Cold War Stories: Navy Believes Destroyers Our Best Defense Against Soviet Submarine Threat (1961)

Before I joined the navy in 1972, my high school band was invited to participate in a parade in Norfolk Virginia. Part of the trip included a trip to the Norfolk naval base. I will readily admit that most of the trip was focused on social events and spending time with the girl I was […]

Cold War Stories: Submarines: Past, Present And Future Of Silent Service (1962)

In April of 1962, I had not even turned ten years old. But I already had a fascination with submarines But I was conscious of many of the things that were going on in the world. I read every book I cold find in the library about the wars that came earlier in the century. […]

Cold War Stories – That’s a tall bomb you got there; does it work?

Like many people in America recently, I have been following the televised reports of bombings in Iran. To be clear, Iran has brough the attention on itself over the course of the last 47 years by being a less than desirable neighbor. Since the radical islamists took over their country, they have killed too many […]

Cold War Stories – Torpedo in the water

From the beginning of the Cold War, the idea of using nuclear power for propulsion was something discussed on both sides of the conflict. But just as important was the idea that having weapons delivery systems tied to submarines would be a game changer in any future hot conflict. The devastating effect of unrestricted submarine […]

Cold War Stories – “perhaps we’ll have an aircraft carrier with the underwater body of a speedboat.”

I’ve written before about the rush of the nation to disarm after the second world war. The navy in particular was hard hit based on the emergence of the atomic bomb and the lack of a major sea going threat. The Soviets exited the war with a small blue water navy. That would not change […]

And so, you master self then, laugh at fear – The Story of a Sub Man and USS Grayback SS 208

And so, you master self then, laugh at fear – The Story of a Sub Man There was a total of fifty-two American submarines lost during World War 2. The damage that the submarine force had inflicted on the Japanese and naval forces was staggering. But losing that many submarines was also a very high […]

Cold War Stories – Truman Joins the Royal Order of Deep Dunkers

The Royal Order of Deep Dunkers Up until today, I had only known of a few US Presidents that had submerged on board a submarine. The first was Theodore Roosevelt who rode an early sub called the Plunger. August 21, 1905 – Plunger to Oyster Bay today A partial list of modern Presidents that would […]

March 12 Anniversary of the loss of the H-1

Cold War Stories – “Look at that thing fly” – Submarine Design in the Modern Ages

Look at that thing fly – submarine design in the modern ages The sleek submarines of today are powerful examples of the evolution of naval ship design. What were once awkward frames surrounding the simplest of motive engines, are now the deadliest hunter killers that have ever ranged the oceans deep. The technology to create […]

Cold War Stories – We just wanted to change the world… Earth Day 1970

Earth Day is observed every year on April 22. That observance has occurred every year since 1970 and has grown to a global observance. According to many sources, the first earth day was observed by 20 million Americans. I was one of the many people who participated in one of the local demonstrations as we […]