"USS DRUM" SS 228

I suppose it’s cold everywhere. It rained in Baton Rouge last night; the droplets on the roof of my car were puddled up and frozen this morning. North Dakota was way-below zero, Chicago was just, below zero and the Gulf Coast was nothing but chattering teeth, all the way from Baton Rouge, east. In Mobile, I-10 curves down under, through the channel tunnel and then across the causeway over Mobile bay. Coming out of the tunnel, off to the right, you see the USS Alabama, BB-60, battle ship from WWII. It’s berthed there at Battle Ship Memorial Park. Every time I drive this route I say to myself, “One time, maybe next time, I’ll stop and visit BB-60." You know that nuclear powered aircraft carriers are big but they’re not 75-yrs old. The Alabama is big. From the highway it’s a mile away and the big guns jut out so you can’t, not notice. 

Down into the tunnel, lights on, up and out the other side, look to the right and there it is. “One time, maybe next time. . . what the heck, I’ve got time.” So I drop off on the exit and loop back to the park. To my surprise they have an aircraft hanger full of war birds and a submarine on display. They had a great display on the  (Tuskegee Airmen, 332nd Fighter Group, the Red Tails). I know a man who knows somebody who flew in WWII and told him the Red Tails were actually incompetent cowards and their war record was a conspiracy, hatched by Eleanor Roosevelt. He wanted to perpetuate that racist rhetoric. I didn’t respond; it was his house. The subject changed and we talked about something else. Most of those old pilots are gone now but they had them on film and the interviews were awesome. On the battle ship, it was cold and windy, not many visitors. I was more than impressed with the height of the super structure and the size of the big gun turrets. The BB’s carried two single engine sea planes, launched off catapults and retrieved with small cranes off the fantail. I imagined hundreds of sailors scurrying up and down ladders, from duty stations to battle stations. The big guns could hurl a one-ton, explosive projectile 21 miles and the decks were covered with smaller cannons, anti-aircraft and machine gun mounts. I liked the BB but big doors and high ceilings made it seem little more than a big, steel building with lots weird shape rooms and bristling with fire power. 

USS DRUM SS 228 was bigger than I thought a WWII submarine would be. I was impressed with tiny hatches and cramped spaces. Enlisted men had to keep the clothes they weren't wearing under their mattress, with only inches between them and the bunk above. The idea of being submerged in there with 60 other people, fighting a war, was disturbing in itself. They had a big gun on deck but their muscle was the torpedoes. “Drum” was highly decorated through 11 patrols in the Pacific. Working my way back from the officers quarters, through the control areas, engine room and torpedo rooms, you feel how much , out-of-their-element they were. I am comfortable with my smart phone technology, take it for granted. The dash board in the control room featured dials and levers that looked more like going to sea in a bath tub, with a pipe wrench. 

It was a nice little break and I got some exercise. Battle ships are impressive and I love airplanes but if you ever get a chance to go through a submarine, take it. I got into Pensacola before dark and will be in Naples, FL tomorrow night.