@Cory, I served on the USS Henry M. Jackson SSBN-730 (Blue Crew), USS San Francisco SSN-711, then USS Simon Lake AS-33, and USS Emory S, Land AS-39. This is me (video link below) at 2:32 into the video over 25 years ago, back in 1993, my fifteen seconds of fame... I was 27 years old. ua-cam.com/video/Yn9mCBVbm3Y/v-deo.html
@@MrJedi5150 it is true the Drum did get decommissioned in 1995 in Pearl Harbor. I was one of the last people to leave her once they gutted her. Not sure about the Hunt for Red October rumor. I don't think I heard that.
@Guero, yep... I was there before the hit in the mid 1990's... and on the Jackson from 1990 to 1994. That is me at 2:32 into the video when K5 News went to our boat for a day trip. ua-cam.com/video/Yn9mCBVbm3Y/v-deo.html
For anyone that may be misunderstanding, the nuclear aspect of this one is how it is powered. Nuclear armed submarines do not pass through the canal and are larger
Yes they do, I was on USSDace SSN607 and went thru the canal, and thats another Fast Attack in this video, I dont know if any Boomers have ever gone thru, but Fast Attacks do and are capable of carrying tactical nukes. "tactical nukes" kind of a misnomer isn't it!
@@yortroei Its a hell of along way around South America. As far as secret, all subs leave their ports on the surface and stay on the surface until a certain fathom curve (depth of the sea), that changes big time as the east coast has a huge continental shelf especially up North by New London, Connecticut which was my subs base/port. So you can be tracked and are tracked all the time by satellite or spies outside the bases and many other ways. Once you submerge is where the fun and cat and mouse games begin. We use to go to the North Atlantic and sit between Ice and England or evne go to the North Sea and sit directly out over the coast of Finland/Russia and wait to pick up boomers or fast attacks coming out of Polyarny. I use to see lots of Russian boats (subs) on Google Earth there but not so many now, if you look in Polyarny, Koala Bay at 69.202972, 33.470872 you'll see 3 Russian subs tied up there now. But its not the port it use to be in the Cold War when I served. We traveled thru the canal to go to ship yards in Vallejo California so they could track us as much as they want we where there for over a year
fireson23 That´s why in a sub, you need to stay real close behind a big ship, then when they open the gates ( Their called locks.) you just go through with the ship. It´s easy. I´ve done it a bunch of times. I never pay.
Thank you for sharing this. I've never been to the Panama Canal and now I'm too old to make that trip so I never will. Your clip was much enjoyed and appreciated.
Eu também já não sonho mais em visitar o Canal de Panamá, mas continuo a assistir a passagem dos navios, pelas câmeras Web... que é "quase" a mesma coisa. kkk... Abraço desde Porto Alegre, Brasil
Interesting ! My uncle was a Navy electricians mate stationed at the canal in World War II. His job was to go aboard transiting warships and work on what was requested by the ship. Some gave all - all gave some.
Passed through the canal twice on an SSBN in 1973 and 1975. In 73, we had another FBM pass us going the other way. We were both changing fleet assignments. I remember all the cruise ship passengers looking down on us.
Memories!. I was on USS Dace SSN607 and went thru the canal in Late Summer 1980, traveling to the Pacific. I was enlisted and as in this video, while enlisted men make up 85%+ of the crew, only a few are allowed topside while you can see damn near every officer except the Engineering Officer of the Watch back aft & Deck Officer in Control up forward, stay topside entire trip. I was topside as we entered thru the Gutan Locks on the Atlantic and went into the inner lake. I could not beleive how fast the pumps are, drain & fill like a glass of water. When we went into the lake there was a Russian Destroyer already their staging to the Atlantic, we wanted so bad to sink it! As said in comments below, yes, it looks like nothing on top, but below, its huge. My boat was a Thresher Class built in 1963, in Passageula, Mississippi. Americas first fleet of Nuc Subs. We had a beam of 32 feet, which means the largest diameter inside the boat, so its really not much room, 2 decks in most area, 3 decks in one area of ops compartment, of course zero to negative headroom, I thanked God for making me 5'-5" back then. Hot as hell in the engine room at 100+ degrees average at 90% humidity, good thing I was from New York City, seemed like home, 5 tiny dinner like table/booths in the tiny chow hall, only they are half the size and width of a real diner booth, the table being maybe 20 inches wide..maybe and maybe 3-1/2 feet long . 3 guys stuffed to a side, it was really up close and personal, plus the 5th table was always used for storage and stacking boxes of canned food, there was rarely anything else other than canned past the first week out as our reefer was as tiny as anything else, you didnt have room to store "fresh food" like real eggs, milk or real meat, first week only, although on long 3 month cruses which seemed all the time we did get steak & lobster the night before coming back in. We had 3 types of drinks, water, coffee and bug juice, which was Navys version of a powdered drink mix, this grape stuff wa so caustic that we used it to clean pipes during field day in the engine room. We did have powdered milk but it was made by the same people who made bug juice mix, really bad stuff, so it was coffee or water for 3 months. Not as bad though as 3 guys to 2 bunks and on a supposed 18 hr day, so everyone gets 6 hours sleep but never works that way, you have 3 guys up for 24-30 hrs all looking to get maybe 4-5 hrs sleep at same time, many times Id go to torpedo room and sleep on them or cuddle up to the fuel oil tank which is 18 inches thick wth the ships reactor blasting gamma rays & alpha particles out. Now us 3 guys maybe to wash clothes once every 10 days to 2 weeks or more, you are constantly dirty, sweaty & greasy and water is secured often as evaporator breaks down & fresh water must be reserved for the reactor, so you dont wash many clothes as either no water or missed your turn due to casualties traing exercises or in most cases live real time tracking/hunting/evasion, so you, your clothes and your bed sheets all have the same smelly mess as does everyone so its not noticeable and everyone sleeps in their grimy clothes as you never know when youre jumping out of the rack to fight a fire or some other hell has broke loose. When I finally got my own rack I still shared it with one of the 3 guys all trying to sleep at once in 2 racks. So much for accommodations. Still though as much as I gripe, my Dad