How were submarine sailors selected?

Normally, the first requirement was that you had to volunteer. You had to be different enough to want to be on a submarine. (We like to say that submariners’ brains are wired differently.) When someone offered you an opportunity to be stuffed into a 16-foot diameter pipe with 79 of your closest friends and then go down 400 feet or more below the surface of the ocean, that had to sound like a good idea. In fact, you usually had to ask to be a submariner.

A sailor applied for submarine duty by sending a request up through the chain of command. His superiors would add their comments and recommendations.

The next step was to be selected as a possible candidate. For most of the war, there were actually more volunteers than there were billets (positions or spaces) in submarines. As a result, the Submarine Force had their pick of candidates. This was one of the reasons that submarine crews tended to be better than the average in the rest of the Navy. Selection depended on your demonstrated skills and, perhaps, on your rating (specialty).

Finally, the selected candidates were screened for even temperaments. There would be psychological testing if the Navy hadn’t already had a lengthy opportunity to observe you. The Submarine Force was looking for men (and now women) who were even tempered, who would “take an even strain.” Which candidates would get along well with others and pitch in when there was extra work to do? You needed to be able to enjoy the banter and mild pranks of your shipmates while working hard as a team when needed. Who would be a strong part of the team when an emergency or crisis arose.

Someone who was in your face (either angry or happy) or too retiring would not qualify.

Officers who came through the Naval Academy or Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) programs were already well known to the Navy and are not normally screened again for sub duty. The same was likely true of enlisted sailors who had already served a few years in the Navy. Prior to WW2, an officer had to serve for two years on a surface ship before he could volunteer at all. That requirement ended with the war.

NOTE: Screening for nuclear power billets in submarines or carriers continues and is even more rigorous.