USS Kete SS-369

By March of 1945, the Pacific War was reaching its final, ferocious stages. The island-hopping campaign had brought American forces ever closer to the Japanese homeland, and the noose was tightening around the Empire of Japan. The skies above were thick with carrier-based aircraft, and beneath the waves, the silent hunters of the U.S. Navy submarines prowled the sea lanes, disrupting what little remained of Japan’s merchant fleet. Among these hunters was the USS Kete (SS-369), a Balao-class submarine that had already tasted action and was proving to be a formidable adversary beneath the waves.

Continue reading “USS Kete SS-369” →
0

The Last Cold War Collision

The Cold War had officially ended, but the deep, frigid waters of the Barents Sea still played host to a silent and deadly chess match between American and Russian submarines. It was March 1993, and while Boris Yeltsin and Bill Clinton were preparing for their first presidential summit, the military forces of their respective nations were still adjusting to a new geopolitical reality. The Soviet Union had collapsed barely a year earlier, and Russia was struggling to maintain control over its vast nuclear arsenal, a situation that deeply concerned the United States. The old habits of submarine espionage did not die with the Soviet flag, and American attack submarines continued their missions near Russian bases, shadowing ballistic missile submarines, or “boomers,” that carried enough nuclear firepower to reshape the world in an instant. Continue reading “The Last Cold War Collision” →

0

10,000 Dives

March 18, 1960, was just another day in the long service history of USS Spikefish (SS-404), or so it seemed. The sea, indifferent to records and human milestones, stretched endlessly around her. But for the men aboard, and for the United States Navy, that dive was anything but ordinary. On that day, Spikefish became the first American submarine to achieve 10,000 successful dives—a milestone that underscored not only her longevity but the very evolution of submarine warfare and technology in the postwar era. She had already earned her place in history with three battle stars during World War II, but this feat set her apart in the annals of undersea service.

Continue reading “10,000 Dives” →
0

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