Answers for Sub Mystery Questions: 7-29-2009

For photo and background see the original Mystery Questions post here:

Question 1) - From the online source, who was the sailor and what was the boat?

Answer: D. LaPierre, and the boat, on which M.E. visited a sub-school friend, was the then recently commissioned USS GATO (SSN-615). A very short time later, in November 1969, Gato collided with Soviet submarine K-19 in the Barents Sea.

Question 2) - What is the latest commissioned submarine with a wardroom ship's bell clock?

There were no responses to this question.

Question 3) - About when did U.S. submarines switch from the 4-on and 8-off watch schedule of WW2 to the 6-on and 12-off watches?

Answer: There is no definitive date to this question. Some sources say the switch occurred in the 1960's, but see the answer to the next question.

Question 4) - How recently did some U.S. nuclear subs use a 4-on 8-off schedule?

Answer: Not for at least another decade on at least one nuclear submarine with which M.E. is very familiar.

Question 5) - Is the future of the 18-hour day for U.S. subs currently in question?

Answer: According to The NAVY NEWS in Apr 28, 2009, and Defence Research and Development Canada (March 2008), Studies could mean end of 18-hour days on subs, and the U.S. Navy is investigating the idea of using straight-8-hour watch schedules in its submarines.

Question 6) - If your sub had a brass bell-strike clock in its wardroom, who polished it and was the strike mechanism usually turned on or off?

Answer: A steward polished ours and the bell-strike was always turned off as we can recall.

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Submarines are always silent and strange.