We had Rickover – They had Gorshkov; The whole world watched

Soviet Submarine Threat: Part 1 The flag of the Soviet Navy flies over the oceans of the world. Sooner or later the United States will have to understand it no longer has mastery of the seas. Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union S. G. GORSHKOV I’m sure some people wonder why I spend […]

1959 – Why do you need so damn many submarines?

Why do you need so damn many submarines? I can almost hear the Air Force Brass asking that question of the Navy as they were presented the “threat” profile developed by the intelligence agencies in 1959. 1959 was a pivotal year for submarine development in the United States. The military in general was going through […]

How fast will that thing go? The USS Skipjack Story

How fast can you go on a submarine? Along with how deep, how fast is often one of the most asked questions once someone knows you were on board a submarine. The standard answer that was pounded into our heads in submarine school was in excess of 20 knots and deeper than 400 feet. Once […]

Building the next generation of boats – Nuclear power in 1955

Building the next generation of boats – Nuclear power in 1955 The power and possibility revealed in the USS Nautilus was enough to inspire the Navy’s leadership to want to move more quickly into this bold new age. The challenge was to find a way to build the new boats using existing resources blended with […]

Lost Boats – An occupational hazard in 1920

Lord, your sea is so great and my boat is so small A hundred years ago, the relatively young US Navy Submarine service was still experiencing a lot of growing pains. Technology had already evolved enough to provide a better means of propulsion (diesel engines) and recent upgrades in battery technology were certainly great […]

Fast Attack Submarines in 1958 – Refining the Concept

In 1958, the race to build better and faster submarines had already been underway for a few years. Admiral Rickover had previously stated that the Nautilus design was only the beginning of the evolution. By 1958, the world of underwater warfare was rapidly taking shape IMPORTANCE OF NUCLEAR PROPULSION – 1958 ALL HANDS MAGAZINE Nuclear […]

These are mine

These are mine. I share them with all who have gone through the same crucible. They (like us) were forged in pressure. They were quenched in the waters of the darkest parts of the ocean. They symbolize a tradition that is shared by only a few. Fire, flooding and the crashing of the waves above […]

The question of the monster (the fictional vision that became the Fast Attack Submarine)

The Monster “THE year 1866 was signalised by a remarkable incident, a mysterious and inexplicable phenomenon, which doubtless no one has yet forgotten. Not to mention rumours which agitated the maritime population, and excited the public mind, even in the interior of continents, seafaring men were particularly excited. Merchants, common sailors, captains of vessels, skippers, […]

Grandfather to the Fast Attack – USS Carp (SS 20) F-1 (The Mysterious loss of Bob the Submarine Dog)

When the Navy bought its first Holland class submarine, the future of the craft was still as murky as the water it would dive into . The original boats were very limited in depth capability and the propulsion mechanism was still primitive by today’s standards. The vision for many was to mimic Jules Verne’s novel […]

The Terror of the Sea

The Terror of the Sea – Submarine Warfare October 1914 Up until the moment that German submarine U-9 approached the cruisers she would sink on September 22, 1914, all submarine attacks were either academic of limited in damage. That does not mean that the many brave deeds that came before were not noteworthy, but in […]