In 1941, a reindeer joined the 56 member crew of the HMS Trident, a British submarine.

The story goes that the reindeer, named Pollyanna, was gifted to the British crew by a Soviet naval captain while fighting German forces in the Arctic Circle. After the British captain spoke about his wife having trouble pushing her stroller through the snow in England, the Soviet captain presented the reindeer as a solution, reports BBC.

Instead of refusing the gift, the British captain took the reindeer onto the submarine where she lived with the crew for six weeks. To get Pollyanna into the sub, the crew had to lower her through a torpedo tube. Once inside, the crew attempted to get her to sleep in the food and torpedo store area. Instead, she opted to sleep under the captain’s bed.

According to BBC, the Soviets also provided the British a barrel of moss to feed Pollyanna. However, after the moss ran out, the reindeer took a liking to condensed milk and scraps from the galley. She even ate a navigation chart on one occasion.

Once the crew made it back to England, Pollyanna had grown too fat to exit through the torpedo tube. The crew had to use a winch to wiggle her out of the top hatch.

Pollyanna lived out the rest of her days in Regents Park Zoo. She died in 1947, the same year the HMS Trident was scrapped by the British navy.

(h/tBBC)

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On March 4, the French Ministry of Defense released some interesting details about one of its nuclear-powered attack submarines (SNA) in the waters of the North Atlantic Ocean.

According to the French MoD website (that is no longer online, though you can still find a cached version of the article titled “Le SNA Saphir en entraînement avec l’US Navy au large de la Floride”), the Saphir submarine has recently taken part in a major exercise with the US Navy off Florida.

The aim of the exercise was joint training with US Carrier Strike Group 12, which is comprised of the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, several Ticonderoga or Arleigh Burke-class frigates and a Los Angeles submarine. 

The scenario of the drills saw some imaginary states assaulting American economic and territorial interests. These threats were confronted by a naval force led by USS Theodore Roosevelt.

During the first phase of the exercise, the Saphir was integrated into the friendly force to support anti-submarine warfare (ASW) by cooperating with a US P-3C Orion P-8A Poseidon MPA (Maritime Patrol Aircraft): its role was to share all the underwater contacts with the other ASW assets.

In the second phase of the exercise, the Saphir was integrated with the enemy forces and its mission was to locate the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt and its accompanying warships and prepare to attack the strike group.

While the fictitious political situation deteriorated, the Saphir quietly slipped into the heart of the multi-billion-dollar aircraft carrier’s defensive screen, while avoiding detection by ASW assets.

On the morning of the last day, the order to attack was finally given, allowing the Saphir to mock sink the USS Theodore Roosevelt and most of its escort.

Although we don’t really know many more details about the attack and its outcome or the scripted exercise's rules of engagement, the simulated sinking of a US supercarrier proves the flattop’s underwater defenses are not impenetrable.

This is the reason why modern subs often train with aircraft carriers: they pose a significant threat to powerful Carrier Strike Groups.

Obviously, this was not the first time a submarine scored a simulated carrier kill with torpedo attacks.

For instance, in 2007 HMCS Corner Brook, a Canadian diesel-electric submarine “sunk” the UK’s Illustrious during an exercise in the Atlantic.

SEE ALSO: This chart shows the competition between India and China's submarine fleet

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The Navy and Congress have yet to find money for a newly created account designed to pay for the services’ fleet of next-generation nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarines slated to begin service in 2031 — the Ohio Replacement Program.

The special fund is a product of the concern from lawmakers and admirals that the cost of the Ohio Replacement program would bankrupt the rest of the Navy’s shipbuilding budget.

As a result, the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act established the National Sea-Based Deterrence Fund, a special account created specifically to fund the Ohio Replacement program. However, Congress has yet to assign any funding to the account.

“We need to have some processes in place in order to make sure you are ready to go and there is money in this fund,” Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said Wednesday at a Senate Armed Services Committee’s Navy shipbuilding hearing.

Service leaders told lawmakers there are not enough funds in the services’ shipbuilding accounts to move any over into the new fund for the Ohio Replacement.

“We need to work with you all (Congress) to put this fund to work. Right now it is a framework without funding in it. What was authorized was to use other funds from shipbuilding to go into the Sea Based Deterrence Fund,” said Navy acquisition executive Sean Stackley. “Today, we don’t have other funds from shipbuilding to move into that fund — particularly to the magnitude needed for the Ohio Replacement program.”

Slated to serve through 2085, the Ohio Replacement program, a so-called SSBN, is scheduled to begin construction by 2021. Requirements work, technical specifications and early prototyping have already been underway at General Dynamics Electric Boat.

Designed to be 560-feet–long and house 16 Trident II D5 missiles fired from 44-foot-long missile tubes, Ohio Replacement submarines will be engineered as a stealthy, high-tech nuclear deterrent.

Production for the lead ship in a planned fleet of 12 Ohio Replacement submarines is expected to cost $12.4 billion — $4.8 billion in non-recurring engineering or development costs and $7.6 billion in ship construction, the plan states.

