What’s in a name? The story of how the most famous submarine in modern history was named

What’s in a name? All Navy ships have a designation. Through the years, technology and advances in design have created the need for new designations. The book Dictionary of American naval fighting ships. v.1. United States categorized all of the ship types used in the American Navy’s history as of 1959. As far as submarines, […]

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, […]

Killing the Sea Monsters

Killing the Sea Monsters Two views on submarine versus submarine warfare were recorded after the end of the war where this type of combat was first initiated. Prior to this time, no submarines had been engaged in direct combat with each other. The challenges of the technology, the nature of the sea and the […]

Dueling Denizens and the Daring Escape

The most fearsome weapon at sea during the First World War was the submarine. Even when the danger came from another submarine. By May of 1918, the German submarines were beginning to be neutralized by the varying forms of technology employed by the Allies. Wireless radio detection, sound listening devices, primitive us of airplanes and […]

Denizens of the Deep – The idea that spawned the American Fast Attack Fleet

Denizens of the deep – Pursuing the ultimate underwater weapon: the original birth of the Fast Attack Mankind has always had a fascination with being able to move freely under the water for long periods of time. Because of our nature, man has also sought to take advantage of the darkness and anomalies of the […]

2020 – An Epic New Year (In Retrospect, using the word epic might have been a mistake)

2020 – The year of the Fast Attack Coming Soon Well, that was the plan last December. I was thinking that a good follow-up to my 2019 year of highlighting the 41 for Freedom Boats would be a logical way to spend the year. To be honest, I spent a lot of time helping to […]

USS Sam Rayburn SSBN 635 – Mr. Sam

USS Sam Rayburn SSBN 635 This is the last of the 41 for Freedom Boats that was memorialized in Admiral Rickover’s book the Eminent Americans. It’s been a fascinating year learning more about each of the boats but more importantly, it’s been an enlightening year to learn much more about the men that the boats […]

USS George C. Marshall SSBN 654 – Patience not weakness

Sixty years ago today, America lost one of its greatest citizens. He would not live to see the submarine that would later bear his name. But the work that he did for the nation ensured that freedom and liberty for many people would be assured. From his day as a cadet at the Virginia […]

USS Henry L. Stimson SSBN 655 “to keep peace you must be strong to resist aggression”

In a world where politics has become more toxic than a bucket full of radioactive waste mixed with every known chemical harmful to mankind, the example that Henry L. Stimson provided is the one shining light that still stands out like a beacon. Stimson was a war veteran, a statesman, a leader, and a man […]

May 1960: You’ve got Polaris, why on earth do you need bigger carriers?

You’ve got Polaris, why on earth do you need bigger carriers? This was the first speech given to the Navy League by Secretary Franke. Franke served in the new Kennedy administration. The source document comes from amalgamated press releases recorded from 1959-1962. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.c2968167&view=1up&seq=571 In May of 1960, the secretary was giving a standard speech […]