An interesting bit of info on the air bottles.

The impulse flasks, forming part of the impulse air system, are steel cylinders, dome-shaped at each end. One of the domed ends is flanged and is provided with a port which connects to the impulse lines. There is an impulse flask for each torpedo tube. The six flasks that are mounted in the superstructure above the forward torpedo room are approximately 5 feet 10 inches in length and 16 inches in diameter; the four flasks mounted below the after torpedo room deck are approximately 5 feet 3 inches, in length and 18 inches in diameter.

 Also Wildspear posted some new pix of the Silversides including a few nice pix of the forward area with the bottles and rigging out machinery.

Eric... 

This is the bow section of a 1/32 scale(nine feet, nine inches) USS BOWFIN model at Pearl Harbor. This is model is incredibly detailed throughout. Note that the mechanism controlling the the bow planes penetrates the forward part of the pressure hull by the torpedo tubes and that when retracted, the upper part of the plane has deck structure visible inside of the streamlined casing.

Dang, I forgot about the torpedos.

Promissed myself I wouldn't learn nothing today, but did anyway.

Building an RC sub has been a thought with me for some time, just might get it done in a year or so.

Thanks

Just found the answer on the Pampanito virtual tour.

The air flasks that contain impulse air used to eject torpedoes.

If you plan to build an RC than I would suggest the Subcommittee forum, although you now have to pay to be on it you can still read the RC construction section.

If you plan to build the Revell 1/72 Gato than you can get everything at Caswell. 

 I'm not a submarine wiz, all I know is what I see in movies or read in Sea Clasics Magazine, so I'll ask.

What were the bottles for, breathing air or to blow out the balast tanks ?

I would like to build a RC sub sometime.

thanks

Found a pic of the canisters inside the Silversides.

Eric... 

Found this interesting picture of the Pomodon (Tench Class) being stripped down to be converted to a Guppy configuration.

Eric... 

Found a pic from the Batfish.

Sadly the guy's replacing the deck take lousy pictures, they could have fully documented all the piping and fixtures under the deck.

Eric... 

So I was looking at the model and the picture Rokket posted and here are my thoughts.

To actually make it look correct in there part of the model structure will have to be removed inside on the top area cutting the top flat part back to the side mounting pins at least, than the pressure hull will need to be extended forward for the mechanism framing and gears to sit on.

Even if you are not going to add the inside gearing that area is still visible inside when the planes are down so you will need something in there if for nothing else than to extend the preasure hull.

Shouldn't be to difficult to do with a bit of cutting and some sheet plastic.

Eric... 

I think I IDed that diveplane picture.

Looks like it's the Cavalla from her recent fixing up.

They replaced the decking and worked on the hull.

Eric...

Here's a little something for your shop buddies.

A copy of the Officail Navy Mascot card, just add picture and fill out the info.

 Here's the original so you know what goes where.

Eric... 

Thanks for the info, Intersting site you have.

HyperWar has some pages similar like this one on the Growler I just found. 

Main page of damage reports on a few subs, some interesting pictures.

Eric... 

Theoretically the Navy, along with every other government agency, turns their records over to the National Archives & Records Administration when they are "finished" with them. Since Mare Island is shut down their records were turned over to NARA; there was an effort by some Mare Island workers to get a bunch of the photos (illegally) transferred to a local museum but NARA got wind of it and managed to recover everything that was left.

Most of the records you might be looking for are probably back at the main branch in College Park, but there are also regional archives as well; I've been researching at the Seattle Archives near my home for years (They hold the records for Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton) and am heading down for my third trip to the San Francisco archives in a couple of weeks.

Based on my experiences researching at those three archives plus Laguna Niguel, I will say that if you're looking for plans, go to College Park. The shipyards sent mos of the plans back east and they wound up there when BuShips turned them over. They may have kept correspondence files for a ship and some general documents such as the camouflage instructions I posted earlier, but if plans exist 99% of the time they are schematics of work done, such as damage repair, etc.

As a final plug, I post a lot of the interesting documents I find to my web site for others to read, http://www.researcheratlarge.com/

You had me second guessing myself there for a moment.

Here's the Haddo pic I refered to. 

You aren't near the ond Navy bases are you?

I'm wondering if they have any archival pictures and such.

I need to take a road trip to Mare Island to look around, I briefly went to the Museum about 20 years ago, looked through the Baya's periscope.

I really wish I still lived in the BA, as all the cool spots are within a short drive.

