My son and I spent the night on board this sub for Boy Scouts. The dining area in the video makes it look bigger than what it really is. Although, there is more room on her than the German subs. The engines were made there in that city so they are easily worked on. In fact, once a month the engines are still run. The propellers are off but engines still run as smoothly as ever. It was absolutely an amazing night. The parents all sat in the galley drinking coffee and playing cards while the kids slept. For history buffs it is a great time. From what we were told, the boat could still operate which in itself is crazy. She is a beautiful boat.
These guys in WW1&2 who were in these submarines had balls of steel. Cramped. Noisy as hell. And one wrong move and you had an unimaginable death. Today’s submarines are like suites at the Hilton hotel compared to these
I do piping for cruiser ships , like the lowest decks and darkest places , and I always think to my self "how the fuck this gonna work" when i see all the pipes , cabels , engines ...
Yep. No CAD, no calculators, no 3D modeling. Just a bunch of smart guys with pencil and paper, a good knowledge of math and physics, common sense and the ability to communicate.
I stayed overnight on this boat as a kid while in the Boy Scouts. 10 years later I was on an Active Submarine in the Navy. Thank you for the incredible childhood memory recall lol
As an old Army Grunt I will tell you no way in Hades I would ever get into a submarine, even in peace time. These Sailors have my total respect. Your a special breed.
I’m a tour guide for Silversides. I love this boat and am proud to talk about her and the men who went to war in her. She is a very special piece of history. One that you can touch and feel.
I don’t think all engines would be running all the time so there might have been some where that was quiet but yeah probably smelled like grease, diesel and body odor, there was a quote by a German who served on a U-boat and said all the uboats had a “distinct smell of sweat and sh!t”
I was in the Navy on an aircraft carrier and I thought it was cramped. Wow, no way I could have been a submariner in WW2. Deep respect to all the brave souls who fought on those subs.
I think this is the boat I went aboard at the Navy Pier in Chicago in late '79 early '80. It was all torn apart inside and they were just starting to restore it. I was attending the Navy's Electronic "A" school in Great Lakes at the time and a classmate and I were allowed to come aboard and take a look around. I was a submarine volunteer and eventually served on a Sturgeon class boat out of Pearl. The USS Silversides is the first submarine I set foot on. It helped me to appreciate what those sailors went through and how far technology has come for those of us that have followed in their steps.
What is most amazing here is the actual construction methods of such a compact and complex engineering masterpiece so that everything had a purpose and worked without fault.
My qual boat was USS Sennet (SS408) a Balao Class commissioned 1943......very similar. Surprising how much I still can recall about it......my eyes immediately went to 'my' rack and the location (in the passageway of the galley) of the hatch to the sonar room where I spent most of my time......
Glad to see the USS Silversides in my hometown of Muskegon, Mi. She is officially credited with sinking 23 ships, the third-most of any allied World War II submarine. Much respect for the sailors who had to live in such cramped quarters during so dangerous a time.
When I was in sub school Groton Connecticut I toured an old diesel boat and almost withdrew my volunteer status for submarine service,life on a boomer in the mid 80s was pretty nice to be honest .
@@erikrhafer6644 we had fruits and vegetables packed in nitrogen to last longer ,I heard a price of 180 per meal ( idk if that's true or not) all I can say is the food was pretty good and I am a picky eater.when in port the base chow hall served good food also .
I also visited the USS Silversides with my boy scout troop in the 90's and got to sleep overnight when I was a kid. It was a really cool I got to sleep in the officers quarters and my dad got me a bosun's whistle at the giftshop in the museum. I was fascinated by all the meters, knobs and switches and how anyone could know how to operate it all. I also imagined being the seaman who had to sleep under the torpedo.
I spent a little over 25 years in the USN and you could not get me on a sub at gunpoint. I have utmost respect for the men that can and do serve on them.
We go to military museums on nearly every vacation... this boat is absolutely the best example of a working boat I have every seen!! Kudos to the people who take the time to keep this wonder alive!! Thank you!! I will make the trip to see this one is person too!
I've taken my children through the USS Cavalla in Galveston, TX, and it was all I could do to get through it. I knew it was sitting on dry land, but was looking on where to make door to get out if it were to go under water. Those that served on these, had much bigger balls than I would ever have. Much respect to the people that served on these. Nope, I wouldn't be able to it.
I went to sea on the Cavalla for 8 hrs. in 1963. That's 16 dives. I don't know if it had a full crew as it was a school boat at New London. I enjoyed it immensely. The captain gave me carte blanche of the whole boat. Ask any questions. I got to look thru the periscope as we dove, listened to the torpedo chaser boats on sonar. They fired 3 waterslugs and 2 torpedoes. It is a snorkal boat for recharging batterys at periscope depth. I was in the engine room when they did the snorkal thing in 12' sea swells. My ears just about collapsed. I'd do it again in a New York minute.
Silversides was one of the most successful submarines in the Pacific Theater of World War II, with 23 confirmed sinkings, totaling more than 90,000 long tons (91,444 t) of shipping.
Thanks so much. I wish they would allow this to be shown in schools. Remembering the men who gave us our freedoms. I'm a Vietnam veteran. But to do this job was a special breed of men. Thank you again.
In September 1994 I visited USS Growler in New York. Although a man born and raised in a sea place, it was my first time inside a submarine. This video reminded me about the experience very much.
A friend of mine is a retired Chief and served as Chief of the Boat on the John C Calhoun before it was decommissioned in 1994. His father (I forget what his rating was) was on the crew of the Silversides during its final three patrols of WWII, including when it got the last US submarine kill of the war. Very cool to see the Silversides in this video.
