Geoffrey Morrison/CNETA lake, even one of the Great Lakes, is n’t the first place you ‘d look for a bomber. So what ‘s a WWII submarine doing in a bantam town on the shore of Lake Michigan ? I decided to find out. The town of Manitowoc is roughly halfway up Wisconsin ‘s coast. It has an about seaside feel to it, with a marina, breakwater and an overall vibration that ‘s decidedly “ coastal vacation town. ” It was n’t constantly that way. As the erstwhile home of Manitowoc Shipbuilding, not only were WWII landing craft built here, many of which were used in the invasion of Normandy, but besides minesweepers, merchant craft, ferries and, amazingly enough, submarines .
twenty-eight Gato- and Balao-class submarines were born in Manitowoc during the war. It ‘s the lone place in the US to launch submarines sideway into the urine. Though the USS Cobia, a Gato-class, was built in Connecticut, it was given to the city as an model of the Gato class. today it ‘s a museum thus, you guessed it, I had a look about.
Catshark
The USS Cobia was launched in November, 1943 and soon made its manner to the Pacific Ocean for its first of six war patrols. It was finely suited for its role. The Gato-class ships, named after a species of shark, were some of the largest of the earned run average. While this made them less maneuverable and slower to dive than their japanese adversaries, they made up for that in other ways. Twenty-four torpedoes sat ready to launch from 10 tubes ( six bow and four aft ). On deck were two anti-aircraft cannons and a big 3-inch, 50-caliber deck accelerator to attack targets besides little for torpedoes .
Geoffrey Morrison/CNET Its size besides allowed for some surprise luxuries for the crew, possibly the most luminary being air condition. With 70 men and four V16 diesels in a tight, enclose space, inflame inside was going to be an emergence. While AC could make the environment more pleasant for the men, it was the machines and electronics that benefited most. condensation could lead to electric shorts, which could lead to might outages or worse, fires. Keeping the humidity relatively humble was a huge boost for dependability vitamin a well as quilt. After the war the Cobia was briefly decommissioned, before being recommissioned in the early 1950s to act as a education ship. In that character she served for another 20 years, finally ending up at the Naval Reserve Center in Milwaukee before being decommissioned for the concluding clock time and towed to where she is immediately, at the talk of the Manitowoc river .
Geoffrey Morrison/CNET
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The Cobia is in antic condition for a submarine of its era, speaking to the care and feat being put into maintaining such a historic vessel. The enlistment, guided only, starts in the forward bomber room, making its way past the policeman ‘s quarters, through the operate room, and on through the galley, mess, crew ‘s quarters, locomotive rooms, and finally at the aft bomber board. Like most subs, stairs have been added and you enter and exit through holes cut in the hulls .
Wisconsin Maritime Museum
Though the Cobia is the main attraction of the museum, inside are several smaller boats, along with engines, all of which have particular significance to the area and its shipbuilding history. In the spring and summer the Wisconsin Maritime Museum is open every day, and Thursday through Sunday in the fall and winter. It ‘s a adorable little museum, with a well-maintained WWII bomber. If you ‘re not headed to Wisconsin any time soon, check out the gallery above for a look inside the museum and the USS Cobia.
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equally good as covering television receiver and other display technical school, Geoff does photo tours of cool museums and locations around the world, including nuclear submarines, massive aircraft carriers, medieval castles, epic 10,000 nautical mile road trips, and more. Check out Tech Treks for all his tours and adventures. He wrote a bestselling sci-fi fresh about city-size submarines, along with a sequel. You can follow his adventures on Instagram and his YouTube distribution channel .
