Submarine History

Simon Lake is not remembered for the great submarine contest of 1893. Despite his future success in submarine development, Lake didn’t make it very far in the competition. Without the financial backing that Holland and Baker had, Simon Lake could [...]

When the great submarine contest of 1893 began, John P. Holland was already a who’s who amongst Washington bureaucracy. The Irish born schoolteacher had already submitted two designs to the US Navy that had been rejected before construction could begin. [...]

In 1900, the U.S. Navy officially purchased its first submarine. However, seven years before that, the first full effort to launch a submarine program began with the Great Submarine Contest of 1893. Submarines had been utilized long before this, including [...]

This article appears on the Library of Congress' Today In History Page. The Images are from different divisions within the Library that help share the stories from that fateful day.  Preserving these  images, documents and oral histories are an important way [...]

One of the best things about working at the Submarine Museum is the stories people tell. Every day you can hear a new story, whether it be from one of the docents, a sailor on duty or a veteran who [...]

Making headlines this week is the disappearance of the ARA San Juan, an Argentinian submarine that went missing on Wednesday, November 15th. The San Juan was coming home from a routine mission when it reported an electrical breakdown. Command instructed [...]

While Veteran’s Day may have been last weekend, we honor those who have served all year long. Here at the museum we take great pride in honoring those who have served and preserving their legacy and history for generations to [...]

Over the last couple of weeks, we have done blog stories covering specific times in Naval history dealing with the torpedo. However, when discussed individually, you may not get the whole picture of the evolution of the torpedo and how [...]

In honor of Halloween, we thought we would share with you a few Navy ghost stories. So, sit back, turn the lights on and indulge in some eerie tales that have taken place during the Navy's history.   The Mystery [...]