Fast Attack and Boomers

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"Fast Attacks and Boomers: Submarines in the Cold War": The National Museum of American History Author(s): Gary E. Weir Source: Technology and Culture, Vol. 44, No. 2 (Apr., 2003), pp. 359-363Published by: and the The Johns Hopkins University Press Society for the History of

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EXHIBIT REVIEW

Fast Attacks and Boomers: Submarines in the Cold War

The National Museum of American History

GARY E. WEIR

Tucked away on the upper floor of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, Fast Attacks and Boomers, curated by Barton Hacker with Paul Johnston and Margaret Vining, offers a truly special view of the secret world of undersea warfare. Although the handsome color brochure and the long time line on the introductory wall panel present a brief overview of the history of American submarines before 1945, this exhibit dwells on the cold war and the submarines that continued their deterrent

patrols even after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The cold war theme becomes apparent immediately upon entering the

exhibit. The visitor passes a reproduction of the sail from a modern fast attack submarine (fig. 1), built to scale but rendered slightly smaller to fit the museum space. Its dive planes are at a down-angle and it leans forward, as though the vessel were about to submerge beneath the floor, underscor

ing the fact that the natural element of these very potent warships is the deep sea, and that they travel through it faster, venture deeper, and stay

longer than even their inventor, John Holland, could have imagined at the turn of the last century.

Until a few years ago most of the hardware in this exhibit?which dis plays critical submarine technology, illustrates the duties and on-board

lifestyle of the crew, and describes the capabilities of these vessels?would never have appeared in a museum. Submariners survive and prosper in the

depths and in the shadows. Personal silence and technical quiet have ensured their survival for roughly one hundred years, and most of those

Dr. Weir is branch head and historian of science and technology at the U.S. Naval His torical Center, Washington, D.C. He is the author of Building American Submarines, 1914-1940 (1991) and An Ocean in Common: Naval Officers, Scientists, and the Ocean

Environment, 1919-1961 (2001), corecipient of the Richard W. Leopold Prize for 2002 from the Organization of American Historians.

?2003 by the Society for the History of Technology. All rights reserved. 0040-165X/03/4402-0007$8.00

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FIG. 1 Scaled-down reproduction of the sail?the superstructure that encloses

radar masts, periscopes, and so on?of a fast-attack submarine. (Illustrations courtesy of the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian

Institution.)

who now go to sea in submarines would keep it that way. However, with

changing technologies and new and more difficult Third World targets, this warfare community needed to make the American people, especially those on Capitol Hill, understand the submarine's role both in winning the cold

war and in the current national defense equation. The exhibit thus serves two essential purposes, educational and political.

With the celebration of the centennial of the American submarine force in 2000, the resources to create this exhibit and the willingness of the retired and active submarine community to tell their story finally coin cided. The general public now has a chance to view firsthand what hereto fore they could only imagine through Hollywood films and Tom Clancy novels.

Passing the reproduction sail, the visitor moves across the room to a

time line, replete with excellent still photographs and complemented by a historical video narrated by Walter Cronkite. This brief chronological treat

ment reaches back to David BushnelTs 1775 Turtle and brings the visitor up to the conclusion of World War II via Robert Fulton's Nautilus (1800) and the inventive Irish-immigrant teacher John Holland, who sold the U.S.

Navy its first submarine: his Holland VI joined the American fleet in 1900 as the SS-1. (Panels throughout the exhibit as well as the available guest lit erature introduce the visitor to the many acronyms and cryptic names that have become second nature in the world of undersea warfare?thus, for

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WEIR I Fast Attacks and Boomers: Submarines in the Cold War

example, SS is the naval ship designation for submarine, SSN for the nuclear attack submarines, the "fast attacks" of the exhibit's title, and SSBN for their much larger, ballistic-missile-carrying siblings, the "boomers.")

Beyond the time line, visitors move with very little transition into the cold war era of Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarines and Ohio-class bal

listic missile boats. The decade from 1945 through 1955, which concluded with the first nuclear submarine going to sea, witnessed an amazing series of

changes, but the exhibit does not convey a vivid sense of that revolutionary decade. Critical German experiments with high-power batteries for speed, design changes that altered the hull configuration to its sleek present appear ance, hydrogen peroxide propulsion, "Guppy" conversions of American

World War II fleet submarines to increase speed and range, and advances in submarine strategy and tactics receive terribly short shrift. The decade fol

lowing the end of World War II has emerged in the historical literature as the most important in the history of submarines. This exhibit does not ade

quately draw visitors' attention to this vital transitional period. An additional quandary presents itself at the end of the introductory

time line. Designed in a loop, the exhibit confronts visitors who have just concluded the time line with the distraction of a present-day Mark 48 tor

pedo in a very attractive and informative display on the wall opposite. While it might seem natural to continue to the left, following a rough

chronological progression, when I returned for my most recent visit I wit nessed many visitors immediately walking over to the opposite wall, not

eight feet away, to look at the torpedo. In this way, chronology and the progress of the story can become a little muddled and random. Each visi tor must sort out the chronological and developmental confusion at the end of the exhibit experience.

