Steel Boats, Iron Men and their stories (plus a bit more)
The 2024 Gathering of the Saints is finally over. I have been absent from the keyboard for a while as we executed our latest reunion in Charleston SC. The planning for the reunion started at the end of 2023 and was non-stop until the very last day of the event. One thing about reunions is […]
Read More A Great Reunion – Well, Mostly GreatI was honored to have my wife and my Submariner Brothers present last night at the USSVI Charleston Base to see my induction into the Holland Club. I actually wasn’t sure I would ever make it. A special thanks to RADM Mike Sharp and the men from the USS San Francisco SSN 711 that were […]
Read More April 11 2024 – Holland ClubOne of my favorite books in my small collection about submarines is one that was written by Robert Hatfield Barnes in 1944. I did an extensive search about Mr. Barnes background and came up short. The copy I have has an inscription in the front that merely says “Dedicated to the officers and men of […]
Read More The American Diver – CSS HunleyPort Call Alaska 1934 – Just Another Routine Port Call… Or Was It? I love Alaska. I had previously been on one boat that had travelled near the coast of the Last Frontier, but it wasn’t until many years later that I was actually able to see the forty ninth state up close and personal. […]
Read More Off to Alaska – Submarines Explore the Last FrontierAfter World War 2, the US Navy had a surplus of many items from the big war. On both the east coast and the west coast, temporary resting places for many of the ships and submarines were teeming with no longer needed ships and submarines. I remember seeing large numbers of ships tied up and […]
Read More The Silent Service Needs You (1950’s version)“Air Conditioning? Real Submariners Don’t Need No Air Conditioning” From the very beginning of the submarine service in the United States, there were a number of constants. First, there was limited space. Priority was given to the machinery and support systems that would make the submarine effective. The engines were small at first but grew […]
Read More “Air Conditioning? Real Submariners Don’t Need No Air Conditioning”In 1964, I was ten years old. The movie, Voyage to the Bottom of the Seas had come out in 1961 but I only remember it from later showings on television when I was much older. The TV series that was born from that movie ran from 1964 to 1968 and I am pretty sure […]
Read More Voyage to the Bottom of the Seas – The Nuclear Navy of 1964Sudden Impact… Forever Impacted It was a cold and freezing night. (I’ve always wanted to use that line ever since Snoopy used something similar in one of his attempts to be a novelist. Cartoonist Charles Schulz made Snoopy use this phrase because “it was a cliché and had been one for a very long time”. […]
Read More Sudden Impact… Forever ImpactedHappy December! If you are a fan of submarines (and who isn’t) you will be happy to know that one of the granddaddies of all submarine sites is back up and running. The publishers have cleaned off the binnacles from the hull, topped off the fuel tanks and cleared the decks of all fouled gear. […]
Read More The return of Pigboats.comHappy 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 […]
Read More Nautilus to Columbia by James C. Goodall
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