Boing Boing tv’s retro-tech correspondent Todd Lappin of Telstar Logistics submerges us in WWII history on the supersized submarine USS Pampanito.
This Balao-class ship was built in 1943, and today one of her younger volunteer caretakers schools us on all the gadgets, gizmos, and old-school technology that kept this baby cruising to Pearl Harbor and back.
Did you know that subs like this couldn’t submerge for more than 24 hours back then, because they’d run out of battery life? Think of it like this, Gen-Y-ers, that’s like when your iPhone 3G slides into “red” mode, because you’ve been twittering too much. Only with people inside. And big guns to shoot bad guys.
Pampanito trivia: she’s named after this little fishie, prized as a seafood delicacy. Wait, a sushi ingredient? Doesn’t sound like a great idea for a WWII military ship!
Shot for BBtv by Eddie Codel, during the Long Now Foundation‘s Mechanicrawl.
Previously on BBtv:
* Multi-millenial Mechanical clocks (Long Now Mechanicrawl pt. 1)
* WWII Boatpunk: Aboard the SS Jeremiah O’Brien, with Todd Lappin (pt. 2)
PS: extra-special thanks to Scott Beale of Laughing Squid for hooking BBtv up with Eddie Codel!
@Dana, LULZ! und zo weiter!
Funny how the article is about an American submarine, yet the picture in the opening frame of the video is of a German U-boat ‘Kapitanleutnant’ or Captain. Torpedos, Feuer!
My wife and I visited the Pampanito on our honeymoon to SF. Lots of fun.
Hmmm…nothing supersized about a Balao class boat. She was sizeable for her time, but (for example) the Japanese built a number of much larger boats.
Do you have an associate in Chicago? It’d be interesting to do a tour of the German U505 at the Museum of Science and Industry for comparison. I’ve been in both, and if memory serves, the U505 is much smaller inside. And that’s taking into account that they cut through parts of it so people could tour it.
I loved the way you launched the torpedo at the end!
“Only — with people inside.”
Comedy gold, lady. You’re the Internet Lucille Ball
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@ #5 Falcon_Seven:
Ja das ist SO drollig!!!
Please, tell me – what on earth gave it away?!
Mit freundlichen Gruessen,
Dana Devonshire
Series Producer, Boing Boing tv
I spent the night on the Pampanito – as a cub scout leader – a couple of years ago. After less than 24 hours on the sub, my hair, clothes, and skin reeked of diesel fuel. It is hard to imagine how it would have been to spend months on board…
If you are going to do a Mechanicrawl of the Bay Area, you need to go to the Nike Missile base in the Marin Headlands, which has the advanced analog calculators used to create the missile intercept trajectories designed to shoot down incoming bombers. Very cool analog tech.
http://www.nps.gov/goga/nike-missile-site.htm
“Did you know that subs like this couldn’t submerge for more than 24 hours back then, because they’d run out of battery life?”
…Actually, this could be stretched to ~36 hours if the skipper is willing to go into an extreme power down mode, resort to a snorkle with a hand pump, and the entire crew goes into a low activity mode to reduce heavy breathing. Theoretically this could go on a bit longer, but the hand pumps weren’t that efficient for circulating the air and the dangers of CO2 buildup naturally increase over time.
…And as for those complaining about reeking of diesel fuel, as any antisocial submariner will tell you, “if you can’t stand the diesel, stay the hell off the boat!”