UGM-27

Almost getting run over by a supertanker while coming to periscope depth in the middle of the Pacific, "Emergency Deep! Emergency Deep!" Training by doing 'angles and dangles' paid off then :-)

On SSBN's we got six 'Familygram' forms to give out to friends and family before deploying. They were like telegrams limited to 25 words, and highly censored by the Navy so no negative things got through (like your wife asking for a divorce or your favorite Uncle died) They would be sent as filler over the continuously maintained radio link. Every radioman, even on other deployed boats, could read them (as pointed out to me by a RM friend on another boat that read mine). It could be tough on relationships, every time we came back off patrol there were always one or two wives or girlfriends that weren't there to meet the boat. We gave a ride home to one of our crew and the divorce papers were thumbtacked to the front door and absolutely everything was gone from the apartment. Brutal.

I always liked the WWII submarine movies and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea TV show. When they told me I would get an extra $55/mo in submarine pay and get to work on nuclear weapons, I was sold. I would do it again the exact same way, no regrets.

​

I see there is a fellow MT2/SS on the panel, my question is about off-crew. Due to the range of Polaris, the boats were forward deployed in Guam and we did turnover there. The off crew would fly back to Pearl Harbor. Unless you had a school, for the first month back we only had a weekly 30 min muster, the rest of the time we were free for 'R&R'. The last 2 months of off crew, we had to go to the ships office, but were usually out by 9am. What is the routine now? Do you get a month of 'R&R'? Have to go work on the boat during refit? Do training 7-4 everyday?

​

What alternative source can generate the sustained power of a reactor? Can it support the ever more power hungry ship's systems while running flank bell for a week? Transit the Pacific at a reasonable speed without snorkeling? Sprint to catch up to an enemy carrier group? It would be cool to plug in your boat like a Tesla, charge it up, and silently transit from San Diego to Japan at 20 kts. From my limited knowledge of current and near future battery tech, doesn't seem possible.

Any similar comments on France, China, Aus?

Being on the beach in Waikiki sounds better than 'refit assist' :-) We had a missile trainer on Ford Island and after running so many casualty scenarios, the only time we actually had very minor problem during a WSRT on patrol (we had to switch breather valves) it was resolved in like 20 seconds, no big deal.