“The Robert E. Lee (SSBN-601) makes her way into her base of operations in Scotland sometime during the Cold War. USN photo courtesy of pelicanharborsubvets.com & submitted by Bill Gonyo.” http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08601.htm (accessed 1/3/22)

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Editor’s Note: I’ve always had a morbid fascination and admiration for submarines. I blame the 1950’s television show, Sea Hunt, for the morbid part. Every time I saw Lloyd Bridges, the star of Sea Hunt, run into trouble — problems with his oxygen tank, usually caused by a bad guy messing with it — while under water I’d feel my heart rate increase and my breath become shorter and more panicked.

But I’ve also admired submarines, or more accurately the men and women who have served on them. I couldn’t do it.

My cousin, Mike Lyster, served in the U. S.Navy on nuclear submarines before resigning from the Navy to begin a career in the nuclear power industry. I think his story about the extensive education he gained in the Navy is fascinating.

Mike has graciously agreed to write a blog about his experiences on a nuclear submarine. I hope you enjoy his story as much as I have.

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My life As a submariner in the U. S. Navy

by

Mike Lyster

When Cindy asked me to write about my experiences . . .

I was flattered and pleased. Flattered because someone – my cousin – was interested, and pleased because this is a chance for me to acknowledge once again the great opportunities that our U. S. Navy afforded me. I’ve stated throughout my life, and you’ll read it again later, “I learned social skills in high school.” But the Navy taught me study skills and how to advance in my chosen career.

Why I joined the navy

As ludicrous as it sounds today, after I “obtained” my third traffic ticket in 1961, I feared that I’d lose my driver’s license which would have been the equivalent of a social death sentence for an 18 year old. I was just months away from starting college in September but my fear was so overwhelming I decided to look for a way out . . . which lead me to a Navy recruiter. My idea was that by joining the Navy, I’d escape the “long arm of the law” and keep my driver’s license. My decision to join the Navy was influenced by my father, a Navy veteran from World War II, my best friend in high school who had joined in June, and his older brother who had joined in July. I signed up, went home, called my parents – who were not pleased – and flew to San Diego for boot camp on September 7th, 1961.

Ironically, the judge dismissed my case.

Boot camp/basic school

At boot camp I did well on the arithmetic and general cognizance tests as, I suspect, almost everyone else did. But the Navy needed more detailed information about us recruits so we took additional tests in assessing electrical, mechanical and electronic proficiency. As the day wore on some recruits were dismissed. I recall that after seeing my test score of 95 or 96, the Navy recruiter asked, “Can I sign you up for the new Nucleonic program?” and I replied, “Sounds way too technical to me.”

My major area of study in high school was social skills which didn’t prepare me well for the Navy. I didn’t study much but I had a lot of fun and didn’t really have a focus. Now, when my wife, Cindy, and I attend our high school reunions, my “social skills” serve me well. I can easily communicate with all my former classmates even after 60 years! The negative however was that as a young man anticipating a career in the Navy, I wasn’t prepared for significant academic work.

My boot camp test scores were good enough to put me in position to qualify for several programs. I was even given a test for the Naval Academy and for the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corp. But my lack of study in high school caught up with me there and I didn’t qualify for either. That was okay because I was interested in Aviation or Submarines. The bad news was that to enter the aviation program the recruiter had to enlist you at the time you signed up. So I missed out on a career in aviation with the Navy.

I had always been fascinated with submarines, so when they told me in boot camp that I couldn’t go into aviation, I became fixated on subs. But at one point in Basic Nuclear Power school I was notified that a submarine assignment might not be possible due to some contractual agreements with new recruits. Trauma set in, and I informed one of my instructors at the time and a submarine officer that if I wasn’t assured of submarines I would drop out of the program.

Back in Boot Camp my advisor in San Diego informed me that in order to serve in submarines I had to select a rate (job code) that would allow me to get into subs. He indicated there were 7 rates that could qualify: Sonarman, Torpedoman, Electrician, Quartermaster, Interior Communications, Machinist Mate, or Engineman. Later I learned there were a lot more rates I could have selected, like Storekeeper, Boatswains Mate, Gunners Mate, Boiler Technician, Machinery Repairman, Yeoman but submarines don’t need a lot of those positions. The Engineman rate had what I thought was a neat patch design of a gear for a designation on the sleeve. So, I decided to become an Engineman.

Engineman Patch

Engineman School

I attended Engineman school in Great Lakes, IL., and upon satisfactory completion once again requested submarine duty. I asked for a Submarine home-ported in San Diego but I received orders to a Destroyer, the USS Vogelgesang DD 862¹, [DD – destroyer] in the Boston Naval Shipyard. I’ve stated since that time that, “It’s the Navy way”. You put in your “dream sheet” and they put you where they need you.

