Submarine Squadron 14 (SUBRON 14), also known as Site One, Holy Loch, was a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

submarine squadron. It was based at

Holy Loch The Holy Loch () is a sea loch, part of the Firth of Clyde, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The "Holy Loch" name is believed to date from the 6th century, when Saint Munn landed there after leaving Ireland. Kilmun Parish Church and Argyll Mausole ...

Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde, is the estuary of the River Clyde, on the west coast of Scotland. The Firth has some of the deepest coastal waters of the British Isles. The Firth is sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre, Kintyre Peninsula. The ...

, Scotland, between 1958 and 1992.

History

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, served as tender and staff headquarters for

Submarine Squadron A submarine squadron (SUBRON) is a naval formation or unit in such states such as the United Kingdom, United States, and Russia/Soviet Union. In France the equivalent unit is the ' (ESNA), part of the French submarine forces (and before the Second ...

14's staff and Division Staff in

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

from July to September 1943. Postwar, it consisted of

Polaris Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris (Latinisation of names, Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an ...

and, later,

Poseidon Poseidon (; ) is one of the twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and mythology, presiding over the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 He was the protector of seafarers and the guardian of many Hellenic cit ...

Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) submarines based at

, on the west coast of Scotland. Commissioned on July 1, 1958, the squadron arrived at FBM Refit Site One, Holy Loch, on March 3, 1961 and departed in June 1992. The squadron was part of Submarine Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet. The squadron also included a series of submarine tenders anchored out in the loch, initially , tugs, barges, small boats, and the floating drydock . The site was a deep, sheltered anchorage which had been a British submarine base during World War II, with the Submarine Depot Ship serving as a support unit for submarines training in the Clyde. From the latter half of 1978 until November 1991, was forward deployed at Site One. On November 9, 1991, ''Will Rogers'' departed Site One, the last submarine to leave Holy Loch before Submarine Squadron 14 was deactivated.

FBM submarine tenders assigned to SUBRON 14

* (March 1961–March 1963) * (March 1963–July 1966 and January 1982–June 1987) * (July 1966–May 1970 and June 1987–June 1992 * (May 1970–November 1975) * (November 1975–January 1982)

Tugs assigned to SUBRON 14

* * * *

Service craft assigned to SUBRON 14

* (Dry Dock) *YFNB-31—Living/Working Barge: Boat Operations Department *YFNB-42 *YD-245—Floating barge Crane

Small boats

There was also a large number of small boats used to transport personnel and supplies from the shore to the ship. Among these small boats were Utility Boats, LCM Mk6 and Mk8

landing craft Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force (infantry and vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. The term excludes landing ships, which are larger. ...

, some with the holds roofed over for personnel transport, and a officers motorboat. The ships' divers had a LCM Mk6 modified as a dive boat. There was also a boat known as the "Box L" of uncertain heritage.

Polaris military tartan

The idea for the Polaris Military Tartan came from Captain Walter F. Schlech while he was Commodore of SUBRON 14 in the early 1960s. The design of the tartan was the work of Alexander MacIntyre of nearby

Strone, Cowal Strone () is a village on the Cowal, Cowal Peninsula, in Argyll and Bute in the Scottish Highlands at the point where the north shore of the Holy Loch becomes the west shore of the Firth of Clyde. The village lies within the Loch Lomond and The ...

. The yellow and sky blue lines are said to represent the alternating blue and gold crews of the FBM submarines. The tartan is worn by the members of the

United States Naval Academy Pipes and Drums The United States Naval Academy Pipes and Drums is a highland musical Midshipman#United States Naval and Merchant Marine Academies, midshipman unit of the United States Naval Academy (USNA). Currently, the 42-member military pipe band is the only ...

References

{{United States Navy Submarine squadrons Submarine squadrons of the United States Navy Military units and formations established in 1958 1958 establishments in the United States Firth of Clyde Cowal Dunoon