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USS Blueback (SS-581) / Recent visit to OMSI and USS Blueback

« on: May 03, 2016, 04:36:35 PM »

A month ago I spotted a low airfare from the east coast to Portland, Oregon and decided it was time to visit my last submarine in the continental US...

While OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) is very much a children's museum with lots of "play" exhibits and a mediocre planetarium, their display and interpretation of USS Blueback is first-rate. The submarine is permanently moored on the Willamette River. Its propeller is displayed on-shore near the sub. This is a relatively modern submarine, said to have been the last diesel-electric sub in the USN when it was de-commissioned in 1990. It's a "diesel Skipjack" or perhaps a "Tang in an Albacore suit". Its interior fittings remind me of Growler and Nautilus but unlike those boats, everything is open, and tours are live. The tour/interpretation was professional and entertaining and easily among the very best that I have encountered.

Unusually, this sub still has its batteries, and as an old thread here notes, they use an "Energizer Bunny" as a talking point for discussion of the batteries. The periscopes are fixed in position, trained on the Portland skyline, and visitors can take a peek. The museum makes effective use of recorded sound effects to suggest the sound of life aboard vessel. Some of this is obvious enough, like the thundering noise designed to give a hint of the roar of the diesel engines. Other effects are subtle, like the sound of dishes clunking and banging as if someone is washing up in the galley --a simple thing yet compelling.

Blueback had about fifteen seconds of pop-culture fame, appearing briefly in an episode of "Hawaii Five-O" in the late 1960s and also briefly in "The Hunt for Red October". By the way, the class boat (of three), USS Barbel, appeared briefly (but full-screen!) in an episode of "The Brady Bunch" in 1972, where it was identified as a "nuclear submarine".

I highly recommend a visit to USS Blueback if you make it out to Portland. It's 45 minutes well-spent. I would suggest skip the rest of OMSI and get another technology "fix" by driving an hour to the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, a world-class museum that houses the famous 'Spruce Goose'. And yes, it really is huge.

I have now visited all of the museum subs that are currently open to the public in the continental US. I intend to add HMCS Onondaga to that total this summer so I can claim "all in North America" :). It has been a fun project. Subs are good, clean fun and also because they are remarkably well spread out around the country: some 22 submarines in 15 states. Visiting a sub museum takes half an hour, sometimes an hour, rarely even two or three hours, leaving a day or a weekend to explore. And what better excuse would I ever have to visit North Little Rock, Arkansas or Manitowoc, Wisconsin, or Hackensack, New Jersey?? There is enormous variety among the subs both in terms of the intentions of the display and the quality and the style. Some are treated as memorials, others nearly private clubs, and many are major elements of maritime museums and science museums. Some are popular tourist attractions, other nearly unknown. There's no way to measure them all on a single scale... If I had to recommend a subset, the top three would be Cobia, Blueback, and Nautilus with U-505, Cod, and Pampanito just behind. But there are none that I would omit if I did it all again. :)

Frank Reed
ReedNavigation.com

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Museum Submarine Discussion / US subs preserved overseas

« on: October 28, 2009, 11:54:15 PM »

Besides the following, does anyone know of any former US submarines preserved outside the USA?

In Turkey:
FORMER USS Thornback (Tench - Guppy IIA)
Renamed TCG Uluc Ali Reis
Museum sub at Rahmi Koc Museum, Istanbul, Turkey
Lat 41 02 29 N
Lon 28 56 52 E

FORMER USS Gudgeon (Tang-class)
Renamed TCG Hizir Reis
Museum sub alongside TCG Gayret (former USS Eversole, Gearing-class destroyer), Izmit, Turkey
Lat 40 45 36 N
Lon 29 55 00 E

FORMER USS Tang (Tang-class)
Renamed TCG Piri Reis
Museum sub at Inciralti Museum, alongside TCG Ege (former USS Ainsworth, Knox-class frigate), Izmir, Turkey
Lat 38 24 45 N
Lon 27 02 05 E

If you visit the coordinates above in Google Earth, you can see these boats clearly (took me quite a while to find them!!). And if you click around on the "photo squares" nearby, you can find many photos of the subs. I've attached three reduced copies below. They all appear to be in good condition. Not too surprising since they were only recently de-commissioned.

-FER

3

USS Cobia (SS-245) / Cobia and the Wisconsin Maritime Museum

« on: October 26, 2009, 10:30:30 PM »

As I said when I introduced myself, I worked for some years at a major maritime museum, so I'm interested both in submarines as the fascinating vessels they are and also in their presentation and interpretation in museums.