This boat is in awesome shape. I walked through a WWII submarine in Baltimore Harbor, and it was in no where near, as good of shape, as this submarine is. God bless the men that have sailed in these cramped,miserable and dangerous weapon of war.
It's simply incredible I can't imagine going to war on one of those steel coffins I have a lot of respect for the guys who served on submarines I understand that they were all volunteers
We used to have this wonderful piece of history at Navy Pier in Chicago,but the city’s politicians wanted an extraordinary amount for docking fees,so across the lake she went.
Yep! That's Chicago alright. It went the way of Meigs Field and the Michael Reese Hospital complex. Money and politics. I know this because I lived there for 55 years.
I live in Muskegon. We also have LST-393. The volunteers that work Silversides and 393 are doing remarkable work. Also occasionally they will start one of the engines.
Very nice. We have the USS Cobia here in Wisconsin, one of the Silversides sister ships. Remarkable boats, and it was VERY surreal to walk through it in person, and imagine that men stood in those compartments in a time of war some 80-odd years ago.
I slept overnight on the silversides, sometime in the mid 90’s. My Cub Scout group took a trip to the sub, and they allowed us to camp out there overnight. Very neat experience
OMG, those first 3 horn noises gave me the chills! I heard those same sounds when our base was under attack with incoming rockets, motars and/or drones while I was deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq! My nerves are going nuts right now! For those that was deployed in those countries for a while know exactly what I am saying!! IDF (indirect Fire) is much more terrifying than being shot at because you most of the time can't see what is coming in around you, whereas with being shot at you can usually tell where it's coming from, although it's terrifying as well but at a much lesser degree in my experience!
I'm glad you're back! Quick question if you may. I've always wondered is it possible to see incoming/outgoing mortar and artillery fire or is that just for effects in games?
@@thatdudewithicecream Not mortars but artillery can be fitted with tracers. I served overseas, we had a dud shell still logged in the ceiling of our chow hall the last time I deployed. Only thing you hear is the sirens followed by the blast or vise versa. Insurgents usually froze the mortars in the top of the tube, when it melts they fall and trigger which most of the time give them time to escape before we launch recon through air support.
Thanks for the tour. Some of the areas look familiar as I’ve seen them in every WW2 submarine movie. Some areas are never shown in the movies though, thanks for showing them to us.
While my father served in the Army from Africa up through Italy to Rome I lost an uncle in the Pacific off Japan on a submarine. Then in high school got to hear the real stories of these boats as my math teacher was submariner in the Pacific.
Thanks for this vid!!.....a submarine seems like a factory squeezed into the smallest tube possible....my admiration to those who managed to be useful in this space/those conditions!!
Thanks for the fascinating video! I've been spending a lot of time playing my favorite old DOS simulator game Silent Service II, using a GATO class submarine. I had no idea what they were like in real life, this made my day!
Even though it is a 1940s technology it is still a mind boggling complicated machine with thousands of parts that needs to work together in harmony. It supports life of 100 people under the ocean at the same with multiple weapons.
@@jont2576 Listed stats are 8 crew members and 72 enlisted men so maybe pay attention before getting all holier than thou and making a fool of yourself.
@@Drimirin look IV seen the movie das boot years ago alright.....no way that claptrap is going to hold 100 people......100 tourists maybe for 30 mins max. Wtf u think this is a bus? If such an internet comment like this got ur ego all hurt and riled up maybe ur the one whose holier than thou.
Thanks much for the tour. I served on the USS Redfish SS-395. Appears to be identical to the Redfish. Not shown was the con. as we called it, but better known as the conning tower. The only other compartments not shown were the forward battery (ward room, officers state room, the CO’s state room and the Chief Petty Officers state room) and the pump room. Also , there was a stainless steel divider between the center bunks in the after battery.
Goddamn that's cool, what an awesome job. Can I ask what position you were in? and when did you serve on her? WW2 or post war? Either way, much respect to you Mr Williams.
It blows my mind thinking of the complexity of these things and the engineering hours that would have gone into to them. The drawing work must have been tedious.
Have you looked into the World War 1 submarines I've always studied War and was fascinated by the Second World War I just for some reason never knew about World War submarines and they are scary it took a whole new breed the amount of fumes these guys would Breathe is insane sleeping under Torpedoes it's just crazy
USS Silversides was quite a playground for me at Monroe Street harbor, Chicago during my 7th and 8th grade years ('59-'60). Years earlier my friend's father had served with the Coast Guard chief that now had duty staying aboard watching over the ship at Monroe Street harbor. We had the run of the ship, even cooked and ate on board; bunked overnight more than once - but the best was using the periscope to sweep over Grant Park and Chicago's skyline - the Prudential building was soo tall!!!
I did a tour when 236 was docked at Navy Pier in Chicago in 1950/60. Very unsure of date. Clastafobia ( can't remember dates or spell) came upon me within 2 minutes. Any person who served deserves the greatest respect. My first dept head at General Motors was a sub commander in WW2 stationed in Australia, J L Martin. Annapolis 1936. If you Google U.S. Subs inWW2 you will find a complete record of every tour of duty every sub made and who was commander. They were all Naval Academy grads starting 193x and each got his ticket for combat so he could be promoted. How many ships each sunk and tonnage. Also did a tour of a B17. That is like hiding in a beer can while people are shooting at you. This would be a scary as a sub, but you got a break after every mission.
