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Someone very kind shared this photo on Twitter of their copy. Has three 5-star reviews already, but zero advertising and I would hope that more people hear about it, so please forgive this cheek.
Link to Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086G11WMM
If you want to get a feel for what's involved in designing a range of large scale submarines and some of the fundamental principles of how they operate (which should apply to all scales of sub), get a copy of Concepts of Submarine Design. Read it cover to cover then decide if you still want to build one.
Not trying to put you off, but they're complex and dangerous beasts and should be treated with respect, they can go wrong fast. If you still want to build one after reading, fair play!
Also maybe get The Astute Haynes Manual, it goes into a surprising amount of detail about the design and build programme of a nuclear submarine.
There are probably better books and videos out there specifically relating to submersibles.
>However, those submarines had accomplished little in the war. In the Baltic - the principal area for German-Soviet naval conflict - minefields and ice had restricted movement of Red submarines. Still, as U.S. naval officers sought to identify an "enemy" in the immediate post-war years, the Soviet regime's traditional interest in submarines coupled with German submarine technologies acquired at the end of the war led to almost immediate U.S. Navy concern about a future Soviet submarine force and a "Third Battle of the Atlantic."
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>The future red submarine fleet would consist of derivatives of the German Type XXI design, a submarine that had been relatively immune to existing Anglo-American ASW forces, and possibly the smaller, coastal version, the Type XXIII Electro-boats. Also, the threat of the Walter closed-cycle-propulsion submarines, based on the German Type XVII, with burst speeds of 25 knots, could be even more potent.
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>As Allied armies overran German shipyards, they scooped up submarine blueprints, components, and other materials, as well as some German submarine engineers and technicians. In accord with the Potsdam Agreement of July 1945, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States each took possession of ten completed U-boats; among those 30 submarines were 11 Electro- and Walter boats. 1
- Polmar, Norman, and Edward Whitman. Anti-Submarine Warfare from 1943. Naval Institute Press, 2016. Pages 75-76.
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The submarine in the photo is supposed to be M-55, an M-class or Malyutka class submarine Built by 61 Kommunara (Nikolajev, U.S.S.R.) / Yard 200. Laid down 25 Mar 1935. Launched 20 Nov 1935. Commissioned 17 Oct 1936. Stricken on 19 December 1944.
I've done some math on that. I have a database of reported narco submarine incidents (actually LPVs, a few FSVs. I leave go-fasts etc out). There have been nearly 200 in the past 15 years, with big increases in last 3 years. So if you extrapolate that by a conservative 20% 'catch rate', that's about 1,000 which have been made (I have a more complex model also, same answer).
So yes, there are literally hundreds on the seafloor.
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P.S. I wrote a book on them. See https://www.amazon.com/Narco-Submarines-Covert-Shores-Recognition/dp/B086G11WMM/
Hopefully I'm still alive when this type of detail is released about the Jimmy Carter :)
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I also highly recommend looking into the Covert Shores book. It's an awesome read & I can't count how many guests of mine have picked it up & read the entire thing.
I'm reading through Thunder Below which is awesome, if anybody hasn't read it. It's written by Adm. Eugene Fluckey, who was the captain of Barb for seven war patrols during which he earned the Medal of Honor. The book is a mix of ships logs, personal commentary, historical records and third party sources, and the "not legal" diary kept by one of his sailors. It's a bit thick but it reads easily and it's full of actual pictures of the events described. Highly recommend it.
The picture above was taken in January 1944, just after Cpt. Fluckey took command and just before the beginning of the Barb's seventh war patrol.
Ok now I got a question: there are a LOT of instances of the Barb getting bombed or depth charged and a bunch of light bulbs broke. Yet the crew seems to have an endless supply, at least until somebody comments "We're going to have to go back to Saipan to reload, not torpedoes but light bulbs."
Where did they keep the spare light bulbs that they wouldn't be shattered by pressure waves like the ones that were installed?
