🎥 Watch: Inside a WWII Submarine
Get a feel for the spaces we are talking about before you dive into the FAQs:
Tip: After watching, scroll down for stories and FAQs that connect directly to what you just saw.
👋 New To Our Site?
Here is how to get started:
- Just curious? Jump to a few short, easy reads:
- Want the deep dive? Head straight into the full knowledge base:
- Want to find other submarine museums? Find preserved submarines open to the public:
🧭 What You Will Find Here
This site is built and maintained by volunteers and docents who work with real historic submarines. You will find:
- Straightforward answers to common questions, from storage and machinery to fear, food, and daily routine
- Detailed technical explanations covering diesel-electric systems, batteries, sonar, periscopes, torpedoes, and more
- Stories about the people including officers, enlisted men, cooks, radiomen, torpedomen, and everyone in between
- A growing glossary so terms like trim pump, conning tower, and battle surface are one tap away
🗂 Ways to Explore
- ⚓ Eternal Patrol honor the submarines and sailors lost in service, with detailed accounts of each boat's final mission
- 🔍 Search the FAQs with anything you are curious about: torpedo room, periscope depth, Gato-class, or how loud was it
- 📖 Glossary for fast definitions while you browse
💬 Have a Question?
If a video, a museum visit, or one of the FAQs sparked a question we have not answered yet, we would like to hear it:
- 🎙 Ask the docent out loud or in writing, and get an answer straight away
- 👉 Send us a question or suggestion
Your questions help us decide what to cover next, both here and in future videos.
Acknowledgments
The Museum Boats and Their Stewards
Fourteen WWII fleet submarines are open to the public as museum ships across the United States, from Pampanito in San Francisco to Cod in Cleveland, Bowfin in Pearl Harbor, and Silversides in Muskegon. Each is preserved and restored by a museum or nonprofit that raises the money and does the work. This site draws on all of them as subject matter. See the full list on our Museums page.
This site is independent. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of these organizations. The content here is our own work, credited where it comes from elsewhere.
🎖️ Submarine Veterans
We honor and thank the submarine veterans who have generously shared their knowledge, experiences, and expertise. Their firsthand accounts and technical insights make this resource authentic and valuable for preserving submarine heritage.
Library of Congress Veterans History Project
We are grateful to the Library of Congress Veterans History Project for preserving the oral history collections of American war veterans, including the submarine veterans whose firsthand accounts enrich this resource.
Special Recognition: To all the brave submariners who served with courage and dedication, and to the institutions that preserve their legacy for future generations.
Why No Reference to Women in Your FAQs?
We have been asked why women are not mentioned in our FAQs, and this is a fair question.
The answer is that women did not serve on United States submarines until 2011. Other navies integrated women earlier, including Norway in the mid-1980s, followed by Australia, Canada, Spain, and others in the 1990s and 2000s.
The United States was slower to do so primarily because of berthing and privacy constraints on older submarine designs.