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1

USS Cobia (SS-245) / Cobia "Up Scope!" - Summer 2017

« on: August 31, 2017, 04:38:08 PM »

Forgot to share the Summer issue! Photo/pages below...

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USS Cobia (SS-245) / Cobia Up Scope! - Spring 2017

« on: May 22, 2017, 04:02:36 PM »

The latest issue of Up Scope!

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USS Cobia (SS-245) / Cobia "Up Scope!" - Winter 2017

« on: February 09, 2017, 03:10:36 PM »

The Winter Issue of Up scope! Hope the photos work. I'm having trouble uploading it today.

4

USS Cobia (SS-245) / Up Scope! - Fall 2016

« on: November 14, 2016, 12:14:24 PM »

New format!

5

USS Cobia (SS-245) / Cobia "Up Scope!" - July 2016

« on: August 29, 2016, 11:44:28 AM »

Up Scope!”

July 2016 – Volume 4, Issue 3

USS Cobia (SS 245) * Wisconsin Maritime Museum
75 Maritime Dr.   Manitowoc, WI 54220   866-724-2356
www.wisconsinmaritime.org * www.facebook.com/WIMaritimeMuseum

Volunteer Report
The volunteers have all been busy working on their specific projects for the summer. It’ great to see the amount of work they’ve accomplished this summer!
•   Pat Habel and Russ Collins have been slowly working on exchanging parts from engine #4 (which we don’t plan to restore) and using them on engine #1. They’re cleaning up injectors and rebuilding parts to rebuild engine #1 which has had problems the last few years. Lenny Klienmark even joined them for a day to tinker with the engines again.
•   Paul Kraynek has assisted with engine starts and worked on various light boards and projects on the boat including the hull induction board, hatch limit switches, and repairing the switch to the 1mc. Paul has also helped out with some projects in our new exhibit Wisconsin’s Underwater Treasures. 
•   Ed Dowling has decided to tackle the crew showers project. He’s been working on painting the entire area, replaced a missing shower head, and is currently working on fabricating the missing mirror.
•   Phil Walters has been here weekly working on the HVAC system. He monitors the temperatures and humidity, cleaned strainers, and checked wiring. He’s also worked closely with the systems installer this summer since we plan to do some routine maintenance and upgrades later this year and we’re looking at replacing the boiler.

Subfest 2016: Subs in Pop Culture
Our 2nd annual Subfest was July 8th-10th and was bigger and better than last year. About 20 submarine veterans volunteered to spend time on the sub throughout the three day weekend and they talked to just over 2,000 visitors! That is almost double what we had last year! There seemed to be a never ending flow of visitors through the sub for three days straight, but the sub vets enjoyed every minute of it and can’t wait to come back next year. Thank you to all those who helped out!

While Cobia was definitely a highlight for many visitors that weekend there was plenty of other activities outside of the museum for everyone to enjoy as well. The weekend was packed full of live music, food, entertainment, famer’s market, sidewalk sales, water ski show, fireworks, river tours, and more!

Chief Selects Report for Duty
A new group of Chief-Selects dropped by for a visit at the end of July. About 15 selects spent five hours working on the sub. They cleaned several bilges and the engine rooms, painted the waterways under the deck, chipped and primed in the pump room, and painted in the maneuvering room bilge. The selects and their mentors were fortunate enough to meet Cobia crewmember Vance Combs, who just happened to be in town for the week and he didn’t mind me putting him to work right away!

Cobia Clarion
Harold Knapp celebrated in 90th birthday on May 19th and his family got him a great cake!

I received a call the Lila Gast, wife of S1c Bob Gast, passed away on May 17th.

A few days later, Herbert “Doc” Starmer celebrated his 93rd birthday on May 23rd, but sadly passed away just three days later. Doc was a Chief Pharmacist Mate aboard Cobia for the 3rd – 6th patrols. Doc attended to Ralph Clark Huston Jr. after he was shot during a surface battle. He did everything he could to save him, but was unable to due to lack of equipment and conditions on the boat. He made the plaque for Ralph that is located near the 20mm deck gun. In 1954, Doc earned his teaching degree at the University of Chicago. He spent most of his time teaching in the Navy and for the State of California in consumer affairs. He retired from the Navy and teaching around the same time. To our knowledge, there are only 10 remaining WW II crew members left.

Charlie Stewart sent me his last shipment of his book This Blind Fight and the last 10 copies of the tour cd. The museum has sold hundreds of copies of his book over the years. It’s sad to think this is the last of them. Charlie also just celebrated his 91st birthday on August 9th.

