Steel Boats, Iron Men and their stories (plus a bit more)
Happy New Year I thought I would take a few minutes to reflect on the year just completed and look ahead to the coming year. Each day when I check the web site statistics board, I think about my readers and those who come for a visit. In the eight years I have been blogging, […]
Read More Happy New Year 2019 – Annual Report: 2018 was a great year overallOriginally posted on theleansubmariner:
A short history of the first ballistic missile submarine. USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (SSBN 598) THIS SHIP has been given the most illustrious name in America. Rarely does history confirm contemporary judgment in pronouncing a man “indispensable” to his country. But there is general agreement that on three occasions, when the fate of…
A decade that changed the world – FBM history from 1959-1969 Nearly a decade of progress changed the face of submarine warfare and nuclear deterrence. Between 1959 and 1969, the Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarines went from concept to reality in a way that fundamentally changed the way two major powers viewed warfare and strategic deterrence. […]
Read More A decade that changed the world – FBM history from 1959-1969The Boomer Pin turns 50 in 2019 One of the most divisive subjects in the American submarine family is the breast insignia know by most as the Boomer pin. This little device has been a part of my uniform since January 1974 when I completed my first ballistic missile patrol. Wearing the pin by itself […]
Read More The Boomer Pin Turns 50 – (Does that mean it can finally join the Holland Club?)Growing up, I read nearly every book I could get my hands on that contained US Navy ships. I especially loved the stories about the Second World War. It was so cool to be able to know that Battleships were always named after states, cruisers bore the names of cities and destroyers were honored with […]
Read More What’s in a name? (a short explanation of how naming submarines got so fishy fifty years ago)Each generation of Submariners benefits from the work of the precious generation. As a young man, I had no idea what it would be like to serve on a submarine. Despite growing up in the Steel Valley of Pittsburgh and its suburbs where the birth of the nuclear Navy really occurred, I had no one […]
Read More Qualified: “One thing that the modern Submariner has in common with the old timer is esprit de corps”Cold War 1 – How the American Navy Pivoted its Submarine Force to Win the Day I love this time of year. Perspectives on the achievements of the past year reign supreme in the press and on almost all manner of media. With the advances of social media, the avalanche of looking back articles will […]
Read More LOOKING BACK: NINETEEN HUNDRED AND FIFTY- EIGHT is gone. (How the submarine force pivoted in 1958 to win the Cold War)Would you do it again? As I have written before, so many people have the same reaction when you tell them that you were a Submariner. “Oh, I could never do that.” You just give them a certain smile of understanding and know that they are probably right. It takes a certain kind of crazy […]
Read More Would you do it again?You learn a lot sitting around the Christmas Dinner Table Probably one of the more impactful songs from my youth came from a Crosby Stills Nash and Young album. I still play the song on my IPod and it takes me back to a time when this country was divided by generations and by a […]
Read More Teach your children wellOriginally posted on theleansubmariner:
The F-1 Started out as the Carp (SS-20) The submarine torpedo boat Carp (SS-20), the latest and most efficient type of underwater fighter, was launched on September 6, 1911 at the Union Iron Works. Miss Josephine Tynan, little daughter of Joseph. J. Tynan, general manager of the Iron Works, christened the fish-like craft,…
