The keg of powder was to be attached to an enemy ship’s hull and detonated by time fuses. However, a boring device which was operated form inside the oak-planked Turtle failed to penetrate the copper-hulled vessel. Since the keg could not be attached, the project was abandoned, but not before an actual attempt was made to blow up HMS Eagle.
Then came another American, Robert Fulton, who successfully built and operated a submarine (in France) in 1801, before turning his talents to the steamboat. Fulton’s cigar-shaped Nautilus had a kite like sail for surface power. It also carried flasks of compressed air which permitted the two-man crew to remain submerged for five hours. Today, nuclear powered submarines carry compressed oxygen to help renew the air supply during underwater periods.
William Bauer, a German, built a submarine Kiel in 1850, but met with little success. Bauer’s first boat sank in 55 feet of water. He opened the flood valves to equalize the pressure inside the submarine so the escape hatch could be opened. Bauer had to convince two terrified seamen this was the only means of escape. When the water was at chin level, the men were shot to the surface with a bubble of air that blew the hatch open. Bauer’s simple technique was rediscovered years later and modern submarines have escape compartments which operate on that principle. The USS Skate was the lead ship of the first production class of four nuclear propelled submarines and was the first submarine to surface at the North Pole.
The USS Triton was the first submarine ever built with two reactor plants. In addition, until the commissioning of the Ohio-Class Ballistic Missile Submarines, the Triton was the longest submarine ever built by the U.S. Navy.
The USS Halibut, the first submarine designed and built for the specific purpose of serving as a platform to fire guided missiles.
The USS Skipjack was the first nuclear-powered submarine built with the Albacore hull design. It also was the first nuclear submarine with a single propulsion shaft and screw. Another first was mounting bow planes on the sail which reduced flow noise at the bow-mounted sonar. Deep-diving and high speed capabilities were the result of HY-80 construction and a new reactor design, the S5W. This reactor became the U.S. Navy’s standard until the Los Angeles class joined the fleet in the mid-1970’s.
In 1956, Admiral Burke, then CNO, requested that the Committee on Undersea Warfare of the National Academy of Sciences study the effect of advanced technology on submarine warfare. The result of this study, dubbed "Project Nobska" was an increased emphasis on deeper-diving, ultraquiet designs utilizing long-range sonar. The USS Tullibee incorporated three design changes bases on Project Nobska. First, it incorporated the first bow-mounted spherical sonar array. This requited the second innovation, amidships, angled torpedo tubes. Thirdly, Tullibee was propelled by a very quiet turboelectric power plant.
The Permit class was also based on Project Nobska’s recommendations. Hull streamlining, reduction in sail dimensions by approximately 50%, quieting of the S5W reactor plant and an increase in test depth all lead to a dramatic advance in submarine operational capabilities and stealth. The lead ship of this class, the USS Thresher (SSN 593), was lost at sea during post-overhaul trials. Lessons learned from this tragedy resulted in major design and shipboard operational improvements which still influence the submarine force.
The USS George Washington (SSBN 598) was the world’s first nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine. Arguably, it can be considered the submarine that has the most influenced world events in the 20th Century. With its entry into the service in December 1959, the U.S. instantly gained the most powerful deterrent force imaginable – a stealth platform with enormous nuclear firepower.
The Sturgeon class was an extension and improvement on the Permit design. This class of 37 submarines became the workhorse of the fleet form the mid-1960’s through the 1980’s when the Los Angeles class entered the fleet in large numbers.
The USS Narwhal (SSN 671) was built as the prototype platform for an ultra-quiet natural circulation reactor design. This allows for operation with the large water circulating pumps, a major source of radiated noise, secured. It is similar to the Sturgeon design in other respects.
The USS Glenard P. Lipscomb (SSN 685) was the U.S. Navy’s second prototype design using a turbo-electric power plant similar to the Tullibee. While this design is quieter, it is heavier and larger than conventional drive trains. Those disadvantages, along with reliability issues led to the decision not to utilize this design on a wide scale.
The Los Angeles class currently serves as the "backbone" of the submarine fleet and is likely to remain so well into the 21st Century. These submarines are faster, quieter, and far more capable than any of their predecessors. Later ships in the class have incorporated design improvements especially in sonar and electronics areas as well as the addition of external cruise missile launch tubes.
Another consideration in the early 1920’s was the use of a submarine to forward deploy aircraft. Submarine S-1 was the first U.S. submarine fitted out and extensively tested with a small scout plane.
The Cuttlefish was basically an Americanized U-boat. This design incorporated the first complete double hull in a U.S. submarine and had a 11,000 nm radius at 19 kts..
