More Periscope Pictures

These photos are courtesy of John Jones.

More photos at this link.

UP Periscope!!!

Today, we finished a project that has been several years in the making - raising the #2 periscope.

In about 30 minutes from start to finish, and with the expert help of Mark Taylor, a local sub vet, we were able to raise the #2 periscope and secure it in place.

MANY subvets have helped in this project, too many to name individually, but they all know their help has been appreciated. Countless hours of volunteer effort went into the preparation for this project.

More pictures will be posted later today.

John P. Holland - Father of the Modern Submarine

John Philip Holland was born in Ireland on February 29th, 1841. By 1859, at the age of 18, he had already completed his first submarine design.

This design, with only a few changes, would be commissioned in 1900 as USS Holland, the first successful modern submarine. His design was also used to build the first British submarine, HMS Holland 1, and was the basis of Japan's first submarine, No. 1.



John Holland was convinced that the submarine would be the future of naval warfare, as the submarine's stealth would eliminate the advantages of the big-guns aboard the battleship. His vision was ultimately realized, as today's submarines are the most powerful ships in the world, and the last battleships have been turned into floating museums.

(Photographs courtesy of the U.S. Navy History and Heritage Command, Washington, DC)

New Submarine History Exhibit

AIMM now has on exhibit a very rare "Momsen Lung". This piece of early submarine escape equipment was developed by Charles Bowers "Swede" Momsen in the late 1920s. As such, it pre-dates the earliest SCUBA gear by nearly 20 years.

The Momsen Lung on display at AIMM is one of only a handful on public display. It is on long-term loan from the USS Batfish museum in Muskogee, Oklahoma.

This photograph shows a Momsen Lung being used in escape training. (Photograph courtesy of the Naval History and Heritage Command).

LCDR Charles "Swede" Momsen (Photograph courtesy of the Naval History and Heritage Command). During WWII, he was instrumental in solving the problems plaguing the Mark XIV torpedoes, personally diving, at great risk of his own life, to retrieve a live torpedo that had failed to explode in a test.

He retired as a Vice Admiral and passed away in 1967.

USS Momsen (DDG-92) is named in his honor.