[OC] full article with high-level analysis at http://www.hisutton.com/Russian_Submarine_Forces_2018.html All illustrations by me, in MS Paint and GIMP. Most illustrations were originally for my World Submarines: Covert Shores Recognition Guide book (https://www.amazon.com/World-Submarines-Covert-Shores-Recognition/dp/1541392302/)
>In January 1949 the Chief of Naval Operations directed both the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets to create a submarine division to develop techniques for submarines to detect and destroy enemy undersea craft. Named Project Kayo, this led to the establishment of Submarine Development Group (SubDecGru) 2 in the Atlantic and SubDevGru 11 in the Pacific, with the sole mission of solving submarine ASW problems. Initially each group was assigned two fleet submarines and two GUPPY conversions. Both individuals and multiple submarine tactics were investigated under Kayo, often in Artic waters.
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>A multitude of problems were identified by Project Kayo and by other ASW exercises. Submarine communications were found to be completely unsatisfactory, preventing coordinated efforts with aircraft and surface ships. Also, the SSK role submarines only could detect diesel submarines that were moving at high speeds (over eight knots). Although Project Kayo was soon reduced to only SubDevGru 2, the Korean War, which erupted in June 1950, increased interest in submarine ASW. The three submarines of the K1 class were completed in 1951-1952. Their anti-submarine performance was most impressive for the time: In exercises off Bermuda in 1952, the prototype K1 detected a snorkeling submarine at 30 n. miles and was able to track the target for five hours.
Cold War Submarines: The Design and Construction of U.S. and Soviet Submarines, 1945-2001
by Norman Polmar and K. J. Moore
SR-71 had a minimum turning radius at altitude of about 80 nautical miles (NM). At a turn radius of 80 NM, the SR-71 would cover about 145 miles, taking about 4 minutes in the process of making a 180 degree turn. Details are available in the SR 71 flight manual book.
https://www.amazon.com/SR-71-Flight-Manual-Declassified-Commentary/dp/0760351740
I need to read it again.
Favorite military book for me, read once and then again on station, was Red Army by Ralph Peters, available on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Red-Army-Ralph-Peters/dp/1451636695
It may have come from Blind Man’s Bluff but I think I remember it coming from Red Star Rogue.
Submarine Sweater:
Runs small, so size up (Wear Large T-shirt, buy XL sweater).
If to be worn in uniform, appropriate Velcro can be purchased here:
If you are able to use the supply system:
8405-00-163-XXXX S: 8907, M: 8906, L: 8905, XL: 8908.
There is no NSN for 2XL or larger, but can be purchased online.
If you are buying one for yourself, but don’t want to pay $60 for a brand new one from the internet, you can either call around to local surplus stores. They will know them as “five button army sweaters”. The best bet is likely eBay. The trick on eBay is to run searches where someone running the store didn’t describe it the best way. You’ll find many hits on “five button army sweater” but also, try the manufacturers. Try searching for “DSCP sweater” and “mitts nitts sweater” and a little extra digging may yield good results.
Lastly, almost all are now made out of acrylic. You will have an extremely hard time finding a newish condition wool one for a reasonable price.
Hot stuff! Popping up as about 150$ new on Amazon Submarines: History and Evolution of Underwater Fighting Vessels
by coincidence, i just re-read Dark Waters (lee vyborny) again a few months ago. i don't remember the wheels being removed. i thought they were pretty essential for a lot of the missions.
https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Waters-Insiders-Account-Undercover/dp/0451207777
Not sure about Long Island Sound, but staying on the topic of WWII there is a book for those interested in Narragansett Bay. A pretty light book, but it goes into the history of the various forts, batteries, and observation posts, with pictures/maps of each.
As for a general history, though, that would be great- it would necessarily have to cover at least back to the 1600s, but there is no doubt there are great stories covering the whole period.
