To the editor:
The photo [accompanying “Submarines in the Bay” (WWF May 05)] certainly looks like a Portsmouth design Guppy. It may be a Guppy 1A or 1B which, if memory serves me right, had a somewhat pointed bow. The sub in the photo looks like it may have that shape, but it is not too clear. The Guppy 2s had a downward curved bow that was more streamlined. The sail (the enclosure around the conning tower, bridge, periscopes, and snorkel) appears to be the Portsmouth design, with a small bump at the rear. You can see from the photo, the two portside engines are running. I would imagine older Portsmouth workers will be writing you with info as to when the first Guppy conversions went out for sea trials.
Doug Hardy
Woolwich