USS Batfish/USS Torsk merged

AVGWarhawk · 06-02-07, 01:35 PM

Today was my first volunteer day for the USS Torsk! She is in good shape but still needs a lot of work. She is on the water but going to dry dock soon for repair to the hull. I had free run of the sub. I was even down in the bilges below the electric motors. Even took off the cover to the brushes on the electric motors to find that these were brand new but not fully installed by the Navy. Looks like they started but stopped for some reason. I spent most of the time cleaning the manuevering room for a new coat of fresh paint. What was interesting was finding old artifacts from years gone by when covers from the electrical boards were removed for paint preparation. She still smells of diesel and one diesel open for a look see. Big engines these are!

At the end of this month there is a planned parts hunt in Philapelphia PA and some of these parts as I understand it are going to the USS Cavalla. So Neal will have some more parts for this sub in Glaveston TX. Seems to be on going to find missing parts.

Anyone who lives in MD and is interested volunteering your time come on down. Saturday mornings at 0700 to about noon. You can stay longer if you wish. Guests come aboard starting at 1000 and if you are standing around with a Torsk cap on and a shirt that says Torsk crew like I was, they start asking questions!!!!

I was a tour guide in the manuevering room!!! One kid asked me if he could fire a torpedo

It was a very satisfying morning and I felt good about doing something important to me and other submarine enthusiast, also for the men who served aboard the Torsk and the other submarines around the world.

//http://www.usstorsk.org/

Oh yeah, the subs in SH4 are dead on when it comes to the large plane wheels, guages, switches and things

ReallyDedPoet · 06-02-07, 01:51 PM

Another view of Torsk as she slides into the Piscataqua River.

From the site you posted. Sounds like an amazing experience. Next
year with friends plan to go to a few ball games. Boston, New York then
Baltimore

Told a buddy of mine that when in Baltimore I want to
check this out.

Again nice post, neat bit of info regarding the comparison to how subs are modelled in SH4.

RDP

NefariousKoel · 06-02-07, 01:56 PM

LOL... uh... Reallydedpoet?

I've noticed you've been using the "roll eyes" e-mote at the completely wrong times a lot. This one

.

Just FYI- it kinda means you think something's stupid. It's confusing when you seem to be excited about something and put that in there. Haha. Are you trying to confuzle me?

Canonicus · 06-02-07, 01:59 PM

I wish I lived in MD...

I'd be there in a heart-beat!

Still....I know you'll keep us up to date on all the activities and such, cus' she's a fine boat, deserving of all the love she can get.

Glad to give her some...from afar!

ReallyDedPoet · 06-02-07, 01:59 PM

I know, love these little face things. I use it more to refer to something.

Not looking forward to this guy, 92 posts away, looks like he needs to have a beer or something.

RDP

acetoolguy · 06-02-07, 03:43 PM

Lloyd Bridges.......

AVGWarhawk · 06-02-07, 03:53 PM

It was a great time and more to follow. I slipped through a hatch that gives you access to the electric motors and the brushes/staters, etc. If you have any kind of beer belly....you ain't going through this hatch. What was really cool was glass circular windows maybe 6 inches in diameter that you could flash a light in to see how the brushes are. I guess this was needed if one went down you could find the problem easily. Anyway, we opened these to find new brushes and such that were not completely installed. At this point in the sub I was at the very bottom of the hull. What is cool is tourist that walk through just see the surfaces of guages and switch, etc. When you volunteer to work on it.....you get to go everywhere and if you can fit where other can't, you get to go there also! There is plexiglass that cover the doors to the Capt/Officer quarters/Yoemans room and the radioroom. As a volunteer, you get to go in and sit in the chair, see all the things up close and personal. It is a hands on sub where you can turn switches and knobs. Reason being, when the Navy turned it over they basically cut all the wires that would make the sub functional again. The electrical panel still functions but is fed from a land line and the wiring for lighting is set up off this panel. We repaired the warning speaker that goes off when water reaches a certain height in the bilges so it can be pumped out. That thing went off and scared the bejebbers out of a visitor! So, volunteering gives you the golden key to the whole deal. Kind of sweet when it is something you are really interested in and interested in restoring.

They also sponsor Boy Scout sleepovers on the weekends. The Boy Scouts spend the night aboard! Kind of cool if your a kid!

daft · 06-02-07, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AVGWarhawk

They also sponsor Boy Scout sleepovers on the weekends. The Boy Scouts spend the night aboard! Kind of cool if your a kid!

Forget "Kind of cool", I'm thirty and would classify a submarine sleep-over as beyond awesome...

AVGWarhawk · 06-02-07, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daft

Quote:

Originally Posted by AVGWarhawk

They also sponsor Boy Scout sleepovers on the weekends. The Boy Scouts spend the night aboard! Kind of cool if your a kid!

Forget "Kind of cool", I'm thirty and would classify a submarine sleep-over as beyond awesome...