Saw the link, wondered what sub they going on... USS Silversides! Hell yeah, been on this sub just about every time I am in Muskegon. Well worth the time and money to go through the museum and the submarine.
A while back I was in Scouts Canada. One year we drove to Michigan for the weekend and slept on the Silversides and the coast guard boat. Such a fun trip.
I’ve spoken with friends who were in the navy and the coast guard. The most important piece of equipment on any sea going military vessel is the coffee maker.
Just reading the cliff notes of this submarines rich service history on wikipedia makes me want to go visit this living museum. I am so glad it was saved and restored as it is a massive piece of history for the USA. Without these machines and the heros that crewed them who knows what the world would look like today.
When you compare crew accommodations between a WW2 German VII submarine, the most common, versus a US WW2 Gato Class submarine, the stark difference makes you think it is almost criminal the way the Kriegsmarine subjected its submariners. The US sub design dedicated extra room to hold a crew's mess of four tables. The German VII sub had none. The German submariners ate in their cramped crew compartment, sitting on their bunks or on the floor. The galley was much larger than the German sub and could store more food and cook more varieties of food in larger quantities. The US sub held two showers while the German sub had none. Sure, two showers for 72 enlisted men and 16 officers is pretty tight, meaning a crewman perhaps got a shower once a week, but it was better than no shower on a two-month patrol. The Kriegsmarine doctrine was that a submarine was strictly a deadly, lethal underwater weapon system for launching torpedoes fore and aft, plus a 75mm deck cannon for surface attack. The crewman were simply aboard to man and operate the submersible weapon system and deck cannon. Accommodations were strictly minimal, to sustain life, that's all. The U.S. submarine force doctrine reflected its long naval maritime history which acknowledged accountability to the American People and constitutional civilian leadership. The American People expected their citizen military servicemen (and later servicewomen) to be treated with a modicum of respect, dignity, and attention to their basic needs and requirements. The U.S. Navy intended mess dining feeding to have at least an acceptable level of comfort, ease, and dignity, hence the dining mess area where submariners could eat in some comfort. The German submariners didn't complain because they didn't know anything better than their Type VII submarines. Though the German submariners were the deadly enemy and they all needed to be destroyed so that final victory over evil could be achieved, there is no denying their courage, élan, esprit de corps, dedication, and ultimately, sacrifice, as the odds turned heavily against them after 1942 and survival became scant chance. Service in a Type VII in 1945 became almost suicidal because few VIIs returned from patrols if ever and there were fewer and fewer subs left to carry out patrols. The VII was clearly obsolescent in 1943. The advanced Type XX1, which could have turned the Battle of the Atlantic back in Germany's favor, did not reach operational deployment until 2 to 3 months before the end of WW2, and then only in a few subs. Ironically, the German Type XX1 matched and even outdid the U.S. Gato submarines in crew comfort and accommodations: finally a crew mess area, improved air conditioning, two showers, a larger galley, two large freezers to store far more perishable food, a true cabin for the captain rather than a large closet space on a VII, and even a separate cabin to accommodate the next two, highest ranking commissioned officers on the XX1.
@@matteo4096 Russians had even worse conditions in the Cold War! Many years ago I could see in Helsinki a Russian Juliet class sub and a Type II like Finnish sub (actually equal to a German Type II sub). The Finnish sub seemed to be much more luxurious than the Russian! It was shocking for me!
You're spot on, this is what I wanted to make people notice: I also remember of seeing a video of a German sub, in comparison to this one in the video it looked like a Fiat Panda would look like compared to a BMW
@@tamasmihaly7572 Not true. Russia built some big ones even in ww2 that looked more Gato than a U boat. Even now, Russian subs have escape capsules , suana's and auto loaders. US ones dont
You forgot to mention anything about the Type IX, which was basically an expanded VII (internally) it was still not AS good, but was not AS bad either.
When I saw the condition of the brass in the forward torpedo rooms, it really jumped out at me. Kudos to the brass crew and to all…even looking at areas like the crew mess all the details are just right and probably look better than when she first entered the fleet!
Ironically I just read my old book “Silversides” by Robert Trumbull. How fascinating to see the real thing. Took me back to when I was a kid never thought the damn thing still still existed much less in such condition.
This is Muskegon Michigan and you can still come tour it! There are a few events a year where you can sleep on it over night and day where they will fire up the diesels. Beuatiful SUB
I spent a full year on SS409 Piper on TAD in the 60s. Came on board as an E 5 Polaris tech off a boomer. Fully qualified and thought I was hot shit. Found out I wasn’t so hot and had the most fun ever!, in my life. Met wonderful people
Back in 74 I was assigned to the USS Francis Scott Key. Ssbn 657. Spent Xmas and New Year's under the water. My boat was clearly alot nicer than one of those. Those old subs were amazing for their day tho
In 197X, did a patrol out of Pearl Harbor to the Sea of Japan (DPRK) aboard the USS Tang. My rack was the port side top one in the forward torpedo room. Passageways were stacked two deep with cases and crates of various food types when we shoved off. Met up with a Royal Navy sub somewhere in the mid-Pacific. Hint: I was a CommO in the Marine Corps. Semper Fi!
A beautiful preservation of this piece of history. I've toured another WW2 sub before, and love the smells you get from these boats. I spent 8 months on a US Navy LSD ship. I actually enjoyed it. Not sure about spending any time on a sub though.
I visited the USS Ling, a museum now in Hackensack NJ. She was a WW2 sub, never saw combat but used for training. I couldn't believe how cramped everything was. God Bless me men who served!
