SUBMARINEMUSEUMS.ORG Forum
General Boards => Museum Submarine Discussion => Topic started by: Lance Dean on June 24, 2010, 12:39:26 AM
-
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/jun/21/grsq-museum-build-replica-cabrillos-galleon/
"Plans call for the ship to open as a paid attraction in 2012, when it joins the museum's other ships at the nearby embarcadero. It'll take the spot now occupied by B-39, a Soviet submarine that will be turned into an offshore diving reef."
So if you want to see the B-39, better go soon. So sad!
-
Sad yes! But that is what you get when you give ships to education/entertainment entities... they're not in the business of historic ship preservation. The line in the story about "making turnstyles spin..." says it all! :knuppel2:
The Soviet sub should be moved instead of sinking as a reef... the cost of cleaning that basturd must be considerable! Think PCBs everywhere!
-
I visited the B-39 a year ago June. I was interested in seeing the USS Dolphin and was surprised that the Russian sub was there to board too. There was very little information as you walked through it and there were no docents to ask questions so you were on your own. Fortunately for me, I was with a co-worker who was Russian. He was able to read the equipment information and translate. That made the visit much more understandable. After touring the boat I was glad that I never had to serve on her.
I sent a bunch of photos to Dean. He may still have them.
It's too bad that she's going to be "reefed". But like it's been said, she was there to make $$$. What a waste.
-
I have to ask this why were the russian submarines bad to serve on? I know most of the germen WW2 vessels were very bad to be on for those crew but thats the 1940s.
-
I have to ask this why were the russian submarines bad to serve on? I know most of the germen WW2 vessels were very bad to be on for those crew but thats the 1940s.
The accommodations on the B-39 were very spartan. The officer's area was hardly any improvement from the enlisted; cramped with little creature comforts. And the head was a joke! Take a look at the attached photos.
But you must remember; the sole purpose of the B-39 was warfare and not accommodations.
-
The accommodations on the B-39 were very spartan. The officer's area was hardly any improvement from the enlisted; cramped with little creature comforts. And the head was a joke! Take a look at the attached photos.
But you must remember; the sole purpose of the B-39 was warfare and not accommodations.
Here's the Officer's head. The file is big so I have to try it this way.
-
Oh i see it looks nice from the outside no rust on the ship really but in the inside i can see how it was cramped quarters.
-
How effective were these submarines anyway i know they patrolled along the californian coast and presumably still do
-
...
I sent a bunch of photos to Dean. He may still have them.
...
I sure do. Still appreciate you taking the time to send.
-
How effective were these submarines anyway i know they patrolled along the californian coast and presumably still do
When I was a sonarman, I was trained how to identify specific Russian subs by their unique sound. The B-39 is a Whiskey class sub that was one of the types I had to identify. Some of the others were known as Hotel, Foxtrot and Alpha class boats. Each were unique. The Whiskey was a workhorse for the Russians. There were a lot of them. It was odd that after a number of years I was able to tour one.
As far as being effective, the Whiskey was a key player in espionage. When on the battery they were very quiet but were very loud when on the snorkel. The same with the others with the exception of the Alpha. It was one of the most quiet boats out there. Very hard to pick up.
The boat were extremely effective in that there were many of them and could cover a large area. At first we were able to pick them up routinely, but the boats improved greatly, making them a larger threat.
-
Oh Okay :) thanks bill. I heard a story of the USS BATFISH (1970S) following a Foxtrot class for about over 2 months and the russian sub had no idea it was there just some of the maney stories of them good and bad.
-
Oh Okay :) thanks bill. I heard a story of the USS BATFISH (1970S) following a Foxtrot class for about over 2 months and the russian sub had no idea it was there just some of the maney stories of them good and bad.
BAT, (BrokenArrowtiger)
When I was battle stations Sonarman the old diesel boats were the ones the Navy sent out to do the work. They had a long run on the snorkel to get to areas of interest and were extremely quiet on the battery. Our boats excelled over the typical Soviet boat in stealth and sonar technology then. At that time (mid-1960s), the nukes were still the prima donas of the Navy and were not the boats they sent into harms way. The old (but still good) diesel boats were given the task of secreting themselves into enemy waters (and harbors) and following the bad guys without them knowing it (most of the time). I remember following a Hotel class boat for an extended period, recording their "acoustic signature" so that the Navy had a tape of what a specific enemy boat sounded like. They would be used as training tools for sonarmen. There was one time when I was in the CON when the XO let me look through the scope. Periscopes have the ability to pan their view up and down. We were down about 200 feet and were directly below a Soviet sub, which I could make out easily through the scope. it was about 130 feet above us on the snorkel. It was so clear I could make out a lot of the detail. That was something I would never forget.
Unfortunately, the Soviet boats became very stealthy very quickly and could follow our boats and ships undetected (most of the time). It was a give and take at that time.
-
Wow! that must have been quite a sight to see once you heard a russian submarine could you tell pretty early on which class it was?
-
Wow! that must have been quite a sight to see once you heard a russian submarine could you tell pretty early on which class it was?
