Seadragon: Northwest Under the Ice (Steele), 93
Sea Poacher (SS 406), 121
search radars, fire control, air, and surface, 28
Seaton, Lewis H. “Lew,” 73, 85, 109, 135, 136
Seawolf (SSN 575), 142, 172, 173, 203–204
Security Assistance Program, 61
Seventh Fleet, 61, 123; ASW units, 125, 128; exercises, 11, 24
Shark (SSN 591), 142, 182
ships inertial navigation system (SINS), 69, 93, 94
ships-service turbine generators (SSTGs), 135, 157–58, 207
Siberian continental shelf, 72
Sides, John H., 115
sil-brazed joints, 174, 186
SINS (ships inertial navigation system), 69, 93, 94
Sixth Fleet, 156, 167
Skate (SSN 578), 65, 69, 96, 138, 186
Skate class, 65, 142
Skipjack (1912) (also known as E-1), 141
Skipjack (SS 184) (1938), 141
Skipjack (SSN 585): as ASW weapon; characteristics of and nuclear power plant, 142, 168–69; chop to Commander Sixth Fleet, 154; Cold War missions, 143–44, 177–79, 197–99, 215; commanding officers, 143, 173, 199; Cuban Missile Crisis, 148, 151–52, 156–57, 159, 162; decommissioning and scrapping, 215; deployment to Eastern Mediterranean, 151, 154; detachment from Sixth Fleet, 167; evaluation exercises, 182–86, 189, 213–14 (see also Big Daddy; Submarine Development Group 2); failure of diving planes, 152–53; first of class, 142; high speed on surface and dangers involved, 149–51, 192–94; ineffective torpedoes, 186; keel laid, 141; NATO operations, 202, 204, 206, 208; operational advantages of, 144, 149, 174, 208; overhaul, 141, 147–48; ports of call, 155–66, 206–8; return to New London, 167, 181, 210; rules of engagement, 183; submerged transit across eastern Atlantic, 204; turbine blade problems, 187; undersea speed records, 143, 167; unlimited SOA to burn out reactor fuel, 177
Skraeling Island, 78
Skylark (ASR 26) (submarine rescue vehicle), 174
skylights, 96
Smith Sound, 78, 84
snapshot tactic, 28, 152, 182, 183
Snook (SSN 592), 65, 182
snorkeling, 24, 28, 182
snorkel system, 2, 10, 13, 16, 23, 24, 48, 152, 168
SOA (speed of advance), 23, 122, 177
Sococo, Peter William Ungacta, 201
Somerset Island, 89
sonar: AN/BQQ-2 long-ranging, 186; AN/BQR-4 passive array, 184; AN/BQS-4, 83; AN/SQS-4 tactical, 79; under-ice piloting, 9; sound data gathering equipment. See SDGE
South Pole, 90, 104
Soviet: ballistic missile submarines, 198–99; Black Sea Fleet, 156; bloc, 66, 168; diesel electric-powered attack submarines: Foxtrot, Whiskey, Zulu, 152; electronic emissions, 28; Golf II-class SSBs, 198; Golf III-class Northern Fleet SSBN, 199; high latitude air expeditions (1948), 109; Hotel II-class SSBN, 198; naval technology, 9; naval units, 125; November-class nuclear attack submarine, 152; SS-N-8 nuclear ballistic missile, 199; surface and submarine forces, 17, 151, 256; Union, 9, 66, 148
special court martial, 20–22
speed of advance (SOA), 23, 122, 177
Sperry Corporation, 69
splice the main brace, 89, 110
Sputnik, 9
SS-N-5 nuclear ballistic missile, 198
SS-N-8 nuclear ballistic missile, 199
SSN 594-class ASW Performance Assessment, 185
SSN Navigator Course, 218
SSTGs. See ships-service turbine generators
Stadlander, Charles S., 69
“Starfire” (Skipjack radio call sign), 144
State Pier, New London, Connecticut, 147, 148, 151, 167, 168, 181, 187, 191, 199, 209, 214
Steele, George P.: achievement and surfacing of North Pole, 104; Arctic Ocean under-ice transiting policy, 99; background of, 67; Barrow Strait survey and, 90–94; Captain’s Mast, 82; change of command, 121; Cold War missions, 121; deep-water passage discovery, 93; hot bunk policy, 73; icepack and, 102–3; investigation of icebergs, 79–80, 83–87; Legion of Merit, 115; McLaren and, 69–70; mooring Seadragon in ice, 100; Nome banquet, 111; Northwest Passage transit, 96; and Seadragon, 67–112; shore leave on ice and, 100–101; Steele-Strong leadership method, 122; Viscount Melville Sound and McClure Strait Survey and, 94–96
