Thursday, September 29, 2016
We had an expiring Groupon to the USS Cod, that had to be used before the end of month, and a Restaurant.com coupon for Stadium 3 Bar & Grille.
Kent took off early from work so that we could visit the
USS Cod, which was also closing for the season tomorrow! It is one of the rare intact submarines, in that no door have been cut into it, or stairs added for tourists. You enter and leave as the sailors did!
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The USS Cod submarine was commissioned in 1943 and was sent to the South Pacific in WWII;
it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986 |
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A Mark 14 steam-driven torpedo, which has the yellow head of a
training/practice torpedo; the color makes it easy to retrieve;
sitting on a Hanson Torpedo Truck that was built in 1945 by
the Hanson Clutch & Machinery Co. of Tiffin, OH;
this is the last known operating example of this vehicle |
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The Conning Tower scoreboard: the red sun
kill flag represents Japanese merchant ships
that were sunk, and the rising sun with rays
represents warships, while the hollow suns
represent ships that were only damaged;
the two tri-color flags are for Thailand ships
and the junk silhouette shows that
26 of them were sunk by the USS Cod |
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| A peek into the entryway! |
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| We entered by climbing down a narrow ladder |
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| A welcome mat at one entry |
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| The Forward Torpedo Room showing four torpedo tubes |
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Enlisted men actually preferred bunking with the torpedoes,
since it was cooler and quieter at the ends of the submarine |
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| The head/toilet |
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| Complex directions for using the toilet |
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| The magazine rack in the head |
Next to the Forward Battery, where storage batteries are kept below decks. It is also the area of the officers' quarters.
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| Officers' shower |
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| Junior Officers Quarters |
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| Note the folding sink, in the closed position |
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| The sink in the open position |
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| The officers' mess/dining room |
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Only the captain had a private cabin, with a compass repeater
(non-magnetic compass) and depth gauge at the foot of the bed! |
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| Early cupholders for drinking glasses next to the sink |
Next, the Control Room:
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| There are dials, buttons, levers, turn handles galore |
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The large brass wheels control the bow/forward and stern/back fins
to change depth and control steepness of a dive |
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The Christmas Tree (red & green lights) shows
which valves and hatches are open; all valves
and hatches should be closed before diving! |
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Looking up into the conning tower to see
one (metal tube in center) of two periscopes |
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| Radio Shack |
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| Electric Cipher (coding) Machine |
Next, the After Battery with more storage batteries below decks and the crew quarters.
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| The galley/kitchen |
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| Crew mess/dining room and "library" |
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| A typical menu for a week |
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| Berthing area with bunks, |
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| "Laundry facilities" |
Next, the Forward Engine and After Engine Rooms, with the Cod's four 16-cylinder diesel engines that were built in Cleveland, OH by the Cleveland Diesel Division of General Motors. The diesel engines are used to power generators that turn the submarine propellers when travelling on the surface. Underwater, the power comes from the 252 batteries.
There are also two distilling plants to purify salt water for use in the battery cells, as well as for cooking and drinking water, laundry and bathing.
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| The heat in the engine room is ideal for drying laundered clothing |
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| More dials and buttons... |
The Maneuvering Room:
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Maneuvering Control Console, where
electricians control the source of power
(diesel engine-driven generator or battery)
and the speed of the submarine |
Finally, the After Torpedo Room, with more torpedo tubes, torpedoes, and bunks.
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A Momsen Lung provides enough oxygen to allow
the wearer to rise to the surface after escaping a
downed submarine; named for its US Navy captain inventor,
it was provided as a humanitarian gesture
in the 1930s to all countries using submarines |
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It doesn't look like there is much room for a person on this bunk,
but in reality it can be rolled out into the aisle when it is time to sleep |
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The USS Cod Battle Flag that also includes a cocktail glass marked
O-19 to remember their rescue of crew from the Dutch submarine O-19
and the subsequent thank-you party; the kangaroo represents their
home base in Perth, Australia |
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7-ton gun, a 5-inch, 25 caliber wet gun
that has a stainless steel liner in the barrel to resist corrosion
and could be submerged without harm to the gun |
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A type 8A search periscope,
removed from a 1950s-vintage submarine |
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A five-bladed, 2,080-lb. bronze submarine propeller
that is similar to the two four-bladed propellers used on the USS Cod |
Afterwards we had dinner at the Stadium 3 sports bar in the Doubletree Hotel downtown.
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