DBF!!!  

The Fleet Class Submarine   Silver and Gold: DBF!!!
   RADM William S. Post USN shown when he was CO, USS Newport News (CA 148). Admiral Post was called Wild Bill Post for his aggressive tactics as CO of Gudgeon and Spot during WWII. He showed the same boldness during the Cold War in wearing out Soviet ships, particularly other Cruisers, in head-to-head confrontations. Click to see Photo of USS Newport News (CA 148)

This page is dedicated to RADM. William S. Post, Jr., shown above as CO, USS Newport News (CA-148) in 1957. He began his Navy career by enlisting in 1925. A year later he competed and won a Fleet Appointment to the Navy Academy from which he graduated in 1930. After serving in 3 cruisers and 2 destroyers, he entered Submarine School. He served in the submarines R-11, Shark, and Argonaut before becoming Commanding Officer of USS Gudgeon (SS 211) and then USS Spot (SS 413). As CO of Gudgeon and Spot, he was awarded 3 Navy Crosses, 2 Silver Stars, the Legion of Merit, and Presidential Unit Citation. He also was awarded a host of campaign ribbons. RADM. Post made a total of 7 War Patrols in Argonaut, Gudgeon, and Spot. Following are abstracts of Patrols:
USS Gudgeon:       USS Spot:   
 

 Admiral Post passed away on 17 December 2001.
Obituary from The Annapolis Capital.

  
  USS Sea Owl Operating in Long Island. Commanding is Commander Ray Bauman!

The Fleet Submarine is the Model-A of the Navy! No other class of ship has proven so valuable and has done so much in helping the Navy perform its mission. These ships were all built during or shortly after World War II. Here's what Admiral Samuel E. Morison has to say about these submarines
in his classic "History of United States Naval Operations in World War II":
   "The United States (fleet) submarine was destined to be one of the most  devastating weapons in the Pacific. General Tojo, after the war, said that      the destruction of  her merchant marine was one of the three factors
     factors that defeated Japan, the other two being leapfrog strategy and      fast carrier operations......Nearly one third of all Japanese combatant      ships destroyed and nearly two thirds of merchant tonnage sunk was the work of United States (fleet) submarines."
Fifty-two Fleet submarines were lost during World War II. Of the nearly 17,000 U.S. Navy personnel who served in submarines, 3,505 were lost  with their ships. This attrition rate of 21% was the highest of any U.S. Armed Forces group.
After the war, the fleet submarines were modified for snorkel. Many also underwent streamline and battery modifications to GUPPY (I,IA,II,IIA, and finally in the 1960's: III). They were the first of the
cold warriors. Many skippers received Legions of Merit Awards for their exploits in wearing out their Soviet counterparts in the North Atlantic and Norwegian Sea. Many were around in the early 1970's when they were finally phased out by the SSN's. They did their job!
The author served in the following converted Fleet Submarines:
   Click for Sea Owl sea Story!              SeaOwl405.JPG (23437 bytes)      Click for USS Sea Owl (SS 405) Association! 
    Sea Owl Web Site  The Best Submarine Site On The Internet! Way to go Roy!!

   USS Darter (SS 563)      USS Entemedor (SS 340)

     SS340Ent.JPG (12822 bytes)
 

USS Clamagore (SS 343) cvanews.org
  USS Clamagore (SS 343) as a Fleet Submarine. Note deck gun mounts.          USS Clamagore (SS 343), now a GUPPYII returning to Key West from LANTBEX in 1959.       Daisy and Denise as a baby alongside USS Clamagore (SS 343), then a Guppy II, in Key West 1958.      Sortie out of Naples. Stills crapped out! Port and Starboard. We didn't care. F.B. Finke prepares to show Karl Peterson and Sam "Gunfight at the OK Corral"!
USS Clamagore (SS 343) as Guppy III on way to South America   1958: CDR Jack Heard (Jaguar Jack) reads his orders upon his Relief of Command by LCDR Art Keevil (Evil Keevil) who is standing just aft of the sail to port. The three officers to starboard, aft to fwd, are LTJG Sam Morris. LTJG Walt (FB) Finke, and LT Wally Nyland.     Click to access USS Clamagore Association! Clamagore at Patriot's Point
         
    

Requires a Java Enabled Browser.

 

The Two John S. McCain's, the Navy's First Father/Son 4-Star Admiral Combination. Click for more photos and go to the home page of USS John.S. McCain, the Arleigh Burke Class AEGIS DDG of which they are the namesakes.   Shown at left are Admiral John S. McCain and his son CDR. John S. McCain, Jr. aboard Submarine Tender USS Proteus (AS 19) in Tokyo Bay at the time of the Japanese surrender. The elder McCain was Commander, Task Force 38, a Fast Carrier Task Force. The son was CO, USS Dentuda (SS 335) moored alongside. Prior to Dentuda, He was CO USS Gunnel (SS 253), the subject of the below story, and rose to become Admiral J.S. McCain, Jr. who was CINCPAC at the height of the VietNam era.
The two McCains are the only Father/Son Four-Star Admiral combination in Naval History. Click on the photo above for USS John S. McCain Home Page.
The two Admirals are the Grandfather and Father of Senator John S. McCain III.
USS Gunnel (SS 253):   Award-Winning story of a WWII Fleet Submarine.
USS Wahoo (238) Home Page:

RADM Eugene B. "Lucky" Fluckey and USS BARB (SS-220)
Adm Fluckey's Medal Of Honor Citation
USS Barb sinks a railroad train.
USS Barb: Story of 11th War Patrol
USS Barb War Patrols:
Battle Flag of USS Barb
For the Love of Barb: By CDR Jim Richards
 

USS Gunnel (SS 253) Its first CO was LCDR John S. McCain, Jr, later Admiral J.S. McCain, CINCPAC during the Viet Nam Era. The author is Jiml Lavelle, whose father was a Torpedoman aboard Gunnel. The story of the patrols, the first of which took place in North Africa during Operation Torch, is a classic. Official U.S. Navy Photo.
 

 Bob 'Dex' Armstrong: Stories of the After Battery Rat!
Maritme.Org: Take a virtual tour of USS Pampanito (SS 383) moored in San Francisco.
Fleet Type Submarine Online: Navpers 16160. First in a series of submarine training manuals after WW II.
International Community of Submariners Association: Great Britain.