BGuthrie Photos: MD -- Baltimore -- Submarine Torsk (Baltimore Maritime Museum)

MD -- Baltimore -- Submarine Torsk (Baltimore Maritime Museum):

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[1] TORSK_041205_001.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[2] TORSK_041205_018.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[3] TORSK_041205_033.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. TORSK_041205_018.JPG: After Torpedo Room. This compartment, known as the After Torpedo Room, was one of two places from which torpedoes -- the submarine's primary weapons -- were launched. Four torpedo tubes are located in the after portion of the compartment. When Torsk was operational, eight torpedoes would have been stored here -- one is each tube, and four spares on racks. Twelve men worked here in shifts. The After Torpedo Room also functioned as a berthing (sleeping) space for twelve to eighteen crewmen. Notice the remaining bunks folded against the upper bulkhead.
2. TORSK_041205_039.JPG: The little hatch on the ceiling is an outer hatch. Escape Trunk. This small compartment was used as an emergency exit from the submarine while submerged. Able to accommodate 4 men at a time, the trunk would be sealed from inside the submarine and flooded with sea water to equalize the pressure. The men would open the outer hatch and escape from the submarine. This procedure would be repeated until the entire crew had escaped.
3. TORSK_041205_112.JPG: Forward Engine Room. The forward engine room contains number 1 and 2 main diesel engines, as well as Torsk's evaporators. The evaporators are located in the forward part of the compartment and were used to distill fresh water from sea water. They produced 1,000 gallons of fresh water per day needed for drinking, cooking, watering the batteries and cooling the engines. For showering and washing clothes, the crew could use condensate off the air compressors located below this deck.
4. TORSK_041205_202.JPG: Sonar Shack. The Sonar "Shack" contains equipment used for detecting and tracking surface ships and submarines. It has been restored to represent its 1960's appearance. When Torsk was operational, two operators would have manned this room while underway. Sonar is an acronym for Sound, Navigation, and Ranging, and there were two types used by Torsk's sonar operators: active and passive. Active sonar, characterized by the distinctive "ping" sound that most people associate with sonar, was used for navigation, and sometimes for determining the range to a target just prior to actually firing a torpedo. It was not often used under combat conditions because it quickly gave away the presence and position of the submarine. The active sonar console is located just inside the door to the left. Passive sonar was used at all times when submerged. Using microphones mounted near the bow of the submarine, passive sonar could detect and track the sounds created by ships and other submarines. Very accurate target rangers and bearings were obtained by carefully plotting the target's position over a period of time. The passive sonar console is located in the center and has a "steering wheel" used to change the listening bearing. The sound heads, containing the microphones, were located in a "chin dome," fitted under the bow, as far forward as possible to reduce the noise interference from Torsk's own engines and propellers. The sonar operators were in constant communication with the conning tower and the tape recorders were always running to record target sounds for immediate and future analysis.
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Wikipedia Description: USS Torsk (SS-423)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The USS Torsk (SS-423) is docked at the Baltimore Maritime Museum and is one of several Tench Class submarines still located inside the United States. Nicknamed the "Galloping Ghost of the Japanese Coast," the vessel is the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the torsk, a food fish of the North Atlantic.

Her keel was laid down on 7 June 1944 at the Portsmouth Navy Yard. She was launched on 6 September 1944 sponsored by Mrs. Allen B. Reed, and commissioned on 16 December 1944 with Commander Bafford E. Lewellen in command.

Completed on the last day of 1944, Torsk trained out of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Newport, Rhode Island, and New London, Connecticut, until 11 February 1945, when she headed for Florida. On 16 February, the submarine arrived at Port Everglades, Florida, where she provided services for antisubmarine research. She departed that Florida port on 20 February, transited the Panama Canal, and reached Hawaii on 23 March.

After a repair and training period, she got underway from Pearl Harbor for her first war patrol. Torsk paused briefly at Guam en route to an area off Kii Suido which she reached on 11 May and began lifeguard duty. Air contacts were few in this period, and the submarine found no opportunity to conduct rescue operations. Toward midnight on 11 May, she set course for her patrol area off the northeastern coast of Honshu. She arrived there on 13 May and, for two days, attempted to contact other members of the wolf pack, "Lewellen's Looters." On 16 May, she made rendezvous with submarines Sand Lance (SS-381) and Cero (SS-225). For more than a fortnight, their careful coverage of the east coast of Honshu turned up nothing more interesting than naval mines.

On 2 June, while patrolling between Honshu and Hokkaido, Torsk came upon a small coastal minelayer. The submarine fired six torpedoes—which the small vessel avoided by maneuvering—and then dove and rigged f ...More...
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2004 photos: Equipment this year: I bought two Fujifilm S7000 digital cameras. While they produced excellent images, I found all of the retractable-lens Fuji models had a disturbing tendency to get dust inside the lens. Dark blurs would show up on the images and the camera had to be sent back to the shop in order to get it fixed. I returned one of the cameras when the blurs showed up in the first month. I found myself buying extended warranties on cameras. Trips this year: (1) Margot and I went off to Scotland for a few days, my first time overseas. (2) I went to Hawaii on business (such a deal!) and extended it, spending a week in Hawaii and another in California. (3) I went to Tennessee to man a booth and extended it to go to my third Fan Fair country music festival. Number of photos taken this year: 110,000.
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