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 Post subject: Today I Went Down in a Submarine
PostPosted: Sat Jun 26, 2010 7:56 pm 
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No, really! It was this one:

http://www.aimm.museum/razorback.asp

I was in Little Rock yesterday on business. Since it's a long drive and I don't get to go there often, I decided to spend the night and do some sightseeing the next day. And I got to see the submarine at the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum. It's a real World War II submarine with guided tours through most of it.

They warn you that you have to be able to climb up and down ladders and fit through small hatches (Less than three feet high and less than two feet across). I'm a little under six feet tall and I had just enough headroom. I don't know how tall guys in the sub service could've made it! It's sobering to think about 70 or more men living in such close quarters for months at a time, with only a couple of bathrooms and very infrequent showers. :ohno:

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 Post subject: Today I Went Down in a Submarine
PostPosted: Sat Jun 26, 2010 11:52 pm 
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"Sobering" is one word for what springs to mind, yes. :)


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 Post subject: Today I Went Down in a Submarine
PostPosted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 1:43 pm 
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Hmnm... interesting. The Balao class is one of my all-time favorite designs too. Even the GUPPYed ones like the Razorback there.

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 Post subject: Today I Went Down in a Submarine
PostPosted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 2:00 pm 
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I took a ride in one of those mini-subs with windows in a reef in Cancun Mexico. Man did that thing sway to the ocean current, got me nearly seasick. Don't think I'll do that again.

I've been on a nuclear submarine up in New London Connecticut.

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 Post subject: Today I Went Down in a Submarine
PostPosted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 2:23 pm 
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JohnG wrote:
I took a ride in one of those mini-subs with windows in a reef in Cancun Mexico. Man did that thing sway to the ocean current, got me nearly seasick. Don't think I'll do that again.

I've been on a nuclear submarine up in New London Connecticut.


You remember which one?

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 Post subject: Today I Went Down in a Submarine
PostPosted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 2:31 pm 
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Darin wrote:
JohnG wrote:
I took a ride in one of those mini-subs with windows in a reef in Cancun Mexico. Man did that thing sway to the ocean current, got me nearly seasick. Don't think I'll do that again.

I've been on a nuclear submarine up in New London Connecticut.


You remember which one?


Nah, it was back when I was a Cub Scout in the early 70's.

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 Post subject: Today I Went Down in a Submarine
PostPosted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 3:51 pm 
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Our tour guide was an actual sub service veteran who had served on a Balao-class boat in the 1960s. So he had a lot of interesting things to say.

It's fascinating to see how well they make use of space. Absolutely not one cubic inch of space goes to waste. Looks like the crew had plenty to do, too, with all the gages and gadgets everywhere.

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 Post subject: Today I Went Down in a Submarine
PostPosted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 3:59 pm 
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Keep in mind that the Razorback is a GUPPYed Balao class sub.

Originally, she looked like this...

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 Post subject: Today I Went Down in a Submarine
PostPosted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 4:01 pm 
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I went with my sons for Cub Scout trips twice to battleship Cove in Fall River. MA. We were able to tour the USS Lionfish, a Balao-class sub.. We camped aboard the USS Massachusetts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battleship_Cove

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 Post subject: Today I Went Down in a Submarine
PostPosted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 4:13 pm 
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Marcus wrote:
I went with my sons for Cub Scout trips twice to battleship Cove in Fall River. MA. We were able to tour the USS Lionfish, a Balao-class sub.. We camped aboard the USS Massachusetts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battleship_Cove


I did the same thing with my Cub Scout son (at that time). Also did it twice as I recall (slept in a sling). The meal on the ship wasn't that bad. It was fun to wake up on that ship in the early morning and walk up to the deck as the sun rose. Kinda imagined what it must be like out at sea.

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 Post subject: Today I Went Down in a Submarine
PostPosted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 7:46 pm 
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JohnG wrote:
Marcus wrote:
I went with my sons for Cub Scout trips twice to battleship Cove in Fall River. MA. We were able to tour the USS Lionfish, a Balao-class sub.. We camped aboard the USS Massachusetts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battleship_Cove


I did the same thing with my Cub Scout son (at that time). Also did it twice as I recall (slept in a sling). The meal on the ship wasn't that bad. It was fun to wake up on that ship in the early morning and walk up to the deck as the sun rose. Kinda imagined what it must be like out at sea.