Been a minute since I read it, and there's no blueprints or anything, but here's a whole book about the NR-1 cowritten by one of its initial crew.
My guess you have not idea what a 1980 Nuc Machinist Mate did pulling asbesto packing from numerous pumps and valves without any containment or PPE with a packing removal tools.
https://www.amazon.com/Palmetto-1101-Extractor-flexible-removeable/dp/B00887BSP8
Unframed poster, $20.
Vintage Poster GENERAL DYNAMICS HYDRODYNAMICS ATOMS FOR Canvas Prints Poster Wall Art For Home Office Decorations Unframed 32"x24" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09GYT4J8G/ref=cm_sw_r_awdo_TYNAPAWHXPC09QBSSJYH?psc=1
He also wrote Around the World Submerged about this voyage. Fun fact, the around the world trip has as asterisk, as one of the crew came down with appendicitis, so in order to save the record, they raised the sail out of the water, left the crewman on a stretcher and had a crew from the USS Macon evacuate him.
VK (russian facebook) photo taken of what looks like the carrier still afloat.
Murmansk Emergency account reports 70 evacs, 3 injured, 1 missing.
Making a basic submarine is actually pretty easy if you don't care about going very deep. If you're happy just going down 10 feet you could probably whip something up in your garage using fiber glass and plexi. You can actually experience a lot of underwater life without going deeper than that. Going deeper safely is more difficult, you have to be confident in your calculations and fabrication. If you really wanted to design a serious submarine this is the book to get - https://www.amazon.com/Roarks-Formulas-Stress-Strain-8th/dp/0071742476 since it gives every formula you need.
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But like really, please don't try and build your own submarine. If you just have to do it, get dive training and equipment beforehand.
Yeah, it's either S-6 or S-4, the diver that took the pictures isn't sure.
Source: I've read the book this photo has been published in, "Ghost Ships of the Baltic Sea"
Not exactly the same, but I have a whole shelf of U-boat memoirs, so there's a few to choose from.
I can recommend "Iron Coffins" (https://www.amazon.com/Iron-Coffins-Personal-Account-Battles/dp/030681160X) however I don't think I've read a bad or uninteresting one.
If you have the chance to watch Rickover: The Birth of Nuclear Power (2014) documentary, it's enlightening just how both genius and crazy the guy was. I caught it on Netflix, but now I don't see it in the available list. It looks like it's available now from Hoopla service (not entirely sure what that is... ). The reenactments in that docu are pretty campy & goofy, but overall, great documentary IMO.
Maybe the answer's here (somewhere):
"Antonovs over the Arctic: Flying to the North Pole in Russian Biplanes".
https://www.amazon.com/Silent-War-Cold-Battle-Beneath/dp/0743223268
John Craven was an incredibly intelligence scientist who essentially had a first-hand role in many, MANY aspects of our modern submarine force including DSRVs, SSP, the SLBM program, and research operations using bathyscapes like Trieste and to a lesser extent, NR-1. He also covers a bit of design theory (i.e. if you could make a submarine made of glass with no imperfections, it would be able to in theory withstand pressures we wouldn't be able to come close to. There's also some good open source information available for vessels such as the Paltus and Losharik, the Sea Cliff and the Turtle (DSV's like Alvin).
Fair enough, that's what historians told us during the Cold War and it is easier for media to repeat that than bother with trudging through declassified materials. That's why the media didn't make any big deal out of the 1995 release of the Venona transcripts which showed that Joe McCarthy's accusations were accurate about the infiltration of communist spies into US government agencies. As a beginning to peeling back the onion about what was going on in the world in 1945, I suggest that you have a look at "Japan's Secret War" by Robert Wilcox.
https://www.amazon.com/Japans-Secret-War-Provided-Groundwork/dp/168261896X
A few months ago I found this one that I still haven’t decided on getting. It looks the same though:
US Army Military Style 5 Button Sweater, 100% Knitted Wool, Made in USA https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HFJSP8Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_SFFE0G0JJXZ3K79RWBN7
> For me, the game changer was bringing a small jar of Nutella. Breakfast can get a bit repetitive so Nutella really breaks up the monotony.
