Customer Reviews

Under Ice: Waldo Lyon and the Development of the Arctic Submarine (Williams-Ford Texas A&M University Military History Series)

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Reviewed by Capt. Gordon I. Peterson, USN (Ret.), Senior Editor, Sea Power Magazine, Navy League of the United States

It has been said that you can usually determine the caliber of a man by the amount of opposition it takes to discourage him. By this measure, William M. Leary's biography of Dr. Waldo Lyon provides an inspiring account of how one man's lifelong tenacity in the face of bureaucratic lethargy and skepticism can make a difference in translating a vision to reality.

During the early years of World War II, Lyon began his quest for the U.S. Navy to develop an Arctic submarine fully capable of operating in one of the most challenging operational environments-beneath the frozen surface of the Arctic Ocean. For 55 years, he championed--at times single-handedly--a research effort to provide the Navy with the information it would need to design a submarine that could operate safely and effectively in the world's most poorly understood ocean.

In the words of retired Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Frank B. Kelso II, "The nuclear submarine made Arctic operations possible, but without the knowledge of Waldo Lyon I doubt our Navy would have ventured under the sea ice to the [North] Pole." Lyon's painstaking efforts to acquire this knowledge are meticulously detailed by reference to numerous interviews with Navy submarine commanders, declassified patrol reports, and the scientific journal that Lyon compiled for more than five decades. As a result, Under Ice provides an authoritative and comprehensive account of the U.S. Navy's under-ice operations and Lyon's pioneering role in making it possible-recognized by the President's Medal for Distinguished Federal Service during the Kennedy administration.

It is noteworthy that prior to the USS Hawkbill's under-ice expedition to the Arctic in 1999, the submarine's commanding officer required every officer on board to read chapter seven of Leary's book--a description of USS Sargo's hazardous 1960 Arctic cruise.

With the design of the Sturgeon-class during the 1960s, the Navy finally constructed nuclear-powered attack submarines with greatly improved under-ice capabilities. Recognition of the strategic importance of the Arctic Ocean had reached new levels during the height of the Cold War-because, as Lyon wrote, "The Arctic Ocean is the submariner's private sea, hence, his sole capability to exploit and control."

In his foreword to Under Ice, Vice Adm. John H. Nicholson writes that the Navy would do well to heed Lyon's warning concerning the need to maintain a robust under-ice capability and not lose its hard-earned expertise. Unfortunately, with the retirement of the Sturgeon class of attack submarines and the reduction of the submarine force to 50 boats by 2003, the Navy's Arctic submarine operations will unavoidably decline in the face of higher priority warfighting and intelligence commitments.

As the number of sophisticated, high-endurance conventional submarines continue to proliferate around the world, it remains to be seen if the Department of Defense and U.S. political leadership will heed Lyon's counsel and restore the submarine force to the numbers required to meet current and projected operational requirements-and sustain the U.S. Navy's Arctic preeminence.

Dr. Lyon's vision of submarines operating under the ice, even before nuclear-powered submarines, was remarkable, and his lifetime persistence to convince the navy to continue under ice operations was unbelievable.

I was fortunate to be aboard Pintado SSN 672 during the 1978 under ice operation with Dr. Lyon aboard. As one of Pintado's diving officers, we had to redefine our idea of shallow water since we often ran with six feet and less under the keel. Previously less than a 1000 feet under the keel was considered very shallow.

When operating under the ice in shallow water, the ship's bubble (fore and aft angle) is very critical. A very small up angle (greater than 1/8 of a degree) could cause the ship's screw to hit the ocean bottom or a very small down angle could cause the screw to hit the bottom of the ice. If you are not familiar with submarines, you might find it interesting that the young men that hold the wheels that control the submarine's depth, angle, and course are the most junior people on board.

But having Dr. Lyon onboard, a very capable ship's captain, and trust in the entire crew, made for a secure feeling and an adventure that the Pintado crew will never forget.

You don't have to be a submariner to enjoy William Leary's, Under Ice.

I have a feeling this author's friends may have wrote these reviews, because I've read better material in Reader's Digest.