I don't know man...those two inch mattresses do not look comfortable at all. The kids can stay...I'm going to the Hilton two blocks down

daft · 06-02-07, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AVGWarhawk

Quote:

Originally Posted by daft

Quote:

Originally Posted by AVGWarhawk

They also sponsor Boy Scout sleepovers on the weekends. The Boy Scouts spend the night aboard! Kind of cool if your a kid!

Forget "Kind of cool", I'm thirty and would classify a submarine sleep-over as beyond awesome...

I don't know man...those two inch mattresses do not look comfortable at all. The kids can stay...I'm going to the Hilton two blocks down

Welll if I had to choose... Torsk it is!

AVGWarhawk · 06-02-07, 09:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daft

Quote:

Originally Posted by AVGWarhawk

Quote:

Originally Posted by daft

Quote:

Originally Posted by AVGWarhawk

They also sponsor Boy Scout sleepovers on the weekends. The Boy Scouts spend the night aboard! Kind of cool if your a kid!

Forget "Kind of cool", I'm thirty and would classify a submarine sleep-over as beyond awesome...

I don't know man...those two inch mattresses do not look comfortable at all. The kids can stay...I'm going to the Hilton two blocks down

Welll if I had to choose... Torsk it is!

I looked more into the Boy Scout deal. The kids get to go on the Light Ship for dinner and navigation classes. The get the complete tour of the submarine. A movie is shown in the mess hall on the sub then it is lights out at 11PM. The sleep in the bunks in the forward torpedo room. Heck, when I was a scout they through my butt in the woods, said build a fire and cook your own dinner.

06-02-07, 10:35 PM

Warhawk,
Thank you for your information re the Torsk. Living in Alabama, my wife and I love to go to Mobile as often as we are able and wander around in the USS Drum SS228. Many times I have wished there could be an old submariner around to answer questions. So many things to see and no one to explain them. Unfortunately, we're not able to see many of the areas like some you mention, as they're off limits. Maybe some day we'll get to visit MD. This will be at the top of my list.

Just an old brown shoe sailor (airdale)

Chuck (AT1)

mookiemookie · 06-02-07, 10:45 PM

Now you know how excited I was when I loaded torp's in the Cavalla with Neal back in February. It felt awesome not just going and seeing the sub, but actually having a hand in its preservation. Good on ya! If I'm ever up that way, I'll send you a PM and I'll buy you a beer in exchange for you showin' me around her!

AVGWarhawk · 06-03-07, 05:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mookiemookie

Now you know how excited I was when I loaded torp's in the Cavalla with Neal back in February. It felt awesome not just going and seeing the sub, but actually having a hand in its preservation. Good on ya! If I'm ever up that way, I'll send you a PM and I'll buy you a beer in exchange for you showin' me around her!

Not a problem Mookie. The curator for Cavalla is headed this way for some parts. As far as showing you around, I leave that up to Chuck who served on the Torsk between 1964-65. He earned his dolphins on the Torsk. She is the at the top with the most dives ever (surfacing also

). The last to fire a torpedo in anger during WW2. He can tell you more than anyone. She needs work but has become a labor of love to the volunteers. But, yes, if you get here a private tour before opening at 10 am for sure.

Camaero · 06-03-07, 05:53 AM

Damnit! I would volunteer for something like that in a second. Why can't there be any subs around here?

Anyway, thanks for your work on preserving her. Do a good job now!

06-02-07, 01:35 PM	#1
AVGWarhawk Lucky Jack Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: In a 1954 Buick. Posts: 28,254 Downloads: 90 Uploads: 0	USS Batfish/USS Torsk merged Today was my first volunteer day for the USS Torsk! She is in good shape but still needs a lot of work. She is on the water but going to dry dock soon for repair to the hull. I had free run of the sub. I was even down in the bilges below the electric motors. Even took off the cover to the brushes on the electric motors to find that these were brand new but not fully installed by the Navy. Looks like they started but stopped for some reason. I spent most of the time cleaning the manuevering room for a new coat of fresh paint. What was interesting was finding old artifacts from years gone by when covers from the electrical boards were removed for paint preparation. She still smells of diesel and one diesel open for a look see. Big engines these are! At the end of this month there is a planned parts hunt in Philapelphia PA and some of these parts as I understand it are going to the USS Cavalla. So Neal will have some more parts for this sub in Glaveston TX. Seems to be on going to find missing parts. Anyone who lives in MD and is interested volunteering your time come on down. Saturday mornings at 0700 to about noon. You can stay longer if you wish. Guests come aboard starting at 1000 and if you are standing around with a Torsk cap on and a shirt that says Torsk crew like I was, they start asking questions!!!! I was a tour guide in the manuevering room!!! One kid asked me if he could fire a torpedo It was a very satisfying morning and I felt good about doing something important to me and other submarine enthusiast, also for the men who served aboard the Torsk and the other submarines around the world. //http://www.usstorsk.org/ Oh yeah, the subs in SH4 are dead on when it comes to the large plane wheels, guages, switches and things __________________ “You're painfully alive in a drugged and dying culture.” ― Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road

