Loren Busch wrote:
 > I recall reading about the occasional burning of of the
 > hydrogen buildup inside the boat, everyone ducks down and the
hydrogen >is lit, flame runs along the overhead briefly. I now there are
a couple >of Submariners on these lists, can you confirm that this is true?

Absolute myth!!

I served on 3 diesel boats and 4 with nuclear power ... all had wet lead
acid batteries.  The USS Tiru (SS 416) for example, which was a guppy
III Alpha boat, had 126 tons of battery.

Here's a short page about submarine batteries:

http://www.fleetsubmarine.com/battery.html

Mike Collum
STSC(SS)(DV) US Navy Retired