"Sharks Of Steel" Segment On YouTube
Check out this excerpt from the old "Sharks of Steel" documentary, featuring mostly shots from my old boat USS Topeka (SSN 754), filmed back in 1992:
Most of the shots in this clip were from the Topeka; we did all of the "Man Battlestations" action shots when we were in port the day after we did the at-sea shots. (You can see me at about the 2:22 mark; I'm the guy on the inboard side of the wardroom table who stands up and pushes my chair back in, correctly stowing it for sea). The other submarine shown is USS Georgia (SSBN 729); it's their CO who's speaking at the end. This clip also shows several shots of my old CO, "He Who Must Not Be Named" (aka "Fast Eddie" Jablonski). Even now, it kind of scares me to hear his voice...
posted by Bubblehead at 4:27 PM
20 Comments:
Gotta love these things!
No poopy suits (you guys didn't want to play the part in port, or was it a normal workday with just some filming going on??).
Did someone write the script for him? Seems I've heard that spiel before.
Bow shots with no dolphins, what a disappointment!
11/29/2008 8:12 PM
Why did you call him fast eddie? What was so scary?
I notice that's he's even listed as f.e. on wikipedia!
11/30/2008 5:39 AM
Joel, that video clip kinda scares the shit out of me too!
11/30/2008 3:47 PM
That was great to watch. It's obvious the submariners take their jobs seriously and show well deserved pride too.
Thanks, J.
11/30/2008 6:53 PM
I knew the CO of the Georgia when we were both freshmen at RPI. My first reaction when I saw him on the TV was the government trusts him with how many nuclear weapons?
RY/
Butch
11/30/2008 6:54 PM
I'm pretty sure he was known as Fast Eddie even before he got to the Topeka, maybe from his time as XO on the Slave Labor Camp (SSN 716). For all his questionable leadership "style", there's no question the guy knew how to drive a fast attack submarine. This one time, we were doing a Mk 50 OpEval where we were unlimited in our ability to evade, and he had us driving at a flank bell at 60 feet -- pretty impressive. (Of course, when the extreme forces involved in such a speed/depth regime ended up sucking up the radar mast from the front of the sail and peening it back, forcing us to break off the OpEval to transit to Bangor on the surface for repairs, it made the maneuver a little less cool.) In case you were wondering, I didn't write the Wiki article -- it was just the guy's name.
12/04/2008 5:43 AM
Very impressive submerged maneuver! I can only imagine what that must have looked like from a plane. Boiling water and rooster tail from the screw and a speed bump from the sail/bow? Wow!
However, I'm curious why the radar mast wasn't pinned. If it were pinned, wouldn't that prevent the venturi forces from overcoming the hydraulics and raising the radar mast? Don't tell me the pin sheared! After a "few" years off the boat, my knowledge of the external hydraulics system has faded. Does the system hold the mast down, or just provide force for raising it? Does the weight of the mast lower it and is that why the mast needs to be pinned?
12/05/2008 11:45 AM
As for the radar mast not being pinned, you probably should not be surprised that sometimes it gets overlooked in the Rig For Dive - we came out for Alpha trials with a regular pin lock, which the Nav forgot to pin coming down from the bridge and we lost the radar mast on the high speed run.
After that incident, as DCA and Ship's Diving Officer, I became the only person allowed to check RFD on the radar mast. Then we received an "gravity autolock" alt which, due the nature of it, I ensured that it stayed in place with the addition of significant amounts of tie-wraps.
As I recall, the autolock alt failed on another boat (i.e. another lost radar mast) so the old style pin lock returned. And I had a good sea story qual question for anyone coming to me for RFD or OOD quals...
12/06/2008 9:11 AM
Nope, the pin was in place; it was the only thing holding the mast assembly from sliding completely out. The pivot point joist weld broke.
12/12/2008 1:38 PM
Lost one on the Memphis too, back in '86. Cause was due to the yardbirds drilling the hole in the track (for the locking pin) about 1/4" too high. At flank speed, that was all it took.
12/28/2008 8:31 PM
Interesting to find other Fast Eddie survivors. I was there as CSO from 92-95.
5/30/2009 9:38 PM
Yeah "we all live in fast eddies submarine fast eddies submarine...." Oh I was there from 92-96...the topeka famine of 92...good times..lol
6/30/2009 12:30 AM
I was onboard Topeka from 91 thru 93 and there for the Sharks of Steel filming and survived 2 years of Fast Eddies leadership style.
7/26/2010 5:51 PM
I was on the Georgia when they filmed this... Capt. Raaz was a screamer and he was exactly as it appeared in this documentary. Admiral Yogi and his son were also on the boat during that time and they were the coolest guys. They also published a book right after this with a lot of pictures...
12/27/2010 9:13 PM
Ah, the memories!! I think the famine of '92 should go down in history. I remember when Bologna Pinwheels, Pickles, Canned Nuts, and a couple of loafs of home-grown bread (1 for oncoming and 1 for offgoing) were actually on the menu. Ah, those were the days.
"Fast Eddie" to the Navigator: "What bell do I have to answer to go 6000 yards in 45 [f'ing] minutes?"
Or his son to the COB during a dependants cruise when asked to move from between the periscopes: "Do you know who I am?!?" . . . classic.
2/18/2011 7:13 AM
My problem was with the COB not Fast Eddie. I still remember life on the boat and the crap I took from the COB. Most of the others were pretty good guys.
5/28/2011 7:02 PM
This cannot have effect in fact, that is what I believe.
12/03/2011 3:36 AM
I remember the Fast Eddie regime all to well.... the famine of '92 and the radar mast looking down the bridge hatch after being sucked out of the sail. To all my shipmates hope you are all doing well.
12/07/2012 12:54 AM
Raaz was always like that when he was on the Georgefish. where he was my XO my thought he should have held more responsible for the collision with the Japanese cargo ship Nissho Maru
2/04/2013 6:19 PM
Razz was my CO in '86 on the haddo.
kind of a crazy. loved to drill. you had better know your job. as far as he was "out there", and as rude to almost everyone, dealing with "little man complext", this is the guy i want as my skipper if i had to go to war. i had faith he would get me home. if you are reading this old man, i'm 65 last week, and despite your efforts, i still have a full beard. SUBS... best thing that could have happened to me. craig carr IC1(ss)Ret '86'
3/03/2013 12:47 PM
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