Vance Combs was able to make his annual visit with his wife June, daughter Bonnie, and son-in-law Hal. Vance had a chance to talk with the Navy Chiefs and Chief Selects and was here for a few days talking to visitors on the boat. It’s always great to see Vance and his family. We look forward to seeing the again next summer!

6

USS Cobia (SS-245) / Subfest 2016

« on: June 06, 2016, 05:27:10 PM »

Hi All, our 2nd annual Subfest is just a month away now!  We created a fun quiz to promote it. "What famous submarine are you?" Here's the link if you'd like to take it just for the fun of it. http://htrnews.secondstreetapp.com/What-Famous-Submarine-Are-You-/

And here's info on Subfest if you're interested: http://www.wisinfo.com/subfest/

Karen

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USS Cobia (SS-245) / Cobia "Up Scope!" - April 2016

« on: May 04, 2016, 10:50:17 AM »

“Up Scope!”

April 2016 – Volume 4, Issue 2

USS Cobia (SS 245) * Wisconsin Maritime Museum
75 Maritime Dr.   Manitowoc, WI 54220   866-724-2356
www.wisconsinmaritime.org * www.facebook.com/WIMaritimeMuseum

The Saga of the Aerators
Not long after I sent the last issue a winter storm rolled in and damaged two out of three aerators. The propeller blade broke on one of them and the housing cracked on a second unit leaving it hanging on by the power cord on the shore side. Our Maintenance Supervisor, Paul Rutherford, removed the blade from the unit with the cracked housing and used it to replace the broken blade. We were then able to put two of them back in the water, but that only lasted a couple of weeks and we ended up pulling them out for the season. Thankfully they weren’t needed for the rest of the season. This summer we will fabricate dock mounts for the units so that we can secure them to the riverwalk. This will also allow us to angle them for wider coverage area.

Sub Vet Working Parties
Our sub vet friends from the Chicago area were here twice this winter helping with some special maintenance projects. One group spent two days in the aft torpedo room where they pulled out both torpedoes so that they could get behind them to clean and scrape up some deck rust. After the deck was cleaned and prepped they finished it with a fresh coat of paint and replaced the torpedoes. This was done on our closed days so that made the project much easier to tackle! Another group continued the work in the crew’s showers. Don Schlegel chipped the flaking paint and Jeff Trimborn followed up with two coats of primer. Ed Dowling came up a few closed days between the working parties to get the passageway outside the showers painted while we still had the extra drying time. He’ll continue to paint the washroom and showers, but that can be done when we’re open for tours. When the painting is complete we plan to clean the tile and that area will have a complete facelift.

The second working party was here the last week of our winter hours to take advantage of our last two closed days. Jeff Trimborn and Greg Miller spent two days hanging out in the maneuvering room bilge scraping and vacuuming the loose rust. They made great progress in the area and with a little luck it might get painted this summer! The other two vets, Tom Ramsey and Ed Dowling, worked on freshening up the paint in the forward torpedo room and officers country.

Volunteer Report
•   Paul Kraynek had been working on restoring the lights on various switchboards. He took apart the hull induction board and replaced over fifty broken screws, fuses, and lights. Now when the tour guides demonstrate the levers for one of the hydraulic manifold the corresponding lights on the board will turn red or green! When this board is finished he plans to move on to the torpedo ready lights in both torpedo rooms. Tom Aschenbrenner and Phil Walters provided assistance and tech support on the switchboards.
Paul was also the recipient of the 2015 Cobia Volunteer of the Year award. Congratulations Paul and thanks for all your hard work!
•   Pat Habel and Steve Lutzke spent several hours on the alignment for the radio motor generator set on the pump room. Pat also spent several days doing general maintenance in the pump room on the motor generator set and #1 air compressor.
•   Phil Walters has been keeping an eye on the HVAC system and met with the designer to discuss maintenance and upgrades to the system since it is now 10 years old.
•   And a special thank you to Ed Dowling, Jud Bly, and Gary Walters for pitching in and helping out with tours and school groups this spring!

