The Original Dolphins
The insignia of the U.S. Navy Submarine Service is a submarine flanked by two dolphins. Dolphins, traditional attendants to Poseidon (the Greek god of the sea and the deity of sailors), are symbolic of a calm sea and are sometimes called the "sailors friend."
To be designated as "Qualified in Submarines ," a submariner must possess an in-depth knowledge of the ships construction, operation and damage control as well as demonstrate his reliability under stressful conditions.
The origin of the U.S. Navy
Submarine insignia
Captain Ernest J. King, Commander Submarine Division Three (later Fleet Admiral and Chief of Naval Operations during W.W. II), suggested to the Secretary of the Navy that a distinguished device for qualified submariners be adopted.
He submitted a pen-and-ink sketch of his own showing a shield mounted on the beam of a submarine, with dolphins forward and aft of the conning tower.
During the next several months the Bureau of Navigation (later known as BUPERS) solicited additional designs from several sources. Among the designs were a submarine and shark motif, a submarine and shield, and submarines with ancient dolphins.
A Philadelphia firm was requested to design a suitable badge. Two versions were submitted and subsequently combined into the design in use today, a bow view of a surfaced submarine, with bow planes rigged for diving, flanked by dolphins in a horizontal position with their heads resting on the upped edge of the bow planes.
In March 1924, the design was approved. The submarine insignia was to be worn at all times by officers and enlisted men qualified in submarine duty when attached to submarine organizations, afloat or ashore, and not to be worn when not attached.
The officer insignia was a bronze, gold plated metal pin, worn on the left breast pocket. Enlisted members wore silver silk embroidered dolphins on the right sleeve, midway between the wrist and elbow.
In 1941, submariners were authorized by a change in Uniform Regulations to wear dolphins at all times when assigned to other duties in the naval service. In 1947, enlisted dolphins were shifted to the left breast from the sleeve. And in 1950, another change to the Uniform Regulations, authorized a bronze, silver plated metal pin for enlisted and embroidered dolphins for officers.
In more recent times, dolphins for specialists in the Submarine Force have been developed. These include the distinctive Supply Corps Officer, Engineering Duty Officer, and Medical Officer dolphins. No matter the color of the pin or insignia at the center, dolphins are worn with pride by all members of the Submarine Force.
The Submariner
Only a submariner realizes to what extent an entire ship depends on him as an individual. To a landsman this is not understandable, and sometimes it is even difficult for us to comprehend, but it is so!
A submarine at sea is a different world in herself, and in consideration of the protracted and distant operations of submarines, the Navy must place responsibility and trust in the hands of those who take such ships to sea.
In each submarine there are men who, in the hour of emergency or peril at sea, can turn to each other. These men are ultimately responsible to themselves and to each other for all aspects of operation of their submarine. They are the crew. They are the ship.
This is perhaps the most difficult and demanding assignment in the Navy. There is not an instant during his tour as a submariner that he can escape the grasp of responsibility. His privileges in view of his obligations are almost ludicrously small, nevertheless, it is the spur which has given the Navy its greatest mariners - the men of the Submarine Service.
It is a duty which most richly deserves the proud and time-honored title of ....Submariner.
Commander
Submarine Squadron Six
9168 2nd Street
Suite 200
Norfolk, VA 23511-2318