SUBMARINEMUSEUMS.ORG Forum
General Boards => Submarine Related Chatter => Topic started by: JohnG on December 05, 2008, 06:25:27 PM
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There is alot of it here. 5 parts all together running about 50 minutes in total. I haven't watched all of it yet. Thought you all would like to see it.
http://www.realmilitaryflix.com/public/794.cfm?sd=75
It takes a bit to load, and try not to run other programs while watching. It'll suck RAM like a vampire.
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Thanks for the heads-up on this, John.
This is incredible stuff. Treat yourself to a little "me time" and watch it all, as I am doing now. It's not in any chronological order and there's no sound but the color footage is gorgeous. You get to see Admiral Nimitz in short sleeves and shorts come on board one of the boats to present awards. Lots of great underway footage of boats in their ghostly late-war Measure 32 paint schemes. Seems like it definitely was shot on board boats involved in the "Operation Barney" Sea of Japan mission in June 1945, including Skate's rescue of several Japanese seamen.
Again, thanks for sharing!
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good footage. 3 things that I notice and this will help my crew....
There is not a single clean line on the paint job. I have several stories about how the just sprayed over the deck edge when painting the deck black. this just proves it.
Second. I noticed the after deck gun mounting. There apears to be some typ of extention on the deck around the gun. Presumably to allow walking space and a ring aroun dht deck gun. Probably additional support for the deck gun or a steel ring for a wheel. Again more support for the deck gun and a place for teh wheel to role and not damage the teak.
Third. In the last real. I noticed the 40 mm barrel lock. cool idea. Hint hint..... ;D
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Here is a picture sent to me of the Batfish 5" gun:
I noticed the 40 mm barrel lock. cool idea. Hint hint.....
I know...I'm working on Vaughn...
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At ~00:30sec in the first part of the film you see a black sailor on the sub they are filming from. Were there black submariners in WW2? I never thought about if there were blacks on subs. Does anyone know if there were?
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Coupla things:
1. To answer the question about the added deck space around the 5-inch gun, yes, as boats received larger deck guns, the working area around them was increased by adding space at the deck edges, also known as sponsons. What also is shown is that some boats also received metal grating around the gun working areas to improve traction on a wet deck.
2. Yes, indeed, African-Americans were part of U.S. submarine crews throughout the war but served as "mess attendants" and/or "steward's mates." That meant their duties were serving meals and coffee to the officers and cleaning the officers' staterooms. They usually manned the battle phones in the forward battery as their battle station. Sometimes they helped load torpedoes. While they mostly were treated as part of the crews, they were restricted to their steward's duties in the segregated Navy of the time.
Finally, in the final Bowfin/Skate/Seadog et al clip, I especially like the footage of the subs plowing through heavy seas. Very cool.
Fred
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They also manned deck guns as loaders... especially on COD. Also, the Navy suggested they would make good night lookouts under the unsubstantiated "scientific" knowledge that "negro eyes" were better at night vision.
Here is a shot of one of COD's stewards mates aboard COD.
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Rick,
You are correct that the 5" gun (or any deck gun) has an under-deck support structure (missing from Batfish, presently) and we are also missing our sponsons - deck extensions. All was removed for the cold war ops or when she became a dockside trainer. Amazingly, they left the gun lockers under the forward deck. I guess they figured that they were still useful stowage spaces.
Sponsons would be a neat project for the VoTech welders... some sweet by and by. However, if we got/fabricated the grates shown in the above picture, that could act as a good alternative to welding on sponons to the boat superstructure. We would just secure the grates to the deck. A railing post on each side would probably have to be removed. Now, if we could only get Point Loma sub base to pony up a deck gun. :'(
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Very good find there John -I watched these awhile and just got time to post about it now-.
I really like the fact that when the Admirals came aboard for medals and such they didnt care about the beards, and I loved seeing Nimitz in his "Hot weather" outfit, lol.