The strength of the exhibit emerges as it moves into the cold war and conveys life on board a submarine?its confined spaces, its dangers, and its

missions. Videos demonstrate the use of sound as a detection and surveil

lance tool. Sonar gives the boat acoustic eyes for navigation, defense, and

offense. Submarine crews are frequently drilled in the use of fire-fighting equipment, and the exhibit's informative displays of such gear take on an

interesting perspective with the higher visibility of the firefighter since 11

September 2001. lust imagine the danger presented by an on-board fire that threatens not only to burn but also to consume all of the breathable air in the very finite space defined by the hull of a submerged ship. Toward the rear of the exhibit loop, the crew quarters and berthing areas convey a good sense of the confined living spaces and inevitable lack of privacy that have over the past century unwittingly contributed to the relative informality and close community valued by the submarine force. These areas offer a

genuine view of submarine life, right down to the unusual "head" or bath room facilities. The interested public can find these absorbing scenes

nowhere else.

EXHIBIT

REVIEW

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fig. 2 This control room scene from a Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine

uses prerecorded control room chatter and offers the visitor a view of every

thing from navigation to fire control to sonar from the perspective the com

manding officer.

Thanks to the efforts of the U.S. Naval Historical Center's Curator Branch, the Smithsonian used hardware from decommissioned American submarines to illustrate the typical systems panels, weapons triggers, and on-board control room scenes (fig. 2). The navy's curators, working with the relevant technical and operational commands, rendered even some

fairly current large artifacts safe?in the sense that, while informing and

educating the public, no secrets that could endanger the welfare of serving submariners appeared in the exhibit spaces. As a result, one can see a Polaris missile-system launch panel along with the tactical trigger the com

manding officer of an SSBN would have used to send a weapon from the silo on board his boat to a target in the former Soviet Union. A control room scene displays the submarine's helm as well as the panel used to mon itor diving and the proper submerged position and attitude. Overhead

directional speakers also bring to the visitor the additional reality of on board banter; commands and conversation uttered in the submariner's lex icon during routine activity while submerged. The unusual and unique artifacts as well as the attractive colors and extraordinary sounds drive this

experience, almost compensating for the rather awkward floor plan. While this exhibit focuses almost exclusively on the cold war period and

certainly misses the opportunity to explore the fascinating continuum of a

century of submarine history, its strengths outweigh its shortcomings. Most important among the latter is the failure to explore adequately the

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WEIR I Fast Attacks and Boomers: Submarines in the Cold War

revolutionary period between 1945 and 1955. But the rest of this exhibit amounts to an

absorbing encounter that the average American could expe rience in no other way. One can see, hear, feel, and appreciate life on board

the stealthy ships that provided the nation's most flexible and survivable nuclear deterrent after World War II. The cold war has ended. However, even as you read this review, American fast-attacks and boomers remain on

patrol deep in the world's oceans. EXHIBIT

REVIEW

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Article Contentsp. 359p. 360p. 361p. 362p. 363

Issue Table of ContentsTechnology and Culture, Vol. 44, No. 2 (Apr., 2003), pp. 231-442Front MatterPlantation Factories: Science and Technology in Late-Eighteenth-Century Cuba [pp. 231-257]No Exit: The Rise and Demise of the Outside Fire Escape [pp. 258-284]"What These People Need Is Radio": New Technology, the Press, and Otherness in 1920s America [pp. 285-305]Industrial Research Transformed: Edward Condon at the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, 1935-1942 [pp. 306-339]Research NoteBuilding the Great Pyramid: Probable Construction Methods Employed at Giza [pp. 340-354]

On the Cover"More Deadly than War": High-Lead Steam Logging Unit [pp. 355-358]

Exhibit Review"Fast Attacks and Boomers: Submarines in the Cold War": The National Museum of American History [pp. 359-363]

Classics RevisitedReview: untitled [pp. 364-370]

Essay ReviewReview: Does Progress Have a Future? Joel Mokyr's "Gifts of Athena" [pp. 371-375]

Book ReviewsReview: untitled [pp. 376-377]Review: untitled [pp. 377-379]Review: untitled [pp. 379-381]Review: untitled [pp. 381-382]Review: untitled [pp. 383-384]Review: untitled [pp. 384-386]Review: untitled [pp. 386-387]Review: untitled [pp. 387-389]Review: untitled [pp. 389-390]Review: untitled [pp. 391-392]Review: untitled [pp. 392-394]Review: untitled [pp. 394-396]Review: untitled [pp. 396-397]Review: untitled [pp. 398-399]Review: untitled [pp. 399-401]Review: untitled [pp. 401-402]Review: untitled [pp. 402-404]Review: untitled [pp. 404-405]Review: untitled [pp. 405-407]Review: untitled [pp. 407-409]Review: untitled [pp. 409-410]Review: untitled [pp. 410-412]Review: untitled [pp. 412-413]Review: untitled [pp. 414-415]Review: untitled [pp. 416-417]Review: untitled [pp. 417-419]Review: untitled [pp. 419-421]Review: untitled [pp. 421-422]Review: untitled [pp. 423-424]Review: untitled [pp. 425-426]Review: untitled [pp. 426-428]Review: untitled [pp. 428-430]Review: untitled [pp. 430-432]Review: untitled [pp. 432-433]Review: untitled [pp. 433-435]Review: untitled [pp. 435-437]Review: untitled [pp. 437-439]Review: untitled [pp. 439-440]Review: untitled [pp. 441-442]

Back Matter

Fast Attack and Boomers

Documents

Transcript of Fast Attack and Boomers