Stefansson, Evelyn, 71
Stefansson, Vilhjalmur, 71, 72
Stefansson Collection on Polar Expedition, Dartmouth College, 71
Sterlet (SS 392), 59, 60
Stingray (SS 186), 201
Stoehr, Leonard, 14
St. Petersburg Imperial Academy of Sciences (Russia), 109
Strait of Gibraltar, 143, 152, 154, 167
Strong, James T., 68, 76, 78, 85, 103, 113, 122, 123, 137, 138, 141
Sturgeon-class submarine, 148, 185, 213, 215, 219
Subic Bay (Philippines), 24, 42, 43, 123, 124, 125, 128
Submarine Development Group Two (SubDevGrp2), 184, 185, 189, 213
Submarine Force Museum, 113
Submarine Medical Center, Submarine Base, Groton, Connecticut, 170
Submarine Prospective Commanding Officers course, 130, 214, 218,
Submarine Qualification Notebook, Electrical, 19, 56–60
submarine sanctuary, 38–42
Submarine School, Groton, Connecticut, 7, 1 75
Submarine Squadron Ten, 168; and Big Daddy exercise program, 185
submarine-versus-submarine exercises, 118–20; See also Big Daddy
submerged endurance operation, 125
Sullivan, Dennis J., 170
Sullivans Island, 214
Summitt, Charles D.: background, 121; cold war missions; deployment to Westpac, 121; handling of Lt. M, 124; relations with wardroom officers, 123; and Seadragon command, 121; SDGE operation and emergency, 133–37
Super Typhoon Ida, 47–49
Svalbard, 180
Swordfish (SS 579), 118–20
Synhorst, Gerald E., 80
T-3 Ice Island, 110
Tactical Analysis Group, Submarine Development Group Two, 184, 185, 189
Tang (SS 563), 8; class, 23
Teamwork ASW exercise, 202, 208
Terror (sailing ship) (UK), 78
Theodore Roosevelt (SSBN 600), 199
Thompson, Richard L. “Dick,” 68, 82
Thresher (SSN 593), 71, 144; loss of, 174–75, 185, 186; sil-brazing, 174
Thule Inuit, 78
Tilefish (SS 307), 199
Tirante (SS 420), 121
Tokyo Bay, 33
Tomb, Paul D.: background, 199; Disciplinary Mast, 211; McLaren and, 201–2, 206, 211–14, 217; Playboy Magazine and, 199–202; and Skipjack, 199–212
torpedoes: 130; Mk-14–5 steam-propelled, 130, 173; Mk-37 electric acoustic homing, 80, 130, 183, 186; Mk-48 torpedo program, 186
Train Bleu, Le, 206
Trieste (bathyscaph), 174
Trigger (SS 564), 144
Triton (SSRN 586),
Tullibee (SSN 597), 185, 186, 214
Twilight Zone, 92
Twyford, James F., 195; death of, 196–97
Type XXI-class diesel electric (U-boats) (Germany), 8, 152
Tyree, John A., Jr., 219
U-234 (Germany): sinking of, 10
under-ice: diving and surfacing team, 80; obstacle-avoidance sonar, 91; piloting sonar (iceberg detector), 69, 79, 83, 91–94; practice operations and emergency drills, 72, 75; sonar suite, 80, 87 underwater TV, 80, 83, 86, 89, 102
Unidentified Flying Object, 28
United Way Drive, 187–88
Unknown Waters (McLaren), 1
upward-beamed fathometer, 69, 79, 80, 84, 91, 95, 99
U.S.: Atlantic Fleet, 95; Coast Guard, 77, 110, 112; Department of Defense; government, 77; Naval Academy, 7–9, 20, 56, 67, 122, 123, 126, 143, 145, 158, 170, 175, 185, 206; Naval Activities Command, Naples (Italy), 162; Naval Base, Subic Bay, 42, 123; Naval Base and Repair Facility, Yokosuka (Japan), 11, 24, 28, 32, 36, 38, 39–53; Naval Gunfire Support School, Coro