New Cobia Tours!
This summer we’ll be offering two new Cobia tours:   
•   Cobia “Life at Sea” Tour: This tour will take place every day at 2:45 in the afternoon during our summer season (July & August). It will focus on what life was like for the crew and feature stories from Cobia’s war patrols. Not a “gear-head?” Then this tour is for you! Learn more about the living conditions, food and downtime, accidents on board, battle stories, and prisoners of war. This tour is perfect for those who want to hear more stories and less of the tech aspects of submarines. Space is limited so reservations are required and are only allowed the day of the tour, by calling ahead or visiting our admissions desk. There is no additional cost for this tour.
•   Cobia “After Hours” Tour: These "adults only" tours will take place on select Thursday evenings in summer, starting at 7:00 p.m. The groups are limited to 15 people and you must be 21 or older. The tour will be led by the Submarine Curator and will focus on detailed events, the loss of Ralph Huston, Jr, and comical moments aboard Cobia. Due to time and content, many of these stories are not shared on the regular daytime tours, so this is your chance to learn the juicy details! Following the tour, participants can relax on the tour deck and enjoy a free Torpedo Juice cocktail, with an option to purchase more from a limited cash bar. The tour guide will also have an opportunity to share other stories of interest from other submarines. Reservations are required. The cost is $25 for non-members and $20 for museum members (includes a free drink at the end of the tour)

Cobia Clarion
The only crew member I’ve heard from recently is Charlie Stewart. “We are still kicking, but not very high.”

If anyone would like to be added to the email list (or removed), please email me at kduvalle@wisconsinmaritime.org.


“Cobette” Karen Duvalle
Submarine Curator

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USS Cobia (SS-245) / Up Scope! - January 2016

« on: February 04, 2016, 02:45:22 PM »

“Up Scope!”

January 2016 – Volume 4, Issue 1

USS Cobia (SS 245) * Wisconsin Maritime Museum
75 Maritime Dr.   Manitowoc, WI 54220   866-724-2356
www.wisconsinmaritime.org * www.facebook.com/WIMaritimeMuseum

Happy New Year!
We were beginning to think winter wasn’t going to show up this season, but then we got a foot of snow in less than 24 hours and the cold seeped in shortly after! With the cold came the chance to finally test out the new aerators that were installed in fall. We started out with two, because we had to fabricate and install stations on the aft end of the boat so that we could attach the aerator ropes to something on the sub since there are no life lines in that section.

This season is an experimental one for the aerators. They are currently installed with four ropes on each, but we’ve discovered the ropes block the ice chunks from moving though the area. If the ice chunks are big enough (some were a foot thick after only a few days!), they threaten to sink the aerators. In mid-January, the maintenance staff had to spend a few hours breaking up the big chunks and herding them beyond the pilings to protect the aerators from being damaged or sunk. Before next winter we will look into permanent dock mounts so that we can attach them to the Riverwalk. This should allow us to angle them to create a larger space of open water and help push ice out of the area instead of it getting trapped.

Volunteer Report
•   Paul Kraynek installed some additional lighting and a switch in the “boiler room” under the 40mm. He also installed a switch for the lube oil transfer pump.
•   To pass the time while waiting to give tours one day, Jud Bly went through the boat and tightened bolts on several ladders and kick plates. Thanks Jud!
•   Phil Walters has been doing regular maintenance on the HVAC system and got it prepped for the winter season. He also had a chance to meet with the HVAC designer and installer to look over the system and create a plan for some maintenance projects in the Spring/Summer.
•   Pat Habel did a little research and general maintenance on the #1 High Pressure Air Compressor.

Cobia Clarion
The Cobia Clarion was the crew newsletter that was mailed out once a month to crew members and families. It was started a few years after the war by Dan Pelton as a way for the crew to keep and touch and plan reunions. It was eventually passed over to Charlie Stewart who kept it going for many years. Sadly, there are only eleven WW II crew members still around that could contribute to the newsletter, so they felt it was time to wrap it up. The remaining crew members will be included on the Up Scope! mailing list and I’ve offered to include messages from them if they’d like to continue to share information.


“Cobette” Karen Duvalle
Submarine Curator

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USS Cobia (SS-245) / Cobia "Up Scope!" - October 2015

« on: November 10, 2015, 10:28:43 AM »

I almost forgot to post this!

    “Up Scope!”

                       October 2015 – Volume 3, Issue 4

USS Cobia (SS 245) * Wisconsin Maritime Museum
75 Maritime Dr.   Manitowoc, WI 54220   866-724-2356
www.wisconsinmaritime.org * www.facebook.com/WIMaritimeMuseum

August Volunteer Groups
August was once again a busy month for volunteer groups helping aboard the boat. The Sea Cadets were up for their annual visit. They spent the day cleaning the boat from bow to stern, dusting, polishing, vacuuming and sweeping, cleaning and flipping the bunks, etc. They also got underneath the deck and scooped out all the muck that builds up in the waterways.

The Green Bay Reservists were able to come down for a few hours to help out as well. They started scraping some rust build-up in the maneuvering room bilge and chipping paint in the crew’s showers. This area seems to flake paint every winter, so we plan to chip it to bare metal, prime, and paint it.

