Below The Depths With USS Becuna: Reinterpreting Cold War History Through Submarines and Cartoons

Abstract

Connecting people to the past through thought-provoking interpretations is one of the chief aims of history museums. The submarine USS Becuna at the Independence Seaport Museum (ISM), however, has been without critical interpretation since its opening as a museum in 1976. In order to better fulfill its mission, the museum must interpret Becuna’s Cold War history. This project explores the Cold War though the history of the submarine’s service and the lives of the submariners. First by examining submarines during the early decades of the Cold War, this paper fills in the gaps in the historiography of this overlooked part of naval history and reveals the major transitions that the submarine fleet underwent during the 1940s and 1950s. Then, by studying cartoons drawn by the submariners and other naval personal, this paper showcases their unfiltered attitudes about Cold War Era military life. Analyzing the naval cartoons reveals a number of themes, including tensions between enlisted crew and officers, hyper-sexualization of women, and underlying racism. These themes allow us to understand the Navy’s culture during those years since they reflect accepted social norms. Finally, this thesis details how the interpretation of the cartoons along with the submarine’s Cold War history can be integrated into a new app-based tour on the USS Becuna so that visitors can explore and interact with this socially important and forgotten history.