1913 – PERFECTING THE SUBMARINE

The war clouds were continuing to gather over much of Europe. The Kaiser and his leadership team recognized that in order to continue growing as a country, they needed more land and resources. The English and French were bound together by a series of treaties and this binding would propel all of the Powers towards […]

1912 – Captain Nemo Has Rival – Steel Fish Breaks All Records

April is submarine month and April 11 is the day that that is recognized as National Submarine Day in the United States. It commemorates the official start of the American Submarine Force journey. While many other events related to submarines happened before that day, the adoption of a submarine led the way to the emerging […]

1909 – the First Torpedo Man and a Revolutionary Change in Submarines

In April 1909, Ensign Kenneth Whiting, a future naval aviation pioneer, became the commanding officer of Porpoise. On 15 April, Whiting and his crew of six took the submarine out for what was to be a routine run. Porpoise got underway, cleared the dock and moved out into Manila Bay. She dove soon thereafter, and […]

All Hope was abandoned – the S-26 (Part 2)

Submarine rescues were still pretty rare in 1942. The rescue of the sailors from the sunken USS Squalus in 1939 was made possible because of the emerging technology that allowed a rescue bell to be attached to the boat. On the morning of May 23, 1939, the submarine USS Squalus slipped beneath the storm-tossed surface […]

Sinking of the S-26 Boat January 1942

Subsafe Anyone who has ever sailed on a US Navy submarine probably had at least some idea about the reasons for all the training and emphasis on safety that was given to them. From the beginning of submarine operations in the early 1900’s, diving on a submersible ship in an unforgiving ocean has always […]

The Loss of the SS-233 USS Herring

With Pearl Harbor fresh in the minds of the American public, any good news was welcomed by the American people. In January 1942, the news was not encouraging. The Japanese war machine was continuing its relentless march down the Malay Peninsula, Manila had fallen, and Bataan was being threatened, and newspaper reports of catastrophe after […]

Coins of all denominations – The Story of the USS Seawolf SS 197

USS Seawolf (SS 197) When the Japanese attacked the Philippines at the beginning of World War 2, all of the defensive plans that had been painstakingly drawn out before the war fell by the wayside. The tragedy of Pearl Harbor ensured that the relief that was supposed to come and rescue in the aftermath of […]

USS Pollack SS 180 – Bringing the War to the Enemy January 1942

A great piece of history concerning the first submarine to draw blood in the waters off of Japan. America was still reeling from the attacks at Pearl and across the Pacific. The large battleships were crippled or sunk and the aircraft carriers that would ultimately tip the scales were still few and far between. One […]

Question for Smoke Boat Sailors from the Vietnam Era

I don’t often do this, but thought it was worth asking this question for a new follower of the blog. As a long time Submariner, I am sure that many of the environmental factors we were exposed to have long term effects. You should see my medical history. But I know that the use of […]

And the rocket’s “Red” glare – Soviet Submarines (Part 2)

(Part Two of the Soviet Union Submarine series) https://theleansubmariner.com/2020/03/27/we-had-rickover-they-had-gorshkov-the-whole-world-watched/ In April 1972, I raised my right hand swore allegiance to the United States of America as a brand new member of the United States Navy. It would be the first of many times I repeated the oath. During that time, the War in Vietnam had […]