When WW II ended the Allies discovered that they were badly lag ging Germany in submarine design. The German Type XXI boat, with streamlining and high capacity batteries, had significantly higher sub merged speed and endurance. Although no Type XXI boat saw action, several of its clones – the smaller Type XXIII operated off the UK from Norwegian bases and sank a number of ships without loss to its own ranks.;
The U.S. set about to improve its submarine capability. Measures included the Guppy program to use existing fleet boat hulls in a series of streamlining conversions, the installation of snorkels, and the design of a new diesel-electric class based upon the Type XXI boat – the Tang class. In parallel the Bureau of Ships resumed its prewar contemplation of nuclear energy as a submarine power source, one that promised al most unlimited endurance if it could be successfully engineered.
Two new design submarines emerged from this arena – the Alba core, a submarine designed as a body of revolution to achieve very high speeds submerged; and Nautilus, basically a Tang-class hull with a revolutionary nuclear propulsion plant. This book describes Albacore through a series of oral interviews with crew members who served in her. Nautilus was highly successful and led to the Skate-class SSN, still with a Tang-class hull. Albacore was also highly successful. Her advanced hull form was incorporated into the Barbel-class SS, Skip jack-class SSN, and basically every nuclear attack submarine built there after.
The book is structured around the four major configuration phases of Albacore’s life from 1953 to 1972. Within each phase, various crew members from Captain to Chief of the Boat to cook, relate their personal recollections and observations of Albacore operations and life aboard. The furthest Albacore ever deployed was to the Key West area and
Tongue of the Ocean. Otherwise she was either in Portsmouth Naval Shipyard undergoing conversion or repair, or on local operations in the Gulf of Maine.
Albacore was as pure a research submarine as it was possible to design. She was diesel-electric, albeit equipped unfortunately with the infamous German-designed pancake diesel engines that might have rep resented their desire to enact a degree of revenge for losing the war.ii She had no snorkel, nor torpedo tubes. Her tasks were to explore high submerged speeds and associated control problems. Innovations includ ed one-man control submerged by a ‘pilot’ instead of a diving officer, two planesmen and a helmsman; a dorsal rudder; trim tabs; dive brakes on the hull in one configuration; an X-configuration stern; and the instal lation of a former B-47 aircraft retarding parachute as a safety device in the top aft section of her sail to enable Albacore to recover from steep down angles. Albacore also led the way in the use of HY-80 steel in U.S. submarine construction.
During Phase III operations she reached a submerged speed of 32 knots.iii Later, with the Silver-Zinc battery and counter-rotating pro pellers she exceeded that speed, reportedly reaching somewhere between 36 and 40 knots.iv
Two of her commanding officers, Jon Boyes and Lando Zech, went on to make flag rank, both retiring as Vice Admirals. Lando Zech also commanded Nautilus. Since 1985 Albacore has been on display as a mu seum submarine in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
