Behind the Scenes

Just because we aren't open to the public, doesn't mean we aren't BUSY.  In fact, giving tours may be one of the EASIEST parts of museum work.

Recently, AIMM's Curator, Mike Hopper, took advantage of the nice weather to do some of the outside maintenance that seems to never end...

Hey, are you qualified to operate that Radio?

This time of year, AIMM gets lots of visitors.  The turtles are starting to come back, as are the catfish.  Several species of geese have stopped by on their migrations north over the years, and the mudbanks are always popular with local songbirds as they build nests.

And, occasionally, one of our non-human guests decides to try out a piece of equipment...

Apparently, this chickadee has dreams of being a radioman, or maybe a homing pigeon...

#1 Main Diesel Engine Started

The hardworking members of the Razorback Crewmembers Association have succeeded in doing what only a few other submarine museums have done - start one of the engines.

The #1 main diesel engine aboard Razorback was started briefly on April 11th, and then run again on the morning of April 12th, and again that afternoon.

Here are some videos, which are also accessible through our Facebook page:

This was taken the morning of April 12th.

Another video from the morning run.

A video from the afternoon test.

A video taken from inside Razorback.

USS Thresher Lost 50 Years Ago Today

On this day, fifty years ago, USS Thresher (SSN-593), was lost while on post-overhaul trials off Cape Cod, MA.

All 129 men aboard her, including her officers, crew and civilian technicians, lost their lives.

AIMM has a copy of a "Welcome Aboard" booklet from Thresher, published just before she was lost, which is available for download.

Delayed Opening - Saturday, April 6th

AIMM will open a little later than normal on Saturday, April 6th, due to a special event occurring that morning.

We will open at 11:00 a.m.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

In Memoriam - USS H-1 (SS-28) - Lost 12 March 1920

USS H-1 (SS-28), originally named USS Seawolf, was an early U.S. Navy submarine, built by the Union Iron Works in San Francisco, CA and commissioned in 1913. She was one of the first submarines built on the West Coast.

She operated on the West Cost during most of her career. However, in 1920, she traveled to the East Coast via the Panama Canal in early 1920. While on the East Coast, the submarine visited Norfolk, VA, Key West, FL and Havana, Cuba.

During the return trip, H-1 ran aground off Santa Margarita Island, an island off the southwest coast of Baja California.

Four men, including the Commanding Officer died trying to reach shore. The repair ship USS Vestal (AR-4) was able to free the submarine from the rocks four days later, but the submarine sank a short time after being freed.

The hulk was never salvaged and its exact location was lost for many years. The hulk was finally relocated in 1992. It has occasionally been used as a training target by the U.S. Navy. It is also a destination for recreational divers.

Photograph courtesy of the U.S. Naval Historical Center, Washington, DC.

WWII Diary - Part Two - First War Patrol

"25 August 1944 - 1st War Patrol

"Loaded with torpedoes, ammunition and chow we left Pearl for Saipan on our first war patrol. That was the day we were really getting to work now.  This voyage was also quite long - 13 days.  Running mostly on the surface with the exception of being forced down a couple of times by unidentified planes.

 "This trip was not too exciting, and about seven days out of Pearl we made a rendezvous with USS Cavalla (SS-244) and USS Piranha (SS-389), the three of us making a wolf pack called the "DOGS".  From there we proceeded to Saipan and at noon on September 7 we tied up alongside the submarine tender USS Holland (AS-3), anchored in Tanapag Harbor, Saipan, about a quarter mile offshore where she had been since the invasion by the U.S. forces.

 

"08 September

"We only stayed here one day, just long enough to fuel and get some needed supplies and a camouflage job on the boat.  We departed Saipan on September 8th for patrol north of the Palau Islands.  After a few days here we were ordered to a new patrol area northwest of the Philippines between there and Tokyo.   We patrolled this area for several days and on September 25th we were ordered to patrol off Formosa in the Luzon Straits.  We have been forced down several times by enemy aircraft.  One heavy bomber on the 25th attacked and strafed us.  Thank God he had no bombs and wasn't a very good shot with his guns.  We we're long getting to 200 feet after we spotted this baby coming out of the sun with his guns blazing at us.

"07 October

" Tonight we are leaving station and going to head for Midway for refit and a rest period.  We have been forced down five out of the last six nights.  We were strafed once and bombed with two bombs from an enemy medium bomber.  We are leaving station now, that is we were until this "Betty" came over and forced us down with two aerial depth charges which again missed their mark.

