March 2016 Meeting Notes

We started off the March meeting with Tolling the Boats lost in March, followed by birthday wishes for our members, officer reports, and introductions.

Old and New Business 
2016 Seattle Base Calendar – We are pulling together all the important dates for the 2016 Seattle Base Calendar. We have a few dates already locked in, including the Kirkland Independence Day parade on July 4, the Tolling the Boats ceremony on August 20, and the Holiday Luncheon on December 10. If you have any events, or even suggestions for event, you would like to have added to the calendar, please contact Pat Householder.

Base Officers – As many of you know, Seattle Base has been having some issues filling officer positions, especially at the upper-levels. During the March meeting Al Smith was nominated to and voted on for the position of Base Commander. Al will take over Base Commander duties at the April meeting.

Al Smith addresses the meeting after being elected

Additionally, Kerry Ryan was appointed to the position of Membership Committee Chairman. Kerry will be working on ways to improve meeting attendance and recruitment.

Dick Gonzalez (center) swearing in Kerry (left) and Al (right)

Even with these two additions, Seattle Base still needs someone to step forward for the Sr. Vice Commander position and a Tolling ceremony coordinator. These are important positions and you will not have support from current base officers, but also past base officers and many other members.

Bangor Tour – Dick Gonzalez is working on organizing a tour of Bangor submarine base, Trident Training Facility, and a submarine (based on submarine availability). The tour is planned for June 16, 2016, but screening information must be provided by May 18. The tour will be limited to around 30 people and there is a small fee for the tour and lunch. We will be posting more information about the tour shortly.

VFW Open House – VFW Post 2995 is holding an open house on Saturday, April 2. Come by and learn how the VFW and veteran organizations support and protect the rights of every veteran and their families. Stay for some great food, fun, and entertainment (click on the image below for a larger view of the flyer).

Undersea Museum Looking to Interview SSBN Submariners – The U.S. Naval Undersea Museum in Keyport is looking for submariners who served aboard ballistic missile submarines to help with a new exhibit they're developing. The exhibit tells the story of the ballistic missile program while tying in larger Cold War themes and history. To ensure a personal, human component in an exhibit that is very technology-heavy, the exhibit will include video interviews with submariners who served on SSBNs. If you are interested and willing to be interviewed, please contact the museum's curator, Mary Ryan, at mary.c.ryan@navy.mil or (360) 396-5517.

March Program 
The March program was a presentation by Keith Watson on World War 2 Axis technology that was incorporated into America post-war submarine designs. He started out talking about the Japanese submarines and technology, including the giant I-400 class submarines and the Kaiten min-subs. The U.S Navy studied these, along with other Japanese submarine technology, but wasn’t really interested any of it. Next Keith talked about the German technology. This included the Type XXI and Type XXIII submarines, the snorkel, improved batteries, and improved passive sonar. Keith talked about how the Soviets also received this technology and began incorporating it into their submarines, which led to the development of the Zulu, Whiskey, and Romeo class submarines. With a new “Cold War” beginning, the U.S. Navy wanted to incorporate as much of the advanced technology into the submarine force. Keith talked about all the test the Navy carried out on the Type XXI submarines to find out what worked, what didn’t work too well, and what could be improved. This information led to the GUPPY (Greater Underwater Propulsion Program) and the Tang class submarine. The GUPPY program saw the streamlining of Gato, Balao, and Tench class submarines and the incorporation of snorkels and improved batteries. The lessons learned from the Type XXI subs were also incorporated into the hull designs of the Nautilus and Skate class submarines. It was an interesting program discussing the origins of some of the submarine advancements of the 1950s and 60s.

Binnacle List

• Judy Watson (Keith Watson’s wife) injured her wrist and was in a cast at the meeting. 
• Av Harmon (Schell Harmon's wife) is moving into an assisted living facility. 
• Lois Mezek is having shoulder surgery on May 5.