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Photo: Courtesy U.S. Navy Image 1 of / 9 Caption Close Image 2 of 9 Note the Mt. Davidson cross in the distance, at a time when Dirty Harry was just a teen screwing around near Potrero Hill. I was impressed with the level of detail and depth of field in the photos taken by the U.S.S. Catfish. I was expecting something much blurrier ... less Note the Mt. Davidson cross in the distance, at a time when Dirty Harry was just a teen screwing around near Potrero Hill. I was impressed with the level of detail and depth of field in the photos taken by the ... more Photo: Courtesy U.S. Navy Image 3 of 9 A 1951 submarine view of the Palace of Fine Arts, more than 20 years before the birth of the Exploratorium. The U.S.S. Catfish was pre-nuclear, but it had 10 tubes with 21-inch torpedoes. Enough firepower to take out almost every bar in the Marina District ... less A 1951 submarine view of the Palace of Fine Arts, more than 20 years before the birth of the Exploratorium. The U.S.S. Catfish was pre-nuclear, but it had 10 tubes with 21-inch torpedoes. Enough firepower to ... more Photo: Courtesy U.S. Navy Image 4 of 9 Ghirardelli Square as seen by the U.S.S. Catfish. This view hasn't actually changed that much in the past 62 years. I'm predicting a lot of "On the Beach" references in the comments. If it weren't for a few boats, the periscope view would make the city look abandoned. less Ghirardelli Square as seen by the U.S.S. Catfish. This view hasn't actually changed that much in the past 62 years. I'm predicting a lot of "On the Beach" references in the comments. If it weren't for a few ... more Photo: Courtesy U.S. Navy Image 5 of 9 Image 6 of 9 Passing by a ship on the way through the Golden Gate Bridge. I'm imagining the commander/photographer making explosion sounds every time a civilian boat got in the cross hairs. Passing by a ship on the way through the Golden Gate Bridge. I'm imagining the commander/photographer making explosion sounds every time a civilian boat got in the cross hairs. Photo: Courtesy U.S. Navy Image 7 of 9 The U.S.S Catfish submarine, photographed by Bob Campbell on Feb. 22, 1947. The U.S.S Catfish submarine, photographed by Bob Campbell on Feb. 22, 1947. Photo: Bob Campbell Image 8 of 9 Sailors aboard the U.S.S. Catfish, photographed by Bob Campbell on Feb 22, 1947. If you're looking to pick up a girl two years after World War II, you could do worse than, 'I'm a sailor on a submarine, would you like to hold my puppy?' There's a larger version of this photo in the post. less Sailors aboard the U.S.S. Catfish, photographed by Bob Campbell on Feb 22, 1947. If you're looking to pick up a girl two years after World War II, you could do worse than, 'I'm a sailor on a submarine, would ... more Photo: Bob Campbell Image 9 of 9 San Francisco in 1951 as seen from a U.S. Navy submarine 1 / 9 Back to Gallery

I sometimes refer to Bill Van Niekerken as Library Yoda, which is pure laziness on my part. The San Francisco Chronicle librarian is quite tall, not 600 years old, not particularly cryptic and speaks in complete sentences.

He is extremely knowledgeable, and has a knack for sending me on adventures in the Chronicle photo morgue. I’ll be returning the keys to the archive room, and he’ll blurt out something like “Hey, you might want to check out the ‘SF Views’ files. There was a Navy submarine in 1951 that shot a bunch of photos of San Francisco through its periscope.”

Which brings us to this week’s Let’s Go to the Morgue! — which I’m dedicating to Bill, and the crew of the U.S.S. Catfish.

The World War II-era diesel-powered submarine, traveling up the coast from San Diego, made a detour through the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz. The photos taken along the way are quite good, and display a unique angle of San Francisco during its affordable bedroom community years — before most of the skyscrapers went up.

Please make frequent “ping”ing sounds as you read this, and make poor attempts at Sean Connery’s accent from “The Hunt for Red October.”

A few more thoughts below the Golden Gate Bridge …

* I’d like to imagine that at least one ferry passenger, tugboat captain, pleasure sailboater or kayaker had the s— scared out of them by the random photo-taking submarine passing through the bay. I don’t see huge ripples in these photos, so I’m assuming it was submerged most of the time.

* The adventures of the U.S.S. Catfish didn’t end in San Francisco. The sub was sold to Argentina in 1971, and became involved in the Falklands War — where British helicopters took the sub out and it was captured by British forces. According to the Wikipedia entry, it was deemed too expensive to repair, and was sunk near the Sandwich Islands.

* I found some 1947 photos of the Catfish taken by Bob Campbell, who was on Iwo Jima with his Chronicle colleague Joe Rosenthal during World War II. A wide photo of the submarine is in the slideshow gallery. The hot sailors with puppy photo is below …

* If you recognize any of the above Catfish sailors or their friends, please have them contact me at phartlaub@sfchronicle.com. I’d love an interview for my Let’s Go to the Q&A project. By my estimate they would be in their 80s now. (The dog would be 421 …)

* With all the landmarks in crosshairs, I’m guessing this post will be a favorite among SFGate.com’s corps of San Francisco-hating internet trolls.

* Photos that the U.S.S. Catfish didn’t take, that I wish were included in the series: Sutro Baths, Playland-at-the-Beach, the Ferry Building/Hills Bros. Coffee sign and Red’s Java House.

*Thanks for reading. If you like this kind of thing, please follow us on our The Big Event Facebook page.

PETER HARTLAUB is the pop culture critic at the San Francisco Chronicle and founder/editor of The Big Event. He takes requests. Contact him at phartlaub@sfchronicle.com. Follow him on Twitter @peterhartlaub. Follow The Big Event on Facebook.