100 Years of the U.S. Navy Submarine Force -
A Century of Achievements

Counter inserted 11-29-04

From The Naval Submarine League

http://www.navalsubleague.com/ 

Early 1900s and World War I
Submarines were charged with coastal and harbor defense during their first two decades.  This was a period of intense development, resulting in adoption of the gasoline engine for surface propulsion, the periscope, and improvement in double hull design.

By 1906, with most of the fleet in the Atlantic, the General Board (later to become the Secretary of the Navy) had approved submarines as the only way to defend the west coast of the United States if attacked, until the Battle Fleet could arrive from the Atlantic.  The Secretary adopted the position that submarines would be utilized to defend the vital fleet port at Subic Bay, Philippines and positioned boats there.

World War II
After the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the U. S. Submarine Force boldly carried the war to the enemy in his home waters and held the line in the Pacific.  This initial holding tactic allowed the Allied strategy of first defeating Hitler in Europe and dealing with the Empire of Japan secondly, and provided the time required to repair the fleet losses incurred at Pearl Harbor.

On December 10, 1941 USS TRITON conducted the first torpedo attack on the Japanese Navy south of Wake Island.  By the end of 1942, the end of the first year of war against Japan, submarines had made a total of 350 war patrols.  They had participated in a diverse array of war-fighting missions including coastal defense in Lingayen Gulf, Java and Midway; blockading in the Truk-Solomons; intercepting Japanese capital ships and merchants; commando raids in Makin; delivering and retrieving guerrillas and spies for reconnaissance in the Marshal Islands; and evacuating people from Corregidor.  Submarines even assumed the roles of beacons and mobile weather stations for carrier strikes, such as Doolittle's raid on Tokyo.  Overcoming the shortcomings of peacetime training and mechanical failure in torpedoes, submarines sank 180 Japanese merchant ships totaling 725,000 tons.  Thus, submarines began the effort to strangle the Japanese Empire into submission.

1943 brought a marked increase in submarine effectiveness, shooting almost 4000 torpedoes during 350 patrols, sinking 335 enemy ships.  Young skippers brought the wolf pack to the Pacific.  Torpedo problems including shortages were overcome.  With more boats patrolling the seas around Japan and the East China Sea, results were impressive - 1.5 million tons of Japanese shipping were sent to the bottom of the sea.  The Japanese Merchant Marine could no longer keep pace with the losses, after suffering a net loss of almost 20% of their non-tanker capability.  U. S. Submarine losses were also up, with fifteen boats and crews lost during battle.

The third year of the submarine war against Japan, 1944,  was devastatingly effective.  Almost 6,100 torpedoes were shot during 520 war patrols.  Sinkings drastically impeded Japan's ability to sustain the war and feed her people.  603 ships totaling 2.7 million tons were sunk by submarines.  The critical flow of oil from the south to Japan virtually stopped.  Submarines sank one battleship, seven aircraft carriers, nine cruisers, and about thirty destroyers.  These victories came with the heavy price of the loss of nineteen U. S. submarines and their men.

In 1944, life-guarding for the airmen bombing Japan also became big business.  In total, 86 Pacific Navy submarines provided 3,272 submarine-days of life guard duty rescuing 504 downed fliers from waters of Tokyo Bay to the South Pacific, including one named George Bush.

Summary:  Of approximately 6,000,000 tons comprising the Japanese merchant fleet at the beginning of the war, from 1941 through 1945, U. S. submarines sank 4,859,634 tons in 1,113 vessels.  Japan required about 3,000,000 tons of shipping just to feed its citizens and industry.  This virtual isolation of Japan, loss of oil from the south, and general disruption of commerce has been cited as the primary reason for her defeat.  During the same period, U. S. submarines sank  214 naval vessels or 577,626 tons.  The U. S. Submarine Force, composed of about 50,000 men, including staffs and back-up personnel, represented 1.6% of the  U. S. Navy.  This small force inflicted a staggering 55% of Japan's maritime losses.  Seven submariners earned the Medal of Honor during World War II; two posthumously.  Fifty-two of 288 submarines, and the 3,500 men who manned them, were lost and remain on eternal patrol.

Submarine Force Recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor
These brave men are:
 

Korean Conflict
During the Korean Conflict, once again U. S. Navy submarines were among the first U. S. forces to counterattack the enemy.  Fleet boats screened naval surface forces that provided tactical air support, surveyed Soviet and Korean mine fields and engaged in special forces raids.  Submarines performed photo reconnaissance of potential amphibious landing sites on the Korean peninsula in support of the landing at Inchon.  Submarines reconnoitered Soviet shipping.  Additionally, they neutralized maritime forces in the Formosa Straits and patrolled the Sea of Okhotsk.