The Chief-Selects from NRD Chicago also stopped by for the 3rd year in a row. They continued the work that was started by the Reservists the weekend before. They also were able to get the mystery hatch under the deck open again to clean out the water and rust and coat it with a rust inhibitor. They were here the same night the sea cadets were staying on board, so it was a great opportunity for them to talk to the cadets and run a short drill with them.

Volunteer Report
•   Russ Collins and Max Brown spent an afternoon putting engine #1 back together with the generator. It was taken apart awhile back to trouble soot the engine issues.
•   Several volunteers worked on general engine maintenance and cleaning and also cleaned up the Cobia workshop so that it can actually be used as a workshop and not just for storage of other miscellaneous items.
•   Paul Kraynek and Tom Aschenbrenner worked on the MG radio set. They got it running, but have a few bugs to work out yet.
•   Phil Walters has been working on our custom HVAC system from studying the system, general maintenance, and troubleshooting some issues. The system is about 12 years old now so it’s in need of general maintenance and cleaning. Humidity levels on the boat also spiked in September so he’s been working on solving and preventing the problem.


October Work Weekend
Several volunteers were up Halloween weekend to work on the sub. They did repairs and general maintenance on indicator boards, the ship’s clock, and the general alarm in the control room. They also worked on the fuel oil injector test jig and inspected the Clean Fuel Oil tanks in the engine room. And Phil Walters continued to work on the HVAC unit and trouble shoot the humidity issues.

This weekend we also hosted our 2nd annual Haunted Sub. We had over 300 people visit the boat during this two night event. Lots of smiling faces, laughter, and even a few tears, but everyone, from the participants to the staff and volunteers, had a blast and we can’t wait for next year!

In Memoriam: David Heckmann, “Captain Dave” “Cobia Chaplain”
David Heckmann joined the museum staff in 1996 as a tour guide. His first “tours” were a slide show since Cobia was in dry-dock at the time. He went on to be one of the original Overnight staffers when the program began a year later and continued to work in both departments for 15 years. Dave loved to give tours and talk about Cobia to visitors of all ages and became known as “Captain Dave” to the staff and overnight participants. For his passion and dedication to Cobia, the crew made him an honorary crew member, which is an incredible honor and is not something that is handed out lightly. Dave left the museum three years ago to pursue his dream of attending Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis, MO. He graduated this year and was looking forward to his own church. This summer he came back to the museum to provide the prayers for the USS Lagarto Ceremony and Tolling of the Boats Ceremony. We had decided he was now the unofficial “Cobia Chaplain.”

Dave died on October 26th of a heart attack. It was a shock to all who knew him. He will be remembered for his heart of gold, his passion for Cobia and sharing his knowledge with thousands of visitors and overnight participants, and his quirky sense of humor that has made him a legend among the overnight staff. He will truly be missed.

“Cobette” Karen Duvalle
Submarine Curator

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USS Cobia (SS-245) / Cobia "Up Scope!" - July 2015

« on: July 29, 2015, 11:54:43 AM »

“Up Scope!”

                       July 2015 – Volume 3, Issue 3

USS Cobia (SS 245) * Wisconsin Maritime Museum
75 Maritime Dr.   Manitowoc, WI 54220   866-724-2356
www.wisconsinmaritime.org * www.facebook.com/WIMaritimeMuseum

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Happy Summer! Well it has been a very crazy, busy last few months here at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum! We opened our new exhibit “USS Cobia Below the Surface” and hosted our first SubFest! And thanks to our awesome volunteers, work still got done aboard Cobia.

Volunteer Report
•   In May, Greg Miller reinstalled the bow plane rigging indicator prior to the annual Navy Inspection. At our Annual Meeting a few weeks later he was awarded the 2014 Cobia Volunteer of the Year award! Congratulations Greg and thanks for all your hard work!
•   Paul Kryanek installed the lube oil transfer pump in the aft engine room and has been learning how to run the engines and the high pressure air compressor. He also lent a hand with some of the rewiring in the new Cobia sub simulator.
•   Jud Bly and Lenny Kleinmark spent a few days cleaning and polishing the boat before July 4th and SubFest to make sure the old girl looked good for the big weekends.
•   Pat Habel and Phil Walters, with the help of a few others, did general engine maintenance to get them ready for all the engine starts.


Special Events

USS Lagarto Ceremony, May 2nd: This year we honored the crew of USS Lagarto on the 70th Anniversary of her loss (May 3, 1945). The ceremony, which was held on deck of Cobia, also celebrated 10 years since the wreck was discovered. We had hoped to have a special visit from Jamie MacLeod, the diver who discovered the wreck in May 2005, but he was unable to make it due to health reasons. Sadly he passed just a few weeks later. He was a dear friend of the museum.

