A U.S. Navy nuclear submarine is one of the most mysterious places in which a member of the military could serve. Armed with advanced technology and enough firepower to destroy civilizations, it’s no wonder that every sailor aboard these vessels must have a secret clearance or better.
Related: How cribbage became the card game that rules the Navy’s Submarine Force
WATM scoured the Navy’s official website and asked the sailors of the Submarine Bubblehead Brotherhood for personal pictures to come up with these incredible photos of life under the sea.
Here are 25 incredible photos of life on a U.S. Navy submarine:
1. Deployment starts with departing from home port.
2. Submarine life is cramped.
3. Hatches are smaller than on surface vessels.
4. Bubbleheads (Navy speak for submariners) go without sunlight for weeks at a time.
5. Sailors as young as 18 years old drive the ship.
6. Seriously, even midshipmen get a turn.
7. There are no windows on a submarine; sonar technology is the eyes and ears of the crew.
8. Submarines have some of the same amenities as surface ships…
9. Everything in a submarine is modified to limit noise; behold rubber shock absorbers under the treadmill.
10. It pays to keep the cook happy.
11. Submarine chow is some of the best in the Navy.
12. Swim calls on a submarine are awesome.
13. After months in the depths, some Vitamin D (sunlight) is just what the doctor ordered.
14. This is what a steel beach picnic looks like on a submarine.
15. Life-long friendships are made.
16. Shipmates become an extended family.
17. Some things never change. This photo of sailors painting the sub was taken in the 1950s.
18. This one was taken in 2010.
19. A lesson for any era: Don’t use submarine paint to dress up like the Hulk.
20. Submarines can break through the ice to surface at the North Pole.
21. Santa didn’t make this visit, but polar bears give a big welcome.
22. Many sailors become shellbacks, but few have a blue nose.
23. The best words a CO could ever say are: “Folks, let’s go home.”
24. And nothing beats a homecoming.
25. Nothing.
