Celebrate Submarine Day on March 17 and April 11

• By NSC
• 3 Comments.

 

 

Wow, the submarine must be popular. Submarine Day has two dates to celebrate!

March 17 and April 11.

As near as we can tell, the March 17 date came first.

(Yeah, yeah. We know. March 17 comes before April 11 every year. That’s not what we meant!)

March 17 is the anniversary of the day John Phillip Holland demonstrated his invention, the submarine Holland VI, in front of the the US Navy in 1898. At some point (we haven’t been able to discover when), the date came to be celebrated as Submarine Day.

Many countries now celebrate Submarine Day on this day.

The United Kingdom seems to make the biggest deal out of the day.

Of course the United States has always had to go its own way. And its celebration of the submarine is no different.

Even though the March 17 date originated with the US, April 11 is also important in US submarine history.

April 11 is the anniversary of the US government’s purchase of the Holland VI, which it renamed the USS Holland, in 1900. That also makes it the anniversary of the establishment of the U.S. Submarine Force. So that date has become the US’s Submarine Day.

As far as we can tell most people still celebrate on March 17.

 

Submarine Trivia

The very first submarine was built way back in 1620. Cornelius Drebbel built it for James I of England. It used oars to move and wasn’t too useful.

The very first submarine attack happened on September 7, 1776. An odd-looking submersible called the Turtle (because of its shape) was used to try to damage the British ship the HMS Eagle. The attempt failed. The Turtle’s inventor, David Bushnell went on to become commander of the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers after the Revolutionary War ended.

Scroll down for some ideas on celebrating this unofficial holiday.

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Ideas For Celebrating Submarine Day

Whichever date you choose to celebrate (if you really love submarines, why not celebrate both days?), you have plenty of options.

Do you live near a submarine museum? So visit! If you’re not sure where the nearest one is, submarinemuseums.org has a list. And even if you’re not close enough to actually visit one, check out some of the websites. You can see pictures, read the history of the boats and more.

Watch a movie featuring submarines. Some ideas could include:

• The Hunt for Red October (1990, stars Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin)
• U-571 (2000, stars Matthew McConaughey and Bill Paxton)
• Up Periscope (1959, stars James Garner and Andra Martin)
• Submerged (2005, stars Steven Seagal and Christine Adams)
• The Spy Who Loved Me (1977, stars Roger Moore and Barbara Bach)

 

Maybe you should consider a movie marathon?

Maybe even have a submarine movie marathon party! Serve submarine sandwiches to complete the theme.

Yes, we know the celebration has nothing to do with the sandwich. But that’s no reason not to add it to your celebration. After all, it’s your party.

There are good books about submarines, too. Consider:

• Stalking the Red Bear: The True Story of a U.S. Cold War Submarine’s Covert Operations Against the Soviet Union
• Submarine U93
• Weapons of War Submarines 1940-Present

 

Have a sub sandwich while enjoying your book.

And what celebration of submarines would be complete without the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine? Listen here:

 

Before you end your Submarine Day festivities, take a few moments to remember the brave men and women who lost their lives under the sea. And give thanks to those serving on submarines right now.

 

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