The Navy hopes to build Ohio Replacement submarine numbers two through 12 for $4.9 billion each.

Detailed design for the first Ohio Replacement Program is slated for 2017. The new submarines are being engineered to quietly patrol the undersea domain and function as a crucial strategic deterrent, assuring a second strike or retaliatory nuclear capability in the event of nuclear attack.

Vice Adm. Joseph Mulloy, deputy chief of Naval Operations, Integration of Capabilities and Resources, explained that undersea nuclear deterrence also relies on communication with the E-6 Mercury– a militarized version of the Boeing’s 707 civilian airliner that serves as a command and control platform for the Navy’s ballistic missile submarine fleet.

“We have 15 of them and they fly airborne national command post missions and they relay strategic communication from the President to the SSBNs in time of emergency,” Mulloy said.

The Navy’s most recent 30-year shipbuilding plan, called the “Report to Congress on the Annual Long-Range Plan for Construction of Naval Vessels for FY2015,” breaks required funding for future ships into three ten-year blocks.

The plan specifies that the Navy will need to increase from $17.2 billion per year to $19.7 billion per year, in 2014 dollars, for shipbuilding from 2025 through 2034 due to the expected production of the Ohio Replacement Program.

The Navy is only building 12 Ohio Replacement submarines to replace 14 existing Ohio-class nuclear-armed boats because the new submarines are being built with an improved nuclear core reactor that will better sustain the submarines, officials have said.

As a result, the Ohio Replacement submarines will be able to serve a greater number of deployments than the ships they are replacing and not need a mid-life refueling in order to complete 42 years of service.

Electric Boat and the Navy are already progressing on early prototype work connecting missile tubes to portions of the hull, officials said. Called integrated tube and hull forging, the effort is designed to weld parts of the boat together and assess the ability to manufacture key parts of the submarine before final integration.

In 2012, General Dynamics Electric Boat was awarded a five-year research and development deal for the Ohio Replacement submarines with a value up to $1.85 billion. The contract contains specific incentives for lowering cost and increasing manufacturing efficiency, Navy and Electric Boat officials said.

US Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va., told Military​.com he would like to see a special defense budget line item created for the Ohio Replacement Program so that the strategically vital effort was not formally part of the Navy’s shipbuilding budget.

Forbes, who chairs the House Armed Services Committee’s Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, praised the creation of the National Sea Based Deterrence Fund but said progress still has to be made.

“We’ve started with a special fund and that is the first step, I think. One of the big things is we have to get that out of being a line-item in the shipbuilding budget and make it a defense line item overall because that is a national strategic concern that we are going to just have to meet,” he said.

Forbes has also talked often of a $4 billion annual shipbuilding budget shortfall, meaning the amount of money needed to accommodate the Navy’s plan is well short of the dollars actually spent on shipbuilding. This is something Forbes would like to see addressed in future budget determinations.

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Mexican and South American drug cartels and their broader networks are entirely dependent on an ability to get their product onto US soil. And if there's one thing that these organizations are good at, it's changing their operating methods in order to stay one step ahead of the game. 

As the United States, Mexico, and Colombia intensified their war on drugs throughout the late 1990s and the 2000s, the cartels had to reimagine various ways that they could smuggle cocaine into the US. With billions of dollars in annual revenue at stake, no idea for getting drugs into the US buyers was considered too outlandish — Sinaloa cartel leader Chapo Guzman even pioneered the use of cross-border drug catapults.

But the ultimate in high-risk, high-reward smuggling is the "narco submarine," homemade subs that can bring thousands of pounds of product to the US at once.

According to a US Foreign Military Studies Office (FMSO) report on narco submarines citing Drug Enforcement Administration statistics, 80% of drugs smuggled into the US in 2012 came from maritime routes. And 30% of the drugs that arrived in the US by sea were conducted via narco submarines. Like narco tanks, narco submarines show how cartels have mastered do-it-yourself engineering. Even so, around one in four of the vessels are interdicted. US authorities have captured narco subs with as much as 7.5 tons of cocaine onboard.

There are four broad categories of vessel that fall under the narco submarine label: low-profile vessels, semi-submersibles, submersibles, and towed narco "torpedoes." 

These vessels have shown a notable leap in quality since they first debuted over 20 years ago.

The first narco sub detected in 1993 was built from wood and fiberglass, could not submerge, and could only travel at 10 miles per hour. But the FMSO notes that the latest models of subs can mask their heat signature, evade sonar and radar, and use lead siding to help mask their infrared signature, making their detection and capture extremely difficult. 

Here are some narco subs that the authorities have captured over the years — evidence of the tenacity and resourcefulness of drug trafficking organizations that have to get their product to the US at any cost.

Low profile vessels (LPVs) are one of the most common narco sub variants. These vessels sit just above the water line. They aren't entirely submerged, but they're still difficult to spot. 

Their fiberglass and lead construction also render them difficult to detect through infrared. And because they sit almost below the water radar and sonar can have a difficult time spotting them.

Larger LPVs can carry upwards of 10 tons of drugs at at time.

