History of the Submarine Force

The U.S. Submarine Force came into existence on April, 1900, with the purchase of HOLLAND VI for $ 160,000 from John Holland. The U.S. Navy commissioned this submarine on October 12, 1900, as USS HOLLAND (SS-1).  Earlv 1900s and World War I Submarines were charged with coastal and harbor defense.  This was a period of intense development, resulting in adoption of the gasoline engine for surface propulsion, the periscope, and improvement in double hull design. By 1906, with most of the fleet in the Atlantic, the General Board (later to become the Secretary of the Navy) had approved submarines as the only way to defend the west coast of the United States if attacked, until the Battle Fleet could arrive from the Atlantic. The Secretary adopted the position that submarines would be utilized to defend the vital fleet port at Subic Bay, Philippines an positioned boats there. In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge presented the Medal Honor to TM2 Henry Breaul Breault was recognized for heroism and devotion to duty while serving onboard the U.S. Submarine 0-5 at the time of the sinking of that vessel.

World War II
After the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the U. S. Submarine Force boldly carried the war to the enemy in his home waters and held the line in the Pacific. This initial holding tactic allowed the Allied strategy of first defeating Hitler in Europe and dealing with the Empire of Japan secondly, and provided the time required to repair the fleet losses incurred at Pearl Harbor.

1943 brought a marked increase in submarine effectiveness, shooting almost 4000 torpedoes during 350 patrols, sinking 335 enemy ships. Young skippers brought the wolf pack to the Pacific. Torpedo problems including shortages were overcome. With more boats patrolling the seas around Japan and the East China Sea, results were impressive - 1.5 million tons of Japanese shipping were sent to the bottom of the sea. The Japanese Merchant Marine could no longer keep pace with the losses, after suffering a net loss of almost 20% of their non-tanker capability. U. S. Submarine Bases were also up, with fifteen boats and crews lost during battle. The third year of the submarine war against Japan, 1944, was devastatingly effective. Almost 6,100 torpedoes were shot during 520 war patrols. Singings drastically impeded Japan's ability to sustain the war and feed her people. 603 ships totaling 2.7 million tons were sunk by submarines. The critical flow of oil from the south to Japan virtually stopped. Submarines sank one battleship, seven aircraft carriers, nine cruisers, and about thirty destroyers. These victories came with the heavy price of the loss of nineteen U. S. submarines and their men.  In 1944, life-guarding for the airmen bombing Japan also became big business. In total, 86 Pacific Navy submarines provided 3,272 submarine-days of life guard duty rescuing 504 downed fliers from waters of Tokyo Bay in the South Pacific, including one named George Bush.

Korean Conflict
During the Korean Conflict, once again U. S. Navy submarines were amongst the first U. S. forces to counterattack against the enemy. Fleet boats screened naval surface forces that provided tactical air support, surveyed Soviet and Korean mine fields and engaged in special forces raids. Submarines performed photo reconnaissance of potential amphibious landing sites on the Korean peninsula in support of the landing at Inchon. Submarines surveyed Soviet shipping. Additionally, they neutralized maritime Forces in the Formosa Straits and patrolled the Sea of Okhotsk. 

The Cold War

The Soviets made the submarine force the centerpiece of their post-World War II naval expansion and their strategic nuclear force. They were a formidable opponent which required intense, sustained effort by our submarine force to counter it. We bettered each Soviet attempt to improve their force. As they made their submarines quieter, American technology was able to stay on the leading edge to develop even quieter submarines and improve our sonar detection capabilities. When they went deeper and faster and built their force to outnumber the United States by 2-to-1, we improved our torpedoes in response. Whether they deployed to the Mediterranean Sea, the Indian Ocean or to the Arctic Ocean, the U. S. Submarine Force hounded them, causing the Soviets to commit vast resources in pursuit of undersea superiority, or at least parity. Neither was achieved, but during the process the Soviets went broke Financially and politically. The hundreds of thousands of men and women of the U. S. Submarine Force contributed significantly to that victory as implementers of one of the most successful Cold War competitive strategies.

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