Those crews had more guts than a slaughterhouse. Nearly 1 in 4 of them died during combat operations. It took a special breed to crew those things in WW2.
In relation to a German Type VII submarine, it is a real luxury hotel. The submarines of type IX, which had a similar operational profile as the boats of the Gato class, were less comfortable. The Gato class is a successful design with a lot of consideration for the crew.
Most interesting! When I was a young apprentice Marine Machinest I had the opportunity to work on the last of the diesel boats. One thing I remember quit well was removing the Diesel engines. But the manifolds were on the outside of the engines and a tight positions to work on. They literally Cut parts of those exhaust manifolds to get them out! But the main thing after they were removed I got to bilge dive on the outside of these engines and get free tools that had been dropped over many years buy sailors. I can remember retrieving oil soaked tools from the obis and cleaning them up and using them once again.
Great video!! We took our Cub Scout troop (mid 1990's) for a night's stay on the USS Pampanito SS-38 in San Francisco....I was amazed what how sailors lived on these floating diesel powered machines!! The boat still had fresh fuel onboard so the sub smelled like diesel....I realized I would never have been a bubble head.
Come to Galveston, Texas. Take a walk through the USS Cavala, another WW2 submarine. It is the only intact submarine in the world credited with sinking an aircraft carrier. Hell ya!
The racks in the torpedo room are much more spacious than they were on the last diesel-electric boats the US Navy had, like the USS Bonefish, for example....
I’ve been on the USS Drum and the Sub in Charleston SC, 2 Aircraft Carries and a Battleship. My dad was a SeaBee, Pacific Theatre, WW2. He grew up in a small mining town, lived through the Depression and considered a Ship of any size to be a Luxury ,
The first three numbers of my serial number is 236! When I joined up I opted for the largest ship made which was an aircraft carrier (USS ESSEX)! I knew if I got on a smaller ship I would get sea sick which I did even on the Essex while going through a storm once.
My son and I spent the night on board this sub for Boy Scouts. The dining area in the video makes it look bigger than what it really is. Although, there is more room on her than the German subs. The engines were made there in that city so they are easily worked on. In fact, once a month the engines are still run. The propellers are off but engines still run as smoothly as ever. It was absolutely an amazing night. The parents all sat in the galley drinking coffee and playing cards while the kids slept. For history buffs it is a great time. From what we were told, the boat could still operate which in itself is crazy. She is a beautiful boat.
These guys in WW1&2 who were in these submarines had balls of steel. Cramped. Noisy as hell. And one wrong move and you had an unimaginable death. Today’s submarines are like suites at the Hilton hotel compared to these
Hell, one wrong flush of a toilet could sink you if you didn't take the right steps.
@@Luckiestof13 lol true
@@Luckiestof13 so true, when they explained what you had to do to flush, it confused the hell out of all of us.
My dad served on submarines when I was a kid. He was stationed at Pearl Harbor and I remember getting to tour the U.S.S Bowfin one time.
The engineering for one of these is mindboggling.
I agree, especially when you consider the era. Amazing.
@@Buzz65 and all done with slide rules and note pads.
I do piping for cruiser ships , like the lowest decks and darkest places , and I always think to my self "how the fuck this gonna work" when i see all the pipes , cabels , engines ...
@@Buzz65 Society has gotten dumber and will continue to decline.
Yep. No CAD, no calculators, no 3D modeling. Just a bunch of smart guys with pencil and paper, a good knowledge of math and physics, common sense and the ability to communicate.
I stayed overnight on this boat as a kid while in the Boy Scouts. 10 years later I was on an Active Submarine in the Navy. Thank you for the incredible childhood memory recall lol
As an old Army Grunt I will tell you no way in Hades I would ever get into a submarine, even in peace time. These Sailors have my total respect. Your a special breed.
*you're
I’m a tour guide for Silversides. I love this boat and am proud to talk about her and the men who went to war in her. She is a very special piece of history. One that you can touch and feel.
Truly amazing what our Soldiers endure, in the past and present.
Much Respect.
That’s awesome!! How did it get to Michigan? I’m assuming there’s a river but still :)
I cant imagine 72 enlisted men, those engines and all the other smells and sounds on a full Pacific deployment
I don’t think all engines would be running all the time so there might have been some where that was quiet but yeah probably smelled like grease, diesel and body odor, there was a quote by a German who served on a U-boat and said all the uboats had a “distinct smell of sweat and sh!t”
Just like your bedroom!
72?! But it looks so small! Wow
The crew: 🤢🤮😭😭🤢🤢😭🤮🤢🤮🤮😭😭😭😭😭🤢😭🤢😭😭😭🤢🤢🤢😭🤢😭🤢😭🤢😭🤢😭🤢😭🤢😭🤢😭😭😭🤢🤢🤮😭😭🤮😭😭😭🤢🤢🤮🤮😭😭🤢🤮😭😭😭😭😭😭🤮🤢🤮🤢🤮🤢😭
@@johneratcliff tell your mom to take a bath
Our Father served of this boat. Thanks for the great video.
I was in the Navy on an aircraft carrier and I thought it was cramped. Wow, no way I could have been a submariner in WW2. Deep respect to all the brave souls who fought on those subs.
Don't forget that people were smaller and shorter back then.
You miss the circle jerks in the berthing area!!
@Maggot Oh you heard about her about too huh? Yup "The Harbor Queen" was a beast in her prime.
I was surface fleet as well. CVN-72 the Lincoln.
@@fresatx wanna hot rack after chow shipmate? Meet me in the forward galley we can share midrats together.