The majority of narco submarines discovered have been LPVs, perhaps because cartels find them easier to construct and operate than fully submersible vessels.

Semi-submersible narco submarines are similar to LPVs. These vessels can completely lower themselves below the waterline — except for a snorkel-like tube to ensure the crew doesn't suffocate.

Fully submersible narco submarines are a rarity due to the cost and technical difficulties of building a working model.

But a few submersibles have been found over the years, and they're impressive.

The largest was a 100-foot long, GPS-equipped craft that could dive to 30 feet and transport upwards of 200 tons of drugs at a time, according to Colombian authorities.

Narco torpedoes are the least technologically advanced submersible. These empty canisters are designed to be dragged behind a camouflaged ship. In the event of detection, the tow-ship can drop the torpedo which then activates a homing signal for later pick-up.  

SEE ALSO: Mexican authorities discovered a 'narco tank' factory near the US border

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Beijing is commissioning an upgraded version of a nuclear attack submarine that would be capable of carrying supersonic missiles designed to take down enemy aircraft carriers, The Diplomat reported citing China Daily.

China is commissioning three upgraded Type-093 Shang-class nuclear-powered attack submarines. The new Type-093G "is reported to be an upgraded version of Type-093 … With a teardrop hull, the submarine is longer than its predecessor and has a vertical launching system," the China Daily reported.

The redesign of the submarine would allow it to move faster and more quietly than its previous iteration, the Chinese media reported. Crucially, the 093G model would also be outfitted with vertical launch tubes that would allow the submarine to be outfitted with the YJ-18 supersonic anti-ship cruise missile (ASCM).

The YJ-18 is designed to target enemy ships and battle groups with increased lethality and range. According to the Taiwan-based Want China Times, the YJ-18, when combined with aerial spotting and targeting from Chinese aircraft operating from an aircraft carrier, could hypothetically hit enemy ships almost 250 miles away.

China has only one aircraft carrier, a nearly 30-year-old Soviet-built vessel that has had its share of mechanical problems.

The YJ-18 is designed to carry a 660-pound warhead that would be capable of sinking a destroyer-sized ship, military aviation site Deagel reported. The missile is thought to be able to maneuver after being launched in order to attempt to avoid missile interceptors.

War On The Rocks noted that a missile with a range as wide as 250 miles could pose serious problems for the US Navy's Aegis Combat System. That distance is beyond the "engagement range" of aircraft carrier strike groups, leaving the vessels vulnerable to weapons operating at that distance.

This proliferation of long-range ASCMs is perhaps the single greatest military threat the US faces from China.

Expansion and deployment of ASCMs systems would allow China to build an aerial maritime strike force that could effectively control all of the maritime territory surrounding China. The Chinese military could quickly move against enemy vessels and Beijing would be able to counter the US's naval presence in the region if the two powers ever came in conflict.

However, these missiles would still do little or nothing to counter the US submarine fleet or overcome the US underwater superiority.

SEE ALSO: These weapons could be China's most threatening military advancement for the US

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Over the weekend, Swedish Rear Adm. Anders Grenstad confirmed to the media that the apparent Russian submarine spotted in Swedish waters on October 31 was just a civilian working boat. The conclusion was reached after close examination of pictures taken by a former naval officer.

But the Swedish military still believes that Russia was indeed sailing submarines around Swedish waters last year: "The assessment that Swedish territory was violated in October 2014 remains correct in its entirety."

In an extraordinary retort, the Russian foreign ministry issued a statement decrying "anti-Russian hysteria and propaganda" in Sweden's response to the mistaken submarine sighting. Russia apparently wants Sweden to believe its subs weren't off the Swedish coast last year:

We could not help but notice the article in the Swedish media quoting Navy Rear Admiral A. Grenstad Sweden concerning the large-scale operation in Swedish territorial waters last Autumn to search for an unidentified foreign object underwater — allegedly a Russian submarine. In fact, as the Swedish Rear Admiral admitted, this object was a "technical ship."

We would like to remind you that the representatives of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation from the outset rejected all insinuations Swedish side of the presence of Russian naval ships in the territorial waters of Sweden.

The unprecedented scale of the hunt for the Russian submarine was, therefore, nothing but a mindless waste of Swedish taxpayer money. This was done, it should be understood, for the sake of promotion of anti-Russian hysteria and propaganda "pumping" the myth of the "military threat" from the East.

While the individual sighting on October 31 was dismissed, the Swedish military remains convinced that incursions by a reconnaissance submarine into Swedish territorial waters did occur on October 17 and 24.

More than 200 service personnel took part in the search for the submarine as the military deployed minesweepers, helicopters, and an anti-submarine ship. At the time, Swedish intelligence reported intercepting encrypted messages that appeared to confirm the presence of at least one vessel, with another located in Kaliningrad, the base of Russia's Baltic Fleet.

