A little history on the USS Bowfin SS-287: She is a Balao- class submarine and was launched on 12/7/1942, one year after the attack on Pearl Harbor. She was nicknamed the Pearl Harbor Avenger. Between 1943 and 1945 she was deployed on 9 war patrols each lasting about 2 months. She was enroute for her 10th patrol when the war ended. She sank 17 large ships, primarily cargo ships, and a host of smaller ships during her 9 patrols.
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| USS Bowfin battleflag |
Lets take a look inside:
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| You enter through the deck into the forward torpedo room. She has six tubes forward. |
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| Officers Mess |
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| Officers' compartment |
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| Yes, those hatches really are that small. I was waiting for the two girls to clear the shot and then I decided that they were pretty good scale indicators. |
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| I have never seen so many dials and gauges in my life |
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| The galley |
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| Enlisted Mess |
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| a bunkroom, I think there must have been a deck under this that we were not allowed on. I'm still trying to figure out how 80-100 men were aboard this boat during a patrol. |
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| One of the four massive diesel engines. These are General Motors' V16 engines. |
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| A small machine shop is on board. |
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| I have no idea what this panel does but I could only get a picture through the hatch. I think its the throttles for the engines as its as the back of the second engine compartment. |
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| The four rear torpedo tubes. |
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| 4" deck gun, used quite frequently according to what I read. |
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| Looking forward to the bow, that is the 20mm AA gun forward. |
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| 40mm Bofers on the rear deck of the conning tower |
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