Ballard Reveals Titanic Expedition Was Cover for U.S. Navy Mission

(MENAFN) In a groundbreaking revelation, Bob Ballard, the researcher behind the 1985 discovery of the RMS Titanic, has confirmed that the historic expedition was part of a covert U.S. Navy operation. The mission, which initially appeared to be a search for the sunken ocean liner, was actually designed to test a new deep-sea imaging technology, Ballard told media.

Ballard, who led the expedition, explained that after a failed attempt to locate the Titanic in the 1970s, he sought military funding to develop a remotely operated vehicle capable of transmitting live underwater footage. The project eventually gained approval from the U.S. Navy, which financed the creation of the "Argo" imaging system.

“The Titanic [search] was cover for a top-secret military operation I was doing as a naval intelligence officer,” Ballard revealed. He emphasized that the defense funding was provided under strict secrecy, as his backers “didn’t want the Soviets to know” about the true nature of the operation.

According to media, the military's primary goal was to use the Argo system to investigate two sunken U.S. nuclear submarines—the USS Thresher and the USS Scorpion—as part of a broader strategy to enhance Cold War-era intelligence operations. The Titanic search, while widely publicized, served as a plausible cover for the Navy's confidential objectives.

Ballard's involvement also extended to aiding the U.S. Navy in its examination of the two nuclear submarines, solidifying the Titanic mission as a critical part of this secretive intelligence-gathering effort.

The Titanic, which tragically sank on April 15, 1912, after colliding with an iceberg, remains one of the most infamous maritime disasters in history. Of the 2,224 individuals aboard the vessel, more than 1,500 perished, making it one of the deadliest shipwrecks of the 20th century.

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