History of The Submariner's Dolphins On 13 June 1923, Captain
E.J. King, Commander, Submarine Division Three (later Fleet
Admiral and Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet, during WW II),
suggested to the Secretary of the Navy (Bureau of Navigation)
that a distinguishing device for qualified submariners be
adopted. He submitted a pen-and-ink sketch of his own showing a
shield mounted on the beam ends of a submarine, with dolphins
forward of, and abaft, the conning tower. The suggestion was
strongly endorsed by Commander Submarine Division Atlantic. Over
the next several months the Bureau of Navigation (now known as
BuPers) solicited additional designs from several sources. Some
combined a submarine with a shark motif. Others showed
submarines and dolphins, and still others used a shield design.
A Philadelphia firm, which had done work for the Navy in the
field of Naval Academy class rings, was approached by the Bureau
of Navigation with the request that it design a suitable badge.
Two designs were submitted by the f