I visited the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc, WI in late August this year. It was cold and foggy with light rain (what an odd summer it was in the upper Midwest). My original plan was to pay a quick visit to the USS Cobia, run through the museum quickly, and then go have a nice hot lunch somewhere. Instead, the museum was rather busy and there were no openings for tours for an hour and a half, so I "decided" I would spend more time exploring the museum. And what a fine museum it is! It tells the story of Manitowoc's submarine building days before and during the Second World War, but it's much more than that. It is a comprehensive display of the history of boating and shipping on the Great Lakes. It features an impressive steam engine, around 15 feet tall from the vessel "Chief Wawatam" (built in 1911, the steam engine was added to the museum in a significant expansion which opened in 2003). The engine is rigged to operate hydraulically in various modes at the push of a button. In the next room, there's a replica of the twelve-foot propeller which turns slowly as the engine runs. Other displays cover 19th century (and earlier) ship-building with beautiful models and artifacts tastefully displayed. There are numerous small boats on display inside the building. There are plenty of activities for kids including a fishing simulator, which I really wanted to try. Displays cover maritime history from every angle: commercial, military, recreational, scientific, and so on. There's a small display on celestial navigation (which was never terribly important on the lakes, so I can forgive the glaring error in its descriptive text --the only error I saw in the museum). The museum's exhibits are well-designed and well-executed. It's one of the best maritime museums I've ever seen. The scale is just about right. A family could spend a pleasant two or three hours here seeing almost everything at a normal pace. Oh, did I mention they have a submarine??

The USS Cobia was apparently the original center of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, it's raison d'etre. Much to the credit of its planners, the fine museum has grown up around it. The Cobia itself is beautifully restored and the tour was informative and enjoyable, occasionally funny without being corny. My only complaint was that the tour was perhaps a touch too long but I think that's because the interpreter that day was new on the job --and maybe tired after a long full day of tours. The sub looks just great inside and out, and of the thirteen museum subs I've visited in the past few months, only the marvelous USS Cod in Cleveland beats it for presentation. Cobia, however, beats Cod since there is no museum to support the Cleveland sub.

The Wisconsin Maritime Museum and the USS Cobia are a "must-see" for anyone interested in submarines and maritime history generally. It's a long way to go for most people, but anyone in Chicago should consider adding it to a trip to Door County or other points "up north". It could also easily be combined with a trip to Oshkosh if you're heading out for the annual EAA aviation spectacular. The museum is well-advertised by highway signs and easy to reach just a few minutes off Interstate 43.

Highly recommended. Grade A. Five stars. I will certainly go back.

-FER

4

USS Clamagore (SS-343) / Clamagore: PUFFed up GUPPY

« on: October 16, 2009, 08:21:16 PM »

I'm attaching a photo of Clamagore I took back in August.

This submarine has some serious rust on its outer hull (barely visible on the bow in the attached photo) and given the track record of Patriot's Point, clearly it may be in trouble. But I like Clamagore as a relatively unique example of a 1960s diesel sub --the last GUPPY III. It has that nice, vaguely draconian profile with its still straight-edged superstructure and those PUFFS sonar fins on its back, like Tang and the other post-war, pre-Albacore subs.

For those who haven't been there, below decks Clamagore is in good shape but nothing extraordinary. I feel it would be much better if it was interpreted and presented as it was c.1965-1970. Instead it's a mixed message displaying no real historical time-frame, and unfortunately one section of the boat has been given over to a memorial to the lost subs of World War II which makes little sense in a compartment of a museum sub.

-FER

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USS Torsk (SS-423) / Torsk letters

« on: October 16, 2009, 08:03:57 PM »

When I visited USS Torsk about a month ago, I couldn't help laugh at a little bit of equipment attached to a bulkhead. I swear i didn't initial that thing, whatever it is! (see attached photo)

Near the spot where I found my initials aboard Torsk, I noticed a sextant and a few other navigational items in a case. Just FYI for the Torsk team, that sextant is probably worth selling. You could get an old USN Mk. II sextant, which is probably more appropriate, for about half the money that you would raise by the sale of the one you have. Also, there is a really beat-up "star finder" (HO 2102-D) in the same case. It would be easy to get one in considerably better condition. They sell for ten bucks or so on ebay on a regular basis, maybe fifteen for "vintage". Also, the plates and overlays of the "star finder" are rather neat looking and since you have this in a glass case anyway, you may want to consider taking them out of the sleeve and fanning them out for the display. Just throwing in my two cents! My area of expertise is traditional navigation, especially celestial navigation.

-FER

6

USS Silversides (SS-236) / Silversides visit

« on: October 14, 2009, 05:06:07 PM »

I visited USS Silversides in late September. It's very nice. The location is rather remote, but there is plenty of signage leading to the spot, and it's pleasant enough there. It's near a fine beach, so I imagine they get good crowds in the summer. I saw evidence of excellent public outreach and programs for the community. The gift shop is well-stocked, too. :-)

When I arrived for my visit, there was a chain across the entryway to the boat, and I feared they might be closed for tours. I went inside the museum building, saw they were open, paid my fee, and the folks there explained that the tour was self-guided and I should just unhook the chain and let myself on-board. Ok... Entry near the forward hatch is unique for the submarines that I've seen. It's neither the main hatch, as on Cod, nor the more typical re-built torpedo loading hatch. You descend below the bow superstructure through a small set of stairs, step onto the pressure hull and then walk around about ten feet to a hatch that has been cut into the hull on the port side right at the back of the forward torpedo room. There's no sign explaining this, and when I first made my way down, I saw the closed hatch in front of me and wondered if I was expected to open that myself to go below! I'll attach a photo of the view from here. By the way, is there a name for this large open area in the bow between the pressure hull and superstructure?