USS Vogelgesang DD 862²

USS Vogelgesang (DD-862) was a Gearing-class destroyer in the United States Navy. She was named for Rear Admiral Carl Theodore Vogelgesang USN (1869–1927). Vogelgesang was laid down by the Bethlehem Steel Corporation at Staten Island in New York on 3 August 1944, launched on 15 January 1945 by Miss Zenaide Vogelgesang and commissioned on 28 April 1945. Vogelgesang alternated operations along the United States East Coast and in the Caribbean Sea . . . with deployments to the Mediterranean . . . underwent an extensive Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM) overhaul at the Boston Naval Shipyard between 1 March 1962 and 31 January 1963, served as part of the Project Gemini recovery force which picked up the unmanned experimental Gemini 2 spacecraft in January 1965, and served as plane guard for carriers on “Yankee Station” in the Tonkin Gulf, participated in “Sea Dragon” operations, patrolled on search and rescue duties and carried out naval gunfire support missions during the Vietnam War.³

My continuing quest for a submarine

Upon arriving in Boston I began submitting requests to be assigned to Submarine School but nothing was ever approved. I doubt any of the requests ever left the ship. The fact of the matter was a Destroyer has only 2 Enginemen and 2 Diesel engines. Our responsibilities included, in addition to the Diesel Engines, air conditioning (only in the officer quarters and mess decks), refrigeration, auxiliary steam, hydraulics, and steering gear. My colleague and I both wanted to go to submarines. The Engineering Officer had told me when I submitted my first request, “I only have 2 Enginemen, and I can’t afford to lose either”. We alternated putting in requests. Each Monday morning one of us would complete the request for Submarine School. When my colleague finally received orders to submarine school first, I believed that my fate was sealed forever.

The Command (leadership) of the Vogelgesang resisted at every opportunity my requests to be transferred to submarine school, but after about a year and a half into my assignment on the USS Vogelgesang, Command received a letter from the Bureau of Personnel that I (along with 6 others on the ship) was qualified to apply to the US Navy Nuclear Power School.

qualifying to serve on a U.S. Navy submarine

The US Navy submarine service is totally volunteer. Members of the crew can “non-vol” at any time and leave the submarine to complete their enlistment elsewhere. Many people ask, “isn’t it too confining, what about claustrophobia?”

Before you arrive at your first submarine duty station you have to take several different types of tests. They include a written test, an in-person psychological exam, and experiential tests related to atmospheric pressure and confined spaces.

For example, I had to pass a pressure test which was conducted in a very small chamber with no more than 5 others. Pressure was increased to 2 or 3 times atmosphere to insure none of us had physical reactions to pressure changes. In addition, during my time in the Navy, I had to complete a “blow and go” test in the diving tank. I was put in a very small chamber equivalent to the pressure at 50’ depth and then I was released to go to the surface by exhaling continuously. My prior experience with the Sea Scouts helped here.⁵ All of this was in addition to Submarine School which was 8 weeks of study and testing in New London, CT. Final result, by the time all of us submarine volunteers arrived at our first “boat” everyone was pretty assured we were ready.

In order to apply for nuclear power school, I had to commit myself to 6 more years in the Navy since the Nuclear Power training was a year or more. Navy Nuclear Power Training consisted of 6 months of classroom work at the US Naval Base in Bainbridge, MD. Upon completion of that training I was assigned to the D1G prototype, a land-based prototype reactor, which was a predecessor of the reactors on the USS Bainbridge.

nuclear power school

Nuclear Power School was a definite challenge for me. “Nuc” school was divided into 12 sections. The Sections were a way of dividing a class of about 500 individuals into smaller groups. Each section had its own room, based upon academic experience and probably expectation of success by those in charge. Section 12, the highest number, included those individuals who had completed several years of college but not obtained a degree or those that had excelled in college preparation courses in high school. In other terms they were the “smart ones”. The academic qualifications and expectations of those assigned lower numbered sections diminished as the number decreased. I was assigned Section 2!

It was an uphill battle and the most difficult of my career. The schedule in those first 6 months consisted of 7-8 hours of classroom time per day, five days a week, and significant study in the evening. If your grades were not above average you were required to study up to 5 hours each evening and Saturdays. I was married and my wife, Cindy, was with me at the start of school. But as it got closer to the time of the birth of our first child, we decided that she would return to Kansas City and live with my parents. Our first son, Tim, was born while I was in training. Once he was 6 weeks old Cindy and Baby Tim joined me in Bainbridge. We lived in an 8′ X 20′ trailer placed there during WWII when the base was originally activated to train new Navy recruits.