July 4th: The city once again hosted a “Fourth on the Shore” Celebration. We offered $4.00 admission and held our “rigged for red” tours. Tour guides were stationed throughout the boat and visitors were able to tour at their own pace. Beautiful weather and WW II music blasting on deck made it a fun weekend for all!

SubFest 2015!
Our inaugural SubFest was a busy, fun, successful weekend! For three days downtown Manitowoc celebrated submarines, with a special emphasis on Cobia and the 28 Manitowoc-built submarines. The Capitol Civic Centre showed Run Silent, Run Deep, Destination Tokyo, and Operation Petticoat. The Rahr-West Art Museum had a Navy Art Exhibit on display “A View from the Periscope” and downtown stores held sidewalk sales. The city shut down the street in front of the museum which allowed us to set up a band shell, food and craft vendors, a boat pond with radio controlled submarines, and a children’s area. We brought back our rigged for red tours and several submarine veterans volunteered their time to sit on board and talk to the hundreds of visitors that passed through the boat during the event.  On Sunday, Cobia hosted a Tolling of the Boats ceremony with help from the USSVI-Wisconsin Base, the Capitol Civic Centre Community Chorale, and Lakeshore Wind Ensemble. After the ceremony, we had a perfect Sunday afternoon for a water skiing show in the river. A huge thank you to all the sub vets and volunteers that helped make this weekend possible!

U.S. Navy Reserve Centennial: This past weekend, Cobia was yet again the host of another ceremony as we celebrated 100 years of the Navy Reserve. Cobia was a training vessel for the Reserve unit in Milwaukee from 1959-1970 and the local reserve units have been a tremendous support aboard Cobia over the years while she’s been in Manitowoc, from restoring the engines, to annual inspections, and ceremony support.


USS COBIA Below the Surface: Submarine Simulation Experience
This summer we opened a new permanent exhibit dedicated to Cobia and her crew. The exhibit tells the story of what life was like aboard Cobia from the everyday mundane jobs to the moments of sheer terror. We can now display artifacts from the sub and the crew and with the use of technology display quotes, photographs, and documents. The existing simulator was redesigned and you can experience an actual battle from July 18th, 1944 when Cobia sank a ship carrying a tank division headed for Iwo Jima and was then depth charged.
To connect the new exhibit to the submarine tour we now have Cobia Crew ID cards.  These cards highlight 40 crew members and allow people to “become a member of the crew.” They will learn what their job was, where they were from, and other interesting facts about their crew member.


“Cobette” Karen Duvalle
Submarine Curator

11

USS Cobia (SS-245) / Cobia "Up Scope!" - April 2015

« on: May 05, 2015, 02:35:39 PM »

“Up Scope!”

                       April 2015 – Volume 3, Issue 2

USS Cobia (SS 245) * Wisconsin Maritime Museum
75 Maritime Dr.   Manitowoc, WI 54220   866-724-2356
www.wisconsinmaritime.org * www.facebook.com/WIMaritimeMuseum

Bow Planes
In February, a small group of Sub Vets came up from Chicago for another work party. They focused on putting the bow plane gearbox back together. Packing glands and new gaskets were installed before the heavy cover was put back up. This was no easy task for them because the gear box is located in the overhead above a torpedo rack and the guys have to stand on ladders or removable decking to work on this piece of equipment. We really appreciate their commitment and dedication to this project!

Shore Connection
Twice this winter Cobia’s shore power cable froze in the ice flows. This caused the old, weathered cable jacket to crack. At the end of March we were able to finally replace the old cable. A mining cable is now in place and will hold up longer in the harsh environment. A new stainless steel junction box was installed on the riverwalk and the connection set up on the sub was repaired. A rod was installed on the forward pylon and with the help of springs, the cable is now suspended higher above the water and the springs will allow movement with the sub. The data cable was also replaced and secured to the new cable. (Photo shows the old cable (grey) and the new one (black).

Phones and Pumps
Ron Takacs and Russ Collins continued working on the sound powered phones and have restored communication throughout the boat. They installed a patch box for the JA-XJA phone circuit in the sail and made a 50ft extension cord that can be plugged into a patch box in the control room. A restored headset can now be plugged into the box on the bridge and allow someone to communicate with the engine room for engine starts during ceremonies. While they were up they also re-installed the new sealed bearing for the #2 transfer pump in the forward engine room. It just needs to have power put on it and tested before the pump gets installed. 