Moreover, the retired Swedish naval officer who took a picture of what he believed to be a Russian submarine in the waters around Stockholm has rejected claims that it was just a "civilian boat." Sven Olof Kviman told the newspaper Dagens Nyheter that it was "completely impossible that we have got this wrong." He said:

I saw the submarine above water: the bow, stern and tower. It is always difficult to determine the size, but it was around 20-30 metres long.

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A crew of Northern Irish fishermen believe their trawler was dragged backwards across the Irish Sea by a submarine.

The skipper of the Karen, Paul Murphy, said his vessel was damaged during the incident on Wednesday.

He added that while none of the four-man crew was injured, the boat and its nets had been snagged, dragging the boat backwards.

The incident happened at a point known as the Calf Man close to the Isle of Man. Murphy said all four men on board were badly shaken by the experience.

“Without warning, we were stopped and pulled backwards very violently at around 10 knots which is the top speed of the vessel. I really thought that was it. It was fortunate that one of the steel ropes holding the net snapped or we would have been pulled under very quickly.

“The incident only lasted about just over five seconds but it was very scary. The submarine did not come up to the surface after we tangled with it. We have now lost thousands of pounds of fishing gear.” 

The damage to the Karen would cost about £10,000 to repair before the boat could return to sea from its home port of Ardglass, County Down, the skipper said. 

The Ministry of Defence said it did not comment on submarine activity. 

A Nato exercise is taking place north of the Irish Sea close to the Scottish coast and involves 55 warships, 13,000 sailors as well as 70 aircraft.

Russian submarines have also been suspected of operating close to the shorelines of the UK and Ireland.

Dick James, chief executive of the Northern Ireland Fish Producers’ Organisation, said military procedures meant naval personnel were supposed to stop and identify themselves following such an incident.

This week the MoD said Typhoon jets, from RAF Lossiemouth in Moray, Scotland, were deployed “after Russian aircraft were identified flying close to UK airspace”.

James added: “There has been Russian activity. There have been allied exercises going on, the Russians have been taking an interest in it.”

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Over the weekend, Swedish Rear Adm. Anders Grenstad confirmed to the media that the apparent Russian submarine spotted in Swedish waters on October 31 was just a civilian working boat. The conclusion was reached after close examination of pictures taken by a former naval officer.

But the Swedish military remain steadfast in its claim that Russia was indeed sailing submarines around Swedish waters last year: "The assessment that Swedish territory was violated in October 2014 remains correct in its entirety."

In an extraordinary retort, the Russian foreign ministry issued a statement decrying "anti-Russian hysteria and propaganda" in Sweden's response to the mistaken submarine sighting. Russia apparently wants Sweden to believe its subs weren't off the Swedish coast last year:

We could not help but notice the article in the Swedish media quoting Navy Rear Admiral A. Grenstad Sweden concerning the large-scale operation in Swedish territorial waters last Autumn to search for an unidentified foreign object underwater — allegedly a Russian submarine. In fact, as the Swedish Rear Admiral admitted, this object was a "technical ship."

We would like to remind you that the representatives of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation from the outset rejected all insinuations Swedish side of the presence of Russian naval ships in the territorial waters of Sweden.

The unprecedented scale of the hunt for the Russian submarine was, therefore, nothing but a mindless waste of Swedish taxpayer money. This was done, it should be understood, for the sake of promotion of anti-Russian hysteria and propaganda "pumping" the myth of the "military threat" from the East.

While the individual sighting on October 31 was dismissed, the Swedish military remains convinced that incursions by a reconnaissance submarine into Swedish territorial waters did occur on October 17 and 24.

More than 200 service personnel took part in the search for the submarine as the military deployed minesweepers, helicopters, and an anti-submarine ship. At the time, Swedish intelligence reported intercepting encrypted messages that appeared to confirm the presence of at least one vessel, with another located in Kaliningrad, the base of Russia's Baltic Fleet.

Moreover, the retired Swedish naval officer who took a picture of what he believed to be a Russian submarine in the waters around Stockholm has rejected claims that it was just a "civilian boat." Sven Olof Kviman told the newspaper Dagens Nyheter that it was "completely impossible that we have got this wrong." He said:

I saw the submarine above water: the bow, stern and tower. It is always difficult to determine the size, but it was around 20-30 metres long.

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The following images, provided by Tyne & Wear Archives, show the heart of a World War I German submarine that sank in 1918 after it was rammed by a torpedo boat destroyer.

During WWII, Germany built 1,162 destructive "U-boats," which is short for the German word "Unterseeboot," or undersea boat. By April 1917, 430 Allied and civilian vessels were sunk by German U-boats.

Here are photos from the control room of a salvaged UB-110 submarine.

This photo shows the manhole to the periscope, hand wheels (for pressure), and valve gauges:

Here's the submarine's hydroplane gear, depth gauges, and fuel-tank gauges:

More hand wheels for managing air pressure and engine telegraphs:

The submarine's gyrocompass, steering control shaft, engine telegraphs, and voice pipes are visible in this photo:

The following two photos show the electrical portion of the control room:

This photo shows part of the control room and looks into the motor room and the torpedo room:

 Here is the torpedo room:

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The Finnish government is refusing to confirm whether it believes that a submarine — presumably from Russia — entered its territorial waters because it's worried about a repeat of the "farce" that Swedish authorities got themselves into after submarine sightings there last October.

