New London – The Cradle of Submarine Life in America (Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow)

The Cradle of Submarine Life in America began its story 150 years ago April 11 1868-2018 I was reading through a Naval History record of Building the Navy’s Bases in World War II (Volume I (Part II)) Part of the massive construction done to support the war was the story about the expansion of the […]

Some traditions are worth forgetting – Real Submariners

Each submariner’s journey begins when they finish all of their training and the hatch closes when the last man is down. For a hundred and seventeen years, submariners have steered a course unique to their own generation and their own type of boat. From the wildly dangerous gasoline powered boats to the sleek new nuclear […]

Diamond Anniversary – The First Battle of Savo Island (Part 8 – The Battle from the Japanese Perspective)

Disaster at Savo Island, 1942 by Lieutenant Colonel David E. Quantock United States Army USAWC Class of 2002 U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, PA These excerpts are from a Report called Disaster at Savo Island, 1942. This unique perspective of the battle is taken primarily from the Japanese point of view. “Mikawa’s approach […]

Diamond Anniversary – The First Battle of Savo Island (Part 6 – The Day of 9 August and Observations )

THE DAY OF 9 AUGUST During the battle our aircraft carriers were south of San Cristobal Island, roughly 150 miles from Savo. Although they had on the evening of the 8th requested permission to retire, it was not received from COMSOPAC until 0330 on the 9th. This was, of course, more than an hour after […]

Diamond Anniversary – The First Battle of Savo Island (Part 5 – End of the Canberra and Astoria)

Part 5 END OF THE CANBERRA When the enemy left the Canberra she was lying helpless and afire approximately 5 miles southeast of Savo Island. Capt. Getting was fatally wounded, and the executive officer, Comdr. J. A. Walsh, R. A. N., took command. He at once initiated measures to save the ship. Gasoline tanks were […]

Memorandum Number 68: FUTURE SUBMARINE WARFARE – 1923 (How America almost lost World War II before it even started)

In the final days of the Great War, Naval planners had seen first hand the devastation and destruction caused by the modern machines of war. The submarine was an example of one of the most destructive. As plans were being made for the peace, decisions about the methods for maintaining that peace would have to […]

The Old Submariner

The Old Submariner I sometimes don’t know where I’m going, but Oh, all the places I’ve been. Wrapped up in a hull made of steel, with a crew of fine sailors locked in. The missions are lonely and silent, the dangers untold with no yield, But we still climb down the steel ladders, the hatches […]

The Galloping Ghost

I’M THE GALLOPING GHOST OF THE JAPANESE COAST By Constantine Guiness, MOMM 1/C, USN I’m the galloping ghost of the Japanese coast. You don’t hear of me and my crew But just ask any man off the coast of Japan. If he knows of the Trigger Maru. I look sleek and slender alongside my tender. […]

Remembering the Fitzgerald Seven

Acting Secretary of the Navy Sean Stackley has ordered the National Ensign to be flown at half-staff from sunrise until sunset on June 27 in honor of the seven Sailors who perished onboard USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62). In ALNAV 045/17, Acting Secretary of the Navy Sean Stackley ordered the National Ensign to be flown […]

The Cost of Freedom – Letter to the Editor Pittsburgh Post Gazette

The Cost of Freedom To the Editor Pittsburgh has long been a source of the materials and equipment necessary for our national defense. The propulsion equipment for submarines and aircraft carriers comes from manufacturers in the Steel Valley as it has for generations. A strong fleet ensures freedom of the seas and guarantees the level […]