was Infantry in WWII, a shower once a month and any type of indoor rack were you werent being rained or snowed on or had German 88's blasting shrapnel on you, would be a dream. As hellish the conditions were, the closeness of the crew and more so the craziness of the crew and our mission to hunt down Russian Missile Boats (Boomers) or even ready to sink surface ships is what got us thru it all. About the only entertainment was watching a movie once every 3-5 days if lucky. No DVD, big screen or high def, Old School projectors & reels like you had if you went to school in the 50's-70's, plus only about 10-12 feet if that far to project it onto an irregular wall on the galley, so it was pretty small picture, but we got first run movies, thats when Hollywood still had America loving , military supporting actors and management unlike the America hating, jail the military fascist commie socialist pukes and sluts in there now. Sorry had to say that. I remember watching Smokey and the Bandit topside on our Sub, projecting it on the hull of a sub-tender we were docked to after a 3 month cruise and surfacing in La Madalena, Italy, thats north end of Sardinia. That was like being in a million dollar theater for us. Fresh air (but I never trust air I cant see), cool temps, plenty of room, a big picture, we could make tons of noise and so on. Nice ice cold soda & snacks we got from the sub tender by bribing their store keeper to come down and watch the movie. Yep, a hard life, why anyone would VOLUNTEER for that makes you wonder if they are all there, but thats why we do it, because we're half crazy and ready to rumble for our country and constitution. God Bless America. Great Video thank you, I didnt realize how much I went on and thats just one small part of Sub life! We sleep safely in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would harm us - George Orwell
@Robert Biondo Robert you did have it bad as a Boiler Tech, not an easy job working in and around super-heated steam systems in broken down engine rooms and ever fearful of that invisible pinhole high pressure steam leak that could slice or cut right thru you before you even know it. We use to keep sharp ears listening for the whistle but the twin main engines (driven by steam) rumble masked everything. Sound about right brother?
@@MrJedi5150 Yes, we stored a lot of canned goods on the floors in berthing. At the start of the crew your bashing your head on everything, later you start tripping over a new step put there from when the cooks took stuff out for the last chow call. It's not pitch dark but redlight dark in fwd berthing so not something easy to see, especially when you've been up for last 36 hours and looking to go down for 6, which was really more like 5 at best. Different boats have more storage than others, it also dependent on how long a particular cruise was, for a Fast Attack, that could be 2 weeks to 3 months. My USS Dace 607 was a Thresher class and not a very big boat at all, barely anyroom anywhere, thats why we had one table mostly dedicated to food and stuff storage which then opened up later in the run.
Served aboard the USS Haddock (SSN621) last of the Thresher class before it changed to the Permit class, back in 1977. Your comments had me laughing by butt off, as many of them I could relate too. Sleeping on a Mk 48 and using the bug juice to clean the pipes. Rubba dub dub, clean the sub. I was the poor interior communications puke, who had to select which 16mm movies were taken with us on patrol. Use to catch a lot of flak if I didn't chose wisely. I'm 6'2" so had had to duck and dodge most of the time. We won't get into the obscene practical jokes we played on each other.
I was a MT2(SS) and went through the Panama Canal on a SSBN in the late 70's. The skipper let the crew have a "steel beach" picnic complete with barbecue on the missile deck while going through Gatun Lake. We cycled through the watch sections so the whole crew could participate. While going through the locks we had to set the maneuvering watch so only a few extra crew were allowed topside to watch.
I was onboard the USS George Washington SSBN 598 while passing through the Panama Canal in the early 70s. The most notable thing was the severe sunburns our crew members suffered after being on patrol and not exposed to sun light for months.
Boomers rarely use the Panama Canal, but when they do is a show. Often they get PBR boats flown in in advance, to escort them and fighter cover from F 16s. I have seen Arleigh Burkes, Oliver Hazzard Perrys and Zumwalts crossing the Canal. Subs are mostly fast attack subs.
A couple of years ago, my son’s boat (sub) traveled through on their way to Hawaii. They got to grill hamburgers and brats while going through. Pretty awesome memory for them.
Good video sailor, thanks. Makes me reminisce about my days as an engineer at General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton ('79 - '91). I was on the SSN (e.g. 688 Class) team and spent most of my days working on these guys.
Dumb question: aren't the sailors afraid of falling off? Subs are round, and I see that the top has a flattish area, but it doesn't look very wide and looks like it could be slippery.
he only gets access to the sail and is not allowed onboard the sub, he climbs up a ladder on the outside of the sail, again he has no access to the sub because on the surface the con is switched to the sail unless weather says no....
@@FLY2KO I had assumed that. There would be no point in the pilot going inside. But still, even piloting a nuke sub from the bridge would probably be a high point of any canal pilot's career.
A submariner told me this was one of the scariest parts of the job was to pass through the Panama canal. He said they were essentially sitting ducks at that point.
@@anthonyjennings8108 Mate, your English, your grammar, and your spelling are so fucked and incoherent it's almost inconceivable that someone could be so fucking ill-educated.
Always good to see pics & vids from home. The house where I was raised is 1.67 mi on a heading of 92.37 deg from where you were standing when you shot this video. (Bet you don't have any listings there :) ) Nice video, thanks for posting.
The Los Angeles? A total of 62 were built, with the newest being launched in the early 90's. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Los_Angeles-class_submarines Most of the first flight have been either scrapped or are stricken and awaiting scrapping. Of the 4 remaining, two are in reserve and two as used moored training vessels. Sadly, the Dallas (SSN-700), of Tom Clancy fame, has been stricken and is awaiting scrapping. Most of the second and third flights (each "flight" is an upgrade to it's predecessor) are still in service.
