JULY 2005

USS ALBACORE (AGSS 569) AND THE SUBMARINE HALL OF FAME

by LCDR Jack Hunter, USN(Ret)

It was a warm, sunny morning in Norfolk, VA on Friday, May 27th when

 members of the Tidewater chapter of the Submarine

Veterans of World War II and the Hampton Roads Base of the

USSVI assembled to conduct a service of remembrance. At the

conclusion of the ceremony remembering the boats and men lost

during WW II and the Cold War, the submarine ALBACORE was

inducted into the Submarine Hall of Fame. A former ALBACORE

crew member was invited to participate in the ceremony and I was

fortunate enough to draw the long straw.

Eight years ago, the Tidewater chapter of the Submarine Veterans

of WW II began considering boats to be inducted into the Submarine

Hall of Fame. Boats are selected through a nominating and voting

process conducted by the Hampton Roads Base of the USSVI.

Nominations are accepted during November of each year and a boat

is chosen by vote of the membership the following February.

General criteria for nomination include boats associated with certain

feats or occurrences, boats having particular engineering features,

and boats recognized for operational achievements or subject to

international acclaim. For each boat selected, a shadow box filled

with memorabilia from that boat is placed in Alcorn Auditorium in

Ramage Hall, home of Submarine Learning Center, Norfolk.

Boats inducted into the Hall to date are:

USS HOLLAND (SS-1), the first official submarine

USS IREX (SS 482), the first U.S. submarine to have a snorkel system

USS NAUTILUS (SSN 571), the first nuclear powered submarine

USS NARWHAL (SSN 671), for 25 years of Special Operations

USS NORFOLK (SSN 714), the first submarine to have all its Tomahawk

 missiles hit their targets

USS TRITON (SSN 586), the first U.S. submarine to circumnavigate

the world submerged and first twin reactor submarine

USS GRENADIER (SS 525), for forcing a Russian diesel

submarine to the surface during North Atlantic Cold War

operations

USS ALBACORE (AGSS 569) for her hull and other advanced

submarine engineering and design Innovations

Launched in August of 1953, ALBACORE was commissioned in

December of that year. In September of 1972, she was

decommissioned and moved to the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. She

remained there until 1984 when she was towed to Portsmouth and

later moved to her current location in 1985.

ALBACORE was a one-of-a-kind submarine built and maintained

in Portsmouth by the skilled craftsmen of the Portsmouth Naval

Shipyard. Administratively a part of Submarine Squadron Two in

New London, CT. ALBACORE was home ported in Portsmouth for

her entire life.

Under the leadership of Admiral Charles Momsen, ALBACORE

was conceived to inaugurate a radical change in submarine design.

World War II experience had shown that speed, endurance and

maneuverability were key requirements for submarines. As a result,

ALBACORE’S hull was designed with underwater speed as the

prime requirement. Scale models of the hull were tested in tow tanks

and wind tunnels to determine the optimum shape. ALBACORE was

the first modern submarine to have the rounded hull and a single

propeller. She was later outfitted with a second counter-rotating

propeller as part of an experiment to provide greater propulsion

efficiency.

For almost 19 years, ALBACORE served the Navy as an

experimental vessel. Among things tried that were not too successful

were: using a parachute to decelerate the boat, dive brakes, and

slippery water. As for successes, she demonstrated the use of several

types of towed sonar devices, tested four different propulsion and

control surface arrangements, evaluated several combined

instrumentation panel displays, used sound quieting techniques for

rotating machinery, introduced aviation type controls, and evaluated

a more effective ballast tank blow system. As a result of ALBACORE’s

service, the Navy was able to refine designs and concepts

before incorporating them into the fleet. ALBACORE truly lived up

to her motto: Praenntius Futuri or Forerunner of the Future.

The Friends of ALBACORE wish to thank the Tidewater Chapter

of U.S. Submarine Veterans of WW II and the Hampton Roads Base

of the USSVI for their recognition of ALBACORE and its contributions

to our submarine Navy. ALBACORE previously had been

designated a National Historic Landmark for her contributions to

submarine design, a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark for

her many unique systems and a Historic Welded Structure for her hull.

In a related note, in the October 2004 issue of THE SUBMARINE

REVIEW, LCDR Jordan wrote of the efforts of our Friends of

ALBACORE group to respond to a challenge grant made by Steve

Cuff, a former ALBACORE ShipSup. The fund raising campaign

was successful in raising over $28,000 from former shipmates. A

portion of this money has been invested in a recently activated audio

tour system consisting of five sites external to the boat and eleven

internal sites. Each site provides about two minutes worth of

information, remembrances and sea stories for our visitors.

Here is the shadow box created for Albacore's enshrinement into the Submarine Hall of Fame.
The model bottom center was hand carved by a former shipmate and 
represents Albacore in her fourth phase configuration.
The photos inside the box were from the time of her commissioning in 
1953. The men in the lower right photo were the four plank owner CPOs.
The background drawing is of the boat in her original Phase One 
configuration with a single prop and bow planes.
The ships patch upper left was the one used throughout her life. The 
smaller patch with the road runner came into being when the boat 
first set the underwater speed record in the mid 60's.
Jack