[KaleunMarco]

Originally Posted by pratolano

Thanks for the great information! I think I know what you mean about the changes - I see a hatch there next to the TDC in-game, but when I look at "Conning Tower Aft" photos of the USS Pampanito, it's a solid wall, so that might be part of the changes. The USS Torsk does seem to have the hatch, but when I toured it, the conning tower was not accessible.

In the USS Growler photo then, if I'm interpreting it correctly, you would climb up a ladder from the conning tower to the bridge, and you'd end up in the space underneath those portholes. Then you would ascend a few steps to the main part of the bridge where the lookouts were. So during a crash dive, for example, you'd descend those steps and climb down the ladder back inside.

most likely.

the hatch is difficult to explain without actually being able to experience it either in the past or in a present day archive/exhibit. for example, the Cobia center allowed certain visitors to access the conning tower from the control room hatch but no one was allowed on the bridge in any way, shape, or form.

don't feel badly. this is similar to asking about anything that has become obsolete. we can read about them and maybe see photos of the exterior but there is no one alive who actually used one and the object itself no longer exists.