One submarine on display, which one?

[Lance Dean]

Hey Paul Farace, I'm stealing your question from Rontini's BBS.   

If you could have ONE submarine (any submarine ever built in the USA) on display as a museum, which one would it be and why?

[MWALLEN]

WAHOO or TANG...mostly because O'Kane was on them.

[JTheotonio]

It can't be done. Do you go with development, fame, or class.  Every boat is unique, special, part of our history.  Nautilus as it started the nucler age.  Albacore because of it's hull design (tear drop). Turtle first used as a weapon. Washington because it was the first FBM. Wahoo, Tang, or Razorback because of their WWII heroics and their skippers.   Push all of this aside and I'd say my first boat - because it was my first boat (Picuda).  I think anyone would agree that their first boat was special and deserves a place in history.

[Lance Dean]

As I replied on the Messdeck BBS, knowing that there is a whole world of submarines prior to the Gato class that are long gone, I'd love to see some of those.

#1 USS Tambor (SS-198) - The USS Tambor (SS-198) was the flagship of the Tambor class, the first class to have 6 torpedo tubes forward and the class that the Gato, Balao, Tench, etc were built upon!  All are long gone now though.
#2 V-4/USS Argonaut (SM-1) - Talk about unique!
#3 USS Flasher (SS-249) - and yes, I do plan on seeing her conning tower at Nautilus Park someday
#4 USS Barb (SS-220) - The Barb ties with so many others that I'd like to see from that era, like the Wahoo and the Tang.

[Mark Sarsfield]

It would have been cool to have one of each class of boat that served in WWII preserved for history.  Instead, the Old S, P, Salmon/Sargo, V , and T class boats are long gone.  At least Marlin is still around.

[Paul Farace]

Well if the quesiton is ONE sub, it would have to be a fleet boat  since they conducted the world's most successful submarine campaign in history -- the US Navy's embargo of Japan (yes, waaay more successful than the U-boat campaign of WWII) ...  (if there were no other subs on display), but there are -- so my answer is one of the POLARIS BOATS   ---  USS JOHN C. CALHOUN or DANIEL WEBSTER!


PF

[emeacho]

It would be awesome to have one of the remaining 41 for Freedom on display!  The Navy should give this some serious consideration.

[Darrin]

Awwww Come on Chief..... Ya know that the bow's of BOTH of the remaining 41's have been gutted out for class room space.....  Jayesus there AREN'T parts for rebuilding those, you and I have both put in enough time in JRRF to know that and honestly I don't think that I have enough pull with my contacts to get the parts back.... I may have a new vol coming up with me and he is a cross between Jim and Doc and Me.....      May there be mercy on your soul for this one

[emeacho]

Doesn't matter what shape she's in, it would be awesome to wander around in one of the 41 for old times sake.  Besides, think of the dark, hot, sweaty, bone tiring adventures we could have finding parts for her.

[JTheotonio]

I'd sure hate to try and manufacture a missile tube from scratch.  Now rebuild an old "O" boat might be fun.

Off topic, but somewhat related: Ford Motor company set out to re-produce six brand new 1914 Model T's, which they called T-100 to celebrate the centenary of the Ford Motor Company in 2003, six very special Model Ts were built that replicate in true fashion the original 1914 Model T. The six 2003 Model T-100s were all donated to museums with four of the cars going to the Henry Ford Museum.

Can we get General Dynamics to build us a boomer?

[Fred Tannenbaum]

I know the guidelines are to name one US submarine on display. I definitely think it should be a fleet boat since they are the ones that wiped the Japanese Navy and merchant marine off the oceans, and provided us with some of our first opportunities to strike back at the Japanese in those dark, uncertain early days.

But if it's ANY submarine, I'd suggest one of the Japanese I-400 or I-13/I-14 boats, the ones carrying at least two floatplanes. As we know, the I-400s were absolute monsters and the largest submarines built before the advent of nuclear power. Lots of rooms for visitors.

[Darrin]

Chief,
you know for a fact that I would love to walk around a 41 for freedom one more time and try to beg borrow or steal the parts for it but you and I both know that JRRF or Philly don't have parts for them and the only place that may or may not still have parts is in Bremerton and even with my ID card it would be hell getting in and then getting the parts back across the country.  Hell Trout hasn't been cut up yet and she would make a good museum boat or get Ned Beach's USS Triton, the ONLY two reactor submarine in the US Navy. She from what I have been told is setting on keel blocks awaiting her fate to be scraped, starting to believe that they waited for Capt Beach to pass before they put her on the hit list for her final move in life and intact. Besides Triton STILL has ALL of her gear onboard and from the reports it wouldn't be hard to scrape the paint and open her up and wax the floors and plug shore power back in and run her as a museum.

[JTheotonio]

Triton would be a good choice.  I saw her a couple of time when she was in Norfork.  What a monster.  I could not believe how long that boat was - just coming from the Picuda.  It was amazing.  And if all her parts are still there - it wouldn't take much.  If they can do it with the Nautilus why not the Triton.

[Darrin]

the Triton may or may not be hot    if'n ya catch my meaning on that one... Her service life was very small and from what I have heard or been told over the years she was a pig to handle at sea and it wasn't worth the cost of making her and keeping both reactors online

[Lance Dean]

Why 2 reactors?