SUBMARINE SCHOOL
From a 1944 Perspective
by Robert Hatfield Barnes
It is not an easy matter to get
into the submarine service. Only men on active duty -- one must
get into the Navy first -- who are volunteers, with good
records, recommended by their respective commanding officers,
and capable of passing the rigid physical examination necessary
for withstanding the rigors of submarine life, are accepted.
This is just the beginning. Each
man selected is then sent to the Submarine Base in New London,
Connecticut, for training in the Submarine School. Successful at
the school, the graduate must further prove his ability on board
a seagoing submarine. After a period of efficient and dependable
service, he must stand examination as to his knowledge of the
vessel in general and his own rating in particular. Passing
these requirements, he becomes eligible at the discretion of the
commanding officer to the designation of a qualified submarine
man, which includes the wearing of the submarine insignia -- a
submarine flanked by two dolphins -- and extra compensation pay,
or "submarine money." "Dungaree" or
"clothing money" -- amounting to ten dollars per month
-- is paid to all men serving in submarines, regardless of
qualifications, for the purpose of compensating for the extra
wear and tear clothing is subjected to while being in the
submarine service.
|
|
Preparing to escape from the
100' level
The purpose of the Submarine
Escape Training Tank is to qualify each man in the art of
escaping safely without injury or fatality from a sunken
submarine unable to rise to the surface. It is a practical
course with the ultimate aim of preventing the dreaded
"bends," or death by air embolism during rescues from
submarine disasters.
The "Drum" buster
|
|
The Submarine School was formally
organized at the Submarine Base, New London, Connecticut, on
January 17, 1917, with Lt. Felix X. Gygax as its first
officer-in-charge. However, this was not the actual beginning of
the school. The first training got underway on July 1, 1916,
when a group of officers assembled for submarine duty. With the
school yet to be established, these officers of the submarines
present, and two officers from the staff of Rear Admiral A.W.
Grant, Commander, Submarine Flotilla, Atlantic Fleet, whose
flagship, Columbia, was anchored in New London Harbor
at that time. This submarine officers' class, the first in our
Navy, was graduated December 23, 1916.
Enlisted classes were not started
until the fall of 1917, several months after Uncle Sam entered
World War I, although a small class of sound listeners was
organized July 18, 1917. However, after the declaration of war,
and authorization for new submarine construction had been rushed
through Congress, steps were quickly taken to bring about the
training of hundreds of officers and men. Thus, with the
building up of the submarine force, sufficient qualified
personnel was ready and waiting to meet every requirement.
The Submarine School has undergone
many changes. It was first named the "Submarine
School," then the "Submarine Training School,"
and now the "Submarine School" again. Classes for both
officers and men have been added, taken away, lengthened,
shortened, and so on. The curricula, the syllabi, the data for
each subject, have been frequently corrected and brought up to
date. The school has kept abreast of the changing times,
conditions, and operating requirements of the submarines at sea.
It is one of the best institutions of its kind in the world.
Unlike other educational institutions, this school is not
shackled to custom and tradition. It prides itself on advanced
military thought. It has kept itself modern and streamlined. It
attempts to lead, not follow, in submarine operation, warfare,
strategy, and tactics. It is quick to take up new progressive
ideas.
|
Officers
are taught submarine diving, operating, ship-handling,
torpedoes, electricity, gyros, batteries, Diesel engineering,
communications, and commissary. They are given the ground work
for making approaches on a moving target, the target
representing the enemy. An attack teacher is provided for this
purpose, followed by practical exercises at sea in a real
submarine. The enlisted men are given a basic training course,
then are split up into classes of their own specialty, such as
torpedomen, gunner's mates, motor machinist's mates,
electrician's mates, radiomen, signalmen, quartermasters,
yeomen, and ship's cooks. Both officers and men receive training
in the classrooms at the school and practical training in
submarines assigned for this purpose as school boats. These
subsea craft make daily trips to operating areas in Long Island
Sound.
For World War II, training was
stepped up as never before. To man the ever increasing number of
submarines, more officers and more men were required. The plan
for increasing the number of crews, as worked out, furnishes
three classes of men to the new submarines as the vessels are
completed and placed in commission. First, the top ratings are
supplied from the ranks of experienced, qualified submarine men,
returned mostly from operating submarines. These men form the
nucleus crews. Second, men from the Fleet, experienced in the
ways of the Navy, are given courses of instruction in the
Submarine School, and then assigned to the new subsea craft.
Finally, the remaining members are made up from recruits direct
from the training centers and service schools. Like the men from
the Fleet, these recruits are first sent through the Submarine
School.
The true value of the school came
with World War II. Never before were the benefits of this
training more clearly demonstrated. The new men, after
graduation, are so quickly absorbed into the submarine service
it is almost imperceptible. They take their places alongside the
more experienced men with little loss of standard efficiency.
Soon, they are shouldering their equal load and doing their bit
on board the most efficient and powerful submarines in the
world.
|
