Submarine Stories : Recollections from the Diesel Boats

The first diesel-powered submarine - the USS F-1 - entered active service in the U.S.

Navy in 1912; the last diesel attack boat, USS Blueback, left the fleet in 1990; and the experimental USS Dolphin was decommissioned in 2006.

The story of these boats - their technological evolution and tactical value - is also the story of the men who went to sea in them.

A special breed of adventurers, they learned to adapt to boats that could dive deeper than their predecessors, go faster, shoot farther, and stay underwater longer. "Submarine Stories" presents nearly five dozen first-person accounts from the men who were involved with gasoline- and diesel-powered submarines during the 20th and 21st centuries.

Culled from many never-before-published narratives and oral histories conducted under the auspices of the U.S.

Naval Institute, the accounts illustrate the human aspects of serving in diesel boats: the training, operations in peacetime and war, liberty exploits, humorous sidelights, and the special feelings of bonding and camaraderie that grew among shipmates.