I made this one hour primetime television special in 1989. At the time, it was a big deal for the American Navy to let me on one of their submarines. I loved the experience and the submariners. This documentary won the Blue Ribbon at the American Film Festival.

In my opinion what makes this so realistic is the everyday life submariners experienced and how when they trusted me and the crew, they let me record how things were when no one was watching. I was impressed with how professional they were and how, though underwater for months at a time, they treated each other decently and with respect.

As you can see in this documentary, smoking cigarettes at that time was just fine on a nuclear submarine. Just a few years later, those rules changed. And it was very strange to be on or should I say in a boat that carried or could carry nuclear weapons. It was strange to be completely disconnected from life on the surface.

It takes a certain kind of person to be a submariner and I have deep respect for their professionalism and their patriotism. I know from so many who have commented on this video that to some extent, life on board a submarine has changed. For example there is no smoking cigarettes for sure. But in other ways, the life on board a Boomer or and attack sub isn't all that different from what is shown here.

As I am an independent filmmaker, I make a portion of my living from selling copies of my films but I have decided, given the number of requests that I have had from ex-Navy men and women, to put the entire film up on YouTube.

If you found this film of interest, please consider supporting my efforts by clicking the Super Thanks button below the video screen. Your support will allow me to present more military oriented films like this from my archive.
Thank you
David Hoffman filmmaker