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The head of the Royal Navy has ordered an investigation into allegations of bullying and sexual harassment against women in the Submarine Service. Several whistleblowers who served in the fleet told the Daily Mail they faced mistreatment from all ranks. Adm Sir Ben Key, the First Sea Lord, called the claims "abhorrent", adding "sexual harassment has no place in the Royal Navy and will not be tolerated". "Anyone who is found culpable will be held accountable," he said. The allegations, revealed in detail by the Mail, include male crew members compiling a list setting out the order in which women...

T'was the night before Christmas, and what no-one could see, The men with the dolphins were under the sea. Most of the crew was flat on their backs, Snoring and dreaming all snug in their racks. Those men on watch were making their rounds, Some manning the planes or listening for sounds. Back in maneuvering or down in the room, They all hoped the oncoming watch would come soon. I'd finished some PM's whose time was now due, And hoped for some sleep, even an hour or two. Against better judgment I took a short stroll, And found myself wandering...

The top US naval officer has vowed to stop people lighting up in submarines, where the confined atmosphere has serious passive smoking implications, a report said Monday. "We are going to stop smoking on submarines," Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Gary Roughead told a recent meeting of senior submariners, according to the Navy Times magazine. Navy spokesman Lieutenant Commander Mark Jones confirmed a ban could be in the pipeline, telling AFP: "We are currently looking at changing the policy, but we have not changed the policy." At present, smoking on US submarines is up to the commanding officer's discretion and...

WHETSTONE — Like many who served during World War II, the number of men who served on the diesel submarines during the conflict is declining. On Saturday, the Cactus Chapter of World War II submariners held its annual meeting at John Robson’s Tombstone Territories RV Park. Robson, who has hosted the reunions for about six years, said it may have been the group’s last annual meeting at his RV park. While there were nearly 100 people in attendance, most of them men served on the nuclear submarines that were built long after the war. Five from World War II showed...

If you want to join Sub Guys for Palin started by Sandy and I, go ahead and copy the logo below and use it on your website or blog. Let me know and I will list your site here as well. I have the logo linked to http://www.johnmccain.com or you can link back to this post.

Sailor buddies don't get much tighter than Leyman Dennis and W.E. “Charlie” Russell. In the summer of 1944, their commander offered them a choice: One could stay on the Swordfish with a fast track to promotion, while the other could head to New London, Conn., to help build and commission new submarines. The pals, both 24 and first class petty officers, flipped a coin. Dennis lost and landed in New London. Russell won and went to sea. Russell never came back. On Jan. 12, 1945, the Swordfish and its 89-member crew disappeared near Okinawa, perhaps sunk by a floating mine...

One of Germany's crack new fuel-cell-powered submarines has set a world record with a two-week-long dive, the German Navy said Wednesday. The trip by the U212A-class sub with a crew of 27 from Eckernfoerde in Germany to Rota in Spain involved the longest period that any non-nuclear vessel had ever spent under water. The navy did not say what the previous record had been. US and Russian nuclear submarines can stay under water for longer. Germany, which has no nuclear weapons and no nuclear-powered ships, developed the high-tech hybrid-powered submarines to replace diesel-electric vessels that need to surface more often...

The Navy's submarine force is in trouble. A shrinking number of boats is struggling to meet steady demand from regional commanders. Meanwhile, the cost of the only U.S. submarine currently in production, the super-high-tech Virginia-class attack boat, has risen to $2.3 billion apiece. At that price, the Navy can afford to buy only one per year. Do the math: since attack boats last only 30 years, building one boat per year means your fleet is eventually going to shrink to 30 boats from the current 55. Long-range plans call for 48 attack subs, so how is the Navy going to...

For all of you guys and gals who like to read books about WWII or submarines, let me tell you about my cousin Steven M. Wilson. He has written two books, the first is the "Voyage of the Gray Wolves", the second book is "Between the Hunter and the Hunted". No, I haven't read them yet but am waiting for them to arrive. From what everyone has told me that has read them, they are really good.

WHETSTONE — June 9, 1944, is a day Bob Strosser remembers well. The submarine he was serving on was on war patrol off Truk Island, retrieving Army Air Force crew members from aircraft that might have been downed by Japanese gunfire. Strosser, now 80, was one of three lookouts on the surfaced USS Snapper. The former torpedoman put that day’s harrowing experience succinctly. “We got strafed,” he said, as he talked about that day more than 61 years ago. A lookout and torpedoman named McKee was killed, and Strosser and the other sailor were wounded. Strosser was hit by shrapnel...

Submariners in peril are saved by the 'brotherhood of the sea' By Nick Allen and Caroline Davies (Filed: 08/08/2005) Seven Russian submariners who were trapped for three days on the icy Pacific Ocean floor emerged dazed but elated yesterday after a Royal Navy-led rescue team freed them hours before their oxygen ran out. Looking shaken, the sailors climbed unaided from their stricken Priz AS-28 submersible as it resurfaced once the cables and fishing nets ensnaring it were cut by a diving robot operated by a British team flown out from Scotland. The crew of the Priz AS-28 submersible breath again...

HUACHUCA CITY - The name of the U.S.S. Albacore was called, followed by the tolling of a bell Saturday. The U.S. Navy submarine went down in the Pacific on Nov. 7, 1944, taking all the crew after the boat hit Japanese mines. On Nov. 8, 1944, the U.S.S. Growler was sunk by unknown causes taking all hands to the deep six. On Nov. 9, 1944, the U.S.S. Scamp's crew did not survive after being attacked by Japanese surface ships and aircraft. In 1943, three submarines went down. The U.S.S. Corvina was destroyed by a Japanese submarine taking all hands to...

The Submarine Training Facility at Norfolk Virgnia held it's annual Submarine Veterans Memorial Service today. Submarines were less than 10% of our naval forces in World War II yet accounted for the lion's share of merchant shipping sunk. Submarines greatly contributed to the victory in World War II. In honor of these brave men, here is a list of the submarines that we lost during the war.USS SEALION (SS-195)USS S-36 (SS 141)USS S-26 (SS 131)USS SHARK (SS 174)USS PERCH (SS 176)USS S-27 (SS 132)USS GRUNION (SS 216)USS S-39 (SS 144)USS ARGONAUT (SS 166)USS AMBERJACK (SS 219)USS GRAMPUS (SS 207)USS TRITON...

Story Number: NNS040305-12 Release Date: 3/7/2004 2:18:00 PM By Journalist 2nd Class Mary Popejoy, Naval Submarine Base Bangor Public Affairs SILVERDALE, Wash. (NNS) -- Naval Submarine Base Bangor has aligned itself with other submarine bases by standing up a Naval Submarine Support Center (NSSC) Feb. 27. The NSSC will be responsible for the whole array of sub support, which covers operational support, material, legal, administration, medical and engineering. The implementation of the NSSC will give submariners one place to go for all their needs. “The NSSC will provide all the submarines on the waterfront with a one-stop reference for submarine...

H.L. HUNLEYExcavation of submarine complete The Associated Press CHARLESTON - The excavation of the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley is complete, more than three years after the sub was raised from the Atlantic off the coast of Charleston. Scientists this week finished removing sediment from the ballast tanks of the sub after recovering a coil of waterlogged rope. They also recovered some tools from the crew compartment, which might indicate the crew had been making repairs the night the Hunley sank. A small wooden cask found in a ballast tank last month, once thought to be a chamber pot, is likely...