Did this in '78 on the Patrick Henry (SSBN 599 Blue Crew) going from west to east on the way to Cocoa Beach for a DASO missile shot...a once in a lifetime experience. Gold crew took it back the other direction on the way to Pearl Harbor. We had a nice steak fry on the missile deck on the way through.
Back in the day (1981-1983) Nuculer subs transitioning the canal was a bummer for us grunts. We were on the ground at places along the canal pulling security. But it was always cool to see them.
These things are very sinister. I used to watch the UK's Trident subs come in to Faslane in Scotland. Even close up they were totally silent and virtually no wake. These were (and still are obviously) SSBNs and very much larger than this one but there was almost no indication that they were moving. Being all matt black as well just added to the sinister nature and fascination of them.
I've passed through the canal both ways on a submarine. 1983 on transit from South Carolina to PSNS for refit and then in 85 from PSNS to Norfolk, VA after the refit was done.
I got to visit Panama in December 1989. Interesting excursion, they made us jump in with parachutes at 2:00 AM instead of landing like normal people. Baggage pick-up what was what we carried, didn't get to go inside the terminal. We did get to see the capital and countryside. We saw the locks. We got the chance to visit all kinds of their military units, as well as tour the different towns nearby. We even got a chance to eat at a Panamanian McDonalds....I passed. A month later the hole in the wall rotisserie place was stupendous and all 8 of my buddies enjoyed a good meal. The older men at the other table were so nice they didn't let me pay and picked up the tab. They thanked us for visiting their country. A week later we came back to the US where it was a bit cooler. Panama is Hot!
I met a guy who was a helmsman on a Brit nuke sub that went through the Suez Canal. He said it was INCREDIBLY challenging for both him and for the ship's navigator. It doesn't look like it, but I am sure its the same for that LA class sub crew.
Served in Panama (Colon, Atlantic side, Gatun Locks) as an MP. To get to Fort Randolph, a concrete road comes out from under the lock walls and allows you to travel over the canal. And yes, tons of tourists even for large tourist ships/tankers/ore ships, etc drew people to watch. That was 1969-71, so a lot has changed.
As a young man, I attended the JOTC in February of 77, at Ft. Sherman. I was on light duty due to an injury. I remember sitting on the beach drinking ice cold PBR's from a vending machine that only cost .25 cents back then. Even visited the pleasures of Colon. Great memories I have from my youth in such a beautiful country.
Spent 4 years living on Howard AFB Panama, saw many ships and Subs pass through the Canal from 80-84. Saw the USS New Jersey pass through right after her Refit and shakedown cruise. Now that was a big ship, had 1 foot clearance from her keel
My Father told me about the sub he served on. When they changed home ports from the East coast to the West coast they went through the Panama Canal. Unfortunately while on leave someone stole his camera with the photos of the trip. Scummy hotel people.
Was stationed over at Howard in the mid 90's, watched a sub coming into port with a BBQ grill and couple of sailors barbequing...coolest thing I'd ever seen at the time.
The numbers on the sail have been painted over, to conceal her identity (ship name), but it is a Los Angeles class 688i. No flags on the masts, either, but we all know what country that sub belongs to.
The numbers, when they are on, are just magnetic decals. They almost never use them. I lived across Hood Canal from the base at Bangor for 15 years, and the only identifying information was the shapes of the hulls - the Parche was one of a kind. All of the Tridents looked the same. The Carter is also a one of a kind. I never saw a number on any sub in Hood Canal.
I heard the Panama Canal is the only place in the world where the captain of any ship has to give up command of their ship, not by force of course, to allow a specialized captain, who works for the lcosk, to guide the ship into the locks. So does the USN allow them to take over and guide them in??
*It is not the only place like that in the world.* *Military vessels may be an exception. Though it wouldn't matter anyway, the type of command given up is extremely limited.*
Actually everyone enjoyed it. The Canal has their own piloting crew and basically take over and do all the maneuvering through it for us. Our Captain was topside actually grilling hamburgers for everyone.
@@rodneyking4183 well, that does sound like a fun day. One of our niece's husband is a career nuke boat guy (he's on shore assignment right now) and, I love hearing his stories when we see them.
This sub was built here in my hometown of Groton,Connecticut by the Electric Boat division of General Dynamics...one of many boats built by the good men and women of EB
@Dana Gouette Newport News Shipbuilding A Division of Huntington Ingallis Industries en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newport_News_Shipbuilding from Romania 13.V.2019
@@ryanramdat5850: Deployment - sending military personnel into duty. Regardless of military branch, any successful mission depends upon logistics. Submarines, by their very nature, do not surface while on mission. Even communications now occurs completely while submerged. Nuke boats, having excess power generating capacity, can recirculate/scrub/create fresh air and desalinate seawater. The only thing that a sub cannot recycle/recreate is food.
@@ltmundy1164 What your saying doesnt make any sense. The limiting factor on deployment isnt food. I can tell you from first hand is not food. Not all subs are nuclear powered in the first place.
That's pretty cool to see. A bit of a scary thought to me is how vulnerable the ship is then. Not much a handful of armed marines could do, especially with no cover.
Oh! It's a simple. Because the submarine could be cut the cord which Panama is attached to the substrate. It would be very bad - Panama could drifted out from the Costa Rica and Colombia, and even could reach up to Japan!
memories.... US Navy Submarine Force, 20 years of service, 1987-2008....
Luis, what boats were you on? I was on the USS Drum (SSN 677) and AGSS (555) Dolphin 93-2001
@Cory, I served on the USS Henry M. Jackson SSBN-730 (Blue Crew), USS San Francisco SSN-711, then USS Simon Lake AS-33, and USS Emory S, Land AS-39.
