From its beginnings, in primitive U. S. boats like Bushnell’s “Turtle” and the Civil War “Davids”—conceived in desperation and operated in extreme peril—to the “air conditioned sewer pipes” of modern submarine warfare, the accomplishments of the world’s submarine services have been characterized by heroism consistently displayed, infrequently recounted, and too briefly remembered.
Entirely appropriate, therefore, is a look at some of the ways in which various nations have recognized the deeds and sacrifices of those who sailed beneath the seas. On the following pages there is presented a selection of memorials and monuments to the courage and dedication of the submariner. And whether the commemorative form might be that of stately monolith, or heroic statuary, or graven tablet, or grimly-simple metal artifact, all those so honored share a common legacy of service and valor.
The submarine as a vehicle of war sank its first victim over one hundred years ago, when the CSS Hunley, powered by a hand-crank and having a “torpedo” rigged on the end of a spar, sank the USS Housatonic off Charleston, S.C. Since then, this unique man-of-war has evolved into a sophisticated, nuclear-powered, missile-carrying weapons system capable of circumnavigating the earth while submerged—an awesome creation that is as remotely related to the first Holland boats as are the Phantom jets to the Wrights’ Kitty Hawk airplane.
Largely as a result of the continuing efforts of friends, supporters, and active and retired veterans, a number of significant examples of the submarine’s history have been preserved, whereby to trace its development here and abroad. Far more important for many, however, are the memorials established by grateful nations and organizations in remembrance of those who fought and died in the submarine service during a period that spans two World Wars.
The oldest preserved submarine is the CSS Pioneer (below), which was completed in 1862 and made several successful dives off New Orleans before it was necessary to scuttle her to prevent her from falling into the hands of Admiral Farragut’s forces. This two-man submarine was later salvaged and is now located at the Louisiana State Museum.
The Union’s answer to the Confederate submarine threat was the “Intelligent Whale,” built in 1863 (opposite, top). This was a 30-foot, hand-crank-powered craft manned by six to thirteen men. Involved in a lengthy court action to determine ownership, the submarine was finally sold to the Navy Department in 1869, after which, and following unsuccessful trials, she was condemned in 1872, having earned, in some circles, the less-approving name of “Unintelligent Elephant.” The submarine is now on display at the Naval Memorial Museum located in the Washington, D.C., Navy Yard.
The first submarine design of John Holland was rejected by the Navy in 1875, but he continued his experiments and finally, in 1900, to inaugurate the silent service, the Navy purchased the 54-foot boat which became the USS Holland (SS-1). Holland used one of his early submarines to conduct experimental dives for the Fenian Society, a group seeking independence for Ireland. Another of his early boats, named the “Fenian Ram,” is preserved at Paterson, New Jersey (opposite, bottom).
Meanwhile, inventors in other countries were also attempting to perfect the submarine. One example was that of Don Isaac Peral, of Spain, whose Peral (below) was completed in 1887, following long experimentation and development. Powered by a 30-h.p. electric motor, the submarine was 22 meters long and carried three torpedoes for use from a single tube. The submarine was moved to Cartagena in 1928, where she is displayed at the entrance to the Naval School.
An early European submarine was procured by the Dutch Navy. The Luctor et Emergo (opposite, top) was built in 1905 and commissioned HNMS O-1 [sic] in 1906. This 20-meter boat carried one torpedo tube and a crew of ten men. In 1914, her gasoline engine was replaced by a 200-h.p. diesel. She was scrapped in 1920. The conning tower is preserved as a memorial to the submarine service and is located at the submarine barracks, Den Helder.
Between World War I and World War II, submarines continued to grow larger and become more efficient, but development was not without its hazards. During the period, several submarines were lost through operational accidents. One was the USS Squalus, (SS-192) which suffered a diving mishap in 1939. In one of the most publicized salvage operations of its kind, 33 men were rescued from the partially flooded submarine, and the Squalus, reconstructed and recommissioned USS Sailfish (SS-192) was very successful in operations in the Pacific in World War II. The Sailfish conning tower has been dedicated as a memorial to those who lost their lives in the Squalus accident, and the memorial is located at the Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Naval Shipyard (opposite, bottom).
There are two other conning towers of U. S. World War II submarines preserved as memorials. The USS Flasher (SS-249) conning tower, bridge, shears, and periscope (below) is located at the Submarine Base, New London, Connecticut.
The conning tower fairwater of the USS Balao (SS-285) is located at the Naval Memorial Museum, Washington Navy Yard, D.C. (opposite, top).
Other navies have also preserved World War II conning towers as memorials to their submarine forces; one example is the conning tower of the Greek submarine Papanikolis, (opposite, bottom) one of six that fought in the Mediterranean and Adriatic seas. The only one of the six to survive the war, the RHNS Papanikolis was decommissioned in 1954 and her conning tower with its 100-millimeter gun, was enshrined in front of the Naval Museum in Piraeus.
In addition to conning towers, other items have also been used to commemorate submarines lost in World War II. In St. Paul, Minnesota, a torpedo is set above two plaques (bottom), one in memory of the personnel of the USS Swordfish (SS-193), and the other commemorating the additional 51 U. S. Navy submarines lost in World War II. The memorial is the result of a joint effort of the St. Paul City Council, the Minnesota building tradesmen, and the Minnesota Viking Squadron of U. S. Submarine Veterans of World War II.