Commodore Olavi Jantunen, chief of operations in the Finnish navy, told local broadcasters that the navy had identified a "possible underwater object" at noon on Monday and had sent vessels to investigate after it was spotted again early Tuesday morning.

The ships dropped six small depth charges that "were not intended to cause damage" in order to help them in their search, but Jantunen did not provide any details or theory as to the exact nature or origin of the "object".

Given the increased military manoeuvres by Russia in the region, the sighting immediately prompted rumours of a possible Russian submarine incursion. And — obviously — people are excited about the idea that the Finnish Navy is dropping depth charges on Russian submarines! (Even if they were only very small depth charges.)

It would not be the first time Russian subs have made headlines. Last October, Swedish authorities launched a major search involving 200 service personnel using minesweepers, helicopters, and an anti-submarine ship after reports of "foreign underwater activity".

However, earlier this month one of the sightings by a retired naval officer was dismissed as more likely to be a "civilian working vessel" than a Russian submarine. The Swedish authorities remain adamant that Swedish territory was violated by a foreign vessel. And the Russian government hit back saying that the search was a "mindless waste of...taxpayer money".

The end result was mostly confusion about what exactly had occurred and an increase in public concern in Sweden over Russia's intentions.

Finland's government has clearly taken note of the Swedish kerfuffle and is seeking to downplay today's incident as much as possible. The Financial Times quotes Carl Haglund, the country's defence minister, saying that he did not want to "create a farce" like the Swedish authorities and that there are good reasons for keeping military information out of the public domain.

His warnings come amid rising tensions in the region. Tensions between Russia and the West at highs not seen since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Moscow has been stepping up its military presence. And, of course, Russian troops are fomenting the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, on Europe's Eastern doorstep. 

The spectre of an increasingly aggressive, expansionist Russia has become a major source of anxiety for the authorities in Finland, which shares an 840-mile land border with its eastern neighbour. In August last year Finnish fighter jets had to be scrambled three times in one week to head off Russian military planes that had crossed into the country's airspace.

At the time Haglund acknowledged that the situation was highly unusual: "What we know is they are done somewhat on purpose. We don’t know what that purpose is."

With tensions already running high, it is perhaps unsurprising that the government would seek to downplay this latest incursion. However, it will do little to allay concerns that Russia is seeking to flex its military muscle as a warning to its neighbours.

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Russia has taken another major step towards modernizing its navy.

The Russian defense company Admiralty Shipyards launched its second diesel-electric Varshavyanka-class submarine this week.

Called Krasnodar, the company claims that the vessel will be "the quietest submarine in the world," Zachary Keck reports for The National Interest. 

Krasnodar is part of a plan to update Russia's submarine fleet. According to Russia Today, the submarine is the "second Varshavyanka submarine out of six planned for the Black Sea Fleet by the end of 2016." 

The Varshavyanka-class is an update to Russia's current Kilo-class submarine. Although Varshavyanka-class submarines can not dive as deep or stay submerged underwater as long as nuclear submarines, they are nearly impossible to detect acoustically.

Primarily, the Varshavyanka-class submarines will be used for anti-shipping and anti-submarine warfare in shallower water. According to Naval Technology, the submarines can cruise for a range of 400 miles, can patrol for 45 days, and carry surface-to-air missiles and torpedoes.

The mixture of weaponry onboard the submarines allow the vessels to hypothetically strike both a mixture of land, sea, and underwater targets.  

The first Varshavyanka-class submarine was launched in November 2013. Dubbed the Novorossiysk, the submarine is also based in the Black Sea. 

In addition to the Varshavyanka-class, Russia plans on adding an additional 14 to 18 diesel-electric submarines similar to Lada-class subs over the next 15 years. 

Russia also plans to replace its Delta III and Delta IV-class subs with Borei II submarines in the coming years. The Oscar II-class sub will be replaced with the entirely new Yasen submarine class after 2020. 

SEE ALSO: Here are Russia's grandiose plans for upgrading its Navy

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A new expedition has filmed the wreck of a top-secret submarine built by Japan during the Second World War that was designed to launch bombers against the west coast of the United States.

The last resting place of the I-400 submarine was confirmed in December 2013, but researchers from the University of Hawaii and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were returning to the wreck – which lies at a depth of nearly 2,700 feet – for the first time.

They captured on video the vessel's massive hangar, the conning tower and ship's bell.

At 400 feet long, the Imperial Japanese Navy's I-400 class were the largest submarines of the war and remained the largest constructed until the first nuclear ballistic missile boats rolled down slipways in the 1960s.

Designed as underwater aircraft carriers, they were able to stow three Aichi light bombers, with folded wings, in a hangar on the deck.