06-02-07, 01:51 PM	#2
ReallyDedPoet Canadian Wolf Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Canada. The one and only, East Coast Posts: 10,885 Downloads: 946 Uploads: 5	Another view of Torsk as she slides into the Piscataqua River. From the site you posted. Sounds like an amazing experience. Next year with friends plan to go to a few ball games. Boston, New York then Baltimore Told a buddy of mine that when in Baltimore I want to check this out. Again nice post, neat bit of info regarding the comparison to how subs are modelled in SH4. RDP __________________ Back in the Day

06-02-07, 01:56 PM	#3
NefariousKoel Ace of the Deep Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: No-good Missouri scum Posts: 1,223 Downloads: 43 Uploads: 0	LOL... uh... Reallydedpoet? I've noticed you've been using the "roll eyes" e-mote at the completely wrong times a lot. This one . Just FYI- it kinda means you think something's stupid. It's confusing when you seem to be excited about something and put that in there. Haha. Are you trying to confuzle me? __________________ "When Gary told me he had found Jesus, I thought, Yahoo! We're rich! But it turned out to be something different." - Jack Handey

06-02-07, 01:59 PM	#4
Canonicus XO Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: In your baffles... Posts: 434 Downloads: 624 Uploads: 7	I wish I lived in MD... I'd be there in a heart-beat! Still....I know you'll keep us up to date on all the activities and such, cus' she's a fine boat, deserving of all the love she can get. Glad to give her some...from afar! Last edited by Canonicus; 06-02-07 at 10:38 PM.

06-02-07, 01:59 PM	#5
ReallyDedPoet Canadian Wolf Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Canada. The one and only, East Coast Posts: 10,885 Downloads: 946 Uploads: 5	I know, love these little face things. I use it more to refer to something. Not looking forward to this guy, 92 posts away, looks like he needs to have a beer or something. RDP __________________ Back in the Day

06-02-07, 03:43 PM	#6
acetoolguy A-ganger Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 74 Downloads: 27 Uploads: 0	Lloyd Bridges.......

06-02-07, 03:53 PM	#7
AVGWarhawk Lucky Jack Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: In a 1954 Buick. Posts: 28,254 Downloads: 90 Uploads: 0	It was a great time and more to follow. I slipped through a hatch that gives you access to the electric motors and the brushes/staters, etc. If you have any kind of beer belly....you ain't going through this hatch. What was really cool was glass circular windows maybe 6 inches in diameter that you could flash a light in to see how the brushes are. I guess this was needed if one went down you could find the problem easily. Anyway, we opened these to find new brushes and such that were not completely installed. At this point in the sub I was at the very bottom of the hull. What is cool is tourist that walk through just see the surfaces of guages and switch, etc. When you volunteer to work on it.....you get to go everywhere and if you can fit where other can't, you get to go there also! There is plexiglass that cover the doors to the Capt/Officer quarters/Yoemans room and the radioroom. As a volunteer, you get to go in and sit in the chair, see all the things up close and personal. It is a hands on sub where you can turn switches and knobs. Reason being, when the Navy turned it over they basically cut all the wires that would make the sub functional again. The electrical panel still functions but is fed from a land line and the wiring for lighting is set up off this panel. We repaired the warning speaker that goes off when water reaches a certain height in the bilges so it can be pumped out. That thing went off and scared the bejebbers out of a visitor! So, volunteering gives you the golden key to the whole deal. Kind of sweet when it is something you are really interested in and interested in restoring. They also sponsor Boy Scout sleepovers on the weekends. The Boy Scouts spend the night aboard! Kind of cool if your a kid! __________________ “You're painfully alive in a drugged and dying culture.” ― Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road

06-02-07, 10:35 PM	#12
carnes127 Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	Warhawk, Thank you for your information re the Torsk. Living in Alabama, my wife and I love to go to Mobile as often as we are able and wander around in the USS Drum SS228. Many times I have wished there could be an old submariner around to answer questions. So many things to see and no one to explain them. Unfortunately, we're not able to see many of the areas like some you mention, as they're off limits. Maybe some day we'll get to visit MD. This will be at the top of my list. Just an old brown shoe sailor (airdale) Chuck (AT1)

06-02-07, 10:45 PM	#13
mookiemookie Navy Seal Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 9,404 Downloads: 105 Uploads: 1	Now you know how excited I was when I loaded torp's in the Cavalla with Neal back in February. It felt awesome not just going and seeing the sub, but actually having a hand in its preservation. Good on ya! If I'm ever up that way, I'll send you a PM and I'll buy you a beer in exchange for you showin' me around her! __________________ They don’t think it be like it is, but it do. Want more U-boat Kaleun portraits for your SH3 Commander Profiles? Download the SH3 Commander Portrait Pack here.

06-03-07, 05:53 AM	#15
Camaero The Old Man Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: USA, Massachusetts Posts: 1,477 Downloads: 18 Uploads: 0	Damnit! I would volunteer for something like that in a second. Why can't there be any subs around here? Anyway, thanks for your work on preserving her. Do a good job now! __________________