It was quite a sight. We could recognize some of the subs by their acoustic signature. All vessels have certain "sound" characteristics that are specific to that type of vessel, be it surface or submarine. We were trained to recognize the specific traits that specific vessels had. Remember the recording I mentioned. Recordings like that are used as training aids for sonarmen throughout the fleet. It allows sonarmen throughout the fleet to study the acoustic characteristics for a type of vessel and even a specific vessel if it was unique. A good sonarman could not only tell the type of vessel or specific vessel, they could also estimate distance and angle on the bow (direction the target was heading). As sonar equipment improved, acoustic frequency printouts replaced the human ear.
-
Oh wow thats amazing when you were starting out the sonar technology as far as listening to vessels that was in its beggening stages right i know now its far technologically better. How good were you at what you did on the blueback? its really interesting to hear about this truly is thanks bill soo much
-
Oh wow thats amazing when you were starting out the sonar technology as far as listening to vessels that was in its beggening stages right i know now its far technologically better. How good were you at what you did on the blueback? its really interesting to hear about this truly is thanks bill soo much
I was "battle stations" sonarman, which meant that if there was anything going on I was to man the sonar equipment. Not because I was more experienced but because I had really good hearing (then) and could distinguish sounds quite well. There is a lot of background "noise" in the ocean that you have to try to listen through to pick out the target. I was able to do it well enough to be called upon whenever the occasion presented itself. I still would handle my shift on the stack during routine times but would be called in to man the stack when needed.
One thing I should clarify. Sonar began before WWII. That was the beginning stages of underwater detection. While I was on boats, sonar had progressed to a much higher technological level where the sound was analyzed by the equipment more than by the operator. It was the beginning of the computer age.
-
OH i see now thanks the sonar equpiment would pretty much pick up anything in the ocean you just had to distingquish which ship or sub was friend or foe it seems like overall the russians really werent that far behind us in technology and towards the end of the cold war there subs were really quit like ours they had alot of the same technology weopons sonar and so on though we had more accomadations then them theres werent ment for that when you went to the B-39 what was the biggest differnce you saw in that then in the Uss Blueback?
-
OH i see now thanks the sonar equpiment would pretty much pick up anything in the ocean you just had to distingquish which ship or sub was friend or foe it seems like overall the russians really werent that far behind us in technology and towards the end of the cold war there subs were really quit like ours they had alot of the same technology weopons sonar and so on though we had more accomadations then them theres werent ment for that when you went to the B-39 what was the biggest differnce you saw in that then in the Uss Blueback?
The B-39 was smaller inside. The crew's and officer's accommodations were very spartan. Very little was built in for comfort. The Blueback had outstanding accommodations (as did the rest of the Sub Fleet compared to the Soviets). We had much more room in our sleeping quarters. The crew's mess area, where we ate and congregated for movies, meeting and games, was palatial in comparison to the B-39.
In addition to that difference, the Blueback was an extremely quiet boat. Whereas the boats like the B-39 were louder and easier to pick up.
The soviets realized their shortcomings and later made huge advancements in their submarine design and the equipment used on board. They were as good as a lot of the US fleet eventually.
-
It sounds like life aboard a submarine in the mid 60s when you were on really wasnt that bad. Beside spying on the Russian Submarines (i know some parts of the cold war are classified ) did you guys have missions you went on into dangerous areas.
I cant wait to visit the USS BLUEBACK after high school and the USS growler also
-
It sounds like life aboard a submarine in the mid 60s when you were on really wasnt that bad. Beside spying on the Russian Submarines (i know some parts of the cold war are classified ) did you guys have missions you went on into dangerous areas.
I cant wait to visit the USS BLUEBACK after high school and the USS growler also
Being on board a US boat was truly one of the greatest things I've experienced. The camaraderie with your shipmates is the best and the job was rewarding. In answer to your question, yes, that's the role of a submarine. I hope you get to tour the "Back". She is the last of her kind.
-
Being on board a US boat was truly one of the greatest things I've experienced. The camaraderie with your shipmates is the best and the job was rewarding. In answer to your question, yes, that's the role of a submarine. I hope you get to tour the "Back". She is the last of her kind.
Thats one of the reasons why i want to go into the navy or maritime archaeology, What did you learn while being in the navy i imagine you served for quite sometime and yes i hope i do get to tour it she sounds like a very nice submarine if i do beleive she served till the 80s thanks for teaching me about the sonar iv learned alot.
-
Hey Bill I looked at pictures of the B-39 the inside was very cramped as far mess hall and going into the other rooms my parents would never fit through them..the officers and captains quarters arent that bad though it looked more spacious then the WW2 SUBMARINES but were talking about 1970 soviet submarine really inside it looked pretty bad though...The Torpedo tubes looked alot smaller then i thaught they would and theres tons of valves and such gauges in the ship i could see how someone would get lost. your lucky you had the Russian interpreter i didnt know what a damn thing was in the ship looking through the pic.. >:( oh well from the pics iv seen of the blueback looks alot nicer