Eric... 

SORRY, sorry, you said "HADDO" and I took it as "HaddoCK" (guess I was hungry!).

SS255 Haddo Oct 42 EB V N

Absolutely confirmed Valey Shutter bow, no shutter stern (navsource.org)

Here are 2 pix inside the hull casing, over at AMP:

http://models.rokket.biz/index.php?topic=233.new#new

Thanks for the kind words!

It sure could be a GUP, no idea what boat, stumbled across it recently. The gearing and supports look pretty close to the Navpers 16016 1950s manual, so it was a Gato/Balao at one time at least.

Torp Shutters - yes, spot on. Go to http://amp.rokket.biz/reference.shtml there's a list ("Gato Torpedo Shutters") of many boats with confirmed and suspected shutter styles ("Valley" is what we have termed the long scoop). Growler is confirmed Valley in the bow, and based on 214 and others in that series by EB, strong likelihood Valley in the stern.Then there's the actually rare "spoon" style (Revell kit, and NOT the Cobia!!!), and the flat/angle style "Balao".

 Haddock just not enough evidence, but suspect from lack of curving either Spoon or Balao.

Accurate Model Parts have a spoon resin set for the bow, and have almost completed mold master for the Balao style, and have drawings for Valley scoopy style, hopefully will be available soon.

http://amp.rokket.biz/am_1_72_gato_sets.shtml

This is great stuff as Eric says, building on info!

Cheers,

Wink

After looking some more the wood decking would start right beind the cleat & roller just before the capstan, basicly right below where the picture of the damaged bow ends.

Another thing I found is that the torpedo doors are the type that are scooped the full length, not just at the front edge.

For reference for all the bow doors the Haddo in drydock pix should work.

Eric... 

That's an odd looking anchor well, what boat is that? 

Guppy refit perhaps? 

Eric... 

You make me laugh my friend.

Research is your friend, it also helps that others have helped my research including yourself, I spend more time looking for or at pictures than I do building models one of the reasons it took me almost 2 years to start on my boat.

Where on earth did you find that great pic. 

The only reason I had guessed on the Growler being metal decked is there is a lot of metal that appeared to be more than just the bow section, there is also a pic of them replacing the bow which nicely shows the frame work off. 

Than again your probably correct since she was one of the first built, I forgot to look at the series number, silly me.

Can't even find decent pix of the boats built with her. 

Eric... 

Metal/Wood decks - Eric has heaps of great knowledge (and skills!), but I disagree on this one:

That pic is of the crushed bow, but all the boats had metal bow decks, even in wood deck boats(rest of deck started just aft of that section).  I can't find any other pix of Growler, but 212-222 (with some unverified gaps) all had wood, Grouper most definitely (214 to Growler's 215), so I'd say wood.There's a list (minus Growler) at the AMP library section: http://amp.rokket.biz/reference.shtml

Dive Plane: Here's a pic of the dive plane uncovered...

keep us posted! And feel free to join our forum, we have great members like Eric and others, especially handy in the fleetboatsection.

Hope it helps. With Eric's info, you're in great hands.

Heres the link to the photos.

Eric... 

Yeah the Bream didn't have them.

Inside the opening is the rear of the conning tower tube to the front and a wall with holes on the upper half to the rear.

The aft end is where the air induction vents are hidden, they allow air to be pumped into the engines and the rest of the ship.

The rivets are actually around the door.

Look for pix of the Silversides since there are some pictures of the area showing part of the inside area.

I'll see if I still have the link somewhere.

Eric... 

Thanks- Getting rid of the doors shouldn't be too bad before the halves come together- I will just brace it with some clay and cut from the inside out, then file off the door rivets on the perimeter-

The hydrodynamics (or lack of) is an eye opener.

Looks like you eliminated some locker doors too-

There is a door on both sides, see picture below.

From the looks of this picture she had metal decks.

That's all I could find.

Can't tell for sure but the fairwater may have come to a point in the back, sadly I didn't find any Mare Island pix.

Eric... 

Marked the instruction booklet for broom elimination, and the breather.

Anybody got a pic for Fairwater door removal? Not exactly sure here.

My first impression when getting the kit was to build the Growler, in one photo, I can make out the prop guards, now to find out if she had wood decks.

It's been done but not correctly, it needs to be built as the USS Balao SS-285.

Eric... 

Have you decided on what boat and what date you are going to build her as?

Is anyone doing the...

Tigershark?