My name is Geoffrey Ingalls and I had the honor of spending about 10 months attached to the "invisible" Trieste II in 1968 and 1969. I was an ET3 fresh out of "A" school in Great Lakes and was assigned to the DSS Group on Pt. Loma in San Diego along with some 6 other recent graduates. We were all amazed to get West Coast duty, assuming that would go to graduates of the San Diego school. However, it wasn't until I discovered that our duties were to provide cleaning details in the headquarters building that I realized this might be a long a tedious year between "A" school and Nuclear Power school.

After a week or so, we were all called into a room and informed that a request had been made by the crew of the Trieste for two of the new E-4's to work with them on board the USS White Sands. It seemed that the E-5's and E-6's were tired of cleaning up after themselves and they wanted some "pee-ons" of their own. I cannot remember how much we were told about the duty or what was scheduled to transpire over the next year, but it did not take long for me to decide that I could probably not be less happy than I was in my current position. One of the others, Rich Giblin, also volunteered that day, and I would have to say it was the best decision I made in my entire Naval career.

Over the next couple months we went to San Clemente Island and made some test dives with the 'scaph. I think I also remember going over to the island and drinking a bit too much. Heck, I was only 19 and it didn't take too much. I don't remember if we were told about the "mission" until after we had committed to being with the Trieste or not but it was an amazing plus.

The mission, of course, was to travel to the Atlantic Ocean, to the Azores Islands, and make a series of dives on the wreckage of the U.S.S. Scorpion, which had been lost in that area on May 22, 1968, my 19th birthday, while I was in ETA school in GLTC. Now this was quite an undertaking, since the Trieste was carried in the welldeck of the U.S.S White Sands, a floating drydock, which, in turn, was towed by the U.S.S. Apache, a Fleet Tug. Now the Apache could have made short work of the trip on its own, but towing a load, we could only make about 5 knots.

The trip started from San Diego, traveled south to the Panama Canal, through the canal, and then up to Jacksonville, FL. There we spent about 3 weeks resupplying, and then headed for the Azores Islands. We refueled in the Azores and then headed out and spent some time locating the dive area, which had been marked off with some sonic markers. The rest of our time was spent on station, diving the Trieste and collecting photos and small items from the ocean floor.

I was assigned to help out with driving the 16 foot whaler boats we used to ferry people and equipment back and forth from the White Sands to the Trieste. I also worked on maintaining the radios we used for communications with the whalers. Being originally brought on as a junior Petty Officer, I also had to do a lot of the clean up around the ship. But I was happy to be on such and exciting trip.

One thing that happened has always remained in my memory. It was actually quite exciting. The first dive we made on station in the Atlantic occurred during daylight hours. We sent the Trieste down in the morning and they resurfaced sometime in the evening. By the time we were ready for the Apache to take it in tow and bring it back to the White Sands, it was after dark. The plan was for the Apache to get close enough to throw a line over to one of the divers on deck and they would hook up for towing. Then the Apache would tow the Trieste back to the White Sands. I was out in the whaler helping deliver the divers to the Trieste. We were laying back to assist if necessary. The Apache tried a couple of times to get them a line but the sea had gotten a little rough, and they were unable to get the big towing line (hawser) over to them. So we decided we would get the line from the Apache and drag it over to the Trieste and hand it to them.

Well, we got the line hooked up to our boat from the stern of the Apache and started pulling it back towards the 'scaphe, but, that rope was heavy and we could not tow its weight after some length of it was paid out. Suddenly, we were being drug backwards through the waves by the Apache, waves breaking over the stern of the whaler, and over our outboard motor.


We got the rope free but our engine was swamped and we could not get it started again. We drifted to the location of the Trieste and the Apache was able to get a tow line to the Trieste. We were also pulled in by the Apache but nearly got pulled in under the stern of the ship. I remember the back of the ship coming down on us once, and I was concerned about the ship's huge screw.

We did get pulled over to the side of the Apache but still could not get our engine restarted. The sea had gotten too rough to get us back over to the White Sands, so they put us up for the night on the Apache. I still have an AFT67 hat they gave me before sending us back over to the White Sands the next morning.

A notable national event which occurred while we were on station in the Atlantic was the first moon landing, July 19, 1969. I remember being out in a whaler at the time the landing was announced over the ships PA system.

In October of 1969, I had to leave the Trieste for Nuclear Power School in Vallejo, CA. Rich Giblin, whom I had come onboard with, did not get to school, for some reason I cannot remember, and did not leave when I did. I do not remember if he went back to San Diego with the Trieste or not. I did meet Rich some years later, while I was in college after leaving the Navy in 1973.

I flew out of the Azores on a Navy cargo transport and returned to the States. I spent some leave at home and then flew out to California to continue my Navy career as a reactor operator. It was an exciting diversion to be on the Trieste for that period of time. I am really glad to see this site on line. I will have to travel to Washington state sometime and see the Trieste on display.

If there are any of the Trieste or White Sands crews out there who were onboard during those days, and remember me, my current email address is geoff0522@gmail.com. It would be great to hear from you.