Topside for Some Much Needed Sun

Recognize Anybody - Sub School, New London

This was a long time ago. Yours truly, at 18 years old, is second from the left on the bottom. I attended submarine school from January 1962 to March 1962. Afterwards, I was assigned to the USS Sterlet SS-392 in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Submarine Tank Arrangement

I recently found an old submarine school training manual and it brought to mind the fact that I almost failed the "tank" test in submarine school. Such a failure would have been catastrophic in that it would have immediately ended my future as a submariner. The tank arrangement was required to be memorized. Here is a photo of the arrangement of the tank system on the Sterlet It is typical for the fleet, diesel, submarines built during World War II. Every qualified submariner knew these by heart.

I can still hear the sound echoing in my ears, "Blow Bow Bouyancy, Blow the Forward Group, Blow the After Group......."

Crew Goes Topside for Some Fresh Air

In this picture the crew takes a breather. TM1 Wahlstrom, in the white sweatshirt, has a line in the water in hopes of catching a fish. Lt. Rhinebeck looks over the side to see if Walstrom has hooked anything. Others appearing in the picture are Captain Bob Smith, Lt. Brainard, Yeoman Threadway, and Torpedoman Bigalow. The remaining crew are unidentified.