Submarine badge

[Tony]

Hello,

I believe this is a RN submariner's badge but is it the type worn today and does the gold colour with red and greenish/black enamel denote a rank?

Or is it simply a modern sweetheart brooch?

Thanks

Tony

[perce]

Hi

Looks like the current qualification badge- issued to all submariners regardless of rank/trade

will find some other photos of it to check the fittings

Cheers

Perce

[Tony]

Good on ya Perce.

[Jim Maclean]

The "Dolphins" are awarded (earned) I believe well after qualifying for subs. Basically I believe you have to have a good working knowledge of all trade disciplines aboard a boat. I'll check with my brother who was a long time "S" boat submariner and give you the details. I think you had to re-qualify for each boat but didn't lose the dolphins

Looks a good one and is worn on the left breast above any medals/ribbons. Clutch pin is normal, I believe much favoured amongst the RN is the Aussie version which has a truer smooth skin.

[perce]

Hi

The Austarlian badge is slightlly different as there is no anchor on it-there are jokes made about it that are probably not for this forum-but its to do with Prince phillip the Queens husband

Cheers

Perce

[Tony]

Thanks very much for the help Perce.

Cheers

Tony

[leigh kitchen]

Looks the same as one a bloke I worked with gave me about 20 years ago, he'd been a submariner (nuclear, one of the other guys was ex diesel subs, who referred to him as a "nuke-puke").

However mine has butterfly pin fittings, which seemed to creep into British military use in the mid - 70's & which I've never liked as being rather insecure.?

Those are screw posts?

Edited February 22, 2008 by leigh kitchen

[leigh kitchen]

Is the badge Tony's showing a dress uniform version as opposed to the anodised one?

[perce]

Tony's badge is the bog standard current issue one-used for all dress

Cheers

Perce

[Tiger-pie]

The "Dolphins" are awarded (earned) I believe well after qualifying for subs. Basically I believe you have to have a good working knowledge of all trade disciplines aboard a boat.

I don't know what other Navies do, but in the Aussie Navy you have to do a selection course, know as the 'ENHANCED SELECTION PROCESS' or ESP. This sorts the sh#t from the clay, then they do Intial Training and the Submarine Escape Course. If you get through that then you have to Submarine Sea Qualification (SMSQ). All of the crew has to know what every valve does, from the Seaman Cook to the Commanding Officer. For the Technical branches it can take up to 18 months of classroom and on the job training to get the coverted submariners badge.

However mine has butterfly pin fittings, which seemed to creep into British military use in the mid - 70's & which I've never liked as being rather insecure.?

I hate those butterfly clips, they dig into your skin to the point that they make you bleed. The ones pictured here look much better.

Tony's badge is the bog standard current issue one-used for all dress

With the exception of working rig, I think most navies have adopted sew-on badges for their coveralls / work shirts. The Submariners Dolphins were designed by Commander McIntosh RAN (later captain), the submarine project officer in 1965.

"The Naval Board accepted the design and production of the dolphins went ahead. On 25 July 1966 the RAN issued Navy Order number 411, which covered who was eligible to wear the submarine badge and how.

In 1968 the officers and crew of HMS TRUMP, the last British submarine in the Royal Navy's Fourth Division based in Sydney, were given Australian submarine dolphins to wear for a year. At the end of that year the sailors were asked to fill out a survey. Ninety nine per cent of the crew liked the design and were in favour of wearing the badge. It was not until 1972, having assessed the value of the Australian submarine badge, that the Royal Navy issued a variation on Captain McIntosh's design."

From The Trade - June 2005 The origins of Australian Submarine Dolphin badge by Peter Smith

Bet that made a few from the Admiralty spray their pink gins, taking inspiration from the 'colonials'.

Regards,

Johnsy

Pictured are from the top:

Submariners Badge

Submariners Badge-Mess Undress for Senior Sailors and Officers

Submariners Badge-Unofficial Lapel Badge

Submariners Badge-Cloth, sew on, for working rig. Generally used on the submarine issue black coveralls (black hides the grime)

Edited February 29, 2008 by Tiger-pie

[Simon F]

To become a submariner in the RN you have to pass a number of courses on top of basic training. If you are straight from training you will complete a basic course which lasts around six weeks (when I did it), in which you learn the basics of a submarines workings, nuclear reactors, trim and drain, ballast tanks ( a lot of diagrams, facts and figures).

On successful completion of this course you then take a course specifically for the class of submarine you are joining (for me the old Valiant class) which was a further 4 weeks and this would be similar to the basic submarine course but would concentrate on systems, propulsion and various fits specific to that boat (submarines are known as boats over here). Again once complete and dependent entirely on what you are streamed as you then complete further training such as Sonar operation or Tactical systems for the old Operations branch and engineers go off to learn about the equipment they will be maintaining, stokers go from steam and gas to nuclear (obviously).

Marine engineers, weapons engineers and the secretariat branches can pretty much transfer at anytime, for the Operations boys you really needed to go from basic or transfer over early doors as experience is the key. Sonar operators on boats use a lot of listening equipment as their bread and butter skills, whereas us skimmers ping on active Sonar for the vast majority of the time and with all that sound pouring into the water you don't require a great deal of audio skills

On top of this there is also a period of escape training in the tank in which the guy's learn how to escape at various depths. This training has to be repeated on a regular basis (blocked sinuses or a cold can really screw up your day).

Finally when you join your first boat there is the part three training to be completed. This consists of tasks that need to be completed to ensure you are safe to be a fully competent member of the boat. Everyone from the most junior member upwards needs an intimate knowledge of that particular boats systems as ultimately anyone of them could be in a position to save the rest of the boat by basically knowing which valve to open or close. This phase normally takes about three months and considering all boats do 1 in 2 watches (6 hours on, 6 hours off) you can imagine how tired the part 3's get!!

Finally, after al this, you are awarded your Dolphins in the Captains cabin, which are at the bottom of a glass of rum and it is good form to catch them in your teeth, not swallow them whole!!

It might be of interest to note that new dress regulations means that all Senior ratings from the submarine branch now wear Dolphins 38 mm above the left pocket of their working shirts. I only know this because I work in a building full of them..... joy!!

[SICHERHEITSDIENTS]

Hi

Can we difference SUB badges period,I mean if they are current or past?

Can someone pics to see them?

I would like to know period from this one but Im afraid I have only this poor pic

 

 

[perce]

Hi All

This is the current issue badge - Queens crown with pin back

 

Cheers

Perce