Ron has also been looking into repairing the lights on the torpedo ready boards in the torpedo rooms and the lights on the “Christmas Tree” in the control room so that the board lights up when tour guides demonstrate the diving procedure on tours.


“Cobette” Karen Duvalle
Submarine Curator



Coming Soon!

*New USS Cobia interactive exhibit and the Freshwater Submarines exhibit opening in June!
*1st Annual SubFest, July 10 – 12, 2015!

12

Museum Submarine Discussion / Motor for Lube Oil Transfer Pump question

« on: February 20, 2015, 12:27:33 AM »

One of my volunteers asked me post a question here:

The motor for the Lube Oil transfer pump in Engine Room Lower level has a bad bearing.  It is a vertical Electro-dynamic DC motor.  We don’t know how to take it apart to replace the bearings.  The parts list on the drawing refers to bearing cartridge assy.
 
Can anyone tell us how to change the bearings on this motor?

Thanks!
Karen

13

USS Cobia (SS-245) / Cobia "Up Scope!" - January 2015

« on: February 04, 2015, 07:25:26 PM »

 

  “Up Scope!”

                        January 2015 – Volume 3, Issue 1

USS Cobia (SS 245) * Wisconsin Maritime Museum
75 Maritime Dr.   Manitowoc, WI 54220   866-724-2356
www.wisconsinmaritime.org * www.facebook.com/WIMaritimeMuseum

Happy New Year from USS Cobia! On New Year’s Eve we hosted an amazing New Year’s Eve Bash and blew Cobia’s whistle at midnight. Well, close to midnight at least! The boat was a little cold and the handle froze and we ended up with one loud blast. Between the whistle and the fireworks that followed we probably woke up the rest of town! Sorry neighbors!

Fall
With the holidays keeping everyone pretty busy, there wasn’t much done aboard Cobia in the fall. When the volunteers were here they mainly tinkered on small projects in the engine room and in the workshop.

The Viking lube oil pump was returned in December. Vern Frahm, of Crane Engineering, took the pump apart piece-by-piece and found it to be in pretty good shape for a 71 year old pump. Some parts needed to be replaced, but Viking no longer supported our outdated pump so Crane had to machine all the new parts they needed. They cleaned the pump, put it back together, and returned it to us to be used when we fire up the engines.

Winter Projects
In January, Barry Hornburg finished welding the grate that now fits over the opening down to the refrigerator and freezer in the mess. Over that last few years, a number of volunteers figured out how to restore lighting to this area and now we have a grate to open it up and let visitors see what’s inside! Thank you to everyone who helped make this possible!

In January, Greg Miller, Ed Dowling, and Jeff Trimborn came up for a few days to work on the bow planes gear box again. While they were here they tightened the packing glands which will hopefully prevent future oil drips in the forward torpedo room.
For those not familiar with the gear box and the area it’s in, the project these guys have undertaken is not an easy one! The gear box is located in the overhead in the forward torpedo room. The deck they have to stand on is a bit precarious, because there are openings to the torpedo storage area below. And to throw in an extra obstacle there are torpedo rollers to work around.  It’s not an easy job, but the volunteers are getting the job done well! Thank you for your dedication and hard work! We can’t wait to see the planes move again!

Cobia’s vs Winter: Part 2!
In late December we finally purchased three aerators (Ice Eaters) to install in the area between the Riverwalk and sub. An electrician is currently working on installing new weather resistant receptacles along the Riverwalk to accommodate the new units and will also include outlets that can be used for future rentals and events on the Quarterdeck. The boxes were installed this past weekend, but they still need to be wired into the building. Once the electrical is finished and the weather warms up a bit, we should be able to install the ice eaters and test them out yet this winter. These new ice eaters will hopefully keep this area open to prevent the ice from scraping the hull or building up enough to move the boat away from the Riverwalk like it did last year.

Another good reason to prevent ice buildup is to keep the shore connections from freezing in the ice. Last year, water levels in Lake Michigan rose to their highest level in 15 years. This caused the boat to rise with the river, causing more slack in the lines. Unfortunately, the lines ended up freezing before we were able to install the aerators thanks to a week of negative temperatures. But, our Maintenance Supervisor, Paul Rutherford saved the day! He made his way out onto the moving ice to chisel the cable free and pull it up out of the water again. Late this year the cable will need to be replaced again with a stronger, more durable cable that will hold up in Wisconsin winters and hopefully with a set up that will allow movement during changes in water levels.


“Cobette” Karen Duvalle
Submarine Curator



Coming in 2015!

