Manitowoc Maritime Museum. 1/1 Scale Gato class Submarine USS Cobia

Sallying forth from Madison, WI, Boat-tail 712 clears out of MSN TCA for rapid transit to points north along the sunny shores of Lake Michigan.

Along the way, I find my very own road. There seems a small error in spelling.
Having been invited to overnite with the Karolus in thier lakeside home, we stopped to find a jug of vino for Mark's missus, Donna. Pino Grigio and supplies are procured.

Drive to Mainitowoc to buy rum from Fiji and Vodka from Latvia. Well, it is a port city! We find the Museum on the Manitowoc river where it meets Lake Michigan, then off to lunch! (Manitowoc, translated from Ojibwa is Dwelling of the Great Spirit.)
Mark Karolus' recommendation for lunch in Manitowoc is the Courthouse Pub.

The self-explanatory sign out front explains my friend's fondness for this eatery.

We encounter "Fancy" food, yet again, far from Madison. "Fish and Chips"! No compote or vegan Thank yew Lord! The Pub brews their own Root beer and serves it in a frosty mug. Tasty! My sweetie's burger was good too. No compote or vegan gouda aioli.

I came back from a head call and found this on the table. I start looking for what Barney Fife might have delivered such a thing! Inside is the check.
Waitress Sakkaura got the "Tourists" this time! Fun place! Speedy service, Comfy booth with a view of the courthouse. $50.00 for lunch seemed spendy but, when in Manitowoc...........

This is not a screw from the submarine. This is from a Great Lakes ship. The blade was damaged in heavy ice. I SWEAR I did not break it!

Along the waterfront....

There she is. SS-245 USS Cobia. The real thing! Along the waterfront is also the 65-foot staysail schooner Utopia out of Sturgeon Bay, WI. The Great Lakes Carferry SS Badger loads in the background for her next run to Ludington MI. Summer round-trip tickets for the SS Badger are $196.00 per car/minivan. It's a 4 Hour voyage.

More to come!

Interesting that the ferry trip is listed as part of US Hwy 10.
$50 lunch for two is about norm now.
I'd do the catfish taco please.

Now your tour begins. Forward torpedo room, with electric torpedo firing repeater. If the light doesn't go green, firing the torpedo manually is necessary.

Forward Head and Officer's wardroom. Captain's cabin, Officer's quarters.

Chief's quarters, Yeoman's office and watertight hatch to the control room. Swing through these. Don't bark your shins and conk your noggin!

Electric distribution panel, depth gauge (Early one. Only goes to 150 feet. US Navy Gato class designed max depth was 300 feet. Some boats under attack survived to 500 feet below the surface. ) Vents and exhaust control console. All hull openings must be closed (Green lights on) before diving the boat. "Straight Green Board, sir!"
"Very well, Diving officer, submerge the ship. Make your depth 100 feet, smartly!"

Planesman's stations. Navigator on the stern plane wheel. Helm: (controls the rudder) and gyro compass repeater. Gyro compass binnacle.

Watertight hatch and ladder to the conning tower. I don't know what that sign means. Engineer's electrical panel. This directs the maneuvering room to send DC current from the generators to batteries, electric motors and other vital electrical systems. Compressed air manifolds and valves. All the valve wheels are missing. No letting the air out of this Lady. Ballast tank compressed air manifold and gauges. Some valve handles remain along with extra cans of lard.

Way nice ! you know i like a good sub

Radar equipment. This is classified. Radio/code room. Galley and enlisted mess deck. If you pass gas in here, a sonarman on a Fast Attack boat might say "It sounded an explosion. Sir."

Engine room door. Not watertight. Period correct US Navy display. Enlisted sailor's washroom and head.

Piet said:

Way nice ! you know i like a good sub

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Don't we all?!

Fore and aft engine rooms. "Good morning, Mr. Fairbanks-Morse!" In truth these engines are the later GM 16-278A 40 degree diesel V-8 engines. My mistake. They differ from left to right. None of this is my gear, so I may not be able identify everything in here. The GM cylinders and pistons can be removed separately for easy repair underway. It is all spotless and impressive.