I think this is the boat I went aboard at the Navy Pier in Chicago in late '79 early '80. It was all torn apart inside and they were just starting to restore it. I was attending the Navy's Electronic "A" school in Great Lakes at the time and a classmate and I were allowed to come aboard and take a look around. I was a submarine volunteer and eventually served on a Sturgeon class boat out of Pearl. The USS Silversides is the first submarine I set foot on. It helped me to appreciate what those sailors went through and how far technology has come for those of us that have followed in their steps.
My Father was a CPO first class radio/radar operator on the U.S.S. Redfin (Gato Class) sub in the South Pacific 1942. Those guys had a death wish!
@@erichmutchler3262 lucky your uncle wasn’t on the sub when it left port
CPO 1st class is a royal Canadian navy rank.
The sacrifices made - just being “trapped” for weeks in this tube - not to mention the fear of being hunted -or imploding. God bless our submariners
That is absolutely immaculate.....a lot of pride and respect shown in that Submarine 👏👏👏👍
What is most amazing here is the actual construction methods of such a compact and complex engineering masterpiece so that everything had a purpose and worked without fault.
I served in five Boats - two Diesel Boats, the Quillback and the T-1. Also, three SSN's - Pargo, Trepang, and Bergall.
I was on a Sub Tender!
i served on a type VII, type IX and type XXI in silent hunter 3.
@@Abensberg Alright, knock it off!
My qual boat was USS Sennet (SS408) a Balao Class commissioned 1943......very similar. Surprising how much I still can recall about it......my eyes immediately went to 'my' rack and the location (in the passageway of the galley) of the hatch to the sonar room where I spent most of my time......
What years or year were you on that boat? Is it in your dreams often?
Glad to see the USS Silversides in my hometown of Muskegon, Mi. She is officially credited with sinking 23 ships, the third-most of any allied World War II submarine. Much respect for the sailors who had to live in such cramped quarters during so dangerous a time.
When I was in sub school Groton Connecticut I toured an old diesel boat and almost withdrew my volunteer status for submarine service,life on a boomer in the mid 80s was pretty nice to be honest .
Great food I understand ?
@@erikrhafer6644 we had fruits and vegetables packed in nitrogen to last longer ,I heard a price of 180 per meal ( idk if that's true or not) all I can say is the food was pretty good and I am a picky eater.when in port the base chow hall served good food also .
@@Thadude701 my cousin was on a boomer in the 80's, he came home chubby said it was the food on board that did it...
I also visited the USS Silversides with my boy scout troop in the 90's and got to sleep overnight when I was a kid. It was a really cool I got to sleep in the officers quarters and my dad got me a bosun's whistle at the giftshop in the museum. I was fascinated by all the meters, knobs and switches and how anyone could know how to operate it all. I also imagined being the seaman who had to sleep under the torpedo.
I spent a little over 25 years in the USN and you could not get me on a sub at gunpoint. I have utmost respect for the men that can and do serve on them.
This is luxurious when you compare it to the German Type VII submarines
We go to military museums on nearly every vacation... this boat is absolutely the best example of a working boat I have every seen!! Kudos to the people who take the time to keep this wonder alive!! Thank you!! I will make the trip to see this one is person too!
Fantastic video, no ignorant music and the sound of the ocean adds great reverence for those who served her, well done.
I've taken my children through the USS Cavalla in Galveston, TX, and it was all I could do to get through it. I knew it was sitting on dry land, but was looking on where to make door to get out if it were to go under water. Those that served on these, had much bigger balls than I would ever have. Much respect to the people that served on these. Nope, I wouldn't be able to it.
I went to sea on the Cavalla for 8 hrs. in 1963. That's 16 dives. I don't know if it had a full crew as it was a school boat at New London. I enjoyed it immensely. The captain gave me carte blanche of the whole boat. Ask any questions. I got to look thru the periscope as we dove, listened to the torpedo chaser boats on sonar. They fired 3 waterslugs and 2 torpedoes. It is a snorkal boat for recharging batterys at periscope depth. I was in the engine room when they did the snorkal thing in 12' sea swells. My ears just about collapsed. I'd do it again in a New York minute.
Amazing quality, quiet and respectful walkthrough, so we can focus on the fascinating machine instead of personalities. thank you Heinz
Silversides was one of the most successful submarines in the Pacific Theater of World War II, with 23 confirmed sinkings, totaling more than 90,000 long tons (91,444 t) of shipping.
Japs were lucky not to see U boats, they sank millions of tons.
Thanks so much. I wish they would allow this to be shown in schools. Remembering the men who gave us our freedoms. I'm a Vietnam veteran. But to do this job was a special breed of men. Thank you again.
In September 1994 I visited USS Growler in New York. Although a man born and raised in a sea place, it was my first time inside a submarine. This video reminded me about the experience very much.
A friend of mine is a retired Chief and served as Chief of the Boat on the John C Calhoun before it was decommissioned in 1994. His father (I forget what his rating was) was on the crew of the Silversides during its final three patrols of WWII, including when it got the last US submarine kill of the war. Very cool to see the Silversides in this video.
This boat is in awesome shape. I walked through a WWII submarine in Baltimore Harbor, and it was in no where near, as good of shape, as this submarine is. God bless the men that have sailed in these cramped,miserable and dangerous weapon of war.
Compared to a U Boat this was pleasant.
It's simply incredible I can't imagine going to war on one of those steel coffins I have a lot of respect for the guys who served on submarines I understand that they were all volunteers
The Gerrman subs were the real definition of coffins as the vast majority were sunk taking their brave crews to their deaths.