This is me (video link below) at 2:32 into the video over 25 years ago, back in 1993, my fifteen seconds of fame... I was 27 years old.
ua-cam.com/video/Yn9mCBVbm3Y/v-deo.html
@@MrJedi5150 it is true the Drum did get decommissioned in 1995 in Pearl Harbor. I was one of the last people to leave her once they gutted her. Not sure about the Hunt for Red October rumor. I don't think I heard that.
@Guero, yep... I was there before the hit in the mid 1990's... and on the Jackson from 1990 to 1994. That is me at 2:32 into the video when K5 News went to our boat for a day trip.
ua-cam.com/video/Yn9mCBVbm3Y/v-deo.html
@Guero, yep, MM2/SS at the time of that video... memories...
I've passed through the Panama canal 4 times, the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes in these warships are amazing.
For anyone that may be misunderstanding, the nuclear aspect of this one is how it is powered.
Nuclear armed submarines do not pass through the canal and are larger
Thats a drug cartel sub 😂😂😂... The Los Angeles class is 175 mts long That must be a diesel eletric...
Just to correct my mistake the Los Angeles is 110 meter long and it is indeed nuclear... My mistake in the Last coment
Yes they do, I was on USSDace SSN607 and went thru the canal, and thats another Fast Attack in this video, I dont know if any Boomers have ever gone thru, but Fast Attacks do and are capable of carrying tactical nukes. "tactical nukes" kind of a misnomer isn't it!
Why pass via canal? Do subs need to be secretive about their locations
@@yortroei Its a hell of along way around South America. As far as secret, all subs leave their ports on the surface and stay on the surface until a certain fathom curve (depth of the sea), that changes big time as the east coast has a huge continental shelf especially up North by New London, Connecticut which was my subs base/port. So you can be tracked and are tracked all the time by satellite or spies outside the bases and many other ways. Once you submerge is where the fun and cat and mouse games begin. We use to go to the North Atlantic and sit between Ice and England or evne go to the North Sea and sit directly out over the coast of Finland/Russia and wait to pick up boomers or fast attacks coming out of Polyarny. I use to see lots of Russian boats (subs) on Google Earth there but not so many now, if you look in Polyarny, Koala Bay at 69.202972, 33.470872 you'll see 3 Russian subs tied up there now. But its not the port it use to be in the Cold War when I served. We traveled thru the canal to go to ship yards in Vallejo California so they could track us as much as they want we where there for over a year
Never knew watching ships go through the canal was a tourist attraction.
Locks anywhere are a tourist attraction. The Hiram Chittendon Locks in Seattle, for example.
Yup. Been there, they serve beer too, but seriously one of the most boring places I’ve been!
It's really one of those things that's best appreciated in person. After all, how often do most people get that close to a ship?
Dangerous for the sub.
I imagine this is a message to someone, "here we come,!".
They should have stayed submerged, and snuck through without paying.
El Diablo you don't sound to bright. How in the hell will they get past the locks?
Robert Moore Oh yea huh. And I forgot all those guys on deck would drown too. You better warn them not to try that.
El Diablo LoL!
Sarcasm for the win!
fireson23 That´s why in a sub, you need to stay real close behind a big ship, then when they open the gates ( Their called locks.) you just go through with the ship. It´s easy. I´ve done it a bunch of times. I never pay.
Thank you for sharing this. I've never been to the Panama Canal and now I'm too old to make that trip so I never will. Your clip was much enjoyed and appreciated.
Glad you enjoyed it.
Same here, thank you for this clip !!!
Eu também já não sonho mais em visitar o Canal de Panamá, mas continuo a assistir a passagem dos navios, pelas câmeras Web... que é "quase" a mesma coisa. kkk... Abraço desde Porto Alegre, Brasil
Interesting ! My uncle was a Navy electricians mate stationed at the canal in World War II. His job was to go aboard transiting warships and work on what was requested by the ship. Some gave all - all gave some.
07:54 - "Just smile and wave boys, smile and wave..."
Cute and cuddly🤣🤣🤣🤣.
Penguins🤣
But don't throw any pennies!
Cute and cuddly boys. Cute and cuddly
If people wave to you from somewhere when you are on boat you should wave back ✓
Still sad to hear about Manfrede and Johnson.
Passed through the canal twice on an SSBN in 1973 and 1975. In 73, we had another FBM pass us going the other way. We were both changing fleet assignments. I remember all the cruise ship passengers looking down on us.
Thank you for your service!!! Please tell us of some of the underwater cat and mouse games!!!
Thank you
I thought boomers never went near the canal, nice!
Arrepiante ver um submarino passar pelo canal...
Obrigada por ter postado o vídeo e nos dar a oportunidade de ver isso.
I am wanting to install a nuclear reactor on my aluminum basstracker. I could go fishing for like 20 years and not have to worry about buying gas.
.... or lightbulbs.
I worked on cruise ships, passed through the Panama canal many times, good memories.
I worked on the High-pressure air system as a Civilian pipe fitter at Portsmouth Naval Ship Yard from 1976 to 1979.
Memories!. I was on USS Dace SSN607 and went thru the canal in Late Summer 1980, traveling to the Pacific. I was enlisted and as in this video, while enlisted men make up 85%+ of the crew, only a few are allowed topside while you can see damn near every officer except the Engineering Officer of the Watch back aft & Deck Officer in Control up forward, stay topside entire trip. I was topside as we entered thru the Gutan Locks on the Atlantic and went into the inner lake. I could not beleive how fast the pumps are, drain & fill like a glass of water.
