Synopsis

Lieutenant Commander Tom Dodge is finally given command of a submarine, but not the sleek nuclear vessel he expected. Instead, he receives the aging diesel-powered USS Stingray and a crew of unconventional misfits. During a Navy war game, Dodge must outthink a superior nuclear submarine and prove that an obsolete boat and an underestimated crew can still accomplish the impossible.

Factoids & Trivia

• The fictional USS Stingray was portrayed by USS Pampanito (SS-383), a Balao-class World War II submarine preserved as a museum ship in San Francisco.

• Pampanito could not operate under her own power during production. The surface footage used the real submarine under tow, while underwater action was created with scale models and effects work.

• Although the story is set around Norfolk and Charleston, much of the harbor material was filmed in the San Francisco Bay Area. Suisun Bay's Reserve Fleet was used to represent a naval installation on the East Coast.

• The production removed visitor safety railings and an after ladder from Pampanito so the boat would better match its wartime appearance on camera.

• The closing credits turn into a music-video-style performance of "In the Navy," featuring the Village People alongside members of the film's cast aboard Pampanito.

• The film was released theatrically in the United States on March 1, 1996, and later developed a lasting following among submarine enthusiasts despite its mixed contemporary reviews.