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The Hunley actually sank three times during its career before she was finally successful. On August 29, 1863, the Hunley was swamped while moored by a passing ship when swells entered its open hatches. Five of its nine crewmen drowned. On October 15, 1863, the Hunley sank with all hands when unable to recover from a dive. The crew was unable to release the ballast which would have enabled them to resurface. All eight crewmen drowned which included H.L. Hunley. The third sinking was on Feb 17, 1864 when George E. Dixon and the Hunley made a night attack against the USS Housatonic, an 1800 ton blockading warship mounting 23 guns. The Hunley rammed the Housatonic with a harpoon-like spar, having an explosive charge of about ninety pounds attached to it. After embedding the spar into the Union warship's wooden side, the Hunley backed off several yards; a lanyard was pulled inside the submarine triggering the explosive charge against the Housatonic's hull. The Union warship sank, becoming the first victim of a submarine attack in history. There was to be a pre-arranged blue carbide signal from the Hunley that the attack had been completed and that the sub was coming home. This signal was actually observed from shore. The Hunley however was lost and not rediscovered for another 131 years until the found by author Clive Cussler and his team from the National Underwater and Marine Agency in partnership with the South Carolina Institute of Anthropology and Archaeology. On August 8th, 2000 at 8:37 a.m. the Hunley was lifted to the surface by a crane from the Clarissa B. 136 years after setting out on its attack.
Photo is a facial re-creation of George E. Dixon by Sharon Longs for National Geographic Magazine.
|413k||The ship's sponsor breaks the traditional bottle of champagne across the bow of USS Dixon (AS-37) as she christens the ship, 20 June 1970, at General Dynamics Corp., Quincy, MA.||Dale Hargrave|
|93k||USS Dixon (AS-37) underway, date and location unknown.
US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, January 1974
|Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.|
|172k||USS Dixon (AS-37) underway, date and location unknown.
US Navy photo.
|43k||USS Dixon (AS-37) tending submarines at Diego Garcia, date unknown.||Contributed by Dave Gibson to
Tendertales web site
|28k||USS Dixon (AS-37) underway, date and location unknown.
US Navy photo
|Courtesy Randy Guttery
Tendertales web site
|55k||USS Dixon (AS-37) tending submarines at San Diego, CA., 1973.||Photo by Thomas Brownrigg BTFN USS Dixon|
|84k||USS Dixon (AS-37) tending submarines at Sub Base San Diego, circa 1977-79||Photo by Dr. Kenneth Hartman|
|269k||USS Dixon (AS-37) at left, and USS Holland (AS-32) at right, tied up pierside in August 1978.
Alongside Holland is an unidentified floating crane. In the foreground is a 65-foot Patrol Boat
Mark 111 Sea Specter belonging to Coastal Riverine Squadron Two.
Photo from "U.S. Small Combatants: An Illustrated Design History" by Norman Friedman.
|53k||USS Dixon (AS-37) tending submarines at Sub Base San Diego, date unknown.||Robert Hall USS Tidewater|
|66k||USS Dixon (AS-37) underway, date and location unknown.||Robert Hall USS Tidewater|
|55k||USS Dixon (AS-37) and USS Samuel Gompers (AD-37) side by side at Diego Garcia. After a 60-day deployment Samuel Gompers turned over the job of Indian Ocean fleet repairs to Dixon, May 1981.
US Navy photo by PH3 Book.
|Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.|
|2469k||USS Dixon (AS-37) in her berth at Sub Base San Diego, 1 July 1982. In the foreground the large harbor tug Washtucna (YTB-826) nudges the Los Angeles class nuclear-powered attack submarine USS La Jolla (SSN-701) into her berth outboard of the 594 class attack submarine USS Plunger (SSN-595).
DVIC photo # DN-ST-83-10231 by PH2 Randy Hays.
|Defense Visual Information Center|
|189k||USS Dixon (AS-37) underway at Vancouver, B.C., 15 July 1988.
Photo courtesy Rick Garcia
|Chris Howell, Southland Ship Stores Limited, Port of Bluff, N.Z.|
|400k||An aerial view of some of the service craft, submarines and support ships tied up at the submarine base at Point Loma.
At left is the medium auxiliary repair dock Arco (ARDM-5); on the other side of the same pier is the auxiliary repair dry dock
San Onofre (ARD-30) with a submarine aboard. At right is the submarine tender
USS Dixon (AS-37), 1 January 1989.
Department of Defense photo # DN-SC-90-00223.
|727k||Submarine tenders moored pierside at Ballast Point, Naval Station Point Loma, San Diego, CA., circa 1980s. From right to left
USS Sperry (AS-12),
USS Proteus (AS-19) and
USS Dixon (AS-37).
Defense Imagery Photo # VIRIN: DN-SC-85-09594
|289k||The Aircraft Carrier USS Constellation (CV-64) outbound to sea,
18 September 1989, to participate in PACEX89 turns in the harbor at San Diego passing Naval Submarine Base Point Loma where the Submarine Tender
USS Dixon (AS-37), Auxiliary Repair Dock San Onofre (ARD-30),
Medium Auxiliary Repair Dry Dock Arco (ARDM-5) and Floating Dry Dock Workshop (Machinery)
YRDM-7 are moored.
Department of Defense photo # DNST 9008875.
|518k||A starboard bow view of USS Dixon (AS-37) tending submarines at Sub Base San Diego, 14 June 1990.
Department of Defense photo # DN-SC-93-00927.
|124k||USS Dixon (AS-37) departs San Diego 17 September 1990, with the nuclear-powered attack submarines
USS Guitarro (SSN-665), left, and
USS Gurnard (SSN-662), The ships took part in Exercise FallEx '90.
US Navy photo # DN-SC-91-04869, by PH 2 Patrick W. Muscatt, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection.
|Bill Gonyo and Robert Hurst|
|75k||USS Dixon (AS-37) moored at Sub Base San Diego, date unknown.
US Navy photo.
|Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.|
|01||CAPT. Boyd, David Stuart||7 August 1971 - 17 August 1973|
|02||CAPT. Kauderer, Bernard Marvin :VADM||17 August 1973 - 23 May 1975|
|03||CAPT. Keane, James Philip||23 May 1975 - 10 November 1977|
|04||CAPT. Harscheid, David George||10 November 1977 - 2 August 1979|
|05||CAPT. Wolfe, Roderic Leighson||2 August 1979 - 3 April 1982|
|06||CAPT. Heuberger, Nathan Albert||3 April 1982 - 26 January 1985|
|07||CAPT. Bond, Thomas Henry||26 January 1985 - 28 February 1987|
|08||CAPT. Lee, Richard Neyman, USN (USNA 1962)||28 February 1987 - 29 April 1989|
|09||CAPT. Beers Jr., Charles Joseph :RADM||29 April 1989 - 15 June 1991|
|10||CAPT. McCurry, Robert A.||15 June 1991 - 25 November 1992|
|11||CAPT. Crisp, Dale William||25 November 1992 - 10 August 1994|
|12||CAPT. Hearding, David Warren||10 August 1994 - 15 December 1995|
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