When we went into the lake there was a Russian Destroyer already their staging to the Atlantic, we wanted so bad to sink it! As said in comments below, yes, it looks like nothing on top, but below, its huge. My boat was a Thresher Class built in 1963, in Passageula, Mississippi. Americas first fleet of Nuc Subs. We had a beam of 32 feet, which means the largest diameter inside the boat, so its really not much room, 2 decks in most area, 3 decks in one area of ops compartment, of course zero to negative headroom, I thanked God for making me 5'-5" back then. Hot as hell in the engine room at 100+ degrees average at 90% humidity, good thing I was from New York City, seemed like home, 5 tiny dinner like table/booths in the tiny chow hall, only they are half the size and width of a real diner booth, the table being maybe 20 inches wide..maybe and maybe 3-1/2 feet long . 3 guys stuffed to a side, it was really up close and personal, plus the 5th table was always used for storage and stacking boxes of canned food, there was rarely anything else other than canned past the first week out as our reefer was as tiny as anything else, you didnt have room to store "fresh food" like real eggs, milk or real meat, first week only, although on long 3 month cruses which seemed all the time we did get steak & lobster the night before coming back in. We had 3 types of drinks, water, coffee and bug juice, which was Navys version of a powdered drink mix, this grape stuff wa so caustic that we used it to clean pipes during field day in the engine room. We did have powdered milk but it was made by the same people who made bug juice mix, really bad stuff, so it was coffee or water for 3 months.
Not as bad though as 3 guys to 2 bunks and on a supposed 18 hr day, so everyone gets 6 hours sleep but never works that way, you have 3 guys up for 24-30 hrs all looking to get maybe 4-5 hrs sleep at same time, many times Id go to torpedo room and sleep on them or cuddle up to the fuel oil tank which is 18 inches thick wth the ships reactor blasting gamma rays & alpha particles out. Now us 3 guys maybe to wash clothes once every 10 days to 2 weeks or more, you are constantly dirty, sweaty & greasy and water is secured often as evaporator breaks down & fresh water must be reserved for the reactor, so you dont wash many clothes as either no water or missed your turn due to casualties traing exercises or in most cases live real time tracking/hunting/evasion, so you, your clothes and your bed sheets all have the same smelly mess as does everyone so its not noticeable and everyone sleeps in their grimy clothes as you never know when youre jumping out of the rack to fight a fire or some other hell has broke loose. When I finally got my own rack I still shared it with one of the 3 guys all trying to sleep at once in 2 racks. So much for accommodations. Still though as much as I gripe, my Dad was Infantry in WWII, a shower once a month and any type of indoor rack were you werent being rained or snowed on or had German 88's blasting shrapnel on you, would be a dream.
As hellish the conditions were, the closeness of the crew and more so the craziness of the crew and our mission to hunt down Russian Missile Boats (Boomers) or even ready to sink surface ships is what got us thru it all. About the only entertainment was watching a movie once every 3-5 days if lucky. No DVD, big screen or high def, Old School projectors & reels like you had if you went to school in the 50's-70's, plus only about 10-12 feet if that far to project it onto an irregular wall on the galley, so it was pretty small picture, but we got first run movies, thats when Hollywood still had America loving , military supporting actors and management unlike the America hating, jail the military fascist commie socialist pukes and sluts in there now. Sorry had to say that. I remember watching Smokey and the Bandit topside on our Sub, projecting it on the hull of a sub-tender we were docked to after a 3 month cruise and surfacing in La Madalena, Italy, thats north end of Sardinia. That was like being in a million dollar theater for us. Fresh air (but I never trust air I cant see), cool temps, plenty of room, a big picture, we could make tons of noise and so on. Nice ice cold soda & snacks we got from the sub tender by bribing their store keeper to come down and watch the movie.
Yep, a hard life, why anyone would VOLUNTEER for that makes you wonder if they are all there, but thats why we do it, because we're half crazy and ready to rumble for our country and constitution. God Bless America.
Great Video thank you, I didnt realize how much I went on and thats just one small part of Sub life!
We sleep safely in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would harm us - George Orwell
@Robert Biondo Robert you did have it bad as a Boiler Tech, not an easy job working in and around super-heated steam systems in broken down engine rooms and ever fearful of that invisible pinhole high pressure steam leak that could slice or cut right thru you before you even know it. We use to keep sharp ears listening for the whistle but the twin main engines (driven by steam) rumble masked everything. Sound about right brother?
@@MrJedi5150 Yes, we stored a lot of canned goods on the floors in berthing. At the start of the crew your bashing your head on everything, later you start tripping over a new step put there from when the cooks took stuff out for the last chow call. It's not pitch dark but redlight dark in fwd berthing so not something easy to see, especially when you've been up for last 36 hours and looking to go down for 6, which was really more like 5 at best. Different boats have more storage than others, it also dependent on how long a particular cruise was, for a Fast Attack, that could be 2 weeks to 3 months. My USS Dace 607 was a Thresher class and not a very big boat at all, barely anyroom anywhere, thats why we had one table mostly dedicated to food and stuff storage which then opened up later in the run.
There are no pumps, there is no reason to pump the water, just drain it from the higher level side, its all gravity
Was on SSN 606 senior seaman so topside alot also shark watch when we swan in the Atlantic Ocean. God bless the bubbleheads.
Served aboard the USS Haddock (SSN621) last of the Thresher class before it changed to the Permit class, back in 1977. Your comments had me laughing by butt off, as many of them I could relate too. Sleeping on a Mk 48 and using the bug juice to clean the pipes. Rubba dub dub, clean the sub. I was the poor interior communications puke, who had to select which 16mm movies were taken with us on patrol. Use to catch a lot of flak if I didn't chose wisely. I'm 6'2" so had had to duck and dodge most of the time. We won't get into the obscene practical jokes we played on each other.
I was a MT2(SS) and went through the Panama Canal on a SSBN in the late 70's. The skipper let the crew have a "steel beach" picnic complete with barbecue on the missile deck while going through Gatun Lake. We cycled through the watch sections so the whole crew could participate. While going through the locks we had to set the maneuvering watch so only a few extra crew were allowed topside to watch.
Sempre uma aventura!
I was onboard the USS George Washington SSBN 598 while passing through the Panama Canal in the early 70s. The most notable thing was the severe sunburns our crew members suffered after being on patrol and not exposed to sun light for months.
craig wix i wss on the carver ssbn 656 when it went thru in '91
craig wix
Sad that on her last departure back to the Atlantic in 83?