By then, having served for 2 years, I was promoted through the ranks to 3rd Class petty officer. My section leader, Roger Pittman, was a 1st Class petty officer. Although we hadn’t known each other prior to joining the Navy, we became close friends and helped each other during months of rigorous training. Basic Nuc School consisted of classroom work beginning with math (algebra, trigonometry), chemistry, physics, thermodynamics, reactor theory, health, physics, electrical theory, and reactor plant technology. Although not a good high school student I was able to recall enough math, chemistry, physics, etc. to get us through Basic Nuclear Power School.

a land-based prototype nuclear power plant

After Nuc School, Roger and I were sent to West Milton, NY, where two US Navy prototype reactor plants were located. We were assigned to the D1G prototype, a land-based prototype reactor, which was a predecessor of the reactors on the USS Bainbridge. Prototype training was another 6 months in duration. While there Roger more than repaid me for my help at Basic Nuc School due to his previous experience with conventional propulsion power plants. We passed nuclear power plant training together and spent the rest of our careers in the industry. Roger and I remained friends until his untimely death from Mesothelioma in 1996.

Other students who completed the nuclear power plant training went to the fleet on surface ships or, if they had come from conventional (diesel powered) submarines, returned to the fleet.

Upon completion of power plant training, I did well enough or baffled enough of the instructors that I was selected to attend Welding School. Each nuclear submarine back then was required to have 2 nuclear-certified welders to perform emergency repairs if necessary. Welding might be necessary if any of the piping systems developed leaks or breaks. As you can probably imagine on a submarine are numerous piping systems carrying steam, water, air, and other fluids. Welding school was 16 weeks and required certification in multiple metals and configurations of pipe and plate.

Those of us going to submarines for the first time were required to take one more class in Submarine School, an 8 week course about the basics of a then modern nuclear-powered fast attack submarine, the USS Skipjack SSN 585. [SSN – attack submarine (Nuclear-Powered)] The “USS Skipjack was the first ship in a series of six nuclear-powered attack submarines . . .”⁶ This was one of my great academic successes, in a class of 80 I graduated 8th.

My submarine assignment

Finally, after all this training, I was assigned to the USS Robert E Lee [SSBN – Submarine Ship Ballistic Nuclear] which was undergoing overhaul, reactor refueling, and conversion from A1 Polaris missiles to A3 missiles, and installation of SubSafe. SubSafe was a program instituted after the loss of the USS Thresher SSN 593.

USS Thresher (SSN-593) was the lead boat of her class of nuclear-powered attack submarines in the United States Navy. She was the U.S. Navy’s second submarine to be named after the thresher shark.

On 10 April 1963, THRESHER sank during deep-diving tests about 350 km (220 mi) east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, killing all 129 crew and shipyard personnel aboard. It is the second-deadliest submarine incident on record, after the loss of the French submarine Surcouf, in which 130 crew died.[1][2] Her loss was a watershed for the U.S. Navy, leading to the implementation of a rigorous submarine safety program known as SUBSAFE.7

After the Thresher disaster, design changes were made to the air systems, the main ballast tank blow systems and the emergency blow systems for surfacing. Prior to SubSafe from 1915 – 1963, 16 submarines were lost to non-combat related causes. Since SubSafe only one submarine, the USS Scorpion SSN 589,⁸ which had not been SubSafe certified, has been lost.

The “boat”(what submariners call their ship), the USS Robert E. Lee (SSBN 601), was in the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, CA. By then we had 2 sons and were 2 mid-west kids who had never experienced a winter without snow and cold. Welcome to California! We were in heaven, great weather, great places to visit – San Francisco, Wine Country (although it wasn’t much in 1965), beaches, redwood forests, etc., etc. It was terrific!

Alas, all good things must come to an end. Upon completion of the shipyard period in beautiful and balmy California, fall of 1966, the Lee was assigned to Squadron 14 in Holy Loch, Scotland. Polaris submarines, like the Tridents of today, have 2 crews, the Blue Crew and the Gold Crew. I was a member of Gold. Every three months I had to rotate to and from the sub in Scotland while my family, Cindy and the two boys, continued living in New London, CT.

Submarine Patrol

From 1966 to 1969 I made 6 Polaris patrols on the USS Robert E. Lee (SSBN 601). We began each tour with a bus ride from Groton, CT., to Quonset Point, RI., boarded a plane and flew to Prestwick, Scotland, another bus to Grenock, Scotland, and then a boat to our boat, affectionately called the “Bobby Lee.”

