Pennsylvania Amphibs – 21st Century Warriors

I contribute articles to the Pittsburgh Council of the Navy League, and this is one of my recent submissions about a unique naming situation for five current and future LPD amphibious ships. Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania have contributed their names many times to warships and support ships over the last 240 years. Even my hometown of […]

Nautilus to Columbia by James C. Goodall

Happy December. This is the time of year when we get presents in the mail and for me that includes the latest project by my friend James. C. Goodall. Jim is a former Air Force guy (Retired) who combines his photographic skills with his passion for submarines and other technical platforms to create valuable resources […]

The Submarine Recognition Manual NAVPERS 10011

A new era In 1959, the United States was about to fast forward its submarine program. The nuclear program was well under way and the ballistic missile submarine program called Polaris was in full swing. Congressional reports at the time talked about the mounting Soviet threat. The Soviets had also developed a number of shipyards […]

Aloha Spirit and Maui – Forty Years of Memories

Watching the television and on-line reports of damage to Maui has been difficult. The loss of life and property damage is heart wrenching. My memories of that paradise are fading now with age but I can still see some images in my head. The first time I went there was at the end of a […]

Crush Depth is theoretical… until it isn’t

Note: I collected much of the technical information for this story from open source documentation. As always, I do not reveal information from my actual submarine experience. I love and respect my fellow submariners still on patrol and only publish these generic submarine statistics to make a point. So you were a submariner? What […]

Submarine Month 2023

I have been involved with the Pittsburgh Council of the US Navy League for about ten years. It’s a great organization that reflects the connection between Pittsburgh and the Navy and in particular, the submarine service. Most people who are not fully aware of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania probably would not know how much the […]

Has anyone seen the anchor?

Adrift The definition of the word adrift is often this: so as to float without being either moored or steered: “a cargo ship went adrift”. Unless you are a submariner by trade, you are probably not familiar with the fact that some submarines have anchors. My first boat was the USS George Washington and she […]

Everything Old is New Again – Life in the Nuclear Shadow

Everything Old is New Again I’ve spent a great deal of time over the past few years studying about the development of nuclear power for use by the US Navy. One of the most informative documents was written in the early nineteen sixties titled Nuclear Navy 1946-1962 written principally by Richard G. Hewlett and Francis […]

Remembering January 8 – USS San Francisco SSN 711

SSN 711 – That fateful day on January 8th We can never forget how truly dangerous submarine life can be. Rest in peace Shipmate

2022 Fast Attack Submarine Report – Defending Freedom from Beneath the Waves

Fast Attack Submarines Defending a nation like the United States has never been an easy task. From the very beginning of the country, we have faced extreme challenges from powerful ocean going powers like Great Britain at it’s zenith, to the Imperial Japanese Navy that emerged from Pearl Harbor in December 1941 as the most […]