USS Bowfin Back On Display

Above, the USS Bowfin on display at Pearl Harbor in 2016. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The USS Bowfin, a World War II era submarine, is back on display and tours after being drydocked for maintenance in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

According to Travel Weekly:

Following a month of dry dock maintenance work, the USS Bowfin has returned to the Pacific Fleet Submarine Museum at Pearl Harbor, and tours will reopen today.

"We are very excited for the return of the USS Bowfin to our campus and look forward to reopening her to the public," said museum executive director Chuck Merkel in a press release.

To read more, go here. 

Sail From Submarine USS Albuquerque To Be Displayed

The sail from the USS Albuquerque is to be displayed in its namesake city.

The decommissioned submarine's sail will be installed at a location in the coming months.

From the U.S. Naval Institute's Facebook page:

A plan has been developed to bring the sail and fairwater planes of the decommissioned Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Albuquerque (SSN-706) to the sub's namesake city. The sail will be installed as a monument at a site to be selected in the coming months.

 

Albuquerque already has a submarine sail on display. The sail from the USS James K. Polk is on display at the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History.

Above, the sail from SSBN-645 USS James K. Polk. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The National Museum of Nuclear Science & History - Outside

Above, a B-52 Stratofortress. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

This blog post will take a look at some of the outdoor exhibits of The National Museum of Nuclear Science & History in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The displays consisted of aircraft and missiles as well as some ground vehicles dating back to World War II and the Cold War.

The biggest exhibits for me consisted of B-52, B-47 and B-29 bombers. There were also jet fighters (a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 was having its skin worked on). There was also the sail (conning tower) of the SSBN-645 James K. Polk.

More photos:

Above, a Boeing B-29 Superfortress. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, a Boeing B-52 Stratofortress. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, the sail of the SSBN-645 James K. Polk. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, a B-47 Stratojet. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, a row of different missiles. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, details on the Boeing B-29 Superfortress. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, another view of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, an F-16 Fighting Falcon. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, an A-7 Corsair. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 getting refurbished. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, the Trinity tower replica. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

For exhibits inside the museum, go here.

Tee Pee Trading Post and USS New Mexico (SSN-779)

Above, the model of the USS New Mexico (SSN-779) at the Manuelito Welcome Center. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

After our usual gathering at Denny's in the Flying J, I headed off to Lupton, Arizona to the Tee Pee Trading Post to pick up a few cigars.

It is a nice warm spring day at about 79° outside.

Above, the Tee Pee Trading Post in Lupton, Arizona. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

I had to go to Gallup anyway to do some grocery shopping, so I went 20 more miles to the Arizona-New Mexico border where Lupton is located.

After making my purchases at the Tee Pee Trading Post, I headed into Gallup to go to Albertson's supermarket. But, I made one stop at the Manuelito Welcome Center to use the facilities and to pick up some literature. While there, I noticed a model of a nuclear submarine.

It is the USS New Mexico (SSN-779), a Virginia-class fast attack nuclear submarine.

Here's a little bit about the USS New Mexico (from Wikipedia):

USS New Mexico (SSN-779), a nuclear powered Virginia-class attack submarine, is the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the 47th state. She is the second of the Virginia Block II submarines to enter service. From March–April 2014, she participated in the ICEX 1-14, becoming the second Virginia-class submarine to surface at the North Pole. The homeport of New Mexico is Groton, Connecticut at Naval Submarine Base New London. 

Construction was awarded to Northrop Grumman Newport News in Newport News, Virginia on 14 August 2003. She is the Navy's sixth Virginia-class submarine, has one million parts and 140 shipboard systems. She was built by a joint agreement between General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB) and Northrop Grumman Newport News (NGNN). Construction began in January 2004 at the Electric Boat Corporation, Groton, Connecticut and Quonset Point, Rhode Island facilities, for the construction of the straight sections. The individual components were shipped to Newport News for final assembly.  Her keel was laid down on 12 April 2008, and on 18 May 2008 the final hull welds were completed. She was christened on 13 December 2008, with Cindy Giambastiani, the boat's sponsor and wife of ADM Edmund Giambastiani. Representative Heather Wilson, 1st District-New Mexico, was present as the keynote speaker.

Above, relaxing outside after my errands were completed. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Surprisingly, there was no traffic jammed up at out exit in Jamestown due to the construction. After getting home, I made some guacamole and popped open a bottle of Alien Amber Ale.

It was nice to be outside in the warm air, especially after that long winter we had.