*New USS Cobia interactive exhibit and the Freshwater Submarines exhibit opening in June!
*1st Annual Submarine Fest, July 10 – 12, 2015!

14

USS Cobia (SS-245) / Cobia "Up Scope" - October 2014

« on: October 28, 2014, 03:21:57 PM »

Whoops! Forgot to post this month's newsletter:

    “Up Scope!”

                        October 2014 – Volume 2, Issue 4

USS Cobia (SS 245) * Wisconsin Maritime Museum
75 Maritime Dr.   Manitowoc, WI 54220   866-724-2356
www.wisconsinmaritime.org * www.facebook.com/WIMaritimeMuseum

Awesome August Volunteers
August was a busy month aboard Cobia! We had several groups of volunteers help out with projects both inside and outside the sub and even in and around the museum! The first group was our annual visit from the Sea Cadets. The Cruiser division in Milwaukee has been coming up to the sub for several years to help clean the sub and help with other projects around the museum before spending a fun night aboard the sub. This year they were joined by a group from the Battleship Wisconsin Unit in La Crosse, WI, and two units from the Chicago area. There were 35 cadets and 17 instructors that helped out. The cadets cleaned, polished, and vacuumed the boat from bow to stern, cleaned the pressure hull under the deck, cleaned in the museum, and helped with landscaping around the museum.

The day after the Sea Cadets were here the Reservists from Green Bay were back to continue the work they started the month before. They spent a few hours under the deck preparing the pressure hull for paint. The Cadets didn’t have a chance to finish the prep thanks to a pesky rain cloud the day before. Like the exterior pressure hull, the tank tops under the deck were scratched up by ice last winter and we hope to get a coat of paint on them before the snow flies.

The following weekend we had a group of Navy Chief Selects from NRD (Naval Recruiting Division) Chicago. This is the second year a group of Chief Selects joined us for a day. They volunteer their time on the sub and spend the night on board. This participation is a unique and interesting part of their training. The Chief Selects continued the work on the pressure hull that was started the week before. Unfortunately it had rained during the week and it was unusually foggy and extremely humid the first day they were working so they had to suck up a lot of water and muck before they could continue the prep work. While one group was working on the hull, another worked on polishing the ship’s bell. They did an incredible job and the bell looks better than it has in years! The next day the humidity was still heavy in the air and the rust converter that was applied the day before didn’t dry. We decided to go ahead with painting around the rust and wet areas and go back to that at a later date.

The day after the Chief Selects left, a couple of Chicago area sub vets were back up to work again. This time it was two to three guys and it was raining so they found an inside project to work on. Greg Miller was back with the gears from the bow planes gear box. He brought a new volunteer Ed Dowling and Tom Sheley also stopped by to lend a hand. Greg had removed the gear and worm gear to inspect and clean them. Since this gear box is in the overhead in the forward torpedo room and also made of brass, this wasn’t an easy task. They spent the first day carefully removing the heavy cover on the gear box since I wouldn’t let them flip the boat over for a few hours. The next day the guys lifted the gears back into place using a custom made wood platform. But like every project on the sub, it didn’t exactly go as planned. There was a pipe in the way of one of the corners on the platform so they had to find a way to trim a corner. Eventually the gears were back in place by the end of the day. They ran out of time, so they will have to come back another day to replace the cover. They also have to obtain the proper gasket material and make a casing gasket.  After that, they will disconnect the gearboxes to the bow planes to determine if we have binding somewhere in the system and weld lugs or eyes to the planes to be able to move them with chain falls.

Special Trips
In early September, Katelyn Sheck and I attended the USSVI National Convention in San Francisco. We manned a booth in the exhibit area for the week and enjoyed visiting with all the vets that stopped by to chat with us. We promoted the museum and Cobia and the highly anticipated Submarine Fest next summer. After the convention we had an opportunity to visit USS Pampanito and spend time with our good friend Rich Pekelney. Meeting the sub vets and visiting our sister sub was a great experience!

A few weeks later I attended the Historic Naval Ships (HNSA) Conference in Norfolk, VA. I was able to spend time with old friends and network with new ones. There were several great sessions on the care and restoration of historic ships and I brought home a lot of great ideas for Cobia! As a bonus I also had a chance to tour Battleship Wisconsin!

Odds ‘n Ends
In early October, Pat Habel, Ron Takacs, and our new volunteer Paul Kraynek (Welcome Aboard, Paul!) installed the MG set for the TBL radio transmitter that's in the radio shack. Badger Electric restored the unit and covered half the expenses of the repair. The next phase is to hook it up electrically.  They were going to do it that day, but they need shrink tubing to protect the insulation on the old wires. They also worked on the emergency lighting system and a few "E" call switches that failed to operate for some unknown reason. The switches were working fine the last time the guys were up, so they think the “Old Gal” is testing them to make sure they keep her functioning!