Boomers rarely use the Panama Canal, but when they do is a show. Often they get PBR boats flown in in advance, to escort them and fighter cover from F 16s. I have seen Arleigh Burkes, Oliver Hazzard Perrys and Zumwalts crossing the Canal. Subs are mostly fast attack subs.
Thanks for your service. What an experience.
A couple of years ago, my son’s boat (sub) traveled through on their way to Hawaii. They got to grill hamburgers and brats while going through. Pretty awesome memory for them.
Steel beach...
We went through in 1971 Aboard the the USS TRUMPETFISH SS 425 on our way completely around South America.
Its hard to really tell just how big the sub really is . Bet it was a joy to see up close.
Good video sailor, thanks. Makes me reminisce about my days as an engineer at General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton ('79 - '91). I was on the SSN (e.g. 688 Class) team and spent most of my days working on these guys.
Hello from Groton, Connecticut
Dumb question: aren't the sailors afraid of falling off? Subs are round, and I see that the top has a flattish area, but it doesn't look very wide and looks like it could be slippery.
The top of the sub has a non-skid coating and the submariners wear special shoes that have rubber soles to give them traction.
Alex Rodriguez cant you swim?
What does him able to swim or not got to do anything with those submariners..? :p
Slipping to death vs getting some fresh air after many weeks ....you choose
Alex Rodriguez it actually is wide enough and the surface is rough to prevent slipping.
I was driving my car near the Pedro Miguel Locks and saw one of those passing throught. They are spooky. Low, black and silent. With little wake.
Mark Prowatzke you too
This must be an awesome experience for the pilot that comes on board ships to guide them through the canal.
Us navy probably has their own pilots
he only gets access to the sail and is not allowed onboard the sub, he climbs up a ladder on the outside of the sail, again he has no access to the sub because on the surface the con is switched to the sail unless weather says no....
@@FLY2KO I had assumed that. There would be no point in the pilot going inside. But still, even piloting a nuke sub from the bridge would probably be a high point of any canal pilot's career.
A submariner told me this was one of the scariest parts of the job was to pass through the Panama canal. He said they were essentially sitting ducks at that point.
Then they shouldn't stand on the top side!
They do their best work when submerged. . .
Nothing says " I want to kill you" more than the no nonsense shape of an LA class boat. And there's 32 of these on active duty.
EH PA wrong, the thing that scares the shit out of ppeple are boomers,24 empty toobs alo t of mushroom clouds and now it's t i me fore cold bud
@@anthonyjennings8108 Mate, your English, your grammar, and your spelling are so fucked and incoherent it's almost inconceivable that someone could be so fucking ill-educated.
Nijel Vidler You didn’t get the joke
@@anthonyjennings8108 nothing scares bad guy boomer crews more than LA class boats is what I'm saying. Not Joe Public.
Fuckin' A bubba!
Always good to see pics & vids from home. The house where I was raised is 1.67 mi on a heading of 92.37 deg from where you were standing when you shot this video. (Bet you don't have any listings there :) ) Nice video, thanks for posting.
submarines always look so tiny. its mad to think that those guys live in them for so long
Gotta remember, the other 90% of it is hidden beneath the water line. :)
richardfld look up the use pennsylvania it's probably triple the size of this one
richardfld
is that the fullest it could surface while moving?
richardfld ...even more crazy to think that one can wipe out a country.
Dmitri Kozlowsky So can these
It's impressive how a submarine class created in 70s and in the 80s is still in service now a days
it’s that old??
The Los Angeles? A total of 62 were built, with the newest being launched in the early 90's. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Los_Angeles-class_submarines
Most of the first flight have been either scrapped or are stricken and awaiting scrapping. Of the 4 remaining, two are in reserve and two as used moored training vessels. Sadly, the Dallas (SSN-700), of Tom Clancy fame, has been stricken and is awaiting scrapping. Most of the second and third flights (each "flight" is an upgrade to it's predecessor) are still in service.
crazy how all those people were there watching that meanwhile I'm chilling skipping through along with 2 million others.
I agree. I believe this is a attack sub, not a ICBM Boomer. Too small.
well yeah its a nuclear powered attack sub
US Navy Hunter Killer sub 👌👌👌
USS Columbus ssn 762
That’s a hunter killer . Ballistic missile subs are far larger . To Carry there arsenal.
@Billy Reynolds Boomer is a .. slang word for.. Deliverer, of the big boom. Good question. 👍
I could bet the crew rocked van halen’s “Panamá” inside.
Did this in '78 on the Patrick Henry (SSBN 599 Blue Crew) going from west to east on the way to Cocoa Beach for a DASO missile shot...a once in a lifetime experience. Gold crew took it back the other direction on the way to Pearl Harbor. We had a nice steak fry on the missile deck on the way through.
Back in the day (1981-1983) Nuculer subs transitioning the canal was a bummer for us grunts. We were on the ground at places along the canal pulling security. But it was always cool to see them.
These things are very sinister. I used to watch the UK's Trident subs come in to Faslane in Scotland. Even close up they were totally silent and virtually no wake. These were (and still are obviously) SSBNs and very much larger than this one but there was almost no indication that they were moving. Being all matt black as well just added to the sinister nature and fascination of them.
Watching so many people together so close is not so familiar now, hope everything gets better now!
I've passed through the canal both ways on a submarine. 1983 on transit from South Carolina to PSNS for refit and then in 85 from PSNS to Norfolk, VA after the refit was done.
One ping only.
My favorite movie!
But, Captain, I just...
CRAZY IVAN!
