1918 – Born in the shops of the devil, Designed by the brains of a fiend; Filled with acid and crude oil, And christened “A Submarine.”

The small American submarine force was being sent to Europe to aid in the fight against the German U boat menace. Before the war, submarines were still viewed as a novelty. Germany changed this perception. During the war, the U.S. Navy had 72 submarines in service. The Secretary of the Navy, Josephus Daniels granted a […]

The Silent Service – 1951 – Earning the Twin Dolphin

September 1951 found the United States embroiled once again in a conflict far away from its home shores. Harry S Truman was the President and he held a televised transcontinental news conference on the new medium of Television to discuss the official surrender of Japan at the Japanese Peace Treaty Conference. September 4, 1951 – […]

The Typical Submariner Candidate in 1950 – Not Just Your Usual American Home Town Boy

The Typical Submariner Candidate in 1950 – Not Just Your Usual American Home Town Boy The average 20 year old American male in 1950 shared a number of things. They were between 9-10 years old when Pearl Harbor was bombed so they grew up while the world was at war. Their entertainment was radio and […]

Living on borrowed time

Living on borrowed time. It seems strange to think about the duality of time. On the one hand you have all the time in the world. On the other, there never seems to be enough of it. In the end, we all die. It’s not a gruesome fact, it’s just a fulfilment of the fact […]

“In my spare time, I went to Harvard”… how they kept from being bored on a boomer in ’65

November has been submarine month at theleansubmariner. Probably a large part of that is the nostalgia of looking back over the last 45 years and my own experiences on the boats. I got a chance to share some of my memories as well as stories from the archives that highlighted submarine development since the early […]

Dedication Ceremony for the Submarine Service Memorial at the Cemetery of the Alleghenies

It was an honor today to be present as a Memorial Stone was Dedicated by the USSVI Requin Base Pittsburgh PA at the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies near Pittsburgh. The pictures tell the story. Hand Salute!

Some grow up quicker than others

I have been having a lot of fun lately posting some submarine related points of view concerning modern college millennials who are struggling with the world. This is the latest in the series: Mister Mac

WE ARE SUBMARINERS – Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow

Throughout the generation where men have gone to sea on submarines, a bond has formed that crosses all of those generations. This anonymous quote comes from one of the web sites I frequent. I can’t identify the author so I have taken it directly from the posting but will gladly give credit if the […]

Welcome Aboard Undersea Warfare Magazine

If you look to the right where I list my Blogroll, you will see some new additions. Some folks at the Magazine liked my latest blog (Grand Theft Submarine – Stealing the U-111) and asked for a salute on the page. I really like their Facebook Page and back in the day spent a lot […]