Do not recall the name. Probably different time frame.
Forum: Technology and Operations

Robert, I have been on this site a number of years, and always appreciate your contributions. Hard to imagine a boat operating 54 years. I was a TM on Spikefish and Tirante, '61-'63. The Spikefish was a fleet boat with four mains and a dinky engine. She had polished tube inner doors, and I spent hours polishing those rascals. WE called tubes forward the Brasso Room, an
Forum: Technology and Operations

Not a comment on the quality of the boats built by various nations, but when it comes to longevity the USS Threadfin MAY be the winner. Commissioned in 1944, sold to Turkey in 1972, and operated until 1998. 54 years! It is my understanding that she had depth restrictions in her last few years of service.
Forum: Technology and Operations

This is a link to a discussion from 7 years ago.
Forum: Movies and Films

Test depth >2,300 feet! I had no idea that modern boats routinely went that deep. The pressure would be over 1,000psi! Any casualty at that depth would be unbelievable. I thought that 1,500 feet would be more reasonable.
Forum: Technology and Operations

In-re to numbering US boats. I always heard that Portsmouth boats had the anchor on the port side. EB boats on the left. Of course some boats were built in the great lakes. Probably just an old myth, but interesting just the same.
Forum: General Discussions

Robert, Palladium would have sounded like the name of a nightclub to a 19 yer-old Texas boy. Honestly, I do not recall. Remember, I was a lowly TM3, and just learning. All that I can remember was that we put fan inserts in one access hole to insure an air sweep over the cells, and an exit at the opposite end for air exit, and checked the specific gravity to check charge status. I loved th
Forum: Technology and Operations

Robert, You have much more experience, and expertise, than I. I merely served three years on US boats, and was a TM3. We only had Mk 27's that required charging. Whenever we charged there were signs posted on accesses to the room stating "No Smoking-Charging Batteries". There were fan inserts in the access holes to evacuate the hydrogen. My opinion---Proper air movement w
Forum: Technology and Operations

From LaPorte,Texas----Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my fellow bubbleheads!
Forum: General Discussions

Thank you.
Forum: General Discussions

Now, I am curious.
Forum: General Discussions

Interesting discussion. I would think that all new sub designs would have a lot of teething problems. I recently read that the Nautilus had some serious flaws. The most startling to me were the cracks that occurred in some welds. The welds could have easily caused a fatal failure. If I recall correctly, the cracks were discovered by accident, and not by an official inspection. The conclus
Forum: Technology and Operations

The only PT Boat movie Wayne made was "They Were Expendable". You must have the scene confused with another flick.
Forum: Movies and Films

Marjorie, Just do search for USS Permit, Odax, and Raton--you will find a lot of info. The Odax has a large site with many pictures, and ways to contact former crew. BTW--I just returned from a reunion of one of the boats I served on, USS Spikefish SS404. We had about 35-40 guys show up who had served in the years 1944 to 1963, when she was decommissioned. There were four WWII veterans i
Forum: General Discussions

jspargo1, You are correct. The term used to describe the oscillation of a cylinder subjected to the movement of water or air, is vortex shedding. The circular twists assist in dampening the movement of the cylinder. The same features are often seen on smokestacks. There is a name for the feature, but I cannot recall it.
Forum: General Discussions

Sorry I do not have a link for this info. I clearly remember a special on TV and the tendency of the Liberties breaking in two was addressed. The Liberties were retro fitted with a welded "belt" to add strength. I cannot recall the percentage that received such an addition. Many Liberties continued to sail after the war. I suppose their were kind of "tramp steamers".
Forum: General Discussions

Generally, WW II US boats had 10 tubes, and the space for reloads was 18, 10 forward(2 in the pit ,4 on each of two room levels) and 8 aft (4 on each level). So, the total would be 28 torpedoes total, assuming the 10 tubes were loaded. Perhaps the guide meant re-loads--not potential total. The 17 figure seems to be one off. Two, if one extra was in the FTR pit.
Forum: General Discussions

Just finished U-Boat Adventures. I thought it quite interesting. As in all books based on recollections, there are a number of historical or technical errors. The book review on this site is better than any I could write. Several of the stories would make a great plot for a movie. I recommend it for reading pleasure. One section of the book did create a surprise for me. The crewman who m
Forum: General Discussions

The vents are shut, high pressure air is blown into the tanks forcing the water out the flood ports, achieving positive buoyancy. There is a simple diagram at this site, explaining the process:
Forum: Technology and Operations

A previous poster wrote: "A good acid test is whether such intrusions will distress living relatives and comrades of the dead or the survivors and their relatives" . Exploration & recovery of ships from antiquity are an on-going project of many archaeologists; yet seldom, if ever, have I heard protests. I believe the key is---time. '
Forum: General Discussions

I think such an idea could only come from California. What a bunch of crap.
Forum: Movies and Films

As an aside: US boats used lignum vitae wood for the shaft seals; they were shaped like truncated cones. I believe lignum vitae was also called ironwood. When in drydock the seals had to have water run on them to keep them from drying out. I wonder what modern boats use? Some sort of exotic synthetic, I would think.
Forum: Technology and Operations

I served on US diesel boats that did what were called, "arctic runs". Of course, the US boats were much more habitable, and larger, than the u-boats. But being up north was not at all comfortable. The in-line heaters were not very effective; the inside bulkheads were constantly damp with condensation, the engine rooms were cold when running but warm when submerged, the topside watche
Forum: General Discussions

Do not know about the British boats, but the US boats had two sanitary tanks that the heads dumped into. These tanks were within the pressure hull, so they were usable at any depth. There were "blown" overboard daily, when the boat was surfaced. The US boats also had what was called an 'air expulsion head' in the after end (either motor room or torpedo room) which was only
Forum: Technology and Operations

Thanks for the explanations of the containers. I have no Italian expertise, so I wasn't sure of the nationalities of the boats pictured. What about the unusual camo paint-scheme? As a foot-note--From what I have read, the Italian navy was extremely advanced in both surface and submarine technology. They have always built beautiful, and advanced, automobiles--why not the same for sh
Forum: General Discussions

Interesting pictures. Unusual camouflage paint job. In one picture it appears a boat has two large horizontal storage containers aft of the conn, I wonder what they were?
Forum: General Discussions

Robert M., Where have you been? I haven't seen your astute commentaries for a while. I hope, all is well? I am an "old" torpedoman, but your knowledge of "fish" is amazing. Or, should I say, "eels", on this board? I remember we had H2O2 fish ~1962, but no O2 fish in the USN. Am I correct? Best of luck, Walter DBF!
Forum: Technology and Operations

I have the director's version of "Das Boot", but I watched the AMC version last night. I couldn't be sure, but it seemed to me that there were several scenes I had not seen in my CD version. There was one aspect on AMC that I thought very interesting; when they cut for commercials they displayed interesting tid-bits about the movie. As an example: The noise, when shoot
Forum: General Discussions

Looks authentic to me. Sailors taking a chance to take a bath, even in salt water, was common practice. Especially on small ships. US boats would rig out the bow-planes and flood down for swim call during peace time. Because of the risk, I imagine it would fairly rare during war-time.
Forum: General Discussions

FUBAR, Thanks for that link. A movie would not have that much gunfire. Truly a no-quarter confrontation. A terrifying experience on both sides. War IS Hell!!
Forum: General Discussions