Aware of its inferiority in surface ships in the Pacific theatre, the Japanese Navy nevertheless wished to take the fight to the enemy and the vessel was given the task of approaching the US coast, surfacing, preparing and launching its aircraft within minutes. One of the earliest missions called for the aircraft to drop rats infected with bubonic plague and insects carrying cholera, dengue fever, typhus and other diseases on cities on the West coast of America.

When the bacteriological weapons were not ready in time, the target switched to a conventional bombing attack against the Panama Canal. Japan surrendered before the raid could be carried out.

At the end of the war, five submarines were captured intact by the US and dispatched under a prize crew to Hawaii for inspection – and with their cavernous hangars reportedly filled with war booty.

The following year, the Soviet Union demanded access to the submarines but the US, which had already learned the technological secrets that they incorporated in their designs, did not want the same information falling into the hands of its new Cold War enemy. The five vessels were hastily sunk by torpedoes from the USS Cabezon off Oahu.

The recent footage was shot by NHK, Japan's national broadcaster, for a documentary that is to be aired on May 6. It revealed the relative positions of the aircraft hangar and conning tower, which had broken apart when the submarine was hit by torpedoes and sank.

"We didn't have detailed enough bottom-mapping data to help locate the hangar, conning tower and other signature features missing from the wreck of the I-400", said Terry Kerby, operations director and chief submarine pilot for the Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory.

"With only one dive day to try to find anything, we knew there was a strong chance we might spend the dive looking at the barren sandy bottom.

"We made a lucky guess where to start when we approached the main hull of the I-400 from the north-west", Mr Kerby added. "Our guess started to pay off when the giant hangar door came into view, followed by the conning tower and hangar.

"Many items were amazingly intact for something that had ripped out of the hull of a sinking 400-foot-long submarine."

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Finland's military has sent letters to the country's entire 900,000 strong reservist force outlining what each individual should do in the event of a "crisis situation," Newsweek reports citing local Finnish media. 

The potential mobilization of 900,000 people in Finland would be a massive undertaking. With a population of only 5.2 million citizens, conscription would extend to one sixth of the country's entire population and would include citizens between the ages of 20 and 60. 

Finish defence minister Carl Haglund has insisted in the Finnish press that the move has nothing to do with rising tensions in Europe over Russia's annexation of Ukraine and aggressive Russian deployments in northern Europe. Instead, the move is simply intended to keep Finnish reservists informed of their potential duties. 

“The aim of this isn’t to give out sort of message at all [to Russia],” Haglund said.

The timing is nevertheless notable. On April 28, the Finnish navy dropped six small depth charges against an underwater vessel suspected of being a Russian submarine within its territorial waters. The charges were not meant to damage the possible sub, but were instead intended to aid in the search for the vessel or force it to surface. 

Earlier in April, Finland announced it would enhance military ties with the other Nordic countries due to concerns over Russia's aggressive actions in the Baltic and the Arctic. 

"Russia's actions are the biggest challenge to the European security," the defense ministers from the Nordic nations said in a joint declaration. "Russia's propaganda and political maneuvering are contributing to sowing discord between nations, and inside organizations like NATO and the EU." 

"There is increasing military and intelligence activity in the Baltics and in our northern areas," the declaration said. "The Russian military is challenging us along our borders and there have been several border infringements in the Baltics."

Russia and Finland share an 800-mile border. As part of its push to militarize the Arctic, Russia has reopened a military base only 30 miles outside of Finnish territory. 

Since Finland is not a member of NATO, it would not be able to count on military assistance from the alliance in the event of an invasion.

SEE ALSO: The Nordic countries are banding together against Russia's Arctic push

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The Finnish government is refusing to confirm whether it believes that a submarine — presumably from Russia — entered its territorial waters because it's worried about a repeat of the "farce" that Swedish authorities got themselves into after submarine sightings there last October.

Commodore Olavi Jantunen, chief of operations in the Finnish navy, told local broadcasters that the navy had identified a "possible underwater object" at noon on Monday and had sent vessels to investigate after it was spotted again early Tuesday morning.

The ships dropped six small depth charges that "were not intended to cause damage" in order to help them in their search, but Jantunen did not provide any details or theory as to the exact nature or origin of the "object".

Given the increased military manoeuvres by Russia in the region, the sighting immediately prompted rumours of a possible Russian submarine incursion. And — obviously — people are excited about the idea that the Finnish Navy is dropping depth charges on Russian submarines! (Even if they were only very small depth charges.)

It would not be the first time Russian subs have made headlines. Last October, Swedish authorities launched a major search involving 200 service personnel using minesweepers, helicopters, and an anti-submarine ship after reports of "foreign underwater activity".

However, earlier this month one of the sightings by a retired naval officer was dismissed as more likely to be a "civilian working vessel" than a Russian submarine. The Swedish authorities remain adamant that Swedish territory was violated by a foreign vessel. And the Russian government hit back saying that the search was a "mindless waste of...taxpayer money".

The end result was mostly confusion about what exactly had occurred and an increase in public concern in Sweden over Russia's intentions.

