Real Submarine Technology & History Q&A

[DaveyJ576]

Originally Posted by eljeffo41

During wartime what did they do with the windows in the conning tower?Did they paint over them or weld them shut?They seem like they would cause trouble due to glare or being destroyed by depth charges!I think I read something about it here, I just can't remember what was said.

My family and I were in Boston this past weekend having some fun, so I couldn't reply right away.

Most of the early fleet boats (probably up to the Tambor/Gars and maybe even some of the early Gatos) had two glass eyeports that penetrated the pressure hull of the conning tower, one port side and one starboard, separate from the circular windows in the covered navigation bridge that you see in many of the pre-war photos. The intention was to let a little natural sunlight into the conning tower while the boat was surfaced. Of dubious value even in peacetime, incredibly no one thought about the liability these eyeports represented during a depth charge attack!

On her very first war patrol off Japan, USS Plunger (SS-179) was one of the first boats to receive a depth charging. On 04 January 1942 a destroyer dropped a string of charges on her that caused the port side eyeport to begin leaking. They solved the problem by using a hydraulic jack to force a rubber covered metal plate against the eyeport from inside. This stopped the leak, but it dramatically drove home what a dangerous and unnecessary luxury these eyeports were. The CO, Dave White, strongly recommended in his patrol report that the eyeports be permanently blanked off or removed and the subsequent endorsements of the patrol report heartily agreed. This proposal was quickly submitted to the General Board for submarine design and the removal of these ports was officially approved on 17 February 1942.