The interior of the sub is in very good shape. I had the sub all to myself for the duration of my half-hour exploration and had plenty of time to experience the "ambience" of the old vessel. The exterior seems to be in good condition, too. The paint looks good, and the presentation is good. There's a lot of algae growing below the waterline but I imagine it's relatively harmless, and it keeps a small flock of ducks happy picking away at it for their breakfast.

-FER
PS: So... there are museum subs in Muskegon and Muskogee. I smell a rat... a muskrat.

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USS Ling (SS-297) / The sad sub in Hackensack

« on: October 12, 2009, 10:41:40 PM »

The USS Ling appears to have a grim future. It is trapped in a terrible location. It leaks badly but fortunately (?) spends most of its time resting on the muddy bottom of the Hackensack River, which is brackish and tidal in this stretch. The interior of the submarine is in good condition, and I do hope something can be done to save it.

The sad little museum associated with the Ling is more of a curiosity shop than a museum, with a random collection of ship models, submarine memorabilia, and unremarkable photos of various moments in submarine history. The collection is disorganized and unplanned. Outside are some other artifacts ranging from a rather ridiculous scale-model of a Polaris missile to a Japanese Kaiten "manned torpedo" and a German Seehund midget submarine. There is also a portion of the North Atlantic sail from USS Halfbeak and two torpedo tails standing on end with red and green lights affixed to the propellers to serve as entry gateposts. In short, this is a tacky, amusement-park approach to the display of a submarine. Of course, having said this, I should add that such displays were unsurprising back in the early 1970s when the Ling was first brought to Hackensack. Back then it had been less than 30 years since the end of the Second World War, and these fleet boats were not yet perceived as genuine historical artifacts, objects worthy of museum preservation. It appears to me that this "museum" remains trapped in that earlier era.

It is amazing that the Ling and the NJMM have hidden themselves so stealthily. This submarine is one mile, just a three-minute drive, from an exit off I-80, and only about ten miles (twenty minutes by car if not rush hour) from Manhattan. This is a potential market of millions of people. Roughly a thousand people a day visit the USS Growler in the city, but the Ling is closed for tours except on Saturday and Sunday and even on those days has few visitors. When I visited on a recent Sunday afternoon with beautiful, early fall weather, there were about a dozen visitors in one hour. There is not a single sign anywhere pointing to the museum except the primitive sign at their front gate. If I had not found a reference to it online, I never would have known it was there. Indeed I have driven by this exit off I-80 dozens of times in the past twenty years, and I had no clue that Hackensack had a submarine until July of this year.

This museum is a failure. The fact that they are being threatened with closing by the publishing company that owns the property on which they are located is probably the best thing that could happen. Their modest collection should be split up and sold to museums with the resources, both financial and curatorial, to preserve them properly and interpret them respectfully. Their artifacts should be displayed by institutions that recognize that it is their responsibility to bring this history to the wider community. The days of the "submarine clubhouse" should be long over.

So what of Ling itself? The interior of the submarine has been well-maintained, and for that the NJMM should be congratulated. It's far better than Croaker, for example. But the pumps are running continuously, bubbles rising continually from the port side, and the hull may be seriously compromised. But from this location, there is no way to dry-dock the sub. It is trapped by a river that has silted up and a bridge that has been closed, blocking the river to large vessels, for thirty years. I suspect that Ling may end up encased in concrete in the center of a new riverfront park... Are there any other viable options?

-FER

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Museum Submarine Discussion / Onondaga?

« on: October 11, 2009, 08:00:53 PM »

Has anypone here visited HMCS Onondaga? It's not in the US , but it's less than a hundred miles north of the northeastern tip of Maine. In submarine touring terms, according to Google Maps, it's about a nine-hour drive north of Albacore. There are some nice photos here: http://www.shmp.qc.ca/onondaga/montez/index.php

-FER

9

New Member Introductions / Thirteen subs in eight weeks

« on: October 11, 2009, 07:46:05 PM »

Hello, all.

I've been reading messages for a few days and decided it's time to join. For some years I've wanted to visit a couple of specific museum subs, and it occurred to me in early August, why not see them all? That will take a while, of course, but I'm off to a good start. Here's my list so far (in order):
TRIP 1:
Cod
Croaker
Lionfish
Nautilus
Growler
Becuna
Clamagore
TRIP 2:
Cobia
Silversides
Requin
Torsk
Ling
Albacore

Razorback and Batfish are next on my list.

Incidentally, I worked for some years at a maritime museum (no subs) so my interest is both submarines and their preservation and interpretation as artifacts of history.

-FER
PS: for a message board experiment, I'm attaching a thumbnail view of some photos of each of the boats I've visited, except Albacore.