Mind-blowing Bits from 3 Submarine Domains

1 - Chat domain
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Women aren’t allowed to work on Dutch submarines – the government’s decided they’re ill equipped for the fairer sex, and having seen the showers I tend to agree. There’s little room for privacy in the sleeping quarters, where bunks are stacked four-high, and when they’re on missions the officers have little or no contact with home. The Walrus only recently had internet installed onboard, but as one Marine tells us: “It’s not ideal if you’re addicted to
checking your Facebook account.” - Marijke Peters, Producer at Radio Netherlands, Uncovering the secrets of the submarine, Radio Netherlands Worldwide, 22 August 2010.
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2 - Nuclear Propulsion domain
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'Merchant of Death' to stand trial in US, - Andrew Buncombe, The New Zealand Herald, Aug 23, 2010.

An alleged arms dealer nicknamed "The Merchant of Death", who has been pursued by global law enforcement organisations for years, is to be extradited to the United States to stand trial. ... The New York Times reported Thai officials said he was part of a deal to provide Thailand with a small but sophisticated nuclear submarine. [emphasis added]
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3 - Command Continuity (Time) domain
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Known as a relentlessly aggressive CO note 1, Eric Lloyd Barr, Jr. (USNA, 1934) was a highly decorated submarine commander. Barr had always claimed his greatest accomplishment was never losing a man. He died one week ago (Aug. 16, 2010) in San Antonio at 98 years of age.
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Barr served on USS Kingfish as executive officer and navigator. Kingfish sank 11 Japanese ships and received 400 depth charges. Later, during Bluegill's maiden patrol, Barr sank the Japanese Navy cruiser Yuhari. Barr ranks 17th of 465 WWII submarine skippers for the number of ships sunk. Barr retired as a captain in 1947, with two Navy Crosses, two Silver Stars, a Bronze Star and eight submarine combat awards.
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Capt. Barr's father, Eric Barr, Senior (USNA 1911) served as CO of submarine E-1 (SS-24), ex- Skipjack, in World War I. E-1 was the smallest submarine to cross the Atlantic under its own power. Barr, senior received the Navy Cross and the Navy-Marine Corps Medal for heroism during both World War I and II and the US Mexican Service Medal (1911-1917).
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Eric Barr, Jr. sailed in the sub E-1 out of New London with his father as a boy in 1917 and in H-boats out of Submarine Base, San Pedro, CA, 1919-1922.
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CAPT. BARR, JR. TRIVIA
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During the waning days of WW2, the indefatigable Bluegill CO, needing something dramatic to accomplish, sent ashore commandos to capture a deserted island 160 miles southeast of Hong Kong.
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When Bluegill had damaged and beached the 5,542-ton tanker Honan Maru in 1945, he dispatched a demolition party to finish her off.1
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On October 12, 1944, Barr battle-surfaced on barges. One barge returned fire wounding five of Barr's sailors.1
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Barr subsequently sank 19.6 tons of transports. Escorts thrashed Bluegill with 47 depth charges that fell so closely men in the forward torpedo room reported seeing flashes at edges of the torpedo loading hatch.
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Submarines are always silent and strange.
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note 1 - Silent Victory, Clay Blair, The U.S. Sumarine War Against Japan, J.B. Lippincott Company, Philadephia an New York, 1975.