We used to have this wonderful piece of history at Navy Pier in Chicago,but the city’s politicians wanted an extraordinary amount for docking fees,so across the lake she went.
Yep! That's Chicago alright. It went the way of Meigs Field and the Michael Reese Hospital complex. Money and politics. I know this because I lived there for 55 years.
Nice job, held the camera well and moved at a good slow speed. Felt like I was there walking through it.
I live in Muskegon. We also have LST-393. The volunteers that work Silversides and 393 are doing remarkable work. Also occasionally they will start one of the engines.
Thanks for the tour. Jon, Torsk Bandit, Cavalla Bilge Rat, Cod paint chipper and Skimmer- Minesweeps.
Very nice. We have the USS Cobia here in Wisconsin, one of the Silversides sister ships. Remarkable boats, and it was VERY surreal to walk through it in person, and imagine that men stood in those compartments in a time of war some 80-odd years ago.
I slept overnight on the silversides, sometime in the mid 90’s. My Cub Scout group took a trip to the sub, and they allowed us to camp out there overnight. Very neat experience
A long while ago in the cub scouts we spent the night in this sub. Surprisingly cozy.
Me: "Grandpa, what did you do during the WW2?"
Grandpa: „I slept next to a frickin’ Torpedo!”
Much more preferable than as far away from them. If they blow up inside the sub, you're dead before you can register pain.
Had the opportunity to stay the night on the USS Silversides with the boy scouts. Fun memories playing risk in the mess room.
Me to and my dad did not have a bed so he slep in the chained torpedo area
I did too in the 1980's. Those bunks are not suitable for those over six feet tall. Good memories. I slept in the triple high section.
OMG, those first 3 horn noises gave me the chills! I heard those same sounds when our base was under attack with incoming rockets, motars and/or drones while I was deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq! My nerves are going nuts right now! For those that was deployed in those countries for a while know exactly what I am saying!! IDF (indirect Fire) is much more terrifying than being shot at because you most of the time can't see what is coming in around you, whereas with being shot at you can usually tell where it's coming from, although it's terrifying as well but at a much lesser degree in my experience!
I'm glad you're back! Quick question if you may. I've always wondered is it possible to see incoming/outgoing mortar and artillery fire or is that just for effects in games?
@@thatdudewithicecream Not mortars but artillery can be fitted with tracers. I served overseas, we had a dud shell still logged in the ceiling of our chow hall the last time I deployed. Only thing you hear is the sirens followed by the blast or vise versa. Insurgents usually froze the mortars in the top of the tube, when it melts they fall and trigger which most of the time give them time to escape before we launch recon through air support.
I saw this beautiful warrior boat a few years back and some day will take the tour next time I am down there. Thank you, Heinz!
Thanks for the tour. Some of the areas look familiar as I’ve seen them in every WW2 submarine movie. Some areas are never shown in the movies though, thanks for showing them to us.
While my father served in the Army from Africa up through Italy to Rome I lost an uncle in the Pacific off Japan on a submarine. Then in high school got to hear the real stories of these boats as my math teacher was submariner in the Pacific.
Sheer terror the stories inside these things.
Thanks for this vid!!.....a submarine seems like a factory squeezed into the smallest tube possible....my admiration to those who managed to be useful in this space/those conditions!!
Thanks for the fascinating video! I've been spending a lot of time playing my favorite old DOS simulator game Silent Service II, using a GATO class submarine. I had no idea what they were like in real life, this made my day!
Even though it is a 1940s technology it is still a mind boggling complicated machine with thousands of parts that needs to work together in harmony. It supports life of 100 people under the ocean at the same with multiple weapons.
yeah .. and if you look at 2:35 .. top-right , they had flat screens already ;)
100 people??lol what?this is a wwii submarine not the goddam titanic.
@@jont2576 Listed stats are 8 crew members and 72 enlisted men so maybe pay attention before getting all holier than thou and making a fool of yourself.
@@Drimirin look IV seen the movie das boot years ago alright.....no way that claptrap is going to hold 100 people......100 tourists maybe for 30 mins max.
Wtf u think this is a bus?
If such an internet comment like this got ur ego all hurt and riled up maybe ur the one whose holier than thou.
@@jont2576 Lmao, okay Mr movie expert.
Immaculately preserved.
Thanks much for the tour. I served on the USS Redfish SS-395. Appears to be identical to the Redfish. Not shown was the con. as we called it, but better known as the conning tower. The only other compartments not shown were the forward battery (ward room, officers state room, the CO’s state room and the Chief Petty Officers state room) and the pump room. Also , there was a stainless steel divider between the center bunks in the after battery.
Goddamn that's cool, what an awesome job. Can I ask what position you were in? and when did you serve on her? WW2 or post war? Either way, much respect to you Mr Williams.
@@yeahno6100 : Hello - I served on the redfish in 1961 & 1962. Thanks…
thank you for the walk through. Reminds me of the USS Cavalla SS244 in Galveston TX, it is a Gato Class also
It blows my mind thinking of the complexity of these things and the engineering hours that would have gone into to them. The drawing work must have been tedious.
Even more fascinating that it was built only 70 years after the end of the civil war, it’s amazing how fast technology progresses
@@mikeg2491 Yes, quite a step forward from the Hunley!
Have you looked into the World War 1 submarines I've always studied War and was fascinated by the Second World War I just for some reason never knew about World War submarines and they are scary it took a whole new breed the amount of fumes these guys would Breathe is insane sleeping under Torpedoes it's just crazy
I take my hat off to a WWII submarine cook. Imagine having to cook three meals a day on board an active submarine on duty off the coast of Japan.