Crane Engineering is restoring our Viking lube oil pump. For being 71 years old, the pump was in remarkably good shape, but they took it apart to clean it and a replace some small parts. The pump is used in the operation of the main diesel engines.

The staff and volunteers have several projects to keep them busy throughout the Fall-Winter season now that our busy summer has come and gone. These projects include: continue working on the 1MB/2MB, MG Set, and back up lighting system, restore lights/power on the torpedo ready boards, troubleshooting the bow planes gear box, installing permanent aerators along the Riverwalk to prevent ice build up along the sub, and install safety netting along the exterior life lines.

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USS Cobia (SS-245) / Cobia "Up Scope" - July 2014

« on: July 23, 2014, 10:44:53 AM »

“Up Scope!”

July 2014 – Volume 2, Issue 3

USS Cobia (SS 245) * Wisconsin Maritime Museum
75 Maritime Dr.   Manitowoc, WI 54220   866-724-2356
www.wisconsinmaritime.org * www.facebook.com/WIMaritimeMuseum

Spring Projects
A small group of volunteers were up the last Saturday in April to get the boat ready for May and work on small projects. Pat Habel met up with our new volunteer Jud Bly, a sub vet from USS Torsk, and gave him a refresher course and introduced him to the projects he’s been working on. They got the air compressor prepped and running again so that it was ready to go for the engine start in May and they moved the clean fuel oil pump from the aft engine room to the forward engine room. Welcome aboard Jud!

Ron Tackacs and his friend Bud installed missing sound powered phones in the radio room and forward torpedo room and checked the XJA circuits in all the compartments using the new head set. They also worked on the 1MB & 2MB in the control room, conning tower, and maneuvering room. They removed the covers to clean the glass and wipe off the bulbs and then tested them with the maneuvering room and conning tower. They removed the audio bells in both units in the control room to overhaul and replace since they were not working properly.

On Saturday, May 24th we had a gorgeous day for our annual USS Lagarto Remembrance Ceremony on Cobia’s deck. At the end we fired up engine #2 and blew the ship’s whistle. We were also thrilled to see so many submarine veterans in attendance this year. We hope to see more of them around here again!

Summer Progress
 We had another large work party here June 15-17. About a dozen sub vets, civilians, and one active submariner were here from the Chicago area helping out for a few days. For the most part, the weather cooperated and we were able to work outside this time! A group got to work chipping the paint on the 3 inch deck gun. A group of Navy Reservists from Green Bay started working on it on Sunday and the guys continued the work all day Monday so that they could start painting on Tuesday. The rain held off long enough on Tuesday that they were able to get most of the grey finished. Karen, with some help from a former tour guide, worked on the black and the finishing touches on it another day. In all it took about a dozen people four days to restore the gun and it looks amazing!

Other projects that were completed during the work party include finishing up the paint on the sail, gun deck, and 20mm base and prepping some the rusty areas under the deck in the waterways. The ice last winter wreaked havoc in that area as well. Five Navy Reservists were back again in July and continued work on the tank tops. We’ve got a good start on the area and hopefully we’ll be able to finish it before winter!

Greg Miller is determined to repair the gear box for the bow planes. After some work, the volunteers were able to lower the panes a few years ago, but there was a problem with the gear box overheating. We had deemed it a lower priority and let it be for awhile, but Greg, his grandson Blake, who is an active submariner, and Pat Habel took a better look at the gear box back in June. They are continuing to research the gear box to determine the root cause of the problem. We’ll keep you informed of their progress! Thanks guys and good luck!

Volunteer Recognition
We recently learned about the Presidential Volunteer Service Award and were able to apply it to our museum volunteers who met the criteria in a one year time frame. Two of our Cobia volunteers were eligible for this award this year. Pat Habel received a bronze award with 209.5 hours and Tom Aschenbrenner received a gold award with 525 hours! Ron Tackacs was also the recipient of the 2013 Cobia Volunteer of the Year award for all the work he’s done on the sound powered phones and various bells and lights through out the boat. Thanks for all your hard work, guys!

We’d also like to make an honorable mention of our new volunteer Sub Vet Tom Pieper. He’s been hanging out a few days a week this summer talking to our visitors while on the sub tours. Both the visitors and tour guides have enjoyed having him aboard! Welcome aboard, Tom!