3 1 5
Very subtle
I got to visit Panama in December 1989. Interesting excursion, they made us jump in with parachutes at 2:00 AM instead of landing like normal people. Baggage pick-up what was what we carried, didn't get to go inside the terminal. We did get to see the capital and countryside. We saw the locks. We got the chance to visit all kinds of their military units, as well as tour the different towns nearby. We even got a chance to eat at a Panamanian McDonalds....I passed. A month later the hole in the wall rotisserie place was stupendous and all 8 of my buddies enjoyed a good meal. The older men at the other table were so nice they didn't let me pay and picked up the tab. They thanked us for visiting their country. A week later we came back to the US where it was a bit cooler. Panama is Hot!
Submarines are too damn cool!
I did that on the USS Columbia SSN 771 in November 1996. Great times. Beautiful ride.
at 2:52 : "where's your selfie stick?" -old man
Stationed there in the Army in early 80's, while in the field saw a sub going through canal with Navy swift boats all around it.
The scariest thing you won’t see
I met a guy who was a helmsman on a Brit nuke sub that went through the Suez Canal. He said it was INCREDIBLY challenging for both him and for the ship's navigator. It doesn't look like it, but I am sure its the same for that LA class sub crew.
We used to escort subs through the Panama Canal while I was in the Coast Guard (USCGC Venturous).
Is that the Coast Guard on the submarine? I’m confused as to who those men would be.
@@kilowhiskey7973 crew ...they deploy security forces
Loyal Order of the Ditch. I did the transit thing brought the Panama Canal in 1982 on board USS La Jolla (SSN 701).
I wonder if that lady at 9:00 knows she isn't recording anything.
Aw God love her
Just imagine how she felt when she came home & understood she wasn't recording -_-
USS Scamp (SSN 588) UNITAS 1979. From Point Loma through the canal once around the continent and through again to New London. Great trip!
I saw the Queen Elizabeth 2 go through the canal one time. That whole country is amazing.
In the 80s, my brother was helping to build the Trident line of US Navy nuclear submarines, up at Electric Boat, in Groton CT.
My old stomping grounds. 1986 to 1988, based in Corozal district, at the old mental hospital, across the street from the cemetery. Good times.
You were posted there?
bobbyrutz In Panama, yes.
Nice. See anything like this when you were there? This video was pretty neat.
bobbyrutz The locks yes but not a US submarine.
neo nero Yep, two seasons, wet and dry, about 6 months each.
Served in Panama (Colon, Atlantic side, Gatun Locks) as an MP. To get to Fort Randolph, a concrete road comes out from under the lock walls and allows you to travel over the canal. And yes, tons of tourists even for large tourist ships/tankers/ore ships, etc drew people to watch. That was 1969-71, so a lot has changed.
This is just the first time they did it partially exposed
Nice video of US submarine passing thru Panama Canal
Thanks for sharing! And thank you for your service to our country.
@maniac9565 The US isn't a criminal empire.
As a young man, I attended the JOTC in February of 77, at Ft. Sherman. I was on light duty due to an injury. I remember sitting on the beach drinking ice cold PBR's from a vending machine that only cost .25 cents back then. Even visited the pleasures of Colon. Great memories I have from my youth in such a beautiful country.
Spent 4 years living on Howard AFB Panama, saw many ships and Subs pass through the Canal from 80-84. Saw the USS New Jersey pass through right after her Refit and shakedown cruise. Now that was a big ship, had 1 foot clearance from her keel
You know then how frickin hot and humid it is. Beautiful country but that heat and humidity takes all the fun out of it.
I saw the USS Iowa and even was allowed to visit the ship in 1984.
Incredible engineering.
This is USS Alexandria transiting the Panama canal. Our tour guides were on board as they brought the ship around to San Diego.
Went through on SSN-692 USS Omaha as an STS-3 (SU) my first boat, in the first month, I was part of pre-com crew that took her to Perl. A great ride!
FlyingGuySFO you qualified yet nub?
@@butchford757 Nope, still a nonqual puke. LOL!!! Yeah i qualified on two boats before I escaped.
FlyingGuySFO I qualifies in 85 on Daniel Webster then two T-hulls, 738 and 737.
"You're about as useful as a screen door on a submarine."
or tits on a man
Deck chairs
While at dry dock, a screen door would be useful.
Or cornrows on Rapunzel
Or about as useless as a screen door on a hot air balloon.
Tough duty being under water for sometimes months. I was stationed at a sub base and i can tell you these guys are nuts.
I could never work in a submarine. I fart too much.
They power the sub with Fart turbo power , not problem !!!!!!!
BuuurrRRP!
Lucky, it's not always a burp!
littleteethkeith We breathe in recycled farts daily lol You'd fit right in ;)
Rick Nelson lol. Thank you for your service. God bless you.
littleteethkeith My pleasure! Thanks. God Bless.
Went thru the Panama Canal twice onboard USS Skipjack SSN-585. MMC(SS) USN Ret.
why the fuck is the description in 3rd person
because he wants you to know that he is a former navy submariner. something like a humblebrag
It's not. He's talking about a different Cory Kamierdiener.
That's a beautiful boat, But if that don't scare the hell out of you you're dead already
My Father told me about the sub he served on. When they changed home ports from the East coast to the West coast they went through the Panama Canal. Unfortunately while on leave someone stole his camera with the photos of the trip. Scummy hotel people.
I didn't know they were aloud to take pics unless that's just inside the sub your not aloud to photo
You can photograph what you see from the submarine, if you are on deck outside, not the submarine itself.
Yeah, no pictures of the sub or in the sub. Just the trip through the locks.
d3lp0rto d3lp0rto
what sub was your dad on? i went thru it when we moved from east to west coast as well
USS Pollack (SSN-603)
Was stationed over at Howard in the mid 90's, watched a sub coming into port with a BBQ grill and couple of sailors barbequing...coolest thing I'd ever seen at the time.
Steel Beach is what we called it! The good old days.
Superb it's a rare sight to see passing a nuclear Sub
Back when I lived on the shores of the Thames River in New London CT I would occasionally see Subs. It was always quite the sight. It Never got old.