Visit Old Japanese Naval Port Towns of Maizuru, Kure and Sasebo

Above, the Hario Towers near Sasebo. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Back in 2007, I took a trip down to Kyushu to visit several places of historical and kaiju history.

While there, I visited Kumamoto, Mount Aso Volcano National Park, Sasebo, Nagasaki and Fukuoka.

Tokyo Cheapo has an article on visiting Japan's old port towns, which includes Sasebo. In the Sasebo portion of their article, they focused on the Hario Towers, purportedly the towers that transmitted the signal to the Japanese fleet to attack Pearl Harbor. Near the towers, is the Saikai Bridge that was featured in Rodan (1956).

Above, the Saikai Bridge near Sasebo. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

If you are a submarine fan, there is a port town (Kure) where submarines can be viewed and a museum dedicated to the Japanese battleship, Yamato.

They begin their article with:

Many visitors to Japan limit their sightseeing to the country’s major cities, like Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima. Beyond those hot spots, however, exists a wealth of history and culture in local areas that can offer unique tourist opportunities. Consider Maizuru, Kure and Sasebo—three old Japan port towns chock-full of natural beauty, historical attractions and nautical adventures.

To see the full article, go here.

USS Bowfin At Pearl Harbor

Above, visitors on deck of the USS Bowfin. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Pearl Harbor will be garnering attention in a few days as President Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be paying a visit there.

Along with the battleship USS Arizona Memorial and the battleship USS Missouri, there is another vessel that visitors can tour.

It is the submarine USS Bowfin. It is located near the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center.

Above, the USS Bowfin. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

According to the website, Pearl Harbor Historic Sites:

Launched one year to the day after the events of December 7, 1941, the submarine USS Bowfin, dubbed the "Pearl Harbor Avenger," completed nine successful patrols before eventually arriving at her final, peacetime berth in the waters of Pearl Harbor. 

Like her namesake - a scrappy, mean-looking fish with powerful jaws, sharp teeth, and a voracious appetite - the Bowfin proved to be a formidable underwater adversary, sinking 44 enemy ships during the war. Today, the Bowfin is a National Historic Landmark and museum ship where visitors from all over the world are able to experience what it was like to live and work aboard a World War II-era sub.

Above, the USS Bowfin from the Waterfront Submarine Memorial. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

For more information on the Bowfin, go here. 

Submarines: USS Nautilus Anniversary and Lunch Pail

Above, my first lunch pail was one of these. This one is now being offered on eBay.

This morning, I was reading the BBC's website and they noted that 60 years ago today, the USS Nautilus, the first nuclear-powered submarine, was launched.

They wrote:

It's 60 years since the world's first nuclear-powered submarine was launched. The USS Nautilus was the first "true" submarine as it did not need to be refuelled and could remain submerged for months. So what was it like living on it?

When I was a kid, I was a big submarine fanatic. I had books on them and some of my favorite television shows included Silent Service and Voyage To The Bottom of the Sea. Both featuring submarines. The BBC article on the USS Nautilus reminded me of my first lunch pail (they are called lunch boxes now, but back then they were made of metal, so pail was appropriate) which was of, naturally, submarines. According to current offerings on eBay, the lunch pail depicted the USS Seawolf and the USS George Washington.

I remember using that lunch pail for years. It also included a Thermos bottle (those things didn't last very long since they had glass inner linings that broke when they were dropped).  According to the eBay offerings, the lunch pail was vintage 1960, which is the period I got mine.

To read the BBC article on the USS Nautilus, go here.

Clunk! 2 Nuclear Subs Collide In Mid-Atlantic

Above, HMS Vanguard.

Clunk! 2 Nuclear Subs Collide In Mid-Atlantic

Source: The Sun

Two nuclear submarines, one British, the other French, collided out in the mid-Atlantic on February 3 or 4.

The British sub was the HMS Vanguard, part of the nuclear Trident fleet, and the French sub was the Le Triomphant. Both are nuclear-powered and both carried nuclear missiles.


Above, Le Triomphant.

According to The Sun:

As inquiries began, naval sources said it was a millions-to-one unlucky chance both subs were in the same patch of sea. Warships have sonar gear which locates submarines by sound waves.

But modern anti-sonar technology is so good it is possible neither boat “saw” the other.

A senior military source said: “The lines between London and Paris have been hot.”

A senior Navy source said: “The potential consequences are unthinkable. It’s very unlikely there would have been a nuclear explosion.

HMS Vanguard was towed into Faslane in Scotland, with dents and scrapes on her hull. Triomphant limped to Brest with extensive damage to her sonar dome.