" 13 October

"We are still on our way home and are running out of fuel, and there aren't any gas stations handy.

"20 October, 1944

"At 7:00 this morning we made our rendezvous with our plane escort taking us to Midway...

"At 1300 we left the boat to go up to Gonneyville, the rest camp...

 

 

New Photographs Added to Website

Former Razorback crew member Gary Thrall visited the museum and was kind enough to loan us his personal photo album.

The album, which contained nearly 250 photographs taken during the 1960-1962 period included many views of Razorback, such as the one above.

The entire collection is available on the AIMM website.

WWII Diary - Part One - Training

"8 June 1944 - Yeoman Aucoin and I were transferred from the USS O-4 to the USS Razorback under the command of Roy Benson, CDR, USN.  The executive officer is C. Donald Brown, LCDR, USN, our former skipper on the O-4."

"26 June 1944 - After some operations out of New London we loaded our stores and torpedoes and departed New London for Key West, Florida.  This first trip sure seemed a long time especially while I was feeding the fish for a couple of days after we left..."

"31 June - After a six day journey, we arrived at Key West, Florida...I can't say much for the liberty at Key West.  There wasn't much to do, yet it expired too early...The last two liberties we spent at the Havana Madrid Patio where the main attraction was the fan dancer, Sally Rand.  I also can't say much for this show due to the facts that Sally's fans were too large and too well controlled.  Otherwise OK."

" 04 August - We arrived at Pearl for a training period of 15 days and a voyage overhaul...I really had a workout while we had the training period on the JP sound gear.  It seemed like we were at battle stations all day and sometimes all day and all night, and all the next day.  Don't think we weren't glad when that was over and we started to load up for our first war patrol"

Submarine History - USS TRITON (SSRN-586) Completes First Submerged Circumnavigation

On this day in 1960, USS Triton (SSRN-586) began the first submerged circumnavigation of the world.

This 84-day trip, known as Operation Sandblast, proved that nuclear propulsion could provide amazing underwater endurance and sustained high speeds.

Triton followed the same track sailed by the famed explorer Ferdinand Magellan during his voyage in 1519:

The voyage was also used to collect oceanographic data for scientists to review. The submarine service has a long and storied history of scientific discovery and co-operation, a history that continues to this day.

WWII Razorback Diary

George Atkinson (pictured above) was a Radioman aboard Razorback during World War II.  While not a plankowner (he was assigned to Razorback on June 8th, 1944, after CDR Benson assumed command), he made all five war patrols.

During WWII, George kept a diary, which he later typed up and sent to his former shipmates.  Here is what George wrote years later:

"I know it was not legal to keep such a record because of the danger to the crew if it were to fall into the hands of the Japanese...However, being a member of the radio gang and being privileged to secret documents and communications gear, I felt (rightly or wrongly) that my little black book would be destroyed along with the coding machine, the strip ciphers  and other secret material.  I do apologize if I ever put your lives in jeopardy." 

We will publish excerpts from George's diary over the coming days, and will make the full text of the diary available on the AIMM website.

TV Show Visits AIMM

The cast and crew of the hit TV show “American Pickers”, which airs on the History channel, visited AIMM while they were in the area.

If you are not familiar with the show, it follows two antique dealers, Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz as they, in their own words, “travel the back roads of America looking for rusty gold”.

Not to worry, they weren't at the museum to buy anything (except in the gift shop); they were taking a well-deserved break between stops at other locations in Arkansas.

From the AIMM Archives

While scanning material in the AIMM archives, this interesting quote from Herman Melville's classic, "Moby Dick", was spotted....

"Of this whale little is known but his name.  I have seen him at a distance off Cape Horn.  Of a retiring nature, he eludes both hunters and philosophers.  Though no coward, he has never yet shown any part of him but his back, which rises in a long, sharp ridge.  Let him go.  I know little more of him nor does anybody else."

USS S-26 (SS-131) Lost This Day in 1942

USS S-26 (SS-131) was designed during the First World War, and was designed based on the experience gained fighting the German U-Boats of that period.-

S-26 was built by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation at their shipyard in Quincy, MA. Commissioned in 1923, she, along with her sisters of the same "S" class, were the workhorses of the American submarine force in the 1920s and 1930s.

