The USS Dolphin Family
The USS Dolphin may be small when compared to the giant nuclear subs that populate the U.S. Navy fleet, but it has something the others just don't: a small, tight-nit family. When we visited, there was a crew of just 51 people assigned to the boat. While having such a small staff sometimes resulted in the sub being treated like the black sheep of the fleet, it also created an exclusive club, the USS Dolphin family.
Every sailor serving on the Dolphin had to achieve a higher level of qualification, and everyone was challenged to qualify in areas outside their ratings and tested with demanding at-sea watch routines. This is a great source of pride and created family bonds so strong that retired Chief Warrant Officer Bill Sutter's wife, Patricia, requested that her ashes be dispersed from the sub at sea. That happened 30 years ago, but she also requested her most prized necklace and bracelet be returned to her resting place at sea during the sub's final underway mission before the decommissioning. The Dolphin's crew fulfilled this request during the sub's final trip out to sea that ended on September 9, 2006.
A pair of General Motors/Detroit Diesel 12V71 engines provide the twist needed to charge the giant batteries in the USS Dolphin. Each of the 425hp two-stroke V-12 engines has two Roots-style, twin-screw superchargers (one per six cylinders), and use sea water to exchange heat with the radiators. The intakes suck in air from the surface and use throttles to control engine loads and speeds. The exhaust is highly insulated and was cool to the touch even after the engines were running for nearly an hour. The red warning plate on the valve covers warn "Do not remove engine crankcase covers or any access covers until at least 30 minutes have elapsed after shutdown when it is known or suspected that there has been a crankcase explosion, fire or an overheated part in the crankcase."
The End?
So why is this unique and historical submarine being put to rest? The short answer is that Navy bean-counters decided the $18 million per year cost of operation was too much for the budget. This came as a surprise to most people (including the crew) because the submarine had just received $50 million worth of repairs and upgrades before completing sea trials during the summer of 2005. The USS Dolphin was decommissioned on September 22, 2006, and is awaiting disposal.
Air supply lines are mounted...
Air supply lines are mounted throughout the sub and are designed to be found in the dark during an emergency. Grip tape on the floor alerts bubbleheads when an air nozzle is overhead, and each station has glow sticks and glow-in-the-dark tape. Each member of the crew is tested on their ability to suit up and move from the front of the ship to the rear using only the emergency air.
We can only hope it will be saved from this fate and be turned into a museum to honor decades of work and achievements that have benefited the greatest Navy on the planet. If anyone at the Smithsonian is reading this, Please get a hold of the USS Dolphin. Cutting it down the middle and letting folks explore every nook and cranny is an experience they would cherish for years. We will never forget our time on the Dolphin, and we want our children (and their children) to get a chance to experience this incredible piece of military technology.
History
Ordered: August 10, 1960
Laid down: November 9, 1962
Launched: June 8, 1968
Commissioned: August 17, 1968
Decommissioned: September 22, 2006
Struck: December 8, 2006 (scheduled)
Fate: Decommissioned, awaiting disposal
Specifications
Displacement: 805 tons light, 861 tons full, 56 tons dead
Length: 152 feet overall
Beam: 20 feet
Draft: 16 feet
Propulsion: Two 425hp GM/Detroit Diesel V71 two-stroke, supercharged diesel 12-cylinder engines; two 126-cell main storage batteries; two 825hp electric propulsion motors
Speed: 10 knots (11.5 mph) surfaced, 7.5 knots (8.6 mph) submerged (10 knot sprint, 3-4 knots sustained)
Depth: 1,500 feet operating, 3,000-plus feet during testing
Endurance: 15 days
Armaments: .45-caliber pistol, M14 rifle and shotgun for port defense, one countermeasure cannon (external mounted torpedo tubes were used for deepest test firing of a torpedo)
Payload: 12 tons on external mounting padsCrew: 51