Can't remember where I saw this, but things like Nutella can be packed into refillable toothpaste tubes intended for camping. Makes it super easy and clean to dispense, don't need to go digging around in the jar with a knife, compact to store.
Hi Bob - I'm currently reading Hunter Killers by Iain Ballantyne, a book about some of the untold efforts and heroics of British submarines during the Cold War. A key focus of the section that I'm currently reading deals with several officers transitioning from DE boats to the UK's first SSNs and the sudden changes involved. I'm really enjoying reading about the shenanigans that the crew would pull on their officers - inviting a prominent "adult" star on the sub while the captain was on leave, taking the division commander (WWII vet, never been deeper than 400ft of boats of that era) down to 1,000ft for lunch and only mentioning depth after taking the first bite of his meal, and (illegally) climbing the Pyramids of Giza while waiting to pass through the Suez.
Any good pranks that you or your mates came up with during your time in service? I'm also interesting in the differences in crew attitudes aboard diesel vs. nuclear boats, if you care to comment on that. Thanks!
if you have a Amazon prime accout there is an interesting movie streaming that tries to argue a different explanation. take for what you will
https://www.amazon.com/Kursk-Submarine-Troubled-Jean-Michel-Carr%C3%A9/dp/B01MTZ4L61
Allow me to break the levity for a moment!
They Come Unseen (Amazon link) is a fantastic submarine-themed board game. It even features changing weather, which affects detection ranges.
If you're a fan of detailed board games, pick this one up.
Have you seen this series (now on Amazon)? "Following the story of the Royal Navy's legendary Perisher Course, "How to Command a Nuclear Submarine" charts the progress of five young officers putting their careers on the line in their bids to qualify to command a nuclear submarine." I would be interested in your review. Also, I would assume the US Navy has a similar course for Prospective Commanding Officers, do you have any insight to compare the two courses? https://www.amazon.com/How-Command-Nuclear-Submarine/dp/B074X89VG6
If it was made by the same crew who made T-34 movie recently, then I bet it'd be awesome as well. That's a pretty good and entertaining movie by the way... on Amazon Prime Vid.
Mods - apologies if this type of content isn't welcome here, but I thought I'd throw this article up and see if it generated any interest among the submarine vets we've got on here, and the various other unique perspectives present.
There's been rumor/speculation going on for months now that the Ford-class supercarriers may not have as large of a production run as the Nimitz-class carriers did. The reporting in this article which preceedes and predicts SecNav's plans for the future of the Navy, seem to indicate a preference for a decrease in large surface ships (capital and logistic) and an increase in smaller, more versatile ships that could be optionally manned or unmanned. Quietly, this also includes an increase submarines. We haven't heard anything about expanding the production run of the Virginia-class to my knowledge though; does that then suggest a new generation of SSN/SSGN will be hitting the drawing boards soon, or do you think that the focus will be on UUVs supplementing the *Virginia*s for the next couple of decades?
I'm reading through Norman Polmar's Cold War Submarines right now and came across a quote from Adm. Zumwalt that Polmar had in the section about SSGNs. Paraphrasing, but the gist was "[It was a mistake to stop the Regulus programs; without long range cruise missiles all of the offensive power of the US Navy sits on top of aircraft carriers.]" The SecNav's plans seem to now emphasize smaller vessels with missile armaments (either Standard Missile or the various Tomahawk and Harpoon variants). Do you think Zumwalt may have been right all those years ago and we're just realizing it now?
Anyway, interesting to think about at the least.
https://www.amazon.com/Narco-Submarines-Covert-Shores-Recognition/dp/B086G11WMM/
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And my articles on Forbes, SWJ and Covert Shores
I have, and it was very good. If you haven't read Buchheim's book, that's well worth your time as well. It's one of the few times that the director of the movie really did the book justice.
