World War II sub taking shore leave for refitting

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 1/8/7 | John Koopman

[SmithL]

San Francisco's most lethal tourist attraction is getting ready for a makeover.

The Pampanito, a World War II-era submarine that sank six Japanese ships and damaged four others, has been sitting for too long in the harsh salt water of San Francisco Bay. The boat has algae and all sorts of tiny sea critters living on her hull, along with the rust, chipped paint and general disrepair that come with age.

To spruce up the old warship and keep it as a floating tourist attraction at Fisherman's Wharf, the Maritime National Historical Park Association will take the Pampanito to Alameda later this month for a couple of weeks in dry dock. There, at Bay Ship and Yacht Co., the 1,500-ton vessel will have its hull power-washed, rust ground down and sections of deteriorated metal replaced.

The boat will close to tourists Jan. 20, and is scheduled to be back in action around Feb. 10.

"The goal is to have the Pampanito looking almost exactly as it did in 1945 when it was decommissioned," said Aaron Washington, the boat's manager.

This will be the fourth time the submarine has been in dry dock.

In addition to cleaning and repairing the sub's hull, workers will go over all exposed parts of the sub to fix rust and corrosion. Hinges on deck openings are rusted and broken, there are rusted-out holes in part of the conning tower and on the deck both fore and aft.

And the boat will be entirely repainted.

[SmithL]

[SmithL]

One Ping Only.

[george76]

" The boat has algae and all sorts of tiny sea critters ..."

maybe they should re-locate to a more friendly city after the repairs are done ?

[Robert A Cook PE]

Painting. Yech.

Rickover once pulled an "inspection" of the INEL site for S3G, A1W and S1W while I was out there qualifying as a new ensign.

I'd qual'ed first in my class, so was given midwatch EOOW and shutdown EOOW watches while everybody caught up and finished, so I was "available" for sh*tty-little duty officer as well for several months.

Anyway, got given the "get-everybody-to-paint-and-fix-up-S1W-for-Rickover's-tour" duty, and was given a bunch enlisted students to run. Decided not to paint anything (since the on-watch guys couldn't do anything training if wet paint was everywhere and on all the piping) and just found a bunch of buckets and sponges and soap.

had them wipe and down and rinse everything (except Radcon areas - but I don't remember checking the water for loosened contamination!).

Got compliments all around for how good the old plant looked! Even Ricky was happy at how his first reactor looked.

[SmithL]

maybe they should re-locate to a more friendly city after the repairs are done ?

I've often thought that having the USS Pampanito, USS Hornet (currently in Alameda), and the USS Iowa (currently in the Mothball fleet in Suisun Bay), at one site would make one heck of a Naval Museum.

However, Pampanito does exceptionally well, right where it is on Fisherman's Wharf. The site is not controlled by the city, but instead is part of the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. The boat gets a lot of visitors from all of the tourists that pass through the area. It is the best cared-for museum boat of any that I've visited.

I don't think the Pampanito would do itself any favors by moving anywhere else.

[george76]

Thanks.

The city of San Fran has not been a friend to the navy, etc. lately.

I thought it might be nice to reward a community that is more appreciative.

and I see your point.

[Yo-Yo]

I have spent 4 overnights on the USS Silversides in Muskegon, Michigan, as a chaperone to my two boys' Cub Scouts troop.

Most fascinating four nights I've had since my honeymoon.

[Thrownatbirth]

maybe they should re-locate to a more friendly city after the repairs are done ?

She can join the nicely refurbished USS TORSK (SS-423) in Baltimore's Inner Harbor. Our only sea critters are blue crabs, hon.

[IonImplantGuru]

On the shore side of the dock where Silversides is moored, I see another fleet boat conning tower + some torpedoes.
Just beyond, there is what looks like a squat cylinder elevated on 3 legs; what is it?

[SolitaryMan]

I visited the Pampanito last May, I was amazed at the great condition the boat was in. The only complaint that I had was the guy in the gift shop was a jerk. Couldn't be bothered with answering simple questions concerning the boat or the tour. Visit my web site at:
http://www.testdepthmedia.com

[SolitaryMan]

[Yo-Yo]

Good eye! On shore there is a second conning tower from a WWII era sub, for kids to climb on. There is also a complete torpedo tube on display. The entire tube has been removed from the boat, and you can see all of the 'guts.' There are also a couple of torpedoes on static display, and a prop or two.

However, the item you were asking about is a diving bell. It is up on stilts so you can look into the bottom of the bell, and kids can crawl up inside of it as well. From that photo it sort of looks like some Jules Verne Moon Lander.