Submarine History

Although only one enlisted submariner has ever received a Medal of Honor, “the history of submarining is replete with instances of men of all grades acting to save lives,” writes LCDR Glenn Smith, USN (Ret.), himself a former submariner. Today [...]

Although only one enlisted submariner has ever received a Medal of Honor, “the history of submarining is replete with instances of men of all grades acting to save lives,” writes LCDR Glenn Smith, USN (Ret.), himself a former submariner. Today [...]

On 13 April 1986, USS GRAYBACK (SS/SSG/LPSS-574), stripped down to an empty shell and painted bright orange, was towed out of Subic Bay in the Philippines and sunk in the South China Sea as a target for a training exercise. [...]

On 11 April 1900, the United States government paid $150,000 for a submarine named Holland VI, which would soon become known as USS HOLLAND (SS-1). Thus was born the nation’s submarine service. Exactly 86 years later, USS NAUTILUS was officially [...]

Fifty-one years ago today, on the morning of 10 April 1963, USS THRESHER (SSN-593), less than two years old and the lead boat in a new class of nuclear-powered, fast-attack submarines, began deep-diving tests about 200 miles to the east [...]

On 12 May 1984, the LOS ANGELES-class fast-attack submarine USS SALT LAKE CITY (SSN-716) was placed in commission. Nearly twenty years later, on 17 March 2004, the boat made her television debut on the fiftieth episode of the History Channel’s [...]

Along with USS BURRFISH (SS-312) and USS BANG (SS-385), USS SNOOK (SS-279) left Guam on her ninth war patrol on 25 March 1945. The three boats headed for the Luzon Strait that lies between Taiwan and Luzon, an island in [...]

On 28 June 1937, the keel of PCU SAURY (SS-189) was laid at Electric Boat Company in Groton, CT. Between December of 1941 and November of 1944, SAURY successfully completed eleven war patrols and was awarded seven battle stars. But [...]

With a blue lei adorning her sail, USS LOUISVILLE (SSN-724) arrived at her homeport in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on 13 May 2003. She had been on a routine six-month deployment when she was dispatched to the Middle East to support [...]

The loss of USS PICKEREL (SS-177) during her seventh war patrol is one of the many mysteries of World War II. She left Pearl Harbor in 18 March 1943, topped off with fuel at Midway on the 22nd, departed for [...]