Before you guys get too amazed at my seemingly inexhaustible supply of submarine minutia, I have to admit that I had to do quite a bit of research to answer the questions above effectively. I even conferred with a few of my fellow submarine veterans. One of these guys was Bill Parker, a docent at the USS Pampanito museum in San Francisco. In picking his brain, he reminded me of something that I already knew, but that justifies repeating. I quote Bill:
"After many yard periods including major overhauls, the one thing I learned above all else is that 2 boats could be built by the same yard at the same time to the same set of plans and still hit the water with different configurations.
Some differences were cosmetic, often resulting from the PCO and commissioning crew's preferences, (e.g. main deck gun forward or aft, where a locker was placed, etc.) and others were more significant because shortages of various equipment during the massive building program of WWII forced dockside changes in order to maintain a production schedule."
In considering this stuff it is important to understand that literally no two boats were exactly identical. Publications like The Fleet Type Submarine (NAVPERS 16160) and authors like John Alden, Norman Friedman, and Norman Polmar even though highly respected and very accurate were by necessity forced to generalize when writing about the boats. They simply could not account for every variation or modification. This will sometimes account for "mistakes" they made or for differences in "facts" from one author or publication to the next.
For those of you who have not already done so, I would highly encourage you to visit one of the many fleet boat museums around the country. It is a fascinating and rewarding experience that will leave you with a whole new appreciation for what the sub vets went through during their service to the country. For those of you who live in other countries, there are several submarines from other navies on display around the world, too. Stop and talk to the docents if you have a chance. They love to talk about their boats and are happy to educate people.
For a list of submarine and naval museums around the world, check out the Historic Naval Ships Association at
http://www.hnsa.org/index.htm
Okay, now it is time for a nap!