The S-class boats were used as the test platforms for range of sonar designs tested in the 1920’s and 1930’s. Higher frequencies and small trainable transducers allowed for narrow beam width and exclusion of natural sea noises and other interference.
The Porpoise (SS-172) class was the first all-electric drive submarine, and the precursor to the World War II fleet submarines. With its new diesel engine this design had a maximum surface speed of 19 kts. Auxiliary diesels avoided the need to drain the battery while operating surfaced. This reduced battery charging cycles form 150/year or 30/year, greatly extending battery life.
Gato (SS 212) provided the prototype design for the World War II vintage submarine. Construction of this class was accelerated in 1940 due to the escalation of the war in Europe. In order to increase production capability the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company in Wisconsin was contracted to build submarines under license from Electric Boat.
The advent of the submarine bathothermograph (SBT) in 1942 provided the submarine force with an important tool for covert patrol operations and attacks. Herring (SS-233) was an early example of the successful application of the SBT.
Within two years of the end of the war, the U.S. Navy had a functional snorkel mast on an operational, high-speed submarine – the Irex (SS 482).
The Tang was the first submarine designed for underwater performance rather than surfaced speed and handling. Key features included removing the deck guns, streamlining the outer hull, replacing the conning tower with a sail, installing new propellers designed for submerged operations, installing more air conditioning and a snorkel mast, and doubling the battery capacity.
In 1951, the submarine force achieved another important milestone. Guavina (SS 362) used an experimental searchlight sonar to distinguish the sound of signature of Seacat (SS 399) and the fleet tug Salinian (ATF 161) at ranges of 9-10 nm.
The experimental submarine Albacore (AGSS-569) introduced the distinctive teardrop shape hull, which has influenced all follow-on submarine designs. This design provided for major advances in noise reduction, underwater speed and the use of low carbon (HY-80) as a structural steel. It also tested the first fiberglass sonar dome, installed in 1953.
The first warships built with a teardrop shape hull were the Barbel (SS 580) class. This class was also the first to incorporate a centralized arrangement of ship controls and combat operations, or "attack center".
The USS Nautilus represented a watershed for the U.S. Navy’s submarine program. This was the world’s first nuclear-powered submarine, a design improvement which allowed for a dramatic increase in range and operational flexibility. The Nautilus is also credited with forcing the shipbuilders to develop an improved quality control program.
The USS Seawolf was the first and only submarine built with a liquid metal nuclear reactor. The liquid metal (sodium) provided a more efficient power plant, but posed several safety hazards for the ship and crew.
The Submariner
Only a submariner realizes to what great extent an entire ship depends on him as an individual. To a landsman this is not understandable, and sometimes it is even difficult for us to comprehend, but it is so!
A submarine at sea is a different world in herself, and in consideration of the protracted and distant operations of submarines, the Navy must place responsibility and trust in the hands of those who take ships to sea.
In each submarine there are are men who, in the hour of emergency or peril at sea, can turn to each other. These men are ultimately responsible to themselves and each to the other for all aspects of operation of their submarine. They are the crew. They are the ship.
This is perhaps the most difficult and demanding assignment in the Navy. There is not an instant during his tour as a submariner that he can escape the grasp of responsibility. His privileges in view of his obligations are almost ludicruously small, nevertheless, it is the spur which has given the Navy its greatest mariners – the men of the Submarine Service.
Dolphins, the insignia of the United States Navy Submarine Service, identifies the wearer as "qualified in submarines". The enlisted insignia is a silver pin, while the officer’s insignia is a bronze gold-plated pin. Both signify completion of approximately on year of rigorous qualification.
The submarine insignia, designed by Capt. Ernest J. King, was adopted in March 1924. It is a bow view of a submarine proceeding on the surface with bow planes rigged for diving, flanked by dolphins in a horizontal position with their heads resting on the upper edge of the bow planes. The dolphins on this insignia are symbolic of a calm sea and are the traditional attendants of Poseidon, Greek God of the sea.
In more recent times, insignias for specialist officers in the submarine force have been developed. These include the Engineering Duty dolphins, Medical Officer dolphins, and Supply Corps dolphins. Regardless of the pin or the insignia at the center, dolphins are worn with pride by members of the Submarine Force.
Following the tradition of the "World War II" patrol pin, the silver Polaris Patrol Pin is worn by SSBN crews both officer and enlisted. It recognizes their sacrifice and hard work in completing strategic patrols. On gold star marks each patrol completed. A silver star marks five patrols. Upon completion of 20 patrols, a gold patrol pin is authorized.
The person on active duty, officer or enlisted, with the most deterrent patrols is presented with the Neptune Award. That person retains the award until someone else attains more patrols than the current holder or until he retires and it goes to the member with the next highest number of patrols.