Ship Trivia Quiz

This US submarine was a unique boat. Its quiet was only equalled by the later Ohio class and finally surpassed by the Seawolf class. Elements of her propulsion system were used by later US submarine classes, but none used all of her innovations.

What submarine was this and what were some of her unique innovations?

your turn.

The 6" guns and turrets were installed on the Yamato class BBs and in coastal emplacements.

what happened to mogami's 6" guns & turrets?

Yes. 14 Clemson Class destroyers en route from San Francisco to Santa Barbara turned east about 25 miles too soon in fog.  12 went aground, 5 were able to back off the rocks, but 7 were lost along with 23 crew.

The historic Southern Pacific Coast Line runs through the area in what is now Vandenburg AFB. A track walker discovered a collection of survivors and sent for help.

Your turn ddp.

Honda Point Disaster  September 8, 1923 en.wikipedia.org/.../Honda_Point_Disaster

The USN lost seven destroyers in one evening. When, where, why?

USS Merrimack to CSS Virginia in what was Gosport Shipyard and what is now named Norfolk Naval Shipyard. This drydock was the first in the United States, built in 1833, and is still in use to this day.

The next question is yours, GM.

USS Merrimack. She was originally a fully rigged screw frigate.

BTW that's Drydock 1 at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. It was completed in 1834.

Name just one famous ship that was rebuilt in this dock into a completely different type.

your turn

The class was originally designed as light cruisers with provisions to allow for switching the six inch main armament to  eight inch in order to bypass the London Naval Treaty.

what was the mogami originally built as?

I thought it was Hyman's ol' pappy. Like father, like son.

That's it. Your turn.

John Philip Holland  en.wikipedia.org/.../John_Philip_Holland

Who-dis?

You nailed it, GM. That article makes for some good reading. Ask away!

That'd be the NN3 Surcouf; French submarine (or underwater cruiser).

In the spirit of full disclosure I had NO idea what the answer was, but a little searching yielded the answer.

There's so much story about this boat to tell, I can only say look up the Wiki reference:

en.wikipedia.org/.../French_submarine_Surcouf_%28N_N_3%29

Many years ago I started my fascination of things that sail with the classic "The Ship; an Illustrated History" by Landstrom. On page 270 there's a beautiful rendering of the strangest submarine I had ever seen, with two 8" guns in a forward turret and a float plane on the rear deck. Frankly I had not given it another thought until today, when reading the above article reminded me of the drawing.

The connection to Marlin is included.

One piece of trivia- she was the largest submarine ever built at the time of her sinking.

 This submarine, in what seems to have had been in an existance of constant controversy, was lost with all hands. No one is sure exactly where, although it is known that she was headed for Tahiti at the time. It is also not positively sure whose side she was on.

 What is the sub's name and what was special about her? Just name one special thing, there are lots to choose from. (Or name several, they make good trivia)

your turn

The Surcouf class was divided into anti-submarine and anti-aircraft variants.

what  GMorrison  posted is what i had posted originally til i did a bit more looking & found what i finally posted. how many major variations of the post ww2 "surcouf" class was there & what are they?

I read about those, too. They were dropped at precisely noon in order for the ships' navigators to get, what we would call now, a time hack for their chronometers.

Before the clue about being on the bridge, I was thinking about those old shore signals that drop at noon. A large ball on a cable, which no doubt is where someone got the idea for Times Square at New Years. Navigators set the chronometer before leaving port, knowing the deviation from GMT.

You've got it ddp. Ask away.

The iron balls mounted on the binnacle are called quadrantal spheres and are, along with the heeling magnets etc. part of the system to correct magnetic compass errors caused by a steel ship's influence on a magnetic compass.  I refer the questioner to Bowditch's American Practical Navigator and to Dutton's Navigation and Nautical Astronomy.   They are commonly called, "The Navigator's Balls" perhaps inferring somehow that his manly attributes contribute to the accuracy of the magnetic compass and his effacy in ensuring safe navigation of the vessel.   My guess as to its origin is that cadets and midshipmen awash in nautical terminology and the mystery of compass calibration and arcane terminology coined the name to relieve academic pressure and inject a little humor into the learning process.

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Yachting-2264/navigation.htm

They are usually found somewhere on the bridge...

Where would you find the Navigator's Balls?  And what is their proper name?

Yep thats the one. The SS 33 1/3. I must have passed the place one hundred times, but never went in. There was a submarine model of sorts on the roof, looked like it was made in an air conditioning shop, about 30 feet long. The crews of boats returned from patrol would get up on the roof and paint their hull number on it.

Your turn, Subbbie.