US Navy funded search for Titanic shipwreck as cover for Cold War mission, oceanographer claims

The quest to find the Titanic shipwreck was actually part of a secret naval mission, a new exhibition at the National Geographic museum explains.

The Navy agreed to fund the mission to find the shipwreck, but only if the mission also sought two nuclear submarines that had been sunk in the same area.

Naval Reserve commanding officer Robert Ballard had been on several top-secret missions from the Navy, and in 1985, he asked if he could use Navy funding to find the Titanic, National Geographic reports.

The ship had been resting on the ocean floor for 73 years, and the Navy had little interest in finding it. However, the Navy did want to find two sunken submarines, the Thresher and the Scorpion. So, they struck a deal.

Dr Ballard had tried and failed to get science research grants to find the vessel, so instead, he turned to Deputy Chief of Naval Operations Ronald Thunman, CBS reports.

Mr Thunman said that Dr Ballard could have the research money to fund an expedition, including the use of a Remotely Operated Vehicle, or ROV.

The wrecks are located too deeply underwater for a human diver to explore them, so instead, they needed to use a machine that could travel underwater and take footage.

The only caveat was that Dr Ballard would also need to find the Scorpion and the Thresher on the same trip.

Dr Ballard was successful in finding all three vessels. However, he needed to keep the search for submarines secret until 2008. This quest took place during the cold war, and the Navy did not want anyone to know that they were searching for the submarines--especially not the Russians. So, for years, the quest was touted to the media as simply a quest for a luxury cruise ship.