Dolphins – The Submarine
Warfare Qualification Insignia:
Many
people are interested in the history and development of Navy traditions. One Navy tradition is the wearing of Dolphins
by qualified submariners. "Earning
Dolphins" is a significant event in a Navy submariner's career - one of
those special high points that instill tremendous personal pride and a sense of
accomplishment.
Dolphins
are earned through a process of "Qualifying." Individuals must learn the location of equipment,
operation of systems, damage control procedures and have a general knowledge of
operational characteristics of their boat.
Dolphin wearers qualify initially on one boat and must requalify on each
subsequent boat to which they are later assigned.
Once
Dolphins have been earned, they are awarded by the Commanding Officer in a
special ceremony.
The
origin of the US Navy's Submarine Service Insignia dates back to 1923. On 13 June of that year, Captain Ernest J.
King, USN, later to become Fleet Admiral and Chief of Naval Operations during
WWII, and at that time Commander Submarine Division THREE, suggested to the
Secretary of the Navy, via the old Bureau of Navigation, that a distinguishing
device for qualified submariners be adopted.
A
Philadelphia firm, which had done work for the Navy previously, was approached
with a request that it undertake the design of a suitable badge. Two designs were submitted by the firm and
these were combined into a single design that is still in use today: a bow view
of a submarine proceeding on the surface with bow planes rigged for diving,
flanked by dolphins in horizontal positions with their heads resting on the
upper edge of the bow planes. (These
Dolphins are the fish, also known as Dorado or Mahi Mahi, not the sea mammal
many people are familiar with. They were
chosen for the insignia because they are the mythical attendants to Poseidon.)
The
officer's insignia is a gold-plated metal pin worn centered above the left
breast pocket and above the ribbons or medals.
Enlisted men originally wore the insignia, embroidered in silk, sewn on
the outside of the right dress uniform sleeve, midway between the wrist and
elbow. The device was two and
three-quarters inches long. In mid-1947
the embroidered device shifted from the sleeve of the enlisted men's jumper to
above the left breast pocket.
Subsequently, silver metal dolphins were approved for enlisted men in
1950.
Submarine
Dolphins were the first Warfare Specialty Qualification Insignia adopted by the
US Navy. Today, the Surface, Air, and
Expeditionary communities also have warfare insignia pins similar to the
original Submarine Dolphin design.
In
more recent times, the Navy has developed Dolphin insignia for specialist
officers in the submarine force. These
include the Engineering Duty Officer Dolphins, Medical Officer Dolphins, and
Supply Corps Dolphins.
Regardless
of the color of the pin or the insignia at the center, Dolphins are worn with pride
by members of the Submarine Force, who refer to each other as “Brothers of the
‘Phin.”
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