Submarine Rescue Vessels
Submariners are a special brotherhood, either all come to the surface or no one does... ~ VADM Rudolf Golosov, USSR
MINSY - Boats Under Construction
Welcome to the Cold War Boats Association!

The Association exists for three specific reasons:

    • Assisting shipmates from years ago in reconnecting, simply, easily, and without compromising their privacy,
    • Preserving the unclassified history of Cold War submarine crews and their boats in the form of photographs, stories, artifacts, and audio or video recordings, and
    • Honoring the sailors and families who sacrificed so much to help bring an end to the Cold War.

This is the future home of the Cold War Boats Association website for a specific boat. Someday in the not too distant future, this will be a place for everyone who ever served on her. You'll be able register, allowing you secure access to a family of shipmates that served in one of the most rigorous assignments in the United States military, the Submarine Service. 

Here you will be able to reconnect with shipmates who, like yourself, will have already registered with the Association, allowing you to reach out and connect without revealing any more personal info than you choose. This isn't Facebook, we respect your privacy here, and we have designed Cold War Boats so that shipmates and friends can contact you without revealing your email, phone numbers, street address, and anything else you choose to keep private.

One day, you'll find a huge collection of photographs from back in the day, dozens of sea stories, actual copies of ships documents like Personnel Diaries and Deck Logs, as well as forums for talking about the things you want to talk about, reinforcing the bond you built with a few other sailors who also earned their dolphins, reserving a place in this community and the living history that is Cold War Boats.

Like a combat submarine being constructed in a shipyard, it doesn't happen overnight! There is a lot of work to get from a slab of hull metal laid down for the keel to an operational boat on mission. The same is true of this site, and it will be evolving continuously. To see an example of what this site might look like, check out the USS WILLIAM H. BATES (SSN 680) website here. This is what the future will look like!

So what does this mean for you? 

One, you'll have to be patient. It's going to take time and energy.

Two, you'll have to register - if you don't, you won't be counted as an active member, and there may be shipmates that would like to reconnect.

Three, you can help us out with photos and stories. Contact the admin to contribute.

Four, you can volunteer. We need Site Leads for each boat. No experience required, your responsibiities are limited to content - photos and articles and members - locating and registration. We do all the hard work of of managing the website behind the scenes - you don't have to know anything about how websites work! (We prefer, but do not require, Site Leads that served on the boat or boats they manage.)

Five, subscribe! Membership, and access necessary to reconnect will always be free, but there is a cost to maintaining the Cold War Boats Association and the website you're viewing right now. Your subscription or one-time contribution is vitally necessary to continue this service, enabling us in:

    • Assisting shipmates from years ago in reconnecting, simply, easily, and without compromising their privacy,
    • Preserving the unclassified history of Cold War submarine crews and their boats in the form of photographs, stories, artifacts, and audio or video recordings, and
    • Honoring the sailors and families who sacrificed so much to help bring an end to the Cold War.

In the meantime, grab a cup of joe, visit the Bates site, and learn your way around. 

We are pleased to have you here!

 

Share the good stuff, shipmate!

OPSEC Policy

The Cold War Boats Association prohibits the posting of Classified material on the the coldwarboats.org website.

Any documents, photographs, audio or video recordings, or artifacts that are currently considered Classified are not permitted, and will be removed.

Any information that could compromise the operational security of active duty personnel, commissioned ships, or their missions is not permitted, and will be removed.

Access to personally identifiable information (PII) of active-duty service members or information related to the crews of submarines currently in full or limited commission is restricted to administrators only.

Full details of the Cold War Boats Association's Security Policy can be found at: www.coldwarboats.org/security.

Questions and concerns should be directed to the Security Manager at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Copyright Information

 
 
© 2024 Brad Williamson
and/or the
Cold War Boats Association
or respective image owners
 
All Rights Reserved
 
Permission is granted for not-for-profit reproduction
of text and images under the condition that
all attribution as to owner and source is included,
and additionally, when republished electronically, a link to is provided.
 
 

Privacy Policy

The Cold War Boats Association is committed to protecting your personally identifiable information (PII). 

This information, your PII,  includes your email, your street address, your phone number(s), your personal records (such as a DD-214) and various other related information.

Your PII will never be shared, given, sold, or rented. It will not be accessible by others, except by administrators or moderators of the www.coldwarboats.org website as necessary in the performance of their duties.

Your use of the www.coldwarboats.org website is your acknowledgement that these limitations are understood.

Full details of the Cold War Boats Association's Privacy Policy can be found at: www.coldwarboats.org/privacy.

Questions and concerns should be directed to the Privacy Manager at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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