If you are claustrophobic, take a deep breath and follow me:
Here's the superstructure I was telling you about. The deck and sides of the boat are just welded to a cylindrical chamber. You must pass through the superstructure in order to enter the boat:
Forward torpedo room. Notice the bunks above the torpedoes. I forget how much the torpedoes weighed, but they were loaded by block and tackle:
Now I don't know how it is on those newfangled submarines, but if you ever visit a WWII submarine, don't go when it's crowded. Everywhere you go, it feels like you are moving around in a closet.
A real small closet.
Here's the head:
Sailors "hot racked" meaning they slept in the same bunks. As one shift got off, they would get into the same bunk the other shift had been sleeping in.
Sleeping space is a premium:
Officers didn't get much better:
Hard to believe eighty men served on board at the same time.
Here's the control room:
Galley and mess.
I can't even imagine:
And finally the engine room and the rear torpedo room:
The Bowfin had four supercharged diesels that put out 6,400 horsepower. I wonder what kind of gas mileage it got.
More later.
Here's a link to more pics.
3 comments:
That's awesome.
I would love to get my hands on one of those and just set it up on blocks in the desert and live in it like a house. Anyone who visited me would be like, raving about it to everybody they know, later. "Coolest guy I know! Lives in a converted WWII sub. Well, he put it up on blocks, anyhow. 'Converted' in that sense."
I mean, what other conversion would you need? It's already got a kitchen! Sleeping facilities, table-areas. The switches and dials room.
That would be like, party central, except screw that. I don't want to clean up after people's spilled drinks and messes. That weird metal floor looks like a neat-freak's worst nightmare.
Well, if the party is on deck, no worries!
All the spilled stuff goes right on through.
I'd kinda prefer an old 747 to an old WWII sub.
I mean if I get to choose.
You can set yours up right next to mine. We can be neighbors.
Post a Comment