I did a road trip to there. Awesome place to visit. Museum next to the sub was awesome too.
USS Silversides was quite a playground for me at Monroe Street harbor, Chicago during my 7th and 8th grade years ('59-'60). Years earlier my friend's father had served with the Coast Guard chief that now had duty staying aboard watching over the ship at Monroe Street harbor. We had the run of the ship, even cooked and ate on board; bunked overnight more than once - but the best was using the periscope to sweep over Grant Park and Chicago's skyline - the Prudential building was soo tall!!!
Nice video, thanks for sharing. Reminds me of USS Cobia, another Gato class, over in Manitowoc, WI.
I did a tour when 236 was docked at Navy Pier in Chicago in 1950/60. Very unsure of date.
Clastafobia ( can't remember dates or spell) came upon me within 2 minutes. Any person who served deserves the greatest respect.
My first dept head at General Motors was a sub commander in WW2 stationed in Australia, J L Martin. Annapolis 1936. If you Google U.S. Subs inWW2 you will find a complete record of every tour of duty every sub made and who was commander. They were all Naval Academy grads starting 193x and each got his ticket for combat so he could be promoted. How many ships each sunk and tonnage.
Also did a tour of a B17. That is like hiding in a beer can while people are shooting at you. This would be a scary as a sub, but you got a break after every mission.
In case you were wondering, that background noise is from Lake Michigan...some times of the year the water is pretty choppy.
Saw the link, wondered what sub they going on... USS Silversides!
Hell yeah, been on this sub just about every time I am in Muskegon. Well worth the time and money to go through the museum and the submarine.
A while back I was in Scouts Canada. One year we drove to Michigan for the weekend and slept on the Silversides and the coast guard boat. Such a fun trip.
Did the same when it was at Navy Pier in Chicago.
You didn’t post this for me, but thank you, I’m glad you did. It was a great look into a real WWII sub.
I’ve spoken with friends who were in the navy and the coast guard. The most important piece of equipment on any sea going military vessel is the coffee maker.
Just read "The War Below" and the USS Silversides and a few other subs were the focus along with their various Captains. Good book.
Just reading the cliff notes of this submarines rich service history on wikipedia makes me want to go visit this living museum. I am so glad it was saved and restored as it is a massive piece of history for the USA. Without these machines and the heros that crewed them who knows what the world would look like today.
When you compare crew accommodations between a WW2 German VII submarine, the most common, versus a US WW2 Gato Class submarine, the stark difference makes you think it is almost criminal the way the Kriegsmarine subjected its submariners.
The US sub design dedicated extra room to hold a crew's mess of four tables. The German VII sub had none. The German submariners ate in their cramped crew compartment, sitting on their bunks or on the floor. The galley was much larger than the German sub and could store more food and cook more varieties of food in larger quantities. The US sub held two showers while the German sub had none. Sure, two showers for 72 enlisted men and 16 officers is pretty tight, meaning a crewman perhaps got a shower once a week, but it was better than no shower on a two-month patrol.
The Kriegsmarine doctrine was that a submarine was strictly a deadly, lethal underwater weapon system for launching torpedoes fore and aft, plus a 75mm deck cannon for surface attack. The crewman were simply aboard to man and operate the submersible weapon system and deck cannon. Accommodations were strictly minimal, to sustain life, that's all.
The U.S. submarine force doctrine reflected its long naval maritime history which acknowledged accountability to the American People and constitutional civilian leadership. The American People expected their citizen military servicemen (and later servicewomen) to be treated with a modicum of respect, dignity, and attention to their basic needs and requirements. The U.S. Navy intended mess dining feeding to have at least an acceptable level of comfort, ease, and dignity, hence the dining mess area where submariners could eat in some comfort.
The German submariners didn't complain because they didn't know anything better than their Type VII submarines. Though the German submariners were the deadly enemy and they all needed to be destroyed so that final victory over evil could be achieved, there is no denying their courage, élan, esprit de corps, dedication, and ultimately, sacrifice, as the odds turned heavily against them after 1942 and survival became scant chance. Service in a Type VII in 1945 became almost suicidal because few VIIs returned from patrols if ever and there were fewer and fewer subs left to carry out patrols.
The VII was clearly obsolescent in 1943. The advanced Type XX1, which could have turned the Battle of the Atlantic back in Germany's favor, did not reach operational deployment until 2 to 3 months before the end of WW2, and then only in a few subs.
Ironically, the German Type XX1 matched and even outdid the U.S. Gato submarines in crew comfort and accommodations: finally a crew mess area, improved air conditioning, two showers, a larger galley, two large freezers to store far more perishable food, a true cabin for the captain rather than a large closet space on a VII, and even a separate cabin to accommodate the next two, highest ranking commissioned officers on the XX1.
The German never complaint because knew that the Italians were in a far worst condition then them
@@matteo4096 Russians had even worse conditions in the Cold War! Many years ago I could see in Helsinki a Russian Juliet class sub and a Type II like Finnish sub (actually equal to a German Type II sub). The Finnish sub seemed to be much more luxurious than the Russian! It was shocking for me!
You're spot on, this is what I wanted to make people notice: I also remember of seeing a video of a German sub, in comparison to this one in the video it looked like a Fiat Panda would look like compared to a BMW
@@tamasmihaly7572 Not true. Russia built some big ones even in ww2 that looked more Gato than a U boat. Even now, Russian subs have escape capsules , suana's and auto loaders. US ones dont
You forgot to mention anything about the Type IX, which was basically an expanded VII (internally) it was still not AS good, but was not AS bad either.
