Aboard the USS Albacore AGSS-569

While on a visit to my daughter and son-in-law in Wells, Maine we spent a day in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. We toured the old and new sections of the city, and also took a boat trip around the harbor. I was able to revisit areas that I remembered when I was stationed there, in the U.S. Navy, some 50 years ago. The Portsmouth Naval Prison and Naval Shipyard and parts of the old submarine base brought back a lot of memories. The day tour ended with a visit to Albacore Park, which is the home and museum for the submarine, USS Albacore AGSS-569.

This auxiliary general submarine service ship served in the U.S. Navy from 1953 to 1972 without ever carrying a weapon or going to war. She did, however, during her lifetime supply the nation with valuable information while monitoring various sounds of the un-silent world. Today the Albacore is a national landmark located approximately one-quarter mile inland, 27 feet above water level in a dry basin, on a cradle. She was one of the last U.S. Navy diesel electric submarines built in America.

The Albacore was a sea-going laboratory that tested new submarine design concepts, control systems, dive brakes, sonar equipment, escape mechanisms and various innovative theories. Her teardrop hull design is used on nearly all the modern submarines of today. She preceded the nuclear-powered submarines with her diesel electric power plant, with 500 lead acid storage cells for underwater power.

The first Albacore , SS218, was built in June 1942 in Groton by the Electric Boat Company as a fleet-type attack submarine. She sank eight Japanese naval ships before hitting a mine off the northern coast of Japan in November 1944. There were no survivors.

In that period of time, U.S. submarines were named after fish. The albacore is a small tuna found in warm waters around the world. The fish has crescent-shaped tail fins that furnish strong propulsion and speed for swimming. The great length of the pectoral, or side fin, which extends nearly half the length of the fish, distinguishes the albacore. All the fins fit into grooves, making the entire fish almost perfectly streamlined. The fish is blue above and silvery on its underside, and with it streamlined body is able to swim at great speeds. The albacore is considered a fine game fish, with the best sport-fishing grounds found off the southern California coast.

When I walked around the external hull of the Albacore I was surprised at what I saw and what I did not see. Basically the hull was shaped like a football, with a small sail near the forward end of the vessel. There were no torpedo tubes visible in the exterior hull, making me wonder what type of firepower this submarine had; I was surprised to learn that the USS Albacore had no armament. The single propeller shaft with two counter-rotating props was very interesting to this former submariner, who was used to seeing twin shafts.

By this time I was talking to myself, wondering how the ship was able to maneuver on the surface, as I saw no rudder. When I found that the rudder was in the ship's sail and therefore out of the water when the ship was on the surface, it made me ponder on how this vessel was able to maneuver to dock at a pier. Of course there was an answer that also applies to our latest nuclear-powered submarines: Tugboats maneuver them to and from docks.

When we entered the ship via a non-standard hull opening, I was surprised to find that we were on a non-guided tour. There were plenty of information signs around the vessel, but I decided to provide my family with information that an old diesel electric submarine sailor would know. I guess in many ways they and those who joined our group became a captive audience. I said to myself, "Today, I am a teacher." We discussed any number of subjects, including escape hatches, crew's quarters, pantry, galley, control room, drinking water, and the diesel electric propulsion plant.

What I found most interesting were the control room, and the diesel engine and generator designs. On the older subs the periscope was in the conning tower, not in the control room, like the one on the Albacore. The Albacore's diesel engines were mounted vertically with the generators at the bottom; older subs had their diesel engines mounted parallel to the ship's deck with generators mounted to the rear. Two airplane-style chairs were provided for comfort and easy accessibility to control the ship speed, depth and direction on the Albacore; not so on the older boats, where you sat on benches. Because of new controls for the propulsion system, the Maneuvering Room, where I spent most of my time, no longer existed. A sailor sitting in one of the airplane-type chairs in the control room controlled the propulsion system on the Albacore.

In the quiet moments during the tour my mind wandered into the past. I heard some of the old basic commands that came over the sound systems: Prepare to get underway; Set the maneuvering watch; Rudder amidships; Port back 1/3rd; "All stop; Left full rudder; Starboard ahead 1/3rd port back 2/3rds; Rudder left 10 degrees; All ahead 1/3rd on four main engines; Change course to 280 degrees; All ahead 2/3rds; Dive, Dive; All ahead 2/3rds; 7 degree down bubble, level off at 100 feet; Rig ship for silent running; Battle stations submerged, battle stations submerged.

Good golly, Miss Molly, it was nice living a memory, and I felt blessed to be able to share the experience with family.