 Jerry Allerton, age 21, single picture of the average American young man full of confidence and high hopes trying to find a place for himself in life, perhaps, but with an interesting slant, this young man at 21 already knows more about one of the most incredible and rapidly expanding new sciences of the space age, underwater sound, than most of us will learn in a lifetime. Jerry Allerton, petty officer second class, U.S. Navy, sonar technician, Submariner. Ted Thatcher, age 31, married father of two, a shortstop, and a ballet dancer. Life for Ted and Mary Thatcher is not too different from life for thousands of other young married couples. They coach the Little League, worry about finances, do the housework and support the PTA. In his job as diving officer aboard one of America's newest fast attack submarines, he takes a step or two beyond the responsibilities of the average man. Ted Thatcher, Lieutenant, U.S. Navy, Submariner. Steve Ferris, age 35, married with three children, again with interests and concerns like those of husbands and fathers everywhere. But unlike most men of 35, Steve Ferris, graduate of the United States Naval Academy, the U.S. Naval Submarine and Nuclear Power Schools, has a singular responsibility, the complete command of a $30 million fighting machine, a U.S. Navy Submarine. Steve Ferris, Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Navy, Submariner, Ed Corbin, age, well only his wife and the Bureau of Personnel know for sure, but he admits to 27 years in the Navy and six kids, one already graduated from college. Ed could have chosen a less hazardous life as a platformer or construction supervisor maybe, or almost any white-collar job you want to name. But Ed Corbin has been in submarine since World War II on purpose because he likes it, and because he thinks it's worthwhile. Going to sea is nothing new for Ed or for his family. The routine is so familiar that the kids usually don't even make it down to the pier anymore. Ed Corbin, Master Chief Petty Officer, U.S. Navy, Submariner, this is about these men, the Ed Corbin's, the Ted Thatcher's, and the Jerry Allerton's of many ranks and ratings at bases throughout the world, and it is about the Steve Ferris's and those who shoulder the burden of command. It is about the modern United States Navy Submarine, an awesome weapon system, a superior fighting machine created out of the expanding knowledge of today's modern technology, more important, it's about the men upon whom the machine depends, the men who run it, guide it, and make it do its job. For these men represent thousands more around the globe, from Pearl Harbor to Holylock, from New London to Sassabo, men who stand literally at the forefront of the free world's defensive strength, the officers and men of the United States Navy Submarine force. Some men have turned their attention toward an inner space beneath the surface of the seas. It is in that world of inner space where these men, the Submariners, go to play a deadly serious 20th century game of cat and mouse. In the years since World War II, the rapid development of underwater technologies has thrust the submarine into the forefront of the naval balance of power. Submarines today are faster, better equipped, and have longer endurance than ever before. The ability of a would-be aggressor to cruise to within a few miles of America's shores makes the unfriendly submarine one of the greatest potential threats to our security. The result has been the establishment of ASW, Anti-Submarine Warfare. It is a primary Navy mission, and the development of the U.S. Submarine as the primary anti-submarine weapon. You are aboard one of the newest attack submarines in the U.S. Navy. Its assignment to disappear beneath the surface of the sea, to proceed silently and undetected to its assigned location, and to patrol on station, where it will detect and if necessary destroy any unfriendly intruder. This is the new look of ASW, Submarine versus Submarine, the quiet, tedious exercise of skill and patience. The solemn game of hide and seek, played out in the silence and the darkness of inner space. Mr. Thatcher, make preparations for diving. Hi, sir. Prepare the bridge for diving. Bridge control. Ship has been ready for dive, conversation, check, fine officer. Bridge eye. Bridge. I have the con. Bridge eye. Clear the bridge. Clear the bridge. Mr. Krieger, sound the diving alarm. Aye, sir. Control con. Dive. Dive. Dive. Straight board, sir. Straight board, aye. Con control. Straight board. 200 feet, aye. Make a depth of 200 feet. Short of feet, aye, sir. 5 degree down bubble. 5 degrees down bubble. Open that. Departments report condition norm on the die, sir. Secure the phones. Secure the phones, aye. Secure the phones. I'd use your bubble. Steady on depth 200. Stay on depth 200 feet, sir. At 200 feet, sir. Mr. Krieger, take the con. The course is south. Speed, 3 knots. Depth, 200 feet. Course south. Speed, 3 knots. Depth, 200 feet. I have the con, sir. For all intents and purposes, we have disappeared. Once she descends below the surface, the submarine loses contact with the world above. She is cut off from the familiar means of surface communications by the opaque water around her. But that's the way the submarine wants it. For of all her weapons, the greatest is her stealth. Her invisibility. Her ability to move undetected wherever she wishes. Extending naval power even into enemy controlled waters where air and surface forces cannot retain control. One invention has had a special role in vastly improving the submarine's underwater capability. This is sonar. The underwater eyes and ears of the submerged submarine. Product of one of the most intensive development programs of the post-war years. With extensive training, long hours of practice, and perhaps a little imagination, the skillful sonar operator can learn the