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This page started out as a photo essay about United States Submarines beginning with the year 1900 and working up through the year 1940. It has turned out to also be about the men who sailed these submarines.

We most always don't know the names, any longer, of the men you will see on these pages but I have tried to pull their faces out of the crowd. They were the boys down the street, around the corner, out on the farms, the high school football heroes and, yes, even the geeks of their time, but they became one the elite, a United States Submariner.

It is important to remember that the submarines were just steel and machinery. It was the men who made them live. The men gave them romance and mystery and mystique.

I have included a number of first person accounts on a some of the pages for a number of boats. The preservation of these verbal images of life aboard an "S" or "R" or even a "K" boat is most valuable since the men who sailed these boats are rapidly making their own "eternal patrols".

Sailors, rest your oar! Stand relieved, we have the watch. ...and Thank you!

A word of explanation ~ There are a number of submarine photo sites on the web that offer similar images of these older submarines. They are good pages and lots of effort has gone into them by their makers. I have added links to many of them in my links page. Please take the time to visit them as well. The difference is, even though it takes a longer time for these pages to load, the ability to scroll the photos and compare images once the page is fully loaded. There are few thumbnails that need to be clicked on to get the full advantage of an image but I have kept these to a bare minimum. The need to go to your BACK button and then click on another image has been eliminated. I hope you enjoy looking at these fine old boats as much as I do.

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This, being a photo essay means the pictures take the place of words to tell the stories. Though there are words used to describe the photos they are kept to a minimum. I try and let the viewer know what the subject of the picture is and fill in obscure details but mainly I let the viewer use his or her eyes fill in the details.

Photographically, you will be able to see the evolution of the American submarine from the early vessels of John Holland and Simon Lake and the US Navy Ships Design Offices as they influence the direction the boats and hulls take. As you move through the different classes of boats watch them change into the shapes we all have come to recognize as American Submarines.

Historically, submarines as an idea goes far back into mans past. Alexander the Great is reputed to have descended in a glass barrel, Leonardo DiVinci is said to have designed one but feared it was to terrible a weapon to let anyone one see. Bushnell took the American colonies' war effort to a new level by designing the Turtle and setting it loose against the British blockading New York harbor.

Horace Hunley devised a submarine to attack Union ships during the American Civil War and it sank the first ship with a submarine attack.

Simon Lake and John Holland were avid competitors and most influential in the early years of the 20th century, in the US as well as around the world, influencing submarine development. These men, to name but a few, have all contributed to mans desire to travel beneath the sea. And have influenced what has become the modern submarines of the world today.

This page is to share photographically what some of the results of these ideas were and how they were refined to have helped make the Unites States Navy Submarine Service the force it is today. To add life and the human element to this page I like to also show the men who sailed these boats when I can. Some died in their vessels during peacetime, some in combat. They are all volunteers and sailed in harms way when needed and risked their lives at times to perform their jobs and tasks. The submariner (Sub-ma-reen-er) is a special breed of sailor. This is best summed up by a quote from author James Michener in his famous book 'Tales of the South Pacific', written describing his life during WW II, when he said;

"I dragged my gear down to the shore and saw the submariners, the way they stood aloof and silent, watching their pigboat with loving eyes. They are alone in the Navy.
I admired the PT boys. And I often wondered how the aviators had the courage to go out day after day, and I forgave their boasting.
But the submariners! In the entire fleet they stand apart."
James A. Michener, Tales of the South Pacific -- 1946

So when you see the faces of the men who sailed these early sub surface craft know that they are the moulds that today's submariners are cast from. Technology has changed today's boats but the mettle of the men who sail in them remains true. We are all, "...Brothers of the 'phin...", referring to the coveted set of Dolphins men are awarded when they become qualified in submarines.

"No matter where you travel, when you meet a guy who's been... There's an instant kind of friendship 'cause we're brothers of the 'phin."
Robert Reed, USS George Washington Carver (SSBN-656)

As to the boats, there is not a single existing submarine left of all of these boats to see in person unless you are diver and able to reach the few that are in waters shallow enough to view. Most all were sold and cut up for scrap when they became obsolete. Numbers of these reside on the oceans bottom, a tomb to the trapped crews still on "Eternal Patrol ". Some met their fate at the hands of aggressors bent on defeating this country in war. A number met their ends as targets perfecting wars' amorey.

The National Archives have quite a number of photos. A whole industry existed making photo postcards of Naval vessels for a while that consist of almost the whole of what we can visually see of these ships. But the most valuable images are the ones that reside in the personal photo collections of the families that had men sail in these boats. To those families that chose to share with the world I extend my thanks.

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This page grew out of a few odd photos I came across and decided to share with fellow submariners, (pronounced in the United States Navy as 'Sub-ma-reen-ers'). One thing led to another and this web site is the result.

I chose the time frame of 1900 to 1940 after seeing that submarines in general and submarining over all is pretty well documented in words and photographically since World War II and up to the present day. The boats and the men who sailed submarines during the first 40 years made huge contributions to the worlds submarine services and sacrificed their lives sometimes to refine this most wondrous and terrible tool. Men of all nations did this. I have chosen to just focus on the US Submarines.

This site now consists of over 1700 photographs and more are being added all the time.  Each page you go to will take a few minutes to load even if you have a 56K modem or better. 98% of each page is pictures and about 2% words. As the old adage goes, "One picture is worth a thousand words", that holds true here. I suggest several trips here since viewing everything at once could take hours or even more if you linger over the images as I do. 

As you might notice several people have contacted me with images that are in their family albums and family histories or from their private collections. These are always most welcome and I will gladly give recognition to those who contribute those items that I use. Sometimes I already have some photos but they are just not included for one reason or another. If I have that image I will let you know that.

This work is becoming a collaborative effort by virtue of its viewers offering me help, suggestions and images for publication on it. Correcting errors I may have not known about and offering explanations for things I didn't know. Thank you all.

I would like to especially thank Mr Roland Goodbody, Manuscripts Curator, Milne Special Collections & Archives at the University of New Hampshire Library and his staff and the University of New Hampshire for all their cooperation and kindness in helping me in this endeavor.

I would also like to thank Wendy Gulley, from The US Navy Submarine Force Museum for her kind indulgences in letting me use thier archive.

Thank you for stopping by!
Ric Hedman TN(SS)

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All photos that are from the
Milne Special Collections,
University of New Hampshire Library, Durham, N.H.
are their property and may not be
reproduced without their permission.

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Photos credited to the people who submitted them are their property unless the photos come from the public domain such as The National Archives or the United States Navy.
No images may be downloaded and used for commercial purposes.

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Other pages by PigBoats.COM™
| USS Flasher SSN 613 | USS Flasher SS 249 |
| The Saga Of the Submarine | Ric' Pantry |
| Ships and Tonnage Sunk or Damaged in WW II by U.S. Submarines |
| Fins Park | German Sub UB-88 |

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Information contained on these pages was obtained form Many sources. The Submarine statistics were obtained in part from the UNITED STATES NAVAL SUBMARINE FORCE INFORMATION BOOK - 1995 By J.L. Christley, EMCS(SS) USN (Ret) Published by GRAPHIC ENTERPRISES OF MARBLEHEAD, Marblehead, MA 01945 Many Photos are from my personal collection of original photos and from the US Naval Archives and assorted odd memorabilia acquired at auction and garage sales. Many families and individuals have contributed photos from their own private collections.

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Ric Hedman, PigBoats.COM^TM
1999 - 2007©
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