A similar example, “dedicated to the memory of the 83 gallant U. S. Navy Submariners lost 3 October 1944, and 52 U. S. Navy submarines lost during World War II,” may be seen at the U. S. Seawolf (SS-197) Memorial (below) located at the San Jacinto, Texas, Battleground State Park.
There are three U. S. submarines preserved intact as memorials to World War II. The USS Cobia (SS-245) is an international submarine memorial located at Manitowoc, Wisconsin (opposite, left).
The USS Drum (SS-228) (opposite, right), is a part of the USS Alabama (BB-60) Battleship Memorial at Mobile, Alabama.
The USS Cavalla (SS-244) (opposite, top) is on display at Seawolf Park, Galveston, Texas.
Especially appropriate, however, to the memory of all those who served and died in submarines, are the various monuments erected throughout the world as expressions of the respective nations’ pride in the deeds and heroism of their submarine services. And, for the viewer, perhaps there may also be gained some suggestion of the variations to be found in national character and philosophy.
The submarine memorial at the Submarine Base at Pearl Harbor, depicted on the cover of this issue, is dedicated to the officers and men of the 52 U. S. Navy submarines lost in World War II, with individual plaques listing the crew members of each submarine.
The classically simple dignity of the USS Trout (SS-202) monument, (left, below) erected on the banks of the Cape Cod Canal by the Bay State Chapter of Submarine Veterans of World War II, commemorates the loss of the Trout in action in 1944, and is dedicated, in the special idiom of the Silent Service, “In Memory of All U. S. Submariners That Are Still on Patrol.”
This monument to The Netherlands Submarine Service (right, below) was unveiled by Her Majesty Queen Wilhelmina, in 1947, at the Submarine Base in Rotterdam. When, later, the base was closed, the monument was moved to Den Helder.
Understandably, the British have several memorials dedicated to the Submarine Service, but neither the distance between the sites of the memorials, nor the separation in time between wars can alter the viewer’s impression of a grateful nation’s regard for the sturdy figures of the submariners who helped secure victory in two World Wars.
The Thames Bank Submarine Memorial (opposite, bottom) honors the memory of those submariners lost in both World Wars; the Submarine Memorial Statue in Westminister [sic] Abbey (opposite, left) is one of three statues, the other two representing the Commandos and the Airborne Forces; and (opposite, right) in the Submarine Memorial Chapel, HMS Dolphin, another figure stands above the Memory Book that “contains the names of Officers and Men who have Lost their lives in Submarines or on Submarine Service since 1904.”
The only Norwegian Navy submarine to escape the German occupation of World War II, the B-1, (right) saw service as a training vessel in England and, following the war, the conning tower was preserved as a memorial at the Submarine Base located at Haakonsvern, near Bergen.
An unusual memorial is the one dedicated to Turkish Navy submariners and located at the Submarine Base at Golcuk. The monument itself is an impressionistic rendering of a submarine surfacing, (right, below) and an inscription on the base reads: “The tree of freedom can only be watered by the blood of martyrs” (left, below).
The long submarine tradition of the German Navy is reflected in this first submarine memorial (opposite, bottom), (opposite, left) near Kiel. Dedicated in 1938, it was rebuilt in 1962, and contains a book of gold (opposite, right) inscribed with the names of the boats and crewmen of the 200 submarines and 4,744 submariners lost in World War I, and the 752 submarines and 30,000 submariners lost in World War II.
The impact of the submarine in World War I was sufficient to alter much of the previous thinking concerning tactics, strategy, and even international high seas doctrines, and national morality. Yet, relatively few submarines or parts of submarines from that era have been preserved. Equally lacking and slow to materialize were evidences of national recognition of submarine exploits.
The Italian Naval Monument at Brindizi, (right) a 68-meter-high monument dedicated in 1933 is flanked by 105-mm. guns taken from Austrian submarines of World War I vintage. The figure of the Madonna, near the top of the monument, was added in 1955.
In 1970, a group of former shipmates in the Japanese Navy erected on Kurahasi Island, a monument (opposite, left) to the midget submariners. A copy of this monument was presented to the War Memorial Hall in Canberra, Australia, as an expression of “the deep feeling of respect and appreciation of the Australian people’s chivalrous attitude toward the crew of the midget submarine who crept into the port of Sydney in May 1942 and died there.”
The young Israeli Navy also has an unusual monument (opposite, bottom) dedicated to the memory of those who lost their lives in the INS Dakar, which sank in 1968 in an operational accident. Located on Mt. Herzel in Jerusalem, the memorial contains, in a crypt beneath, (opposite, right), name plaques of the crew members.
As the post-World War II evolution has continued, the capabilities for extending man’s intrusion into the seas’ depths have increased, and even the magnificent strength and power of the nuclear submarines have not been flexed in absence of the operational tragedies that mar the wake of progress in any medium. Within the U. S. Navy, the loss, in 1963, of the Thresher (SSN-593) became the solemn occasion of a memorial service conducted at the Squalus Memorial (below) upon which was placed a floral replica of the Thresher.
Later, in 1968, there occurred the equally grievous loss of the Scorpion (SSN-589), and always, in these times, the Submarine Service, the Navy, and the Nation are united in mutual sorrow and pride, to pay homage to those who served and died, and are remembered.