Why American submarines feared this Russian destroyer
Russian ships are often the butt of a joke. The aircraft carrier Admiral Flota Sovetskogo Soyuza Kuznetsov, for instance, has had a long hi…
This legendary Navy skipper sank 19 enemy ships
In the early months of 1943, the USS Wahoo was on its third war patrol when the sub and its crew found themselves under the new leadership of Lt. Commander Dudley Mo…
How Germany brought the fighting of World War II to Antarctica
With the exception of u-boats, the German navy doesn’t get a lot of attention for its role during World War II, but the Kriegsmarine brought the war to the most…
This is how modern submarines do not run out of oxygen while submerged
The United States Navy is the biggest, most technologically advanced Navy in the world. Sometimes it is easy to forget the humble beginnings from which our prestigious military came from….
This submarine was the first to sail around the world completely underwater
Nuclear propulsion is what makes the U.S. Navy’s submarine fleet so capable. Although diesel-electric submarines can run more quietly, nuclear submarines can remain submerged for far longer, only needing to…
What happens when a submarine runs into an undersea mountain
Just after noon on Jan. 8, 2005, the USS San Francisco, U.S. Navy nuclear-powered Los Angeles-class submarine collided with an undersea mountain while moving at maximum speed. The crew, most of them injured, one of them killed, fought for…
This is why nuclear subs don’t try to rest on the sea floor
Before getting too deep into the details, let it be known that American nuclear submarines can come to rest on the ocean floor. Even since the early days of the nuclear sub program – dating back to Admiral Hyman Rickover himself – these submarin…
This sub sank because its commander couldn’t flush his toilet
In April 1945, being a German submariner was a dangerous prospect. Allied sub hunters had become much more effective and German u-boats were being sunk faster than they could be built. Technical breakthroughs like radar and new weapons like the homi…
Life aboard WWII submarines was brutal
No one has ever claimed that life aboard a U.S. Navy ship was luxurious. Even on the most advanced warships on the planet life can still be cramped. Though today amenities are much improved, the sailors patrolling th…
The time a fishing boat helped capture a North Korean submarine
Since the Korean Armistice Agreement of 1953, a tenuous ceasefire has existed between South Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Although gunfire has been exchanged across the demilitarized…