SUBSIM Radio Room Forums - Why were the S boats called Sugar Boats?

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Quote:

Originally Posted by AVGWarhawk

I believe pig iron is a mixture of metals that is not quite as strong as steel. It is also a certain percentage of each metal that makes up pig iron.

Actually, pig iron is raw iron, which is what you get immediately after smelting. You have to remelt the pig iron in order to get rid of various unwanted elements and to reduce the carbon content.

On a slightly related note, this is where Allentown's new AAA baseball club, the Iron Pigs, (formerly the Ottowa Lynx) derive their name. I don't particularly like baseball, but I will probably root for the team just because of the fact that it is a very cool name.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

Nope, no Pete, and no French. Pee Tee is from the initials themselves: PT boats.

P=Patrol T=Torpedo

JIM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

By the same token, Patrol Torpedo boats were commonly called Peter Tares.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FAdmiral

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

Nope, no Pete, and no French. Pee Tee is from the initials themselves: PT boats.

P=Patrol T=Torpedo

JIM

I didn't know that.:rotfl:

Quote:

Originally Posted by AVGWarhawk

Quote:

Originally Posted by WernerSobe

whats pig iron :-). The book i have it from sayis its because the boats were designed very uncompfortable and the men who worked on them were often dirty, looking and smelling like pigs :-)

The capacity of the Fresh Water Tank was not sufficient for a twelve to sixteen week patrol. Fresh water replacement was a daily duty for each watch (on 4 hrs - off 8). We had capability to make fresh water from seawater but it was more expedient from accumulated condensation gathered inside the boat. Submarines, sometimes called "pig boats" because being made of pig iron, were subject to considerable condensation due to temperature variation inside and out the ship. This was readily available for making fresh drinking water. After each war patrol, there would be a film of incrustation about a quarter of an inch thick all over the inside of the fresh water tank.

I believe pig iron is a mixture of metals that is not quite as strong as steel. It is also a certain percentage of each metal that makes up pig iron.

Bet those guys couldnt wait to have a shower after a patrol....

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

Nope, no Pete, and no French. Pee Tee is from the initials themselves: PT boats.

:huh: <Noooo!?!I didn't know that.:rotfl:

Thanks all for the explanation.

Now, on to the next S Boat-related question: what type of listening equipment did these boats have? I swore I've read somewhere they were not fitted with sonar, but the boats we have show them having the same equipment as the fleet boats. Can anyone shed some light on this?

@LukeFF

"The S-class boats were used as the test platforms for a range of sonar designs tested in the 1920s and 1930s. Higher frequencies and small, trainable transducers allowed for narrow beam width and exclusion of natural sea noises and other interference. "

source: http://www.globalsecurity.org/milita...hip/ss-105.htm