distinguishing characteristics of the sounds that fill the seas around him. I guess the most amazing thing about underwater sound is how much noise there is in the water. You know, sound has been known to travel as far as 3,000 nautical miles through the water. Even more. Somebody once described the ocean depths as a huge, almost unexplored jungle with mountain ranges, canyons populated with strange creatures, and with all kinds of noises racking through it. Actually, the air in our atmosphere is a fluid, just like the sea, but the water is much more dense so sound can travel further in water. Although you can't see them, there are several arrays of hydropones on the outside of the submarine hull to pick up sound. Then the sonar equipment amplifies it so that we can hear it better, identify it and tell where it's coming from. It's a funny thing, but after a while you can almost see with your ears the things that are moving in the water around you. Whales. A whole school of them. I never realized there were so many whales in the ocean. That's a merchant man, probably an antique. She's probably given it everything she's got and making about eight knots. It does support this. Scientists believe they can actually talk to one another. The modern submarineer. A new breed. Young. Technically oriented. Some train for as long as two years to the equivalent of a $20,000 education. But the submarineer certainly is not just one man or a type of man as much more to the story which should be told. The Navy, with nearly 200 years of superiority on the seas, is rich with history and tradition. The accomplishments of today are of course the result of yesterday's labor in the submarine service just as anywhere else. I can remember when I was a little kid seeing movies of the USS Holland. First submarine ever commissioned by the U.S. Navy. I remember my father said, you wouldn't be able to pay him enough to get him down in a thing like that. A man named John Holland built it and proved it really worked. They could even get a torpedo inside of it. From 1900 to 1914, 25 submersibles were accepted by the Navy. They carried only a handful of men and cruising ranges were limited. But most people didn't really consider the submarine a serious military threat until the First World War. German U-boats proved that the submarine was a deadly killer and revolutionized naval warfare. America went to work after that. The L-boats, O, R, and the S-boats. But the big advance came in the World War II fleet type submarine. She was 320 feet long, faster and had greater endurance than any other sub in the world. My first two subs were fleet types in the Pacific, where the submarine force piled up a record number of kills against enemy shipping. Well, we thought then that the fleet type was the last word. Of course, that was, let's see, 24 years ago. None of us could have realized then how incredible the changes of the next 20 years would be. The changes in submarining in the years since the Second World War have indeed been incredible. First, the snorkel, then nuclear power and revolutionary new hull designs. In general, as improvements were made, the hulls got larger and roomier, and consideration was given to habitability during design and construction. It is not an oversimplification to say that the submariner's life, like anyone else's, is divided between eating, sleeping and relaxing on the one hand, work on the other. It's just that his work is of a rather momentous nature and a great deal of our future depends on how well he does it. It has been said that there is more science packed into a submarine per cubic inch than into any other warship. At no time does the full scientific and technological potential of the submarine come into play as it does during a fighting situation. Our submarine has been assigned to set up a designated zone of defense. This zone will be invaded by a submarine playing the role of a hostile intruder. Our mission? To discover his intrusion, pinpoint him and simulate his destruction. Con Sonor, I have a contact on the RO-80U bearing 120 drawing right. At the call to battle stations, every job is taken over by the man best qualified to do it. The submarine comes to its peak fighting condition. At the Con, the ship's commanding officer and his assistant approach officer. The diving officer responsible for the submerged operation of the ship. Nearby the fire control party. The fire control coordinator and three fire control system operators. Their responsibility to solve the mathematical problem of determining the relative positions of ownership and target. And put the torpedoes on the right track to hit the target. The plotting party, supervised by the plot coordinator. Information received from Sonor is applied to different plotting techniques in a multiple attempt to get an accurate solution of the target's course, range and speed. Below in the torpedo room, weapon system personnel man their stations and prepare to ready the designated weapons for firing. The indicators on the weapon monitor panel keep the operator and the torpedo tube captains informed of the status of the entire fire control system and what is taking place above in the attack center. Con Sonor, I now hold target bearing 125 in audible contact, evaluated as possible snorkeling submarine designated Sierra 10. Very well, Sonor. Send bearings every minute and report when you can hold them in ATF. Sonor, I contact Sierra 10, now bearing 127 and closing. Make ready mark 370 torpedoes and tubes 1 through 4. Aye, sir. 2 forward con. Make ready for mark 370 torpedoes and tubes 1 through 4. Con attack, mark 370 torpedoes are loaded in tubes 1 through 4. Con Sonor, contact Sierra 10, bearing 129. Evaluated as definite snorkeling submarine. I'm tracking in ATF. Very well, Sonor. Get a turn count on the contact. Sonor, aye. Plot, we'll make an approach