Submarine Challenge – ANSWERED
There was not too many attempts at answers from the readership. Thankfully, I can not tell the difference between reader ignorance versus reader apathy. Be that as it may, I will do my journalistic duty and close out this CHALLENGE. Please look below each set of pictures to learn the identity and location of each submarine. Have a wonderful day. PT
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Please have a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend. More importantly, please be sure to take time to honor the brave men and women that died while serving our country in the US Military. This Memorial Day Weekend CHALLENGE is offered as a minor, but well intended, reminder of the men and women serving our nation.
Decommissioned military vessels can make great tourist attractions. Further, there is no shortage of these ships, tanks, submarines, planes, etc throughout our nation. Also, I must admit that I am highly susceptible to these attractions when I come upon them. My favorite are the submarines. To the best of my highly flawed memory, I think I have been to 4 submarines in my adult lifetime. As a result of these tours, I have learned one undeniable fact about myself. There is no way that I have what it takes to serve on these vessels. Therefore, many thanks and much credit to the brave service people that operated these vessels.
While I do not have what i takes to serve on submarines, I can still write about them. Or, in this case, how about a unique blog CHALLENGE. Here are pictures of four different submarine, tourist attractions. Further, they are listed in increasing order of difficulty. The only hints that you get are in the subtitles and the pictures themselves. How many subs can you name? You get partial credit is you just name the location as well.
- U-???
ANSWER – Our first sub would be the U-505, a captured German submarine from World War II. Before being captured, the U-505 managed to sink 8 Allied vessels through 4 different patrols, all in 1942. Thereafter, the U-505 hit a bit of a slump. For the next 6 patrols, the U-505 did not manage to do anything noteworthy. Therefore, the sub got a new distinction when the commander took his own life due to his failures as a commander. Soon after getting a new commander, on June 4, 1944, the US Navy captured the U-505. The crew became prisoners of war. And, the U-505 now sits in the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry as a tourist attraction. This exhibit, and the whole museum for that matter, are worth the time if you are in Chicago.
2. A shark…
ANSWER – Or, more specifically, that would be the USS Requin commissioned in Portland, Maine, in the spring of 1945. Requin is French for shark. The USS Requin’s first mission was to Pearl Harbor for the Pacific campaign. However, by the time she got there, the war was over. The Requin then spent most of her remaining duty patrolling and training back in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. It had no kills. Somehow, I can not help but wonder if naming it in French had something to do with its quiet career. The USS Requin is located at the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh.
3. …and a tuna…
ANSWER – Or, more specifically, that would be the USS Albacore. The Navy launched the USS Albacore from Portland, Maine, naval yards in 1953. At the height of the Cold War, the USS Albacore was a unique research vessel. The special teardrop haul allowed for enhanced speed and maneuverability. In fact, over her 20 year history, the USS Albacore received many cutting edge technological upgrades for testing. It was said she was “the submarine that gave its body for science.” The USS Albacore is now on public display at Albacore Park in Portsmouth, Maine.
4. Plus, the Great Lake Sentinel, eh
ANSWER – On a past blog mission, my son and I drove along the north shore Lake Erie in Canada, in search of something interesting. Among other things, we found the HMCS Ojibwa in the extremely small town of Port Burwell, Ontario. I am not sure why Canada put a Naval submarine museum this far out in the middle of no where, but the locals are sure proud of their Ojibwa. Reportedly, this top secret, Cold War, submarine and its crew were “the best of the best in the world of submariners.” Their missions were too secret to tell us. So, you just have to take the tour guide’s word that the “best of the best” now resides on the north Erie shore at Port Burwell. It was a fun tour, but I do not recommend the drive to get there.
That’s it. To focus you in, I will offer up that all of the subs are east of the Mississippi River. Now, how many subs can you name? As always, please put you answers in the COMMENTS section at the bottom of this post. Have a safe and happy Memorial Day Weekday. PT
