And Now I Feel Old
By Mitch Berg
The co-star of the book Hunt For Red October – which came out thirty years ago this coming year – was the USS Dallas, a Los Angeles-class nuclear attack submarine.
(Yeah, I know – Ramius was the co-star, Jonesy, Ritter, yadda yadda. I got that. But in all of Clancy’s novels, technology was a co-star as well).
And the Dallas is being decommissioned:
Tom Clancy’s Cold War thriller made the Dallas famous, but in Navy circles it is better known for being the first attack submarine to carry a dry-deck shelter, which houses a vehicle for launching and recovering special operations forces.
“Dallas” earlier in her career
“Of all the submarines that would be finishing up their service life, there are a couple out there that people know by name, and Dallas is one of them,” said Capt. David A. Roberts, who commanded Dallas from 2007 to 2009. “It kind of adds to the moment. ‘The Hunt for Red October’ submarine we all know and love from the movies is going to be finishing up its service life soon.”
Via Dave Thul, an Army guy.
December 2nd, 2013 at 3:05 pm
I must have read Clancy’s “Red Storm Rising” three times back in the day. For some reason or other, I did happen to pause the other day and wonder how much of the cool military technology described in the book is now obsolete.
December 2nd, 2013 at 8:40 pm
I was living in San Diego shortly after the book came out and the bars around there had more than a few sailors arguing about it. I wondered what they heck they were talking about and wound up buying the book just to understand what the fuss was about. It would have saved me a fair chunk of change if I hadn’t listened to the arguments…
December 3rd, 2013 at 10:51 am
I heard an interview with Clancy after Red Storm Rising came out. He said that his descriptions were so accurate, that he was visited by the FBI and the intelligence units of at least two branches of the military to make sure that he wasn’t a spy. They just couldn’t believe that a civilian knew that much info that was not general public knowledge.