Hello!
I hope you like the articles. My intent was to give the naval history enthusiast a guide on how to identify these boats. I have come across so many photos over the years, some in respectable publications, that have been badly mis-identified. I got increasingly frustrated with the situation so I decided to try to help.
The S-boats have always been a favorite of mine since I was a kid. I think I was ten years old when I read Edward Ellsberg's book On The Bottom, the story of the S-51 salvage. I was hooked and have been interested ever since.
For the Fleet Boats, I decided on starting with the Gato class first, as these boats went through some pretty remarkable changes during their lifetimes and are frequently mis-identified in photos. I then started working backwards with the Salmon/Sargos and will eventually get to the Porpoise/Shark/Perch and the V-boats. One of these days I will jump back to the Balao and Tench classes.
I am interested in any feedback you may have. My intent is to make these as accurate as possible. Thanks!
