kind of OT:Decoys

[shoot-kill-win]

I remember a while back people were saying that American subs did not have decoys, well that is just not true, after spending my summer volunteering at the U.S.S. Batfish I learned that American subs used alka seltzer and shot it out a tube in the aft torp. room, and they also used a fake periscope that was metal and it floated on the surface it was about 3 feet long and was fired the same way as the alka seltzers.

[SteamWake]

Ive heard of the fake periscope thing but alka seltzer ??

That musta been one big pill ! :p :p

[FAdmiral]

But it does make sense, a bottle of them would make a lot of bubbles.
Probably sound like a knuckle in the water...

JIM

[bunkerratt]

to.
commanding officer.
u.s.s. heartburn
re:supply request for 500 pounds of alka seltzer.:huh:

[AVGWarhawk]

Are you talking about the signal flare tube in the aft torp room? I guess it could be used as a decoy but originally for sending out flares. I'll check into the alka seltzer deal when I hit the Torsk this Saturday. Oh yeah, welcome back! I hope hanging at the Batfish was enjoyable!

[AVGWarhawk]

Here is a great article on it!!!

http://www.usscod.org/ator.html

Give that man a cigar:up:

[shoot-kill-win]

yes I am talking about the signal flare gun in the aft room. Hanging out at the Batfish was one of the best experiences in my entire life, I got to meet many sub sailors of WWII and heard countless stories.

[AVGWarhawk]

yes I am talking about the signal flare gun in the aft room. Hanging out at the Batfish was one of the best experiences in my entire life, I got to meet many sub sailors of WWII and heard countless stories.

Funny how the magic of the old boats bring back the sailors who ran about the Pacific in them. Many show at the Torsk. All of them are the real deal, hands on, certified there!!! It is a shame that many of the stories do not get past on in a book.

How is the Batfish looking these days? Are the happy tourist helping themselves to knobs and things. Sometimes they like to shop the Torsk for things:nope:. Bunch of dopes:nope:

[shoot-kill-win]

Amazingly things are in really good condition, Batfish is said to be one of the most original boats still around since most things were not taken out. Tourists always play with stuff like that, im even guilty of it myself, however many knobs and switches are so hard to move that many people try and then just stop. Soon the Batfish will be getting a new paintjob, however it costs $60,000. Not this weekend but next weekend the Batfish will be hosting an overnight, the first ever on the Batfish it will be the sea cadets, they will be putting on the new decking and cleaning up the inside, the only real dirrty areas of the Batfish are the lower levels such as the pump room, fore and aft battery, and lower parts of the engine rooms.
One of the things Batfish is missing that really sucks is the TDC, however the AOB tool on the back of the periscopes are still visible and workable. I myself did a general cleanup of the sub, and then worked real hard on the torpedo tubes and the paneling in the officers quarters.

[AVGWarhawk]

Cleaning is endless! Nothing like shining the brass only to have a hand laden with peanut butter and jelly sandwich rubbing across it:roll: TDC will be impossible to find for sure. The Torsk is getting her fresh paint now and the new deck wood is ordered. Another endless task. This week I get to go deep in the bilges of the forward engine room to repair several brackets that secure vent tubes. Oh the joy. I'm working with Tim who was an engine man on the subs. He has been told he has colon cancer. I have decided to get his engine rooms in tip top shape and work with him on it as this is all he likes to do. The chemo will keep him worn out, etc so I'm picking it for him. Swell guy. Everyone asks if it got really hot in the engines rooms. He said only when submerged. Other that that, on the surface with the main induction open the main pipes into the rooms to feed the engines air was so fast and volumous that it felt like a air shower. It was very cool with 4 diesels sucking up volumns of air. He said he would stand under the pipe and let the air rush over him. He treats the engines with such care and he says the sound the diesel makes when running is pure music to his ears. Glad you became a part of the Batfish. It is very satisfy and very enjoyable. :up: A bit of history that needs a hand!

One thing I did learn from Tim is the engines have opposing pistons. Truely a piece of engineering for the time.

Check out this thread. First post of mine with the link to the Aft Torpedo Rat. Great reading!!!

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=119946

[shoot-kill-win]

I did not have the pleasure of working with a sub sailor, however I was able to sit down with them and listen to everythig they had to say. I was talking to one sailor who made 9 patrols, he said th average life expectancy of a sub sailor was only 4 patrols but he made 9 so he outlived everyone then started laughing, he was on the Haddock, the Seawolf, and the Devilfish, and he told me the only people that mattered at all was the captain and his execs, then the motor machinists mates, then the electricians, since they are what run the boat.