When I saw the condition of the brass in the forward torpedo rooms, it really jumped out at me. Kudos to the brass crew and to all…even looking at areas like the crew mess all the details are just right and probably look better than when she first entered the fleet!
All the "Brightwork" had to be polished like that.
Awesome video tour!
Absolutely amazing and stunning seeing how technology has advanced over the years
Used to live on a Trident SSBN. 5-star hotel compared to those accommodations. Brings back memories. :)
Ironically I just read my old book “Silversides” by Robert Trumbull. How fascinating to see the real thing. Took me back to when I was a kid never thought the damn thing still still existed much less in such condition.
This is Muskegon Michigan and you can still come tour it! There are a few events a year where you can sleep on it over night and day where they will fire up the diesels. Beuatiful SUB
Heinz, Thank You So Much!
I spent a full year on SS409 Piper on TAD in the 60s. Came on board as an E 5 Polaris tech off a boomer. Fully qualified and thought I was hot shit. Found out I wasn’t so hot and had the most fun ever!, in my life. Met wonderful people
Back in 74 I was assigned to the USS Francis Scott Key. Ssbn 657. Spent Xmas and New Year's under the water. My boat was clearly alot nicer than one of those. Those old subs were amazing for their day tho
In 197X, did a patrol out of Pearl Harbor to the Sea of Japan (DPRK) aboard the USS Tang. My rack was the port side top one in the forward torpedo room. Passageways were stacked two deep with cases and crates of various food types when we shoved off. Met up with a Royal Navy sub somewhere in the mid-Pacific. Hint: I was a CommO in the Marine Corps. Semper Fi!
I’ve visited this sub, I was impressed at the condition it’s in compared to other museums/ vessels I’ve been to.
From the Draftsman's pencil to production an astonishing work of art !
I spent 22 years in the Navy...only went to sea on a carrier...and I thought I had it tough! BZ to the sailors on this boat!
Wow. Never thought that the Gato class is so big. There is so much space in it. 3 Toilets? Pure Luxury.
A beautiful preservation of this piece of history. I've toured another WW2 sub before, and love the smells you get from these boats. I spent 8 months on a US Navy LSD ship. I actually enjoyed it. Not sure about spending any time on a sub though.
I visited the USS Ling, a museum now in Hackensack NJ. She was a WW2 sub, never saw combat but used for training. I couldn't believe how cramped everything was. God Bless me men who served!
Those crews had more guts than a slaughterhouse. Nearly 1 in 4 of them died during combat operations. It took a special breed to crew those things in WW2.
That was awesome, thank you!
Wow, that tour is awesome. Like that'll b the closest thing of being there w/o being actually there. Thx 4 sharing on Utube.
Thanks for a quick very informative tour..great job
In relation to a German Type VII submarine, it is a real luxury hotel. The submarines of type IX, which had a similar operational profile as the boats of the Gato class, were less comfortable. The Gato class is a successful design with a lot of consideration for the crew.
The big advantage of USN subs was the air conditioning which kept the boat somewhat comfortable. Not sure the Germans had that.
@@99somerville Germans didn't even have refrigerator
@@99somerville I heard that the German subs operating from Singapore were uncomfortable to be in, due to the hot climate.
Most interesting! When I was a young apprentice Marine Machinest I had the opportunity to work on the last of the diesel boats. One thing I remember quit well was removing the Diesel engines. But the manifolds were on the outside of the engines and a tight positions to work on. They literally Cut parts of those exhaust manifolds to get them out! But the main thing after they were removed I got to bilge dive on the outside of these engines and get free tools that had been dropped over many years buy sailors. I can remember retrieving oil soaked tools from the obis and cleaning them up and using them once again.
Great video!! We took our Cub Scout troop (mid 1990's) for a night's stay on the USS Pampanito SS-38 in San Francisco....I was amazed what how sailors lived on these floating diesel powered machines!! The boat still had fresh fuel onboard so the sub smelled like diesel....I realized I would never have been a bubble head.
Awesome!! I've passed by this submarine numerous times while boating and always wondered what it was like inside!! Thank you for the videos!
Come to Galveston, Texas. Take a walk through the USS Cavala, another WW2 submarine. It is the only intact submarine in the world credited with sinking an aircraft carrier. Hell ya!
It takes an awful lot of hits and to sink an aircraft carrier.
The green bunk covers are called “Flash Covers.” The purpose is resist catching fire if a fire occurs on the sub.
Thank. you for the tour!
That was pretty cool. I used to camp, fish & hunt near Muskegon. I never knew that sub was there. Thanks so much.
The racks in the torpedo room are much more spacious than they were on the last diesel-electric boats the US Navy had, like the USS Bonefish, for example....
Coolest video I've seen on RUclips in a very long time
I’ve been on the USS Drum and the Sub in Charleston SC, 2 Aircraft Carries and a Battleship.
My dad was a SeaBee, Pacific Theatre, WW2.
He grew up in a small mining town, lived through the Depression and considered a Ship of any size to be a Luxury
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Fantastic! What a polished machine! Thanks for the video!
An amazing work of engineering and construction.
The first three numbers of my serial number is 236! When I joined up I opted for the largest ship made which was an aircraft carrier (USS ESSEX)! I knew if I got on a smaller ship I would get sea sick which I did even on the Essex while going through a storm once.
You can also see SS-343 CLAMAGORE in Mount Pleasant SC along with the Yorktown CV-10. It is a cool experience.
BTW, Thankyou Heinz!