Yeah, it was a lot of fun!

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 Post subject: Today I Went Down in a Submarine
PostPosted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 9:04 pm 
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This thread didn't turn out to be as hot as I thought it would.


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 Post subject: Today I Went Down in a Submarine
PostPosted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 9:23 pm 
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Night Owl wrote:
This thread didn't turn out to be as hot as I thought it would.


I was waiting for someone to say something like this. Reliably, it was Jay. :thumbsup:

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 Post subject: Today I Went Down in a Submarine
PostPosted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 9:27 pm 
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Night Owl wrote:
This thread didn't turn out to be as hot as I thought it would.


I can't believe that nobody's mentioned seamen. :lol:


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 Post subject: Today I Went Down in a Submarine
PostPosted: Mon Jun 28, 2010 12:22 pm 
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Night Owl wrote:
This thread didn't turn out to be as hot as I thought it would.


:o

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 Post subject: Today I Went Down in a Submarine
PostPosted: Mon Jun 28, 2010 12:28 pm 
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Marcus wrote:
I went with my sons for Cub Scout trips twice to battleship Cove in Fall River. MA. We were able to tour the USS Lionfish, a Balao-class sub.. We camped aboard the USS Massachusetts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battleship_Cove


They allow camps like that on Razorback too. The guide mentioned that that's why part of the crew's quarters has been remodeled slightly with more conventional plumbing. I'd think that might be a potentially harrowing experience for the adults involved!

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 Post subject: Today I Went Down in a Submarine
PostPosted: Mon Jun 28, 2010 12:29 pm 
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That meddlin kid wrote:
Night Owl wrote:
This thread didn't turn out to be as hot as I thought it would.


:o


:overhead:


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 Post subject: Today I Went Down in a Submarine
PostPosted: Mon Jun 28, 2010 2:05 pm 
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Night Owl wrote:
That meddlin kid wrote:
Night Owl wrote:
This thread didn't turn out to be as hot as I thought it would.


:o


:overhead:


Yeah, that much is understood!

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 Post subject: Today I Went Down in a Submarine
PostPosted: Mon Jun 28, 2010 3:09 pm 
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If you get a chance, Meddlin', try to tour a Balao class boat that wasn't GUPPYed and see which one you like better.

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 Post subject: Today I Went Down in a Submarine
PostPosted: Mon Jun 28, 2010 3:16 pm 
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Darin wrote:
If you get a chance, Meddlin', try to tour a Balao class boat that wasn't GUPPYed and see which one you like better.


I had never heard that term for it before, but I was aware that the sail had been modified. They don't currently let anyone up to the conning tower, so I didn't get to see what it was like inside.

The volunteer organization that has been restoring the boat is still at work getting "new" equipment for it. They only recently added some torpedoes in the torpedo compartments. And they're still trying to get one of the old diesel engines ready to run. People often don't appreciate how much work volunteer organizations like that put in to creating and maintaining special museums of this sort.

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 Post subject: Today I Went Down in a Submarine
PostPosted: Tue Jun 29, 2010 11:13 pm 
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That meddlin kid wrote:
Marcus wrote:
I went with my sons for Cub Scout trips twice to battleship Cove in Fall River. MA. We were able to tour the USS Lionfish, a Balao-class sub.. We camped aboard the USS Massachusetts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battleship_Cove


They allow camps like that on Razorback too. The guide mentioned that that's why part of the crew's quarters has been remodeled slightly with more conventional plumbing. I'd think that might be a potentially harrowing experience for the adults involved!

Both times we had so many Scouts that we had to bunk at the bottom of the sub by the bathroom. The light was on all night with people coming and going.

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 Post subject: Today I Went Down in a Submarine
PostPosted: Wed Jun 30, 2010 12:15 am 
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Marcus wrote:
That meddlin kid wrote:
Marcus wrote:
I went with my sons for Cub Scout trips twice to battleship Cove in Fall River. MA. We were able to tour the USS Lionfish, a Balao-class sub.. We camped aboard the USS Massachusetts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battleship_Cove


They allow camps like that on Razorback too. The guide mentioned that that's why part of the crew's quarters has been remodeled slightly with more conventional plumbing. I'd think that might be a potentially harrowing experience for the adults involved!

Both times we had so many Scouts that we had to bunk at the bottom of the sub by the bathroom. The light was on all night with people coming and going.


But always too soon.


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