When The RMS Titanic Was Found

When The RMS Titanic Was Found During a Cold War Spy Mission

RMS Titanic

The RMS Titanic's discovery was related to two lost US Navy submarines:

"In 1985, Robert Ballard publicly claimed he was hunting for Titanic, but the real mission was tracking two lost U.S. nuclear submarines USS Thresher and USS Scorpion. The U.S. Navy wanted to check for radiation leaks and ensure the Soviets hadn’t tampered with them. Ballard’s expedition was funded and approved on the condition that he would first locate and inspect the subs. The Titanic search was just a cover story for the press."

"Once the Navy work was done ahead of schedule, Ballard used the remaining time and equipment to begin his Titanic search. Using what he’d learned from following debris trails at the sub wrecks, he found Titanic on September 1, 1985. The real reason behind the expedition stayed classified for years until Ballard revealed the truth—that Titanic’s discovery was only possible because of a Cold War surveillance job." Source: The Ocean Buff.

The Trio

Image Source, Top: By Francis Godolphin Osbourne Stuart - http://www.uwants.com/viewthread.php?tid=3817223&extra=page%3D1, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=163984148

Image Source, Bottom: Meta via The Ocean Buff.