Forty Rod SASS 3935 Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 Just finished Run Silent, Run Deep again and decided to get an answer that has been in my mind for years: on almost every scene I've seen of our WWII diesel boats there is a "dimple" on the bow as far forward as it can be and at the top of the hull right at the forward deck level. What the heck is that and what does it do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joke 'um Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 The bullnose? Looks like a round hole at the top of the bow? If that is what you mean, you may see a wide groove in the deck right behind it, if viewed from above. A line can be passed through this hole so that towing lines or bouy mooring lines reach the appropriate handling gear (cleats, capstans, etc.) on the deck. This prevents said line from running side to side over the bow when the boat is towed or moored by the bow to a bouy. May also be used in normal mooring to a pier. Hope that's what you mean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933 Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 Also doubles as a peep sight for aiming the torpedos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Hanger #3720LR Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 Joke 'um has it right about the eye being a tow line and mooring line eye. ------------------ A bit of history. The early boat had only 4 torpedo tubes. 2 more where added just under the deck. Also the bull nose (tow line eye was above the deck and not build in to the deck. Found a nice photo showing these early changed items. There was so much modifications going on during the war, there basically where no 2 boats the same by the end of the war. Ship yards would make modifications to suit the crews needs per boat if the modifications could be done without altering the integrity of the boat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forty Rod SASS 3935 Posted June 23, 2021 Author Share Posted June 23, 2021 Hard to believe how small they were in those days. Thanks, folks. One more curiosity itch I won't have to scratch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waxahachie Kid #17017 L Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 Being pretty small, it is also why they called them "pig boats". Close quarters, the smell of diesel, grease, the smell of steel and sea water (those having been at sea will understand that), the smell of food cooking, and other unexplainable odors, and limited warm/hot water for showering/etc. meant the place had an odor...even more so than surface ships. They not only surfaced to replenish the air supply, and to save the batteries, but to ventilate, as much as possible, the boat. It did not work too well, but it beat nothing. What always amazes me, is the technology used to build a submarine, back then, and the effort to produce so many, in such a relatively short time. Slide-rules, no calculators, sweat, machining, hand-labor. No computer technology to aid in construction, or planning. Copper/aluminum circuits, no fiber-optics. All of it pretty primitive, compared to what we produce today. The greatest generation...for sure. Awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Hanger #3720LR Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 Tom, for comparison. WWII submarines where 312 feet long and 27 feet 3inches wide. Modern nuke boat Virginia class is 377 feet long and 34 feet wide. The Skipjack was 251 feet 8 inches and 31' feet 5 inches wide. First production fast attach (nuke powered) ----------------- The issue with room inside the boats was not the boat size but the size of the older equipment. As time moves on, the equipment gets smaller and smaller doing the same job, better. 2 options, more room for people or more equipment. Government always opts for more equipment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abilene Slim SASS 81783 Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 Huh. I thought it was a blow hole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Four-Eyed Buck,SASS #14795 Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 The author of the book the movie is based on was a sub officer during the war. He served on Trigger, Tirante, and commanded Piper by the end of the war. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgavin Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 My grandfather commanded the R4 in WW1, 186 ft long, 18 ft beam. He caught a fungus infection in his sinus from this tiny sub. Nothing worked to cure it, so he asked the doctor to shoot penicillin up into his sinus cavity.. doc said would either cure or kill him. He survived. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 2 hours ago, Waxahachie Kid #17017 L said: Being pretty small, it is also why they called them "pig boats". http://www.pigboats.com/dave1.html https://pigboats.com/subs/a-boats.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imis Twohofon,SASS # 46646 Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 My Great Uncle, Deadwood Miner served on diesel boats. Imis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trailrider #896 Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 Yes, most of the WWII subs had six torpedo tubes forward and four aft. They needed as many tubes as possible because the percentage of "fish" that worked as they were supposed to was horribly low! BuOrd (Navy Bureau of Ordnance) refused to believe the failures to sink enemy ships was due to defects in "their" torpedoes. They blamed timidity on the part of sub skippers, or anything else. Finally, ComSubPac directed Swede Momson (yeah the guy that developed the Momson Lung to help submariners possibly escape from a sunken boat) conducted tests on the exploder, and got modifications made to the torpedoes. Also, it was found the depth setting equipment was running the fish too deep, and the magnetic exploder system was disconnected altogether. Unfortunately, it didn't correct for fish that "ran circular. It is believed that several submarines that were lost actually were hit by their own torpedoes that ran circular. The late RADM (ret.) "Acey" Burrows, a friend of my uncle, told me he had one do that on a sub he was on, but fortunately it missed the conning tower! Praise to the men and women of the Silent Service! They are still out there today, either packin' long range iron or looking for other subs from potential adversaries who are also. | | | Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Coffinmaker Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 The design of USN Fleet Type submarines specified Six forward tubes and 4 stern tubes log before our torpedo problems became defined in the early days of WW II. The design enabled Fleet Subs the maximum amount of "firepower" available for the design dimensions of the hull. The design flaws of the Mark 14 torpedo only became apparent with the reported failure of "our" torpedoes to detonate. The bureau of Naval Ordnance refused to accept the design flaw as fact when initially reported. The torpedoes only became effective after the complete redesign of the exploder for the Mark 14. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933 Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 The last submarine my dad served on was the USS Simon Bolivar, a Trident missle sub. He retired in 1967 and was one of only a few that had silver and gold Dolphins. It is hard to believe that the Bolivar was scrapped in 1995. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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