Submarine Hall Of Fame
Having never been to Submarine Learning Facility Norfolk (and having only pulled into Norfolk once, for two days), I never knew there was a "U.S. Navy Submarine Hall of Fame". Apparently, though, there is, as this post over at Rontini's Submarine BBS attests:
When a ship is inducted a shadow box is created and displayed in Alcorn Auditorium with a one page history below it. This Auditorium is at the Submarine Learning Facility Norfolk Virginia and is in continually use by today's submarine crews so that they can see a visual display of their heritage. The past inductees have been the following:The post goes on to say that nominations for this year's inductee are due by October 17th, and has the E-mail address for Paul Rice of USSVI, who's coordinating the whole shebang.
USS Norfolk: First Navy Ship to have all Tomahawks land on target
USS Narwhal: 25 years of special operations
USS Nautilus: First Nuclear Submarine
USS Irex: First Fleet Snorkel Submarine
USS Triton: First to circumnavigate the world submerged
USS Grenadier: Forcing a Soviet Zulu to the surface and proving the USSR was conducting deterrent patrols
USS Albacore: First in modern hydro-dynamic design
USS Skate: First to surface at the Geographic Pole
USS Growler: First in Regulus program
USS Parche: Super Secret Squirrel Sub and Most decorated ship in the Navy
It is that time again to nominate another submarine. The criteria for this award is a submarine that made engineering or tactical advances post WWII...
So which boat not on the list above do you think should be inducted? Should it be USS Connecticut (SSN 22), who set an Alpha Trials speed record (under the expert supervision of her plank-owning Engineer, who spent the middle half of the full-power submerged run in his rack) that will stand for as long as they're still making Virginia-class boats? Should it be your old boat, who became the first submarine in history to make a nuclear repair using EB Green, curable resin, and the DCA's skivvies? Make your nominations (humorous or otherwise) in the comments.
posted by Bubblehead at 11:08 PM
29 Comments:
When I think back on the DCA on my final boat, the only way anyone could have made a repair with his skivvies would have involved forced breathing air and full chemical protective clothing! :)
As for submarines to be nominated for induction, I would submit USS SKIPJACK/E-1, SS-24. She was the first U.S. submarine to be fitted with diesel engines vice gasoline, making the boats more efficient, increasing the range, and certainly safer. This occured in 1912, and diesel-electric technology ruled the undersea for the next 40+ years. I would say she deserves recognition.
10/02/2008 4:47 AM
Submarine hall of Fame is the dumbest idea I've heard since John McCain made his VP pick. Go to sea. Do the job. Silent Service. Dumb.
10/02/2008 7:05 AM
^
|
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Boob
10/02/2008 7:18 AM
/\
Hang it in your ear.
10/02/2008 7:25 AM
NR-1 should be at the top of the list. They decommission next month with a great legacy of service to the nation.....
Ron
10/02/2008 9:08 AM
While trying to figure out which half is the middle half, I'd nominate the USS DACE (SSN607). Under Kinnard McKee, DACE discovered the Delta, Alpha, and Charlie class submarines, all named after the letters in her name. The Echo had already been found.
---Bull Snipe
10/02/2008 9:31 AM
Have to agree with Rubber Ducky, except the "U.S. Navy Submarine Hall of Fame" absolutely reflects the silence and the stealth of the silent service.
To submariners it may seem a dumb idea for two reasons:
1- What you don't know about all the other other boats (because it always has been a Silent Service).
2- What you know, or at least thought you knew, about your own boats (because it remains the Silent Service).
To the world, however, the Hall of Fame is an excellent idea for reasons beyond merely excellent Navy and sub force PR. In particular:
1- No new information is provided on the Hall of Fame boats, in fact, it is mostly dated and entirely open source info.
2- The viewing public's assumption is naturally that all of the most interesting submarine missions and capabilities have been represented.
Not much to debate.
10/02/2008 10:25 AM
Not sure why USS Growler SSG 577 was listed "first in Regulus Program." That honor should go to USS Tunny SSG-282. She was designated an SSG in July 1952 and launched her first Regulus missile in July 1953.