After the Pearl Harbor attack, the Navy decided to press as many submarines into service as possible. Even the "S" class boats, by then near 20 years old and lacking the speed and range of more modern submarines, could be used to patrol areas like the Aleutian Islands, the Philippines, the East Indies and the approaches to the Panama Canal, where their limited performance could be offset by greater numbers, at least until newer submarines could be built.

S-26 was assigned to patrol the Atlantic Ocean approaches to the Panama Canal. On January 24th, the submarine chaser USS Sturdy (PC-460) was assigned to escort four submarines out to their patrol areas. At 2210, Sturdy sent the message that, having reached the patrol zone, she was leaving the formation, and that the submarines should begin their assignments. 

S-26 did not receive the message.

Since wartime rules were in effect, both S-26 and Sturdy were traveling under blackout conditions. Neither the small submarine nor the small patrol boat saw each other in the darkness, and at 2223, USSS turdy struck S-26.

The submarine sank almost immediately. The only survivors were the men on the bridge at the time of the collision - the Commanding Officer, the Executive Officer, and an enlisted lookout.

Salvage operations were begun immediately, and divers were able to reach the sunken submarine.  However, they found no indications that anyone survived the initial sinking.  46 men were lost. S-26 was never raised.

New Photographs of Razorback from 1947

Recently, a Razorback veteran, Rodger Whitman, visited AIMM.

He served aboard Razorback in 1947.  Razorback was his qualification boat, and Mr. Whitman left the Navy before serving on any other submarines.

He gave us digital copies of photographs that he had taken while aboard Razorback.  We know that Razorback was in drydock at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, on Marine Railway #2 from January 16th until January 28th, 1947.

Most of Mr. Whitman's pictures are from that time.

The entire set of photographs is available on the AIMM Website.

U.S. Navy Training In Quindao, China in 1948

To put Razorback's 1948 visit to Quindao in context, and to show the importance of the work that Razorback and the other vessels were trying to do, we thought we would share some photographs from the National Archives in College Park, Maryland that were taken in Quindao during this same time period.

After WWII ended, the United States attempted to support the Chinese Nationalist Party in their civil war against the Chinese Communist Party.  The U.S. Navy, in particular, provided surplus vessels, and then provided the technical training that the Chinese crewmen would need to keep the ships running.  The American effort was spearheaded during this period by Admiral Charles Cooke, a submariner who had been strategist for the U.S. Navy during World War II (he was also a native Arkansan).

In this picture, a Chief Motor Machinist, J.O. Cooke demonstrates engine handling to a class of Chinese trainees while an American officer watches on.

Both a "Boot Camp" for future enlisted sailors and an "Annapolis-like" school were established for officers in Quindao.

In this picture, Chief J.D. Lyons checks the aiming of Chinese sailors on twin 40-mm guns.  These guns would be found on many of the small surface craft that the U.S. Navy was transferring to the Chinese Nationalist Navy.

Here, a Chinese sailor practices using a sextant.

These are Midshipmen at the Chinese Naval Academy.  It was modeled closely after Annapolis, and the students would have become Ensigns in the Chinese Navy had they been able to complete four years of study.

Unfortunately, despite all the assistance and training, Quindao fell to the Chinese Communist Party on June 2nd, 1949, little more than a year after Razorback's visit.  Most of the trainees in these pictures likely evacuated, along with the rest of the Chinese Nationalist military, to the island of Taiwan, where a strong naval tradition still exists today.

Razorback Visits China in 1948

In late October, 1947, Razorback left San Francisco for what would be recorded as "Simulated War Patrol Number Two", a deployment that modern sailors would recognize as a WESTPAC.  Among the ports Razorback visited was Quindao, China (also known as Tsingtao).

Razorback arrived there on this day in 1948.

At the time, the United States was supporting the Chinese Nationalist Party in its civil war against the Chinese Communist Party.  Major training bases for both officers and enlisted personnel in the Chinese Nationalist Navy were in operation in Quindao during this time.

Razorback would remain in Qindao for three weeks, conducting training with various U.S. Navy destroyers during this period.  The deck logs show that Razorback sailors had ample opportunities for liberty on the weekends.

This silk embroidery was created for former Razorback crew member and museum supporter Gene Haley during this time.  Gene had it framed and donated it to AIMM.  It is on display in the museum.

USS Perch (SS-313) Commissioned This Day in 1944

This plaque was recently donated to AIMM, and the story behind this little known submarine is (at least to us) an interesting one, and one that we thought should be shared.