USS Cobia was commissioned 29 March 1944. She looks great for an 80-year-old! It's the hard work of volunteers that keep her in such great shape.

Maneuvering room controls for the generators and 4 high-speed electric motors that turn the screws. Propellers for you new men.
Machinists locker and after torpedo room watertight hatch and head. Another historical display of WWII gear. After escape trunk.
I told Mark these durn signs don't do any good.
Some people climb right up there!

After torpedo room and Mk. 13 21-inch torpedoes. Tube 9 is open on both ends (a serious submarine no-no!) above the waterline and you can see USS Cobia battle flag in it. The ladder leads up the modified aft torpedo loading hatch to the boat's afterdeck.


40mm Bofors cannon, Oerlikon 20mm and mk. 2 3" .50 caliber cannon, all 1/1 scale. In one picture someone emulates the steely-eyed submarine gunnery officer. we both goofed off with the 3-incher. Oh! Ted Nugent did call. He wants his shirt back. Teresa was glad to be topside again. Without shore power, Cobia's air conditioning is not operating.

We went inside the Museum to enjoy some a/c and relax sore knees and hips. Vacation is hard on us.

"Torpedo Juice" has changed since WWII. This is tasty root beer. We kinda knew T. fit through the hatches already.
Inside the museum were a great many other attractions.

Fresnel lens from a WI lighthouse, a hull section from the schooner River city and a model of the same vessel.

Great Lakes passenger ships and Ore freighter models.

OH LOOKEE! A YMS-155 model! Can anyone guess what else is gonna happen sometime soon? I already make a 1/700 Calypso and I'm working on John Wayne's yacht, the 1969 Wild Goose. Both vessels are converted from the little Yard class minesweeper.

We had a really nice visit! I was really excited to visit the Museum I had been donating $$ to for the last 3 years. We bought some sub trickets and gifts and then Teresa lacked the ability to continue Life without one of these of her very own:

A glass blown globe whisky decanter with a clipper ship inside it and an included set of globe glasses with the storage locker and serving tray.
I had never seen such a thing before!
See you another day USS Cobia and museum friends! Thanks for having us over. I don't when we've had such a nice time!
Thanks for looking in!

Cool beans. I did the tour of the Gatto Class sub in Pearl Harbour back in 64 I think. Was very interesting and so big until they mentioned how many crew and all of a sudden it felt very claustrophobic.
James

Ja! 60 men inside that steel tube would have been cozy indeed!

Teresa wondered out loud if the 8th street drawbridge in Manitowoc still worked.

Evidently it do! SS St. Mary's Challenger, built in 1906, bound for Charlevoix, Michigan with a cargo of lime or cement.
The tug is a separate vessel, but she fits into the stern of the cargo ship (barge?) and has a pic-nic table for open air dining!
Obviously, no expense has been spared for these Great Lakes stalwarts!

Looks right at home!

Good stuff Chris.

Rhino said:

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A glass blown globe whisky decanter with a clipper ship inside it and an included set of globe glasses with the storage locker and serving tray.
I had never seen such a thing before!

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I got a set like that for my son a few years back. I really want to get one for me. Got a 15 year old Scotch I could put in it, but nowhere to safely stow it that the cats wouldnt try and kill it.
James

And some museum quality models on display.

jknaus said:

I got a set like that for my son a few years back. I really want to get one for me. Got a 15 year old Scotch I could put in it, but nowhere to safely stow it that the cats wouldnt try and kill it.
James

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The decanter set was $125.00. Ours is safely stored away until all the tornado repairs are done. Teresa loves a Globe and a sailing ship!
You can probably order the same thing cheaper on-line, but all of our purchases support the museum, so she bought it here.

moon puppy said:

And some museum quality models on display.

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I might have walked up inside the Clipper City schooner hull section when no one was looking. I am studying Naval Architecture so I had to have a closer look. In the interest of Science, of course.

Here's how all y'all can do a small part for Mark's submarine. She's due to for a drydocking and paint job in 2025.
Having toured the Boat, I can see all the $$ I've sent over the years was well spent. I even won a prize!
Click the linkie and see what you think! Every little bit helps keep USS Cobia in fighting trim.