Saturday, February 21, 2009

Submarine Sailor Re-Enlists Aboard USS RAZORBACK


Chief Electronics Technician (SS) Shaun P. Dewar (left) re-enlisted in the U.S. Navy today.

The ceremony was performed by LCDR Timonthy Hodskins in Razorback's After Engine Room.

Chief Dewar and LCDR Hodskins are stationed at Naval Support Activity Mid-South in Millington, TN (just outside Memphis) and they, along with a large contingent of friends and family, drove all the way over from Millington just to hold the ceremony aboard Razorback.

Chief Dewar and LCDR Hodskins work at BUPERS, or the Bureau of Personnel. Chief Dewar is a detailer, helping active duty submarine sailors decide what their best opportunties are for their next assignment while also trying to find the best qualified sailors for the many important jobs that need to be filled, both aboard submarines and ashore.

Chief Dewar qualified aboard USS Alaska (SSBN-732), an Ohio-class nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine.

Thursday, February 05, 2009

New Submarine Documentation at AIMM

A large donation of submarine documentation, most dating from the early 20th century, was recently donated to AIMM. Some of these articles even date to the late 19th century.

Some of the highlights of this collection:

Two 1918 articles from theBulletin of the New York Public Library, "The List of References on Submarines". These are almost certainly the first published bibliographic works on submarines.

Part I can be downloaded HERE (7.2 MB Adobe PDF File)
Part II can be downloaded HERE (3.5 MB Adobe PDF File)
The index of authors can be downloaded HERE (305 KB Adobe PDF File)
The index of subjects can be downloaded HERE 957 KB Adobe PDF File)

An 1899 article from Scientific American titled, "The Submarine Boat and It's Future"

There are articles about some of the earliest submarines and submarine accidents.

As soon as these articles can be scanned, they will be made available in electronic format.

AIMM would like to thank the donor, and we would also like to thank Ron Martini, USSVCF Library Chairman, for his work in bringing this unique collection to AIMM.

Monday, February 02, 2009

New Submarine Books at AIMM are Also on the Web

A group of long out of print submarine books has been donated to AIMM.

Among the titles are many that you can read right now, without buying them or even making a trip to see us, (although we'd love for you to visit). These books are in the "public domain" because they were originally published so long ago. They can be downloaded as Adobe PDF files through Google Books:


Voyage of the Deutschland, the First Merchant Submarine by CAPT Paul Konig. Originally published in 1916, before the United States entered the First World War, Captain Konig's account is a fascinating look at a "one of a kind" submarine.

It can be found and downloaded as a PDF via Google Books at this link.

The Romance of Submarine Engineering: Containing Interesting Descriptions in Nontechnical Language of the Construction of Submarine Boats, the Salving of Great Ships, the Recovery of Sunken Treasure, the Building of Breakwaters and Docks, and Many Other Feats of Engineering Beneath the Surface.

This book (with it's long title) can be found and downloaded as a PDF at this link.

Other notable titles include:
The Journal of Submarine Commander Von Forstner - The diary of a World War I German U-Boat Commander. Available here.

The Submarine in War and Peace: Its Development and Its Possibilties - By Simon Lake, one of the pioneers in submarine development. Available here.

The Submarine Torpedo Boat - Its Characteristics and Modern Development - This 1916 book provides an interesting perspective on what "Modern" means. Available here.

Sunday, February 01, 2009

New in the Library - The Submarine Review - January 2009


The January 2009 issue of The Submarine Review has arrived at the Library.

Notable articles include:

- Coverage of the October, 2008 Annual Symposium - SSGN-On Station Fighting the Global War on Terror, including an article by CAPT Chris Ratliff, USN, Commanding Officer, USS Ohio (SSGN-726) (Blue).

- Coverage of the USS Triton (SSN-586) reunion and dedication of the USS Albacore (SS-218) memorial.

- Why the U-Boat Campaign Failed (Part 1 of 3) by VADM James A. Sagerholm, USN (ret), former CO of USS Kamehameha (SSBN-642).

- Submarine News from around the world

So, if you want to keep up with what's going on in YOUR submarine force today, and get a glimpse of what might happen in the future, stop by the Library and lean.