Take a Tour of the USS Razorback, A Fantastic Submarine.
Arguably the longest-serving submarine still existing in the world, having been commissioned by two different countries for 57 years of active duty, the U.S.S Razorback's permanent home is not on or in the sea but by the banks of the Arkansas River in North Little Rock. Let's venture out to the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum and explore within this nifty submarine. Grav Weldon's remarkable photos showcase the USS Razorback from the inside.
Grav Weldon and I took an end-to-end tour of the submarine. It involved going in through one airlock and down into the belly of the submarine. Sorry, folks - it's not accessible for those who cannot climb a ladder. There's a nifty museum attached, though.
This is the rear of the sub. Those are torpedo tubes. And yes, those are bunks you see to top left and right. The Razoback is 311'7" but it's full of everything from the electronics and pneumatics needed to run the ship to all the things needed to keep a crew going. It didn't leave much room for the crew - which could be up to 99 men.
While there was a designated bunk area, there were also these sling-style bunks wherever they would fit. There were far more men than bunks back when the USS Razorback was put into service, so when one guy was on duty another was catching kip in his bunk.
As you can imagine, this room held major importance.
There were a total of 74 bunks on board, so the crews typically "hotracked," which meant three men shared two bunks (though of course not at the same time).
Great story. I turned 19 on a sub just like this one. Mine was the USS Thornback. It was a great adventure. I grew up a lot and learned things that served me for the rest of my 73 years. I have fond memories of the service and the men I served with. God bless America. Tom Desaulniers Conway, AR
Arguably the longest-serving submarine still existing in the world, having been commissioned by two different countries for 57 years of active duty, the U.S.S Razorback's permanent home is not on or in the sea but by the banks of the Arkansas River in North Little Rock. Let's venture out to the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum and explore within this nifty submarine.
Great story. I turned 19 on a sub just like this one. Mine was the USS Thornback. It was a great adventure. I grew up a lot and learned things that served me for the rest of my 73 years. I have fond memories of the service and the men I served with. God bless America.
ReplyDeleteTom Desaulniers
Conway, AR