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By examining the different type of illustrations created by sailors during the early years of the Cold War, it is possible to comprehend how the sailors dealt with experiences in their daily lives. These cartoons demonstrate that the sailors often struggled with basic aspects of life such as food and medicine and with how technology was changing the Navy and affecting their lives on the seas. In addition, cartoons also expressed significant parts of the sailors’ worldviews and culture. These cartoons revealed struggles amongst the submarines in terms of their relationship with their commanding officers. Furthermore, they highlighted a darker side of Navy culture which was hyper masculine and fostered sexism and racism. Finally, the cartoons also illustrate how the sailors dealt with questions over their own survival and the violence they inflected on others. While these worldviews were not always perfect, they contributed to the common camaraderie felt among submariners and helped shaped how the submariners understood themselves in the changing landscape of the Cold War.  

The infomartion used in this exhibit comes from Patrick Shank, "Below The Depths With USS Becuna: Reinterpreting Cold War History Through Submarines And Cartoons," Temple University Thesis, May 2017. 

The image of the USS Becuna comes from the J. Welles Henderson Archives and Library at the Independence Seaport Museum.