USS James Madison SSBN 627 – Tribute to a Founding Father

This is the fourth in the series about the 41 for Freedom submarines. If you have followed the series, you have noticed that they are not in chronological order. I am trying to remain faithful to the way they were arranged in the book EMINENT AMERICANS, NAMESAKES of the POLARIS SUBMARINE FLEET, by H. G. […]

The End of the World was THIS close. (The Gaither Report and its consequences)

The End of the World was THIS close. This is a story about a series of events that happened in the late 1950’s that changed the course of the world in one of its darkest times. America and her allies had squared off against the Soviet Union in an increasingly complex game of […]

USS John Adams SSBN 620 – Libertatem amicitiam retinebis et fidem (Freedom and friendship thou shall preserve, and faith)

USS John Adams SSBN 620 When I first read the book by Admiral Rickover about the 41 for Freedom boats, I was curious about the order of the chapters. After all, the hull numbers started at 598 and here we were on the second chapter with hull number 620. But to Admiral Rickover’s ordered mind, the […]

Writing the story of the “Eminent Americans… Namesakes of the Polaris Submarine Fleet”

Writing the story of the “Eminent Americans… Namesakes of the Polaris Submarine Fleet” Of all the treasures about submarine lore that have been recorded, very few meet the level of excitement for me than the book listed in the title to this post. When Admiral Rickover originally wrote his letters about the men who make […]

First in War, First in Peace, First in the Hearts of His Countrymen

I asked for a sign and this is what I got (1638 EST 1/7/2019) I monitor the traffic on the web site each day to see what is working and what is not. It was kind of an interesting surprise to open the blog up and see that number on the left. Recently, the focus […]

Inconceivable – It was just a plastic toy anyone could buy for $2.98

A most unusual executive session This story is about the transcripts from a Congressional committee meeting of a most unusual nature. It was held on April 9, 1960 on board the USS George Washington. Some interesting notes: The boat was underway, the depth was 400 feet at the time and had just conducted a […]

Obstacles to Overcome – Building the Polaris Submarine

Obstacles to Overcome – Building the Polaris Submarine It is a well-known fact among the submarine community that the USS George Washington started out life as the fast attack submarine Scorpion. Building the new boat was driven by the need for a platform for the Polaris missile system. Normally when a new submarine or ship […]

EMINENT AMERICANS Namesakes of the Polaris Submarine Fleet (41 for Freedom)

Polaris 1959 This year is the year of the Polaris Program. It has been 60 years since the program burst onto the submarine scene and its impact is still felt today. The marriage of so much technology to convincingly prove to the Soviet Union and the world that a reliable part of the Strategic […]

A Pocket-sized Nuclear Reactor on a Mini-Submarine? (almost) circa 1958

The world’s atomic agencies were watching America’s Naval Atomic program closely and with great interest in 1959 In late 1958, the focus on atomic submarines was still centered on what came to be known as the fast attack. In this report that highlighted all of the sea going efforts at harnessing nuclear power, the author […]

Was that Regular mail delivery or Regulus mail delivery?

Air Mail like None Other Of all the submarine stories I have ever read, this one ranks with the most unusual. In 1959, the world was still reacting to the Soviet advances in space. The Navy had invested a significant amount of money on the Regulus Missile system as a way to counter Soviet threats. […]