I'd nominate USS Salmon SS-182 for the submarine hall of fame. Reason: So badly damaged in a depth charge attack she was assessed as unrepairable upon return to the U. S. Unable to dive, she brought her crew home after a 3 hour running gun battle with three Japanese ASW ships. I served with a former Salmon sailor in the mid 60's who told me the story. You can read her damage report in Appendix 6 of Alden's "The Fleet Submarine in the US Navy". Another interesting note about Salmon, her conning tower was removed before her scrapping and converted into a caisson containing the second nuclear device detonated at Bikini in 1946. It was Suspended 90 feet beneath a small amphib for test shot Baker. I believe her survival is a testament to the strength of the EB Fleet boats and their crews.
Keep a zero bubble.......
DBFTMC(SS)USNRET
10/02/2008 1:20 PM
It should be the USS LOUISIANA (SSBN 743), because at 565ft long It's the largest US Submarine ever built. (It's actually five feet longer than every other boat in the class.) Though the fact above is true, I don't really think it's worthy of hall-of-fame-level glory. It's actually a pretty miserable place right now.
10/02/2008 3:42 PM
OK, so are recent events in the SSNB fleet and the miserableness of the USS Louisiana ..is there something fundamentally going on in the SSNB fleet that we should be concerned with...are other SSNB boats having abnormal troubles?
If you are smart don't answer me?
10/02/2008 5:46 PM
Mike, yeah something fundamentally is going on in the SSBN fleet (not the 'SSNB' fleet -- what's that, a trucking company?).
The SSBN fleet is operating in usual fashion - superbly. Even the most unfortunate human lapse of late, which has been extremely rare, could not upset the routine discipline, superb performance and continued effectiveness of these units and their fine submariners.
Do you have any problem with that, Mike Mulligan? If so, I can recommend a swell therapist for you.
-Ajax
10/02/2008 6:13 PM
Mikey, having not spent any time under the pond, you wouldn't understand that most blue shirts consider sea time a pretty drab existence. There is no glamor. When you consider that most of the guys are ~22 years old, there are many other places they'd rather be and people/things they'd rather be doing. Looking back from the perspective of a decade removed, it doesn't "seem that bad." However, if you asked anyone that knew me during my time on the boats, every single one of them would tell you that I hated it - and I did. But I also did my job, just like 99.9% of the rest of the guys, because we took pride in doing a good job and didn't want to bag our buddies. I'm sure guys serving on boats today are no different.
10/02/2008 6:28 PM
USS Dallas (SSN 700): First submarine constructed with an all-digital fire control & sonar system.
10/02/2008 8:06 PM
Ajax
I go if you pay. I was stationed on the USS Lipscomb for 4 years.
10/02/2008 8:56 PM
How about the Hampton? Anybody? No takers...Hmmm, I give up.
10/02/2008 10:06 PM
What about USS George Washington (SSBN-598); first Polaris launch from a submerged submarine, and first SSBN deterrent patrol.
10/03/2008 4:42 AM
I was on the Norfolk when she was added to the list (and Parche when she was as well) and it seemed to me at the time in 1999 that the the subvets were looking at a way to link old and new submariners.
We've all seen the WWII subvets at various ceremonies and unfortunately we will lose that legacy soon enough. I would like to see a continuation of honoring the cold war submariners (like my father and uncle).
How about George Washington, the first SSBN?
10/03/2008 5:39 AM
^
I just re-read the criteria and see that it is limited to post WW II boats.
Nevermind, although I still vote for George Washington.
10/03/2008 5:41 AM
What about USS George Washington (SSBN-598); first Polaris launch from a submerged submarine, and first SSBN deterrent patrol.
I'll second this, as a proud member of the Decommissioning Crew of that fine boat.
EMC(SS)Jim Armstrong
10/03/2008 7:03 AM
Mulligan, I call BS. If you were truly on a boat for 4 years, you would know that the proper designation for the ballistic missile submarine is SSBN, not SSNB. Even if you were on boats in the early days, it would have been SSB(N) or SS(N), but you would know that, wouldn't you?
Once again, go play in the kiddie pool. Leave the adults to discuss adult matters.
10/03/2008 10:40 AM
USS Georgia SSGN 729. 04' Deployment, Best seven months of my life, all in San Diego of course.
10/03/2008 6:39 PM
How about the SSN 682 (Tunny), 651 (Queenfish), 715 (Buffalo), 718 (Honolulu) & SSBN 731 G (Alabama)!
Just because I survived them all!
Which boat went to the North Pole the most? I was on 651 in 1988 when we went to the North Pole and surfaced in the polar ice cap 25 times! (yes twenty five)!