against contact Sierra 10 bearing 130. He is a snorkeling submarine. I intend to fire two mark 370 torpedoes. The tactics of a submarine attack are divided into three phases. Contact, approach, and attack. The first phase is now complete. Already, we know quite a bit about our adversary. He is a diesel-electric powered boat capable of running submerged on his batteries even more quietly than a nuclear sub. But his batteries eventually run down. He has been forced to come to surface to suck in air through a snorkel to run his diesel motors and charge his batteries. When the approach phase, careful analysis of Sonor information begins to reveal the position and motion of the target. The plotting party and the fire control party using the Sonor measurements begin to pinpoint a target they cannot even see. Slowly, as we move closer and closer to the target, the information is modified, refined, becomes more and more exact. As the solution begins to look good, the final settings are made in the torpedoes. Set medium speed, normal search pattern with running depth 60 feet. And the tubes are made ready for launching. How does your solution look, Mr. Green? I think we have them, sir. We need one more bearing from Sonor plot. On Sonor, contact has secured snorkeling. Contact is cavitating. Sounds like he's going deep. Contact has faded. Sonor, shift to manual tracking and search 30 degrees around last contact. Sonor, I... Sonor, do you hold him? On Sonor, I hold no contact. Sonor holds no contact. Plot, I... All stop. Rig ship for ultra quiet. Roger. All stop. Second mission, ultra quiet. All stop, I. All stop. All stop. Edges all stop. Mr. Krieger, take the con. I'm going below. Aye, sir. Aye, the con. Moments before the fire control solution is solved, the enemy stops snorkeling and goes deep. Running on battery power, he is almost noiseless. Our strategy? Hover silently so that the enemy won't know we have heard him. Wait for him to give himself away. We picked him up here snorkeling, Captain. And followed him to here. When he dove, he must have gone right ahead this way, Captain. He could be making a run for it here, Captain. He's got a full charge in his batteries. He may go deep and sneak by us. Right. We probably had him just as he was completing his charge. That means he'll be good for several hours. But he'll have to go slower. We'll hear him. Now my guess is, we ease over this way. We should pick him up about here right after lunch. Yes, sir. Mr. Thatcher, come right to two zero zero degrees and make your speed three knots. Aye, sir. And Mr. Thatcher, keep it quiet. Aye, sir. Rightful rudder. Rightful rudder. The rudder's rightful. Maneuvering control, increase turn slowly to three knots. Increase turn slowly to three knots, moving high. Study up on course two zero zero. Stay course two zero zero, hold on. And now what is the hardest part of all for some? The waiting. A careful, stealthy moving silently toward where the target possibly may be. The patient biting of time, however long it may take. Submarines used to be weapons of opportunity. They'd cruise around until they happened to find an enemy ship and then wade right in. Today we bite our time. The modern submarine with its long range of ability and endurance has become a weapon that chooses its opportunity. We wait to strike until we're sure where our target is. Pass a word to man battle stations. I have them again. Snorkeling, same contact we had this morning. Let's get them this time. How's your solution, Mr. Green? Looks good, sir. All tubes ready in our respects. Match sonar bearings and shoot. Shoot. Fire one. In an exercise firing of this kind, the target is notified by underwater telephone as soon as the torpedoes are fired. Notify rum runner, the units are away. Hi, sir. Rum runner, run runner. This is Tabasco, Tabasco. Two acoustic units away. Time, one, two, four, zero hours. Again, nothing to do but wait. The torpedoes will take several minutes to reach the target. If they are on their mark, the target will hear them and report the outcome of the attack over the underwater phone. This is rum runner, rum runner. Your units contacted on sonar shut down at 1248. We now have them sighted in hour week. Evaluate your firing successful. Rum runner out. For these men, the successful completion of this mission, even though it was just an exercise, is of most critical importance. For they are practicing the skills they may someday be called upon to use in earnest, skills upon which a great deal may depend. They are working in a new dimension, under a new discipline, and armed with a host of new technologies, which even the visionary builders of America's first submarine, the Holland, could never have imagined. Nuclear power. Revolutionizer of naval strategy, giving birth to what had never been possible before. A true submarine. And the accessories which interlock to make the modern nuclear submarine the finest and most sophisticated weapon system in the fleet. The newest and finest sonar equipment. Fire control systems computerized and automated. Yes, the silent propulsion systems and hydrodynamically streamlined new hull shapes, which provide stealth, speed and maneuverability. And yet, it is important to remember in all the sweep of technological advance, which has brought these mechanical achievements into existence, that none of it can function without the man. The basic element of military capability, said a prominent naval officer, is man, individual man with his personal dignity and his pride. No matter what machines, what weapons evolve, they will be the product of man. Man will maintain them, and above all, man must control them. Today, a new breed of forward-thinking men maintain that control over one of the most powerful and sophisticated weapon systems, which stands in defense of the free world. They are the Submariners.