The numbers on the sail have been painted over, to conceal her identity (ship name), but it is a Los Angeles class 688i. No flags on the masts, either, but we all know what country that sub belongs to.
The numbers, when they are on, are just magnetic decals. They almost never use them. I lived across Hood Canal from the base at Bangor for 15 years, and the only identifying information was the shapes of the hulls - the Parche was one of a kind. All of the Tridents looked the same. The Carter is also a one of a kind. I never saw a number on any sub in Hood Canal.
North Korea right?
There is a flag on the mast, look at 7:53 buddy.
Damn, if you didn't catch that! Sure was. I never did see that when I originally watched it, but nice catch, bro.
Thanks, bro. lol
AWESOME !!!
Thanks for sharing !!!
very nice video, thank you for sharing it
I heard the Panama Canal is the only place in the world where the captain of any ship has to give up command of their ship, not by force of course, to allow a specialized captain, who works for the lcosk, to guide the ship into the locks. So does the USN allow them to take over and guide them in??
The US Navy has pilots stationed there for that exact purpose.
ChaoChromeMessor no they dont have any there
Yoshikaku Shokaku
*It is not the only place like that in the world.*
*Military vessels may be an exception. Though it wouldn't matter anyway, the type of command given up is extremely limited.*
I'm getting this all from a documentary I watched on the works and operations of the Panama Canal. I think it was Modern Marvels.
Surprising this is being done in daylight, that's a dangerous submarine. Awesome sight to behold in those locks. Wow
They should of dived while in the Lock when the guy with the invoice showed up
We did that on the Greenling SSN-614 on Unitas 1990
The crew probably enjoyed it, but I'll bet the CO was sweating bullets the whole time.
Actually everyone enjoyed it. The Canal has their own piloting crew and basically take over and do all the maneuvering through it for us. Our Captain was topside actually grilling hamburgers for everyone.
@@rodneyking4183 well, that does sound like a fun day. One of our niece's husband is a career nuke boat guy (he's on shore assignment right now) and, I love hearing his stories when we see them.
In 1976 the first nuclear submarine to pass through the Panama canal was the USS Gato SSN 615
Rare video. Thanks. I added it to my submarine section. Nice to see Americans are waved at from the shore. GO NAVY!
I understood they had built new locks. Are they in parallel with the old ones?
Recommended after 5 years.....
I took my girlfriend and her kids to Panama and the Canal , a great history lesson ,, beautiful beaches too.
Not much to sea
"SEA"
so much seamen.
Seariously. It was quite diseapointing.
As jokes go.. these are fairly 'sub' standard guys
there may be a lack of depth
I watched a US aircraft carrier pass through the Panama Canal one day.
I forget which one, but it barely fit.
That canal is bigger than it looks.
@maniac9565 The USA aren't racists nor scumbags
This sub was built here in my hometown of Groton,Connecticut by the Electric Boat division of General Dynamics...one of many boats built by the good men and women of EB
@Dana Gouette
Newport News Shipbuilding
A Division of Huntington Ingallis Industries
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newport_News_Shipbuilding
from Romania
13.V.2019
Dana Gouette new London ct. right ?
Is the Fulton still there? Called the USS Neversail.
@@xreconusmc3156 Actually EB is in Groton across the Thames from New London.
I saw a sub in the Suez canal from the train back in 2000. Always a thrill.
There should have been a BBQ grill on top of that submarine. Burgers for everyone...
There was when I went through!
I remember doing this on the 705.
OMG I just realized that that wasn’t my ship!!!! I wasn’t there!!!
We had a LA attack submarine that was in USS RANGER battle group. It would pop up every once and a while. I was glad it was protecting us
.......and thats 1 of 71 US submarines that can lurk the world's oceans 3 months without surfacing.
3 months is only what they tell the public, they can stay submerged much longer if need be
@@ryanramdat5850: The limiting factor on deployment is food.
@@ltmundy1164 ....deployment of what?
@@ryanramdat5850: Deployment - sending military personnel into duty. Regardless of military branch, any successful mission depends upon logistics. Submarines, by their very nature, do not surface while on mission. Even communications now occurs completely while submerged. Nuke boats, having excess power generating capacity, can recirculate/scrub/create fresh air and desalinate seawater. The only thing that a sub cannot recycle/recreate is food.
@@ltmundy1164 What your saying doesnt make any sense. The limiting factor on deployment isnt food. I can tell you from first hand is not food. Not all subs are nuclear powered in the first place.
I did this as ANAV back in the mid 90's. It was an experience that I'll never forget but it wasn't fun.
That's pretty cool to see. A bit of a scary thought to me is how vulnerable the ship is then. Not much a handful of armed marines could do, especially with no cover.
+Gary Stewart Its crazy how they just get locked in there for awhile
If the crew dogs down the hatches from the inside nobody is getting in an time soon, and there are weapons below to repel boarders.
Run silent, run shallow, (while traversing the canal) ⚓️🇺🇸
They did a poor job of staying hidden. There was a whole ass crowd there watchin em
Show of power! #HuntersOfTheSea #SubmarineService #AlwaysStandingWatch
There would be some significant security for that passage. Probably some shore security details and fighter cover for the entire trip.
A guy I worked with, who was a little bird pilot for the 160th, has pictures in his office of him escorting nuclear subs from the air.
why couldn't the submarine just go under Panama?
I laughed out loud
+Mega.Johnhammond A few rocks were in the way .
Bulletguy07 - That's made me laugh out loud. Thanks
Oh! It's a simple. Because the submarine could be cut the cord which Panama is attached to the substrate. It would be very bad - Panama could drifted out from the Costa Rica and Colombia, and even could reach up to Japan!
Fuck this comment section.
Great footage!
I made the propulsion and main lube pumps for these submarines!
lube your ass you liar
Great footage. Thanks.