land, young Bushnell read voraciously about all kinds of gadgets and how they worked. Construction techniques also fascinated him. He hoped to deepen his understanding of science and technology at nearby Yale College (later Yale University), but lack of funds made this unattainable until he inherited a modest bequest upon his father’s death.

David Bushnell was known throughout his native Connecticut for his inventive mind. While on his father’s farm, he had developed a harrow with flexible teeth, which farmers could use in the stony New England fields without the teeth breaking constantly. As a student at Yale College, he became interested in exploding kegs of black powder under water. Traditional theories of the time held that such an explosion would not work, because the water would dissipate its force. Through experiments, Bushnell proved that this theory was wrong and developed the forerunner of the naval mine.

The Thresher was the first of a new class of nuclear submarines known as “hunter-killers.” The construction of nuclear ballistic missile submarines, particularly by the Soviet Union, required a warship to hunt and destroy these vessels in the event of a threat of an undersea nuclear weapons launch. The Thresher was laid down at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in New Hampshire on May 28, 1958, and launched on July 9, 1960. At a cost of forty-five million dollars, with a length of 278 feet, a beam of 31 feet, and a displacement of 3,732 tons while surfaced, this ship amply fulfilled the requirements. Equipped with a nuclear reactor and the most advanced sonar system available, this ship was capable of diving to a depth of 1,000 feet and was the most powerful submarine in the service.