USS Perch (SS-313) was commissioned on this day in 1944.  Like Razorback, Perch was a Balao-class submarine.  Unlike Razorback, she was built at the Electric Boat Company shipyard in Groton, CT.

Perch conducted seven war patrols during World War II, earning four battle stars.

Like Razorback, Perch remained in the Navy after the war, and this is where Perch's story becomes interesting (and complicated).

Shortly after WWII ended, Perch was decommissioned and placed in reserve status.

There were, of course, incredible technological advances in the postwar period, and there were many theories about the roles that submarines would play in the Navy.  One thought was that submarines could carry troops, especially Marines or special operations forces.  Perch was selected as one of the submarines to test these theories.

Perch was outfitted with a pressure-proof chamber large enough to carry a small helicopter or a small armored amphibious vehicle and designated as an SSP - Submarine Transport, then as an ASSP - Transport Submarine.  Both of her torpedo rooms were turned into berthing spaces for the embarked troops.  After these changes were made, Perch was able to carry over 100 marines or other special forces personnel, 85 tons of their equipment, a landing vehicle AND a jeep and eight 10-man rubber rafts.

A hatch connected the pressure-proof hanger to the submarine, and all the equipment could be accessed and maintained while at sea.

During the Korean War, Perch actually landed a small force of British commandos in an successful attack on a Korean train tunnel.

After the Korean War ended, Perch continued in her role, but was classified as an APSS - Submarine Transport.  In 1960, Perch was decommissioned, but she was returned to active service in 1961 and began training with the U.S. Marine Corps and other special operations forces.  Perch landed troops multiple times during the Vietnam War.

In 1967, Perch began the final phase of her career, when she became a Naval Reserve training submarine.  Her classification was changed to LPSS - Submarine Transport.  Then in 1971, she was re-designated as IXSS - Unclassified Miscellaneous Submarine and on 1 December 1971, Perch was finally decommissioned and sold for scrapping.

Perch almost certainly holds the record for the most number of different classifications (six):

• SS
• SSP
• ASSP
• APSS
• LPSS
• IXSS

Celebrating New Years Eve at Sea

Members of the military, by the very nature of their service, spend many, if not most holidays far from home, and the men who sailed aboard Razorback were no exception.  These pictures were taken on New Years Eve, 1966.  While we do not know exactly where Razorback was when these pictures were taken, we do know that she was deployed to the Western Pacific during that time.

These pictures come from the scrapbook of CAPT Ken Brown, USN (ret), who was Razorback's Commanding Officer from March of 1966 until May 1968.

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New Oral History Available

One of the vessels sunk during the Pearl Harbor attack was the minelayer USS Oglala (CM-4).

One of Oglala's crewmen was Gail Jones, a native of Central Arkansas.  He was kind enough to sit down and retell his story recently.  His oral history interview is available on the AIMM Website, along with the oral history interviews of a number of former Razorback crewmen.


Mr. Jone's ship, Oglala was moored alongside the light cruiser USS Helena (CL-50) on the morning of the attack.  A Japanese plane attacked Helena with a single torpedo that passed under the minelayer and struck it's target.  However, the warhead was so large that the explosion also damaged Oglala.

Because she was an older warship (her keel was laid in 1904), Oglala did not have the same standards of watertight integrity that other, more modern ships had.  When it became clear that she was going to sink, Oglala was moved to an empty spot so she would not block other ships, or damage them as she rolled over.

After the attack, Oglala was righted and repaired.  She was converted to a repair ship and returned to service in 1943.  Decommissioned after the war, she served as a depot ship for the National Defense Reserve Fleet until 1965, when she was finally sold for scrapping.

New Artifact in the Museum

This engine order telegraph, or EOT, was recently donated to the museum.  The donor did not know what ship it had come from, but it is similar to the EOT aboard Hoga, and will give our visitors a chance to experience a little bit of what being on the bridge of a ship is like.

Everyone pitched in and helped restore this, but Joe Mathis, our resident electrical expert, was able to get all the lights and bells working again, and Cope Plastics generously donated new lenses for the sides, as the existing ones were badly scratched and worn, making it difficult to see the markings inside.

If you have the chance, you should come by and check it out.

The Effects of Prolonged Submergence

This is what a submarine's hull looks like after being submerged for 43 days straight.  Razorback is in Yokosuka, Japan in November, 1968.

USS Salmon (SS-573) is alongside.

