The Destroyer man that helped launch the 41 for Freedom Fleet – 31 Knot Burke

You can’t talk about the 41 for Freedom boats without talking about one of the most important men in their development: A former destroyer-man named Arleigh Burke A Sailor if there ever was one: Forty two years in the Navy is a long time by any measure. When that forty two years includes service in […]

USS George Washington Carver SSBN 656 Strength Through Knowledge

“Events of October 1962 indicated, as they had all through history, that control of the sea means security. Control of the seas can mean peace. Control of the seas can mean victory. The United States must control the seas if it is to protect your security…” President John F. Kennedy, 6 June 1963, on […]

Mariano G. Vallejo SSBN 658 – Seagoing Cadillac with a hell of a kick

There has been a long standing difference of opinion on the merits of serving on various types of submarines. Go to any Sub Vets meeting and you will find the purists that wear their DBF pin and scoff at anyone who never served on a diesel boat. For the record, despite serving on five boats, […]

1954 – The year underwater warfare changed forever

1954 – The year underwater warfare changed forever. This post was originally posted in July of 2019. Since 2020 is the year of the Fast Attack on theleansubmariner, I thought it appropriate to repost it with some updates. After all, it was the Nautilus of Jules Verne’s imagination that started the whole process. And it […]

All that was new in 1952 – Submersibles – yesterday, TODAY, TOMORROW?

Reaching back once more into the time vault, we find the Navy struggling to determine what the next step for submarine warfare will be in 1952. The successes of the Second World War were obvious. A determined group of submariners had proven the lethality of the weapon in helping to defeat a powerful enemy. With […]

July 4th 2019 Post Number 776 – USS Ulysses S. Grant SSBN 631

July 4, 2019. This is the 776th Post on theleansubmariner blog. Sometime in the early morning hours of this day, the blog counter for number of “visits” went over 500,000. A half million visits to the site since its founding in 2011. The number of followers on the web site, Facebook and Twitter has really […]

USS Robert E. Lee SSBN 601 PAX DETERRENDO

USS Robert E. Lee SSBN 601 Of all of the leaders in American Military History, very few reach the standard set by Robert E. Lee. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Lee was one of the most sought after men on both sides of the coming conflict. It is to his credit that he […]

USS Stonewall Jackson SSBN 634 – Unwavering Courage

USS STONEWALL JACKSON (SSBN 634) Today is July 2nd. In 1863, a great battle in and around a small town called Gettysburg was in its second day. This is not meant to be a story about the battle but the second day was a day when Robert E. Lee surely could have used the talents […]

USS Abraham Lincoln SSBN 602 – Pax Per Tridentum

USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN (SSBN 602) I am writing this on July 1, 2019 which is the anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. It’s interesting that the next four days will be dedicated to members of the 41 for Freedom Family who all had a direct connection to the Civil War […]

USS John C. Calhoun – Keeping the Peace

The ballistic missile submarine John C. Calhoun was launched on June 22nd 1963 at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Virginia. By September of 1964, she would take her place in the ever growing fleet of submarines that had been sought after by the Navy for over a decade. These vessels […]