On February 22, I was pleased to offer a presentation on subchasers and a book signing of Hunters of the Steel Sharks for the Casco Bay Council, U.S. Navy League. It was an evening of interesting conversations, and a pleasure to present to a group with such keen interest in the chasers. Thank you to the Navy League for giving me the opportunity to speak on chasers to a most receptive audience! For the Navy League presentation I put together a photo-rich digital slide show, which got me thinking once again about a project I have been considering for some time: a podcast series on WWI topics. There are endless supplies of podcasts to be found online, but a real dearth of history-oriented material, and just about nothing on WWI. This month, as a first step in this project, I have launched a sister-site to The Subchaser Archives titled In the Great War: Accounts of WWI, at www.inthegreatwar.com. The site won't be officially announced until next month at the earliest, and is still in beta testing, but feel free to visit and download the first podcasts, online now. The initial vision is for a pair of podcasts, one series with audio-only episodes, which are fairly small files; and one with video, which makes very large files, but of course it's nice to see the images. Comments and suggestions are welcome. [Editor's note: In the Great War is no longer active.]

--Todd Woofenden, Editor

New in The Chasers >> Construction

There is a new category, Construction in the section, The Chasers, for images and information on the various boatyards that participated in the subchaser-building program in 1917-1919. One such boatyard, in the mid-coast region of Maine, is Hodgdon Yacht in East Boothbay. A set of photo scans of chaser construction at Hodgdon Yacht, courtesy of the Boothbay Region Historical Society, is now online.

New in The Chasers >> Hull Number Photographs

There are several new images in the Hull Number Photographs sections, showing:

  • SC 64, shown post-war in Illinois.
  • An excellent photo of SC 218, which served in the Atlantic Fleet.
  • SC 283, which served in the Canal Zone.
  • SC 290, which also served in the Canal Zone.

New in Chaser Models >> Close Aboard

While the space beneath the bridge wings is clear in many chaser photos, some shots show slat walls built in this location, and a few show what appears to be coiled ropes or hoses stowed there. A new photo set shows several configurations. My theory is that the purpose of these structures was to create storage space below the bridge wings with some shelter from the sea, while still allowing water drainage and not entirely blocking air and light flow to the officers' quarter port hole.