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An old pair of Dolphins

4K views 25 replies 14 participants last post by  westender 
#1 ·
I was picking up my dad's old watch from the repair guy. He used to work on clocks/instruments in the Navy. It came out that I was on a sub, and he brought out an old pair of dolphins that came into the shop from an estate purchase last month. The watch repair ended up being less expensive than I'd planned, so I splurged and picked these up...



Sterling silver, gold plated, with sterling frogs. I've got a query out on how old they are, but I'm thinking they're WWII.

I don't have much use for them; half tempted to stick them into an envelop, mail to them C.O., USS USTAFISH, and ask that he pin them to the next newly qualified person that comes his way.
 
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#9 ·
Dolphins are earned when you become a qualified submariner. Think of it like a pilot getting his wings, just cooler. USNA It can take up to two years to qualify. You have to have a working knowledge of every system on a submarine, and one of the final steps is an oral examination board where 3 or 4 senior members of the crew grill you for an hour or so on your knowledge. Used to be when you earned them you would get your dolphins 'pinned', which meant every qualified crew member could come up and 'tap' them with a fist. Some guys got overzealous and drove the pins into your chest. (It hurt). Then when you got back to port you had to drink your dolphins. - basically they dropped them in a mug of beer and you had to chug it without putting it down. The military is more sensitive now so I don't think they don't do that anymore. At my qual board they asked how I would build a sandbox using only material found on the boat. I had to know that I could get a hammer and nails from a damage control kit, wood from the inside framing of the dive planes, and sand from inside the main shaft. It's been 29 years since I qualified and I still remember that. Just don't ask me where I left my keys...USN4
 
#14 ·
Diesel boats had less than half the systems to learn, dove less than half as deep, could stay submerged for a pittance of the time a nuke can and have stayed submerged, so tuff SOB actually applies to anybody who earned their dophins. The nuke sub navy was built on the traditions and knowledge gained on diesel boats, but they are as different as P-51 Mustangs and F-22 fighters.

I knew one Interior Communications (IC) Chief who during 'Nam was out of Guam for 8 months of patrol. They were on the surface a grand total of 48 hours in that 8 months, to discharge a sick sailor, take on his replacement and load up on food and repair parts. You try living in an Attack Sub for 8 months straight.
 
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#12 ·
At a NMGCA Albuquerque show ten or so years ago, a dealer had some metal dolphin insignia advertised as WWII and I happened to be with Neal Humble, a retired CPO and WWII submariner. According to him, EMs only wore embroidered dolphins sewn to the sleeve on their pullovers during the war and officers wore pins. EMs didn't get to wear pins until the late 40s, which came as a surprise.
 
#15 ·
Per this website your dolphin pin is at oldest from the 1950s. They are basically identical to the set I received in 1978, except yours appear to be Officer dolphins (gold), mine were Enlisted (silver).

USS Nautilus the first nuclear submarine, was commissioned 9/30/1954.

It appears the last US Navy diesel boat to be decommissioned was the USS Blueback SS-581 on 10/15/1959. This boat is in the Willamette River in Portland, OR, property of the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) and is open to the public.

http://www.aboutsubs.com/dolphins.htm
 
#16 ·
Nice thread, really interesting, a year ago I had to ask Phil what a bubblehead was, now I am an expert (ex is a has been and a spurt is water under pressure) on this insignia. Now I need to see a dolphin with a Marine M14!
 
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