The Cold War
The Soviets made the submarine force the centerpiece of their post-World War II naval expansion and their strategic nuclear force.  They were a formidable opponent which required intense, sustained effort by our submarine force to counter it.  We bettered each Soviet attempt to improve their force.  As they made their submarines quieter, American technology was able to stay on the leading edge to develop even quieter submarines and improve our sonar detection capabilities.  When they went deeper and faster and built their force to outnumber the United States by 2-to-1, we improved our torpedoes and used them as a force multiplier, effectively countering this increased threat.  Whether they deployed to the Mediterranean Sea, the Indian Ocean or to the Arctic Ocean, the U. S. Submarine Force hounded them, causing the Soviets to commit vast resources in pursuit of undersea superiority, or at least parity.  Neither was achieved, but during the process the Soviets went broke financially and politically.  "The hundreds of thousands of men and women of the U. S. Submarine Force contributed significantly to that victory as implementers of one of the most successful Cold War competitive strategies."

The Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarine

During the Cold War, the United States employed the policy of balancing the nuclear arsenal of the Soviet Union with a three force triad consisting of the long range bomber, land based intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine launched ballistic missiles.  Since the first successful launch of a Polaris A-1 ballistic missile from the USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (SSBN 598) on July 20, 1960, the most survivable, ready and cost effective arm of the country's strategic triad has been and remains the Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) System.

The current submarine ballistic missile is the TRIDENT D-5.  When loaded with a full compliment of twenty-four missiles, an OHIO class submarine becomes a formidable deterrent to anyone willing to risk waging war against the United States.

Since 1960, 3,257 strategic nuclear deterrent patrols have been conducted .  As patrols have typically lasted about seventy or more days, this equates to 625 years of submerged operations, much of it with missiles at the "alert," ready to be launched if so ordered by the President.  Although it has never been necessary to launch any missiles in war, maintenance of peace through strength gives the United States the ability maintain the balance of power.

The Nuclear Attack  Submarine

Since the USS NAUTILUS became the first true submersible when she sent her now famous message in January 1955, "Underway on nuclear power," 131 nuclear attack submarines (with two under construction) were designed as the weapon of choice against surface ships and other submarines.  They have been used in the past and continue to be used when required today, to conduct precision strikes by Tomahawk cruise missiles, gather intelligence, lay mines, and insert and extract Special Forces.

As the best anti-submarine platform by a significant margin, the nuclear attack submarine, or SSN, has conducted operations against maritime forces of America's enemies.  During underway periods called "special operations" or "missions," submarines were constantly ready to neutralize Soviet missile submarines.  To date, the Submarine Force has conducted 2850 special missions, averaging 40 days duration, for a total of 312 years of submerged operations, "in harm's way."

Present Day Operations

As the Submarine Force faces new challenges, it prepares to move into the twenty-first century.  Leading the Force with new capabilities is the USS SEAWOLF, the first in the latest class of nuclear attack submarines.  Eighteen quiet TRIDENT FBM submarines patrol the oceans.  The Submarine Force is a significant part of the Navy's capability to project force from the sea, whether in blue waters or in littoral, regional warfare.  The "Silent Service" remains on patrol, always ready.

Science and Technology Contributions

Submarines have been on numerous scientific expeditions to the north pole and other areas around the world;  participated in ecological studies of marine mammal and fish populations;  and participated in salvage and rescue operations.  All the data and information produced from these missions have significantly improved our understanding and control of the oceans.

The application of nuclear power to submarines reinforced the image of the United States as a superpower and leader in technology.  Many of the innovations and technological advances in nuclear power and in the design and construction of submarines are used by industry and are directly attributable to the Submarine Force.

The Navy team responsible for the New Attack Submarine (NSSN), now being designed, has been working closely with the Advanced Research Projects Agency, Navy and national laboratories, and industry to incorporate leading-edge technology into every facet of design at an affordable price.  This technology insertion will provide the NSSN with the tools necessary to maintain Undersea Dominance in the twenty-first century.

Conclusion

During its almost one hundred years, the Submarine Force matured from its infancy as a coastal patrol force, came of age during World War II, and led to a successful and peaceful conclusion of the Cold War.  Over 400,000 men and women have served in submarines themselves or directly supported the ships and their crews.  The Submarine Force has been and remains a battle-proven, key component of America's armed forces, ready and able to silently project force in keeping the peace or going in harm's way to regain it.  It is altogether fitting to honor them and their accomplishments by issuing a U. S. Postal Service stamp on the occasion of the Submarine Force's one hundredth birthday.  It is interesting to note that Russia has issued a stamp commemorating its submarine force.