Ship’s Sponsor Remarks – USS Pittsburgh SSN 720 Inactivation January 17, 2020

The following information comes from the Naval Heritage and Historic command concerning ship naming convention and ship’s sponsor assignment: As with many other things, the procedures and practices involved in Navy ship naming are as much, if not more, products of evolution and tradition than of legislation. The Secretary can rely on many sources […]

The life of a boat… from the crash to the splash to the dash

A boat’s life First comes the crash followed (hopefully) by the splash The keel was laid what seems like years ago. Bit by bit the submarine starts to come together. The process has evolved over the generations to include changes in all kinds of technology. The boats needed to go deeper and faster so better […]

How theleansubmariner came to exist

I love history. I really love submarine history. It’s amazing to live in an age where so much information is available. Most of the research I do is conducted online using the Library of Congress, a reference called the Hathi Trust (digitalized books) and of course the many Naval Heritage web site pages that capture […]

Dueling Denizens and the Daring Escape

The most fearsome weapon at sea during the First World War was the submarine. Even when the danger came from another submarine. By May of 1918, the German submarines were beginning to be neutralized by the varying forms of technology employed by the Allies. Wireless radio detection, sound listening devices, primitive us of airplanes and […]

and now the real work begins – getting published

Yesterday was the 77th anniversary of the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. I have been working on a book about one of the men who lost his life in that battle for at least 10 years. The last few chapters were the hardest. It was incredibly difficult to find the right way to memorialize a man […]

After the parades are over…

The Day After Veteran’s Day Proud… standing straight and erect with shoulders held back and eyes focused forward with a steel and resiliency that is unquestionable. Months of practice have made sure that even a sudden noise won’t change that. Crisp uniforms, flawless creases, perfect lines and hands glued in place at their sides. Chiseled […]

The Last Navy Day – October 27, 1949

October 27, 2019. Its been seventy years since the Last Navy Day. The Navy has continued to grown and shrink with the whims of the politicians in Washington DC. But the ever present dangers of the world have never disappeared. Having a capable fleet that can defend our nation and in many cases freedom around […]

May 1960: You’ve got Polaris, why on earth do you need bigger carriers?

You’ve got Polaris, why on earth do you need bigger carriers? This was the first speech given to the Navy League by Secretary Franke. Franke served in the new Kennedy administration. The source document comes from amalgamated press releases recorded from 1959-1962. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.c2968167&view=1up&seq=571 In May of 1960, the secretary was giving a standard speech […]

Submarine Rule #1: Close the Hatch (The Story of the Fulton)

Imagine spending an entire night under the surface of the ocean. In 1901, this had to have been quite an electric story. The American experiment with submarines was not that old yet and the thought of men actually living under the water’s surface was something that still lived in science fiction. The Fulton was an […]

Worse than a rattlesnake in the grass: those contemptuous submarines

Change does not come quickly to some organizations. Advancements in technology often challenge the status quo and strike fear into the hearts of the traditionalists. Maybe it’s because of the unknown. Or maybe it’s because so many times in man’s history a dreamer comes along and stirs up the imagination of the masses and science […]