Finland's government has clearly taken note of the Swedish kerfuffle and is seeking to downplay today's incident as much as possible. The Financial Times quotes Carl Haglund, the country's defence minister, saying that he did not want to "create a farce" like the Swedish authorities and that there are good reasons for keeping military information out of the public domain.

His warnings come amid rising tensions in the region. Tensions between Russia and the West at highs not seen since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Moscow has been stepping up its military presence. And, of course, Russian troops are fomenting the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, on Europe's Eastern doorstep. 

The spectre of an increasingly aggressive, expansionist Russia has become a major source of anxiety for the authorities in Finland, which shares an 840-mile land border with its eastern neighbour. In August last year Finnish fighter jets had to be scrambled three times in one week to head off Russian military planes that had crossed into the country's airspace.

At the time Haglund acknowledged that the situation was highly unusual: "What we know is they are done somewhat on purpose. We don’t know what that purpose is."

With tensions already running high, it is perhaps unsurprising that the government would seek to downplay this latest incursion. However, it will do little to allay concerns that Russia is seeking to flex its military muscle as a warning to its neighbours.

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US Navy submariners don't have windows or cubicles, but they do have a rather interesting daily routine. Here's everything you never knew about life on a military submarine. 

Produced by Kevin Reilly. Video courtesy of US Navy. 

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Submarines give navies around the world a huge strategic and tactical advantage.

Ballistic missile submarines can serve as nuclear deterrents in case a country's land-based launch systems have been destroyed. Meanwhile, nuclear-powered attack submarines can effectively hunt enemy subs and can sink enemy naval targets. During war games in March, a French Rubis-class sub even "sunk" a US aircraft carrier. 

Smaller non-nuclear attack submarines, although incapable of operating underwater for as long as nuclear vessels, can be even more difficult to track than their nuclear-fueled counterparts. These subs can also be used for naval and anti-submarine warfare in shallower waters. 

The following graphic from Naval Graphics shows every model of submarine currently in service around the world as of 2015:

On average, the largest submarines in service are ballistic missile-armed. As these submarines are intended for nuclear strikes or long-range missile attacks, few nations have the need or desire to operate them. Today, only Russia, China, the US, the UK, and France have ballistic missile submarines in their navies. 

Likewise, the same five countries are the only nations to currently possess nuclear attack submarines, although the Indian Navy is operating a loaned Russian sub. These subs are generally slightly smaller than ballistic missile submarines and are capable of staying submerged for months at a time.

In general, the greatest number of submarines owned and operated around the world are of the non-nuclear variety. These submarines are either powered via air-independent propulsion, diesel-electric engines, or a combination of both.

Although these non-nuclear submarines are small and cannot remain submerged as long as nuclear subs, newer models can potentially run quieter than the nuclear-powered models allowing them to evade detection and attack surface ships or other submarines. 

You can see the graphic in closer detail here»

SEE ALSO: This chart shows just how massive the US Navy is

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Taking a page from Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, the Austrian-based Migaloo Submarines will design, engineer, and build a private submersible yacht for anyone with deep-enough pockets.

The yachts take the concept of privacy to a whole other level, as they can remain submerged both at anchor and when cruising between destinations.

An offshoot of the design firm Motion Code: Blue (whose 918-foot supertanker luxury yacht concept Imāra features a four-level ski resort with chair lift and ski lodge), Migaloo will work with clients to customize its designs to accommodate any size specifications or alternate configurations based on four primary models currently offered.

The 236-foot M2 was also designed with the potential to be an underwater restaurant and bar or a conference center, depending on the client’s needs. The 442-foot M5 and 524-foot M6 come with three viewing galleries, a starboard saloon, a portside dining area, a wine room, a library, and a lounge with bar at the bow. The owner’s apartment spans three levels including a private bow terrace; additional accommodations include six VIP suites. The M5 and M6 also feature an outdoor pool and hot tub (accessible when surfaced), a helipad, and a wet garage that accommodates two 36-foot minisubs for smaller-scale exploration.

Boasted by Migaloo as the world’s largest submersible superyacht, the 738-foot M7’s design is based on the United States Navy’s Zumwalt-class destroyer. It is capable of 40 knots on the surface and 20 knots underwater (for when seas get rough) and, as with the other models, submerging will keep passengers in a depth of luxury that would make even the Nautilus seem substandard.

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SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea could build a fully operational submarine equipped with ballistic missiles within two or three years, a South Korean defense official said on Monday.

The official, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said photos of North Korea's test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile appeared authentic.

North Korea said on Saturday it had successfully test-fired a ballistic missile from a submarine. Such a development, if verified, would mark a significant new technological achievement for Pyongyang.

(Reporting by Ju-min Park; Editing by Paul Tait)

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In yet another sign of looming blowback from the past year of rising tensions between Moscow and the NATO states, a British fishing ship was almost capsized by a suspected Russian submarine at the end of April according to the New York Times.

The 80-ton trawler was fishing for prawns in international waters in the Irish Sea between Northern Ireland and Britain when an object believed to be a submarine became entangled in the ship's nets. The ensuing moments played out like a Hollywood scene as the submarine began to tow the trawler backwards, The New York Times reports. 