The deck logs from this period are available on the AIMM website, if you want to see first hand what was going on.

This photograph is courtesy of William Zwicker, who was a Machinist's Mate aboard Razorback in the late 1960s.  He loaned his personal scrapbook to the museum so that we could scan the photographs.

The entire scrapbook is also on our website.

Free Tours (and Hot Dogs) on the 71st Anniversary of the Pearl Harbor Attack

Free Tours (and Hot Dogs) 

on the 71st Anniversary of the Pearl Harbor Attack

In remembrance of the 71st anniversary of the Pearl Harbor Attack, and in honor of the memory of the servicemen who lost their lives on that day, the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum will be offering free tours of USS Razorback.

We will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

We have a group of submarine veterans coming in to give tours, so even if you have toured in the past, it would be a great time to come back and learn even more.

We will be serving free hot dogs and soft drinks for lunch.

Guests will also receive a free American flag as a memento.

NATIONAL PEARL HARBOR REMEMBRANCE DAY, 2012

- - - - - - -

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

On December 7, 1941, our Nation suffered one of the most devastating attacks ever to befall the American people. In less than 2 hours, the bombs that rained on Pearl Harbor robbed thousands of men, women, and children of their lives; in little more than a day, our country was thrust into the greatest conflict the world had ever known. We mark this anniversary by honoring the patriots who perished more than seven decades ago, extending our thoughts and prayers to the loved ones they left behind, and showing our gratitude to a generation of service members who carried our Nation through some of the 20th century's darkest moments.

In his address to the Congress, President Franklin D. Roosevelt affirmed that "with confidence in our Armed Forces -- with the unbounding determination of our people -- we will gain the inevitable triumph." Millions stood up and shipped out to meet that call to service, fighting heroically on Europe's distant shores and pressing island by island across the Pacific. Millions more carried out the fight in factories and shipyards here at home, building the arsenal of democracy that propelled America to the victory President Roosevelt foresaw. On every front, we faced down impossible odds -- and out of the ashes of conflict, America rose more prepared than ever to meet the challenges of the day, sure that there was no trial we could not overcome.

Today, we pay solemn tribute to America's sons and daughters who made the ultimate sacrifice at Oahu. As we do, let us also reaffirm that their legacy will always burn bright -- whether in the memory of those who knew them, the spirit of service that guides our men and women in uniform today, or the heart of the country they kept strong and free.

The Congress, by Public Law 103-308, as amended, has designated December 7 of each year as "National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day."

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim December 7, 2012, as National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. I encourage all Americans to observe this solemn day of remembrance and to honor our military, past and present, with appropriate ceremonies and activities. I urge all Federal agencies and interested organizations, groups, and individuals to fly the flag of the United States at half-staff this December 7 in honor of those American patriots who died as a result of their service at Pearl Harbor.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixth day of December, in the year of our Lord two thousand twelve, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.

BARACK OBAMA

Captain Joe Talbert on Eternal Patrol

It is with a heavy heart that AIMM must announce the passing of Captain Joseph Truitt Talbert, Jr., USN (ret).

Captain Talbert was the last commanding officer of USS Razorback.  He commanded Razorback from December 19th, 1969, until she was decommissioned from the U.S. Navy on November 30th, 1970.

Captain Talbert qualified in submarines aboard USS Redfish (SS-395), one of the submarines that had been built alongside Razorback at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.  Captain Talbert also served aboard USS Salmon, USS Theodore Roosevelt, USS Carbonero USS Ulyssess S. Grant, and USS Sterlet.

Captain Talbert passed away at his home in Coronado, California with Emily, his wife of many years, at his side.  She noted that he had been in the hospital, battling pneumonia, but had just returned home - "He knew he was here and was happy."

We will post information as arrangements are know.

Sailor Rest Your Oars

Hoga In Drydock

Hoga is now in drydock at ADR.  Her lower hull has been hydroblasted and is being ultrasonically tested to determine exactly which parts do (and, just as importantly which parts DON'T) need repair.

No work has yet started, but we are looking forward to having all necessary work done in the near future.

As we know more, we will keep everyone appraised.

In Memoriam - USS Capelin (SS-289) - Sunk 23 November 1943

USS Capelin's disappearance remains a mystery to this day.

After being out 17 days on her first war patrol, she returned to the U.S. submarine base in Darwin, Austrailia with a defective conning tower hatch mechanism, too-loud bow planes, and a malfunctioning radar tube. After these flaws were corrected, she left for her second patrol on 19 November.

