A Young Sailor’s First Patrol Aboard a Diesel Submarine in 1963

In the spring of 1963, at the submarine piers in Groton, Connecticut, you climbed down a steel ladder into a diesel submarine, and the chief of the boat pointed you to your bed: a narrow canvas rack above a torpedo. "Welcome aboard, kid. Your bed is a torpedo." This is your first patrol on one of the old diesel boats: the diesel smell below deck, the qualification card in your pocket, your first dive, the control room in red light, and the first signature that made you part of the crew. Subscribe to American Navy Back Then for more stories of the Navy our fathers and grandfathers knew:    / @americannavybackthen   Did you, your father or your grandfather ride the boats? Tell us in the comments: his name, the name and hull number of his boat, and the year he earned his dolphins. Never rode the boats? Tell us about your first ship instead. SOURCES Naval History and Heritage Command (Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships) Submarine Force Library and Museum, Groton, Connecticut All Hands magazine USS Becuna (SS-319) and USS Cod (SS-224) museum submarines Memoirs and oral histories of diesel submarine veterans 📚 How we make our videos Research & Scripting: Navy records, museum boats and veterans' memoirs, written and fact-checked by our team. Every date and number is checked before we publish. The sailors in this story are composite characters, and the boat is left unnamed so every diesel boat sailor can see his own. Visual Production: every story is illustrated and edited in-house into a calm, easy-to-follow video. Copyright: © 2026 American Navy Back Then. All rights reserved. Please do not re-upload this video. Not affiliated with the U.S. Navy or any government agency. #USNavy #NavyVeterans #DieselBoatsForever