Working
and living in a confined space beneath the ocean (and sometimes
the Arctic polar cap) demands a special kind of person. The Navy's
submariners are all volunteers, carefully tested and screened and
able to perform any job aboard, including steering the massive boat.
During World War II, U.S. submarines sank more Japanese ships than
did U.S. surface vessels and planes, but at a high cost: a twenty
percent casualty rate. In the Cold War, nuclear submarines prowled
the oceans, gathering intelligence or poised to launch a missile
on command.