Although USS Bonefish (SS-223) reported sighting a United States submarine on 2 December in Capelin's assigned area in the Molukka and Celebes Seas, nothing was heard from the boat after she departed on her second war patrol.

Postwar records revealed that on 23 November, 1943, an American submarine was attacked off Halamaera, a heavily fortified island in Capelin's patrol area. Enemy minefields are known to have been placed along the Celebes coastline, and it is suspected that Capelin was lost to a mine explosion.

76 sailors went down with Capelin.

National Archives photograph 80-G-468104

In Memoriam - USS Sculpin (SS-191) - Sunk 19 November 1943

USS Sculpin, sister ship to Squalus (SS-192), made radar contact with a fast convoy on 18 November 1943, and followed, submerged, for a dawn attack. She was detected, however, and forced deep. When she surfaced to begin another pursuit, she was seen by a destroyer that was lagging behind the convoy, and a round of depth charging ensued. Though Sculpin survived this attack with relatively minor damage, she accidentally broached when her diving officer tried to bring her to periscope depth with a depth gauge that had stuck at 125 feet.

Another round of depth charging followed Sculpin's accidental surfacing. Finally, a string of close explosions threw the deeply submerged Sculpin badly out of control, and her CO, CDR Fred Connaway, made the decision to surface and fight using the deck guns. A shell through main induction and another through the conning tower killed most of Sculpin's officers, leaving LT G. E. Brown in command. He gave the order to scuttle the boat.

12 men, including Captain John P. Cromwell, rode the boat down. CAPT Cromwell had extensive knowledge of US plans for future submarine operations. To deny the Japanese that information, he went down with Sculpin, reportedly sitting in the wardroom with coffee cup in hand. CAPT Cromwell would posthumously receive the Congressional Medal of Honor for "his great moral courage in the face of certain death."

The 42 men who escaped Sculpin were captured by the Japanese, one of whom, suffering from severe injuries was immediately thrown overboard to drown. The remaining prisoners were taken to Truk and questioned for ten days before being separated into two groups and loaded onto two Japanese aircraft carriers bound for the Japanese home islands. One of those two Japanese warships, Chuyo, was attacked and sunk by USS Sailfish (SS-192), resulting in the deaths of 19 of the 20 Sculpin survivors aboard.

In a strange twist of fate, Sailfish — at the time named Squalus — had herself been rescued by Sculpin in 1939.

The remaining Sculpin suvivors were forced to work as slave labor in the Ashio copper mines for the rest of the war and were liberated by the Allies after VJ Day.

New Artifact Donated to the Museum

Submarine veteran Reggie McCarver of Park Hills, Missouri recently visited Razorback.  He served aboard USS Sirago (SS-485) and USS Pomodon (SS-486).  After his visit, he sent several artifacts to us.

Among these artifacts was this clock, known as a "Rig for Red" clock.  Unfortunately, Mr. McCarver didn't have any documentation or technical manuals to go along with it.

The clock also didn't work when it was received.  However, it didn't take long for our electrician, Joe Mathis, ETC(SS) USN (ret) to restore it to full functionality!  We have not yet decided where to install the clock aboard Razorback, but it will probably be displayed in the Conning Tower.

If you have any sea stories related to a clock like this, please pass them on.

Razorback Then and Now

Stan Walker was an EM (Electrician's Mate) aboard Razorback from 1949 until 1951.

This first picture shows Stan aboard Razorback in 1949, when she was in Hawaii.  During this time, Razorback conducted one of her "Simulated War Patrols", which included extensive ASW (anti-submarine warfare) training against U.S. Navy surface forces, as well as training against British forces.

In one instance, on 19 August 1949, Razorback made a successful approach and simulated attack on USS Manchester (CL-83), despite Manchester being protected by eight destroyers (and a seaplane).

And here is Stan, aboard Razorback again...

USS Hoga at the Shipyard for Repairs

USS Hoga (YT-146) was moved out of the National Defense Reserve Fleet anchorage in Suisan Bay, California and towed to the Allied Defense Recycling (ADR) shipyard in Vallejo, California.  ADR was opened at the site of the old Mare Island Naval Shipyard and specializes in environmentally sound ship repair, conversion and overhaul.

These two pictures were taken from across the channel.  Hoga can probably be seen from locations along Mare Island Way between the Vallejo Yacht Club and the ferry landing.