nado, California, 7; Naval Hydrographic Office, 69, 90; Naval Submarine Base, Groton, Connecticut, 7, 57, 61, 168, 170, 184, 187, 214, 218; Naval Submarine Base, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, 7, 8, 11, 14, 15, 108; Naval Submarine School, Groton, Connecticut, 7, 14, 15, 122, 175; Naval War College, War Gaming Department, 219; Navy, 118, 155, 184, 192; Navy ASW Surface forces, 54, 159, 174, 191; Navy Bureau of Personnel, 58, 148, 172; Navy, Bureau of Ships, 185; Navy Construction Battalions, 187; Navy Material Command, 183; Navy Nuclear Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program, 138, 215; Navy Photographic Center, 69; Navy submarine force, 108; Office of Naval Research, 185; Pacific Fleet, 11, 58, 96, 115, 121; Secretary of the Navy, 115; Seventh Fleet, 11, 24, 61, 123, 125, 128; Weather Station, 88
U.S. Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station (Antarctic), 104
VAH-8, 126
VHF radio, 17
Vietnam, 39; patrols, 61
Vikings, 78
Viscount Melville Sound, 72, 89, 90, 94, 95
Vought F8U “Crusader,” 126
Waldron, Ronald J., 105
Ward Hunt Ice Shelf, Ellesmere Island, 110
War Gaming Department, U. S. Naval War College, 219
Warsaw Pact, 9
watch-standing qualifications, 19–20
Weeks, Robert H., 144
weirdburgers, 73, 76
West Greenland Current, 84
West, Ralph W., 212, 214
WestPac (Western Pacific), 11, 15, 41, 123: deployment, 11, 24, 33, 34, 61, 121, 122, 125, 129, 131, 138
Westinghouse S-4-W nuclear power plant, 66, 67, 129, 142
Westinghouse S-5-W nuclear reactor, 142, 177, 214
Whale (SSN 638), 215, 219
Whitmire, Donald B., 185; and Tactical Analysis Group, 185
Wien Air Alaska, 112
Wilkins, Hubert, 99
Williamson Turn, 80, 96, 110
Wines, Francis, 82
Wittmann, Walter I. “Walt,” 69, 80, 84, 92, 95, 99
World War I, 34, 99, 141
World War II, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 23, 25, 28, 39, 41, 42, 43, 55, 67, 141; German U-boat, 177
Wrangel Island, 72
Yokosuka (Japan), 11, 24, 28, 32, 36, 38, 39–53
Yokosuka, U.S. Naval Base and Repair Facility, 138
Young Island, 90
Y-turn. See Williamson Turn
Zambales (Philippines), 42
zero bubble, 29
About the Author
Capt. Alfred Scott McLaren, USN (Ret.), PhD, former nuclear attack submarine officer and commander, served on USS Greenfish (SS 351), Seadragon (SSN 584), Skipjack (SSN 585), Greenling (SSN 614), and Queenfish (SSN 651). He is a veteran of more than twenty Cold War missions and three Arctic expeditions. He took part in the first submerged transit of the Northwest Passage, a Baffin Bay expedition, and, as commander of USS Queenfish (SSN 651), a North Pole expedition that completed the first survey of the entire Siberian Continental Shelf. His awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, two Legions of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, and four Navy Unit Commendations. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and Naval War College and holds graduate degrees from George Washington, Cambridge, and Colorado Universities.
Captain McLaren is president of the American Polar Society, former president of The Explorers Club, and senior pilot of Sub Aviator System LLC’s Super Aviator submersible. A deep-sea explorer, he completed dives to the RMS Titanic, Mid-Atlantic Ridge hydrothermal vents, and the first manned dives to the German battleship Bismarck. Honors include The Explorers Club’s Lowell Thomas Medal for Ocean Exploration and its highest honor, “The Explorers Club Medal” for “extraordinary contributions to Arctic exploration and deep sea research.” He also received medals from The Societe de Geographic Paris and La Ville De Paris for Polar exploration. His first book, Unknown Waters (University of Alabama Press, 2008), was judged a Notable Naval Book of 2008 by the U.S. Naval Institute.
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