I enjoyed this book also. I will state it is very picture heavy so not as much deep text content.
The US Navy's Fast Attack Submarines, Vol.1: Los Angeles Class 688
Here is the link to the book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Navys-Fast-Attack-Submarines-Vol-1/dp/0764353233/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=los+angeles+class+book&qid=1594225640&sr=8-4
I really enjoyed watching How to Command a Nuclear Submarine on Amazon Prime. It follows 5 officers (including an American) through the Royal Navy's Perisher command course.
https://www.amazon.com/How-Command-Nuclear-Submarine/dp/B074X89VG6
I'll add one - <em>The Deadly Deep</em> by Iain Ballantyne (American title, for EU it is called "The Deadly Trade"). The author participated in the big AMA we had last year and was very friendly and informative. The book is a "complete history of submarine warfare from Archimedes to the present". It isn't overly technical and it provides excellent commentary on the historical context of various sub-related developments. Ballantyne loves the odd little anecdotes and bits of history that are commonly left out of more focused works.
I did find this book last time I looked:
An Ocean in Common: American Naval Officers, Scientists, and the Ocean Environment https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ocean-Common-Scientists-Environment-Williams-Ford-ebook/dp/B00D8X4ZSO/ref=la_B001K899ZS_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1549919863&sr=1-5
However it's too expensive for me to order on the off-chance it's the SOSUS book.
Its this one
https://www.amazon.com/Hobby-Boss-Russian-Submarine-Building/dp/B001BHI6NE
I liked this kit so much and it’s inexpensive so I purchased several. I have 3 different ones I’ve built posted on reddit
This book was written by WW2 captain and its awesome! We had the ww2 battleflag in our mess hall. Pretty awesome.
Gray Lady Down is DSRV: the movie. I don't know anyone who wrote harder core sub fiction, maybe Richard P. Henrick?
The fun stuff really isn't talked about in the public eye. Charles Stross did a bit in his Laundry stuff, but I dunno if that's what you want.
edit: https://www.amazon.ca/Ecowar-Richard-P-Henrick/dp/0061006491
this sounds like a winner
The radar-picket sub is one of the LESS crazy ideas to come out of the early nuclear submarine boom.
I recommend this book if you're interested in reading about overall US and Soviet submarine development in the early days. Lots of questionable ideas being thrown around.
Soviets were definitely way more aggressive at pursuing oddball ideas than we were. Ended up with a lot of boats in the fleet that were one-offs or only a couple built. Having only three SSN21 boats is a logistical nightmare as it is, I couldn't imagine what it'd be like to have that many unique boats in the fleet...
https://www.amazon.ca/Canadian-submarine-service-review/dp/1551250314
Grabbed it from the public library with some other treasures. And yes, those are Oberons. I don't have a date for the underhull.
This graphic is compiled from some of the graphics in the WORLD SUBMARINES book (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1541392302). I included all SSN classes currently in service, plus the French Suffren Class (Barracuda) and Brazilian Álvaro Alberto Classes which are not yet in service. India also operates a single AKULA SSN on lease from Russia.
Also this was just released. Haven't read it yet but it's on my list.
The Taking of K-129: How the CIA Used Howard Hughes to Steal a Russian Sub in the Most Daring Covert Operation in History https://www.amazon.com/dp/1101984430/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_f-U2zbD1VE0TP
Whew, I had to go double-check and make sure you weren't talking about this guy:
https://www.amazon.com/Silent-Service-Virginia-Class/dp/0060524383
As a VIRGINIA sailor, I thought it might be an interesting read. It was absolutely horrible and had zero basis in reality. I think I made it an hour in before giving up. I just checked my bookshelf and it isn't there. I may have burned it.
It's so bad, I feel obligated to apologize that this piece of shit is now in your Amazon search history.