However, unlike the dinosaurs whose fossilized bones are their epitaph, the diesel boats' sea-battered hulls won't be their epitaph. Instead, the submariners who served in them will be. In Tang's case, the submariners are those who served in two boats bearing the name. The first was USS Tang (SS 306), now lying 180 feel below the surface in the Straits of Formosa. Most of its gallant crew perished when an erratic torpedo from its own tubes sunk the boat shortly before midnight on Oct. 24, 1944, during a daring surface attack on a Japanese convoy. Seven years later on October 25, 1951, the second USS Tang (SS 563) was commissioned and was the first of the modern fast attack submarines and surrogate parent of the U.S. Navy's nuclear power submarine force.

By 1948, the Navy's submarine force saw the development of a new hybrid submarine. The U.S. diesel boat and German U-boat yielded the first fast attack submarine USS Tang
(SS 563). From its initial planning, the new Tangintroduced the fast attack concept to the submarine community with its streamlined hull, integrated snorkel system, and increased speed and depth. The SS 563's design incorporated the total submerged operation concept from the U.S. Navy's World War II submarine experience as well as the submarine experience of our enemies.

At the SS 563's commissioning, seven years after its namesake's sinking, a passage in the program by W. R. Anderson, the executive officer, interlocked the soul of both boats. "We pay tribute in assuming duties on the new Tang to our valored comrades, most of who lost their lives on Oct. 24, 1944. Fate cut down your fighting submarine at the very hour you deserved the greatest laurels of victory. We cannot replace you, rather, we hope that we shall capture some of your skill, some of your devotion to duty and country, and some of your gallantry. We shall endeavor to be a credit to your memory and we shall strive to justify our affiliation with the name you and your heroic commanding officer have enscrolled in the history of fighting ships of the Navy.... "

Thus began the 30-year career of a submarine that provided shipbuilders with the pattern for the first eight U.S. nuclear powered submarines of the Nautilus, Seawolf, and Skate class. Tang outlasted four of those submarines before being decommissioned.

In 1972, Tang 's crew found their boat and themselves in a new home port San Diego, and with a new mission: antisubmarine warfare (ASW) research and training. The new job brought with it a new designation "AGSS" for the 563. Under a heavy operational tempo, Tang dedicated itself to ASW training and several special CNO research and development projects for the next six years. But in 1978, Tang shifted home ports once again. This time it went to New London, Conn., where the 563 was redesignated SS" and became the only operational diesel submarine in the Atlantic Fleet and was once again heavily used in ASW training. With more than 5,000 dives, Tang's 'twilight cruise' had been anything but slack. For two years, SS 563 and its 79-man crew have lived day-to-day under a constantly changing operational schedule and an unknown future.

The slogan "Diesel Boats Forever" seems dated now, but the diehard diesel submariners won't let it die.

But, even so, they were sired by a diesel boat called Tang.