STSCS(SS/SW), RET
10/04/2008 8:14 AM
We were told on 727(G) that we were the first boomer to receive an ASW "A". That was in the eighties. ExMissSh*tcan A-Ganger
10/04/2008 9:54 AM
630-738
Least Bubblehead let me off “restricted to ship”…freedom feels so wonderful…I'll tell you a secret…I have been censored before.
Submariners are a state of mind; it never leaves you even if you hated the end of your service, nobody can ever tell you whether you’re a sub sailor or not, you just know it.
Did you see the current Navy Time’s on why the USS Washington had their fire…what’s similar to the accident on the USS Washington and the submarine USS Hampton?
Why is the NAVY broadly having problems administrating their bureaucracy…their rules and regulations and inspections…combat readiness?
Thank you for correcting me on SSBN. Ask me something about the Lipscomb that nobody else knows…but unclassified?
10/04/2008 9:37 PM
First off Mulligan, I don't recall you being put on "restricted ship" status. You were asked to sit out the conversation about MM3 Gentile because you were posting inflammatory comments that could potentially upset his family. That in and of itself proves you are not a brother of the 'phin. If you were, you would NEVER do such, even if your time on boats was less than ideal.
I never served on USS GLENNARD P. LIPSCOMB (SSN-685). All I know of her is what I have read, which you could just as easily done, so asking you an unclassfied question would prove nothing. Hell, Tom Clancy never served on a boat, and he did a fair job of writing about them.
No. I have not read the recent Navy Times article about USS GEORGE WASHINGTON. I also didn't live through the ordeal, nor the HAMPTON. I'm not inclined to draw parallels between the two, since I wasn't there nor am I involved in either investigation. No doubt there was a failure of leadership in each case, but I'm not ready to damn the entire Naval service over them. You, on the other hand, want to make something more than there is out of some comments made by a guy who is obviously the typical "bitchin sailor", nothing more. This also proves to me that you are nothing more than an imposter who just enjoys stirring the pot for your own personal enjoyment, not out of any desire whatsoever to discover "the truth."
Yes, freedom is a wonderful thing. I am free to call it as I see it. I still call BS.
10/06/2008 10:43 AM
Mike, were you a nuke or a forward puke?
10/06/2008 12:32 PM
A machinist mate nuke.
All I can say is the horrible struggle I had on the boat in my last year, much of it a dysfunctional and a terrible coping mechanism within me...but it prepared me for the hardships and troubles I would face later in life.
I never thought suffering could have such a beneficial effect.
I would be honored if my 15 year old son volunteered for Sub service...it ain't going to happen though. I would never pollute him with what I knew if he was heading for the sub service...I'd want him to discover his own truth.
See, I think the Navy and the sub service is fertile grounds for personal growth...I think that is what our kid's need...is a venue where our kids struggle like heck with some external troubles. I like the idea of our kids seeing the big wide world.
Anyways, I bet you I can see systems interactions and predict their outcomes better than you can?
I enlisted in the Navy in late July 1974 and Nixon resigned in Aug 9. Everyone hated the government back then...I demonstrated my feelings through my actions.
10/07/2008 3:37 PM
Wow, this just keeps getting better and better!
Mike, if you truly served during the time in which you served, I salute you for your service. I still have my doubts, but for the moment, I will put that aside.
You state that if your 15 year old son were to choose the Submarine Force, you would not pollute him with "what you know." What DO you know? First hand experience from 30 years ago? This may come as a surprise, but things have changed somewhat in 30 years. Unless you work DIRECTLY with the Submarine Force today, that's the extent of what you "know." Any thing else is what you have read and pure speculation.
I'll use my own experience for example. I served from 1980 to 2006. To my surprise, my own son chose to become a nuke EM, like myself. One could say I've seen and experienced a lot in 26 years. The only things I talk to my son about are those things he asks about. My advice to him was fairly simple: Always do your best, and draw your own conclusions. Do not let the attitudes of others, either the gripers or the "diggits", influence your opinion or attitude. If he asks for specific guidance or advice, I provide it. In the absence of a request, I do not interject my own experience.
10/08/2008 8:45 AM
USS SALT LAKE CITY. The only first flight 688 to break through the polar ice. Don't bother saying USS HONOLULU because she only surfaced through polynyas. You can clearly see her WLR-9 LF dome intact in the pictures.
10/11/2008 9:16 AM
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