Submarines in Art

H L Hunley, a small hand-powered submarine, was built privately at Mobile, Alabama, in 1863, based on plans furnished by Horace Lawson Hunley, James R. McClintock and Baxter Watson. Her construction was sponsored by Mr. Hunley and superintended by Confederate officers W. A. Alexander and G. E. Dixon. Following trails in Mobile Bay, she was transported to Charleston, South Carolina, in August 1863 to serve in the defense of that port. On February 17, 1864, she was part of blockade duty off Charleston, approached the steam sloop of war USS HOUSATONIC and detonated a spar torpedo against her side. The Federal ship sank rapidly, becoming the first warship to be lost to a submarine attack. However, H L HUNLEY did not return from this mission, and was presumed lost with all hands. Her fate remained a mystery for over 131 years, until May 1995, when a search led by author Clive Cussler located her wreck. In August 2000, following extensive preliminary work, H L HUNLEY was raised and taken to a conservation facility at the former Charleston Naval Base.

After thirteen years of service beginning in 1924, USS BARRACUDA was decommissioned in 1937 and placed in the reserves. The submarine was recommissioned in 1940. The submarine is seen in a drydock at the Portsmouth Navy Yard before it left the Yard in March of 1941 to join Submarine Division 71 operating in the New England area. Established by the Federal Government in 1800, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNSY) launched its first product, the 74-gun warship USS Washington, in 1815. During World War I, the PNSY workforce expanded to nearly 5,000. At this time, PNSY took on a new and important role—the construction of submarines—in addition to the overhaul and repair of surface vessels. World War II saw the civilian employment rolls swell to over 25,000. Over the course of World War II over 70 submarines were constructed at PNSY, with a record four submarines launched on one day. Following World War II, PNSY was the Navy’s center for submarine design and development. PNSY continued to build submarines until 1969, when the last submarine built in a public shipyard, the nuclear powered USS Sand Lance, was launched. Today the Shipyard continues the tradition of excellence and service to the Navy and the nation by supplying the U.S Navy’s submarine fleet with high quality, affordable, overhaul, refueling and modernization work.

Relieving the tension of hours below surface, crewmen on board a U.S. Navy submarine play a round of cards while a shipmate kibitzes from his bunk. While pondering his cards, each player also listens for the call to battle stations. In the foreground, the bulbous warheads of twin torpedoes seem to peer balefully in quest of targets.

On 17 January 1955 U.S.S. Nautilus (SSN-571) signaled the attainment of the long-anticipated goal of “underway with nuclear power.” Nautilus is called the first “true submarine” because it was capable of operating for long periods without frequent contact with the surface and air of the above world

Sailors gently lower 4000 pounds of torpedoes into the submarine Seacat (SS 399) in July 1960. In this era of Cold War tensions, Seacat helped keep watch of the United States southern coast and in the Caribbean. A torpedo, or “fish”, is being loaded into USS Seacat (SS-399) in preparation for an exercise off Naval Station, Key West. The men pull and strain, hold and release their lines so that the 4000 pound bomb is safely lowered below.

USS Michigan (SSBN-727) rests quietly at the US Naval Base at Holy Loch, Scotland in 1988, waiting to be replenished for sea.