“It was like the scene out of ‘Jaws’ when the boat took off — do you remember, the shark took the boat away?” the ship's skipper told the Times. “But multiply it by 100. It was just a bigger event.”

The trawler nearly capsized as the boat was dragged backwards and began to pitch. The crew was forced to release the wires that held the net in place in order to prevent the submarine from dragging the boat underwater. 

There is no definitive proof that the object that the trawler encountered was a submarine, let alone a Russian one. But NATO told the Times that none of its submarines were in the area at that time and the presence of a Russian sub off the coast of  a Western state would also fit a larger pattern of provocative Russian military maneuvers.

In late April, the Finnish navy dropped six small depth charges on a suspected Russian submarine inside of Finnish waters. The goal of the operation was to force the submarine to surface without damaging the vessel. But the sub never resurfaced and presumably left Finnish territory.

The event in Finland mirrored the highly publicized hunt for a suspected Russian submarine in Swedish territorial waters in late October 2014. The search, which was the largest Swedish military operation since the end of the Cold War, was ultimately called off and no submarine was ever conclusively discovered. 

This may be the second time in 2015 that a submarine thought to belong to Russia has been discovered off of the British coast. In January, the British Ministry of Defense requested US aid in searching for a Russian submarine off the coast of Scotland after a Scottish trawler reported seeing a submarine periscope. 

These Russian submarine operations could show that the Kremlin is using military incursions to test the capabilities and responses of Western states when faced with Russian operations in their strategic backyard. 

“One of the purposes of Russian training activities will be to assess the response of potential opponents and their own capability for gaming potential opponents,” Malcolm Chalmers, a research director at Royal United Services Institute, told the Times.

“The Russians will send aircraft and ships into our area and see what we do. That cat-and-mouse game is something potential adversaries do all the time.”

Since March 2014, there have been at least 40 incidents, ranging from air incursions to the kidnapping of an Estonian intelligence agent, in which Russian and NATO or European militaries have in some way escalated their stance towards one another. These incidents run the risk of spinning out of control or triggering a more intense conflict between Russia and of its geopolitical opponents.

Interestingly, the incident in the Irish Sea took coincided with NATO's Joint Warrior exercise. The NATO operation was held in the North Sea and was intended to provide advanced training for antisubmarine warfare. 

SEE ALSO: These 55 ships are participating in a massive NATO naval exercise off of Scotland

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On Friday, May 8, North Korea conducted an underwater test-fire of a submarine ballistic missile, displaying a new threat and growing missile capability.

The next day, North Korea fired three ship-to-ship missiles from the city of Wonsan on the east coast into the sea.

Q: What do we know?

A: According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim Jong-un ordered and watched a successful test-fire of North Korea’s submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), possibly from a location near Sinpo South Shipyard on the east coast on May 8, where he was also reported to have visited a fishery complex there earlier.

It appears as though North Korea has finally succeeded in installing a missile launcher of about 2,500 tons onto a submarine after a series of underwater and on-shore tests. In February, North Korea had tested a missile ejection launcher near Sinpo.

On May 9, a South Korean Ministry of National Defense official also announced that North Korea had tested three KN-01 missiles on Saturday afternoon, between 3:25 p.m. and 4:23 p.m. (KST).

Q: What does this mean for North Korea’s capability?

A: The underwater missile test on Friday shows that North Korea’s missile capabilities are advancing at a clip that is concerning, if not alarming.

This follows NORAD commander Admiral William Gortney’s disconcerting statement on April 7 acknowledging North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capability in the form of the untested road-mobile KN-08, which will make North Korea’s nuclear force more survivable and less deterrable (at least in their minds).

The two tests came after North Korea’s warning on May 8 that it will fire without warning at any South Korean vessels it believes are violating its territorial waters off the west coast.

In line with its Byunjin doctrine, it is clear that North Korea is not just trying to develop a crude nuclear device that it could put atop a missile for some sort of rudimentary deterrent purpose. The North is moving headlong toward the development of a modern, survivable nuclear deterrent, with the full range of capacity from battlefield nuclear forces to high-yield fission and fusion weapons.

If Chinese nuclear experts are right, according to news reports of their estimates last month, North Korea could have as many as 40 to 80 nuclear weapons by the time the Obama administration leaves office. It would be an understatement to say that this would increase the risk of nuclear proliferation among rogue states and nonstate actors significantly.

Q: What’s the road ahead?

A: The impact on diplomacy is unclear. Friday’s SLBM launch is a violation of multiple standing UN Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs 1718, 1874, 2087, and 2094), so we will see if the Security Council will meet on it.

Regarding the Six-Party Talks, the ROK negotiator, Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Hwang Joon-kook, was in Washington last week on May 4 to see if anything was possible in terms of talks this summer. Hwang’s itinerary included Beijing, so the timing of the SLBM launch could create an impetus for talks or could kill them.​

Victor Cha is a senior adviser and holds the Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC.

SEE ALSO: North Korea says it test-fired a 'world-level strategic weapon'

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