After arriving we had to complete 3 days of turnover from the Blue Crew to the Gold when they would depart for home. We then completed upkeep, repair and sea trials which could last up to 28 days. Once those tasks were complete we departed for our patrol. My shortest patrol was 58 days and my longest was 72 days.

After clearing the Firth of Clyde into the Atlantic we submerged and turned either South or North depending on the assignment. In our patrol area we did just that – patrol – at about 3 knots making nightly approaches to the surface to make a “star shot” (navigation check). Knowing your position was the most important item for our mission. Government officials needed to know the location of the 16 Polaris missiles on board at all times. While serving, I always said, “in the Cold War, you know where your targets are. Draw an approximately 3,000 mile radius (the range of the missile) around the targets and the bodies of water within the radius is where we were.” Today I can admit that we were either in the Mediterranean Sea or the North Sea. Once we left our patrol area at the end of our mission, we would “haul ass” for the Firth of Clyde, pull into Holy Loch, meet the Blue Crew, perform our then three-day turnover and HOME!!!

Once home our first 30 days were “R & R” (rest and recuperation). We usually had to report in two or three times a week, sometimes three times, or when the Captain felt generous or rewarding, we could simply call in. After that we attended some type of advanced training during a 40 – 50 hour work week. As a welder I was required to certify on carbon steel, stainless steel, 1-inch, and 3-inch pipe welded in both a horizontal and vertical configuration. Those ten welds had to be completed each year and pass a radiography (X-ray) exam. So most of my “in port” training was in a welding booth.

On my fourth patrol I was appointed as the Leading Petty Officer (LPO) of M (Machinery Division). We were responsible for all of the non-electrical rotating equipment in the Engine Room, Auxiliary Machinery Space (AMS), and Reactor Compartments. Sixteen men were assigned to M Division. We all carried the nuclear designation of “Mechanic”. Admiral Rickover designated three positions for the “Nucs”, Reactor Operator, Electrician and Mechanic. The work of Reactor Operators was as the name implies – operating the reactor and electronic equipment that monitored and protected the reactor. Electricians operated the electric systems, equipment and panels, and Mechanics operated the equipment previously mentioned. During the 28 days of upkeep we conducted routine maintenance, repair and testing of the equipment. As the LPO I was responsible for assigning the division to the work necessary during upkeep, maintaining records of the work completed and insuring everything was ready to go when scheduled.

During our patrols we operated the equipment generally in 6-hour shifts. At the start of each patrol the crew would have approximately 25% new personnel. Due to these “Non-quals” (non-qualified personnel) having to learn the systems and various watch stations, the experienced personnel worked six hours on and six hours off until they could get someone qualified on their watch station.

Personality-wise the crew were generally divided into one of three categories: 1) those that stood their watch, ate and were private with their time (reading books mostly); 2) those that ate, stood watch, watched movies and played cards; and 3 ) those of us with the “curse.” We stood watch, ate, and then studied more and more watch stations on the boat. I qualified on all of the nuclear watch stations (9 total) and then qualified as EWS (Engineering Watch Supervisor), the top enlisted watch in Engineering. While working on my Engineering Officer of the Watch, (EOOW) qualification card, I went “up front” and qualified as a helmsman, planesman, and Diving Officer. I was also a Movie Projectionist (completed that school while on the Destroyer) and completed several correspondence courses including two Harvard courses. I was never bored!

I loved the Submarine Service. We had great food, adequate facilities, great camaraderie, and most of all solidarity of purpose. I’ve said many times, “If I could have taken my family with me, I’d have stayed 30 years.”

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¹You can find “an alphabetical list of the hull classification symbols used by the United States Navy to identify the type of ships” at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_hull_classifications#D (accessed 12/23/21).

²http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/862.htm (accessed 12/23/21)

³https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Vogelgesang_(DD-862) (accessed 12/23/21)

⁴https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Power_School (accessed 12/19/21)

⁵“Sea Scouts is a specialized program of the Boy Scouts of America, that focuses on water high adventure and personal development. Sea Scout units, called ships, focus on sailing and cruising either sailboats, power vessels or paddle sports. Youth in these ships sail, row, canoe, keep boats in shape, cruise the local waters . . . or sail on long cruises far from home. Some SCUBA dive, but all are active in camping, social events, regattas and annual seamanship contests or rendezvous.” https://sea-scouts.shac.org/ (accessed 1/3/22)

⁶https://www.navysite.de/ssn/ssn585.htm (accessed 12/19/21)

⁷https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Thresher_(SSN-593) (accessed 12/19/21)

⁸Submarine Ship and 589 was the next numerical contract to be awarded.