Wednesday, November 28, 2007

S is for Soviet Submarine on ABC Wednesday

Cold War B-39 Soviet Submarine


Submarine's Sail


Steep Stairs Decending Into the Submarine's Interior


Captain's Quarters


One of Three Toilets Onboard for 78 Sailors


Torpedo Room


Inside of a Torpedo Tube


This Cold War B-39 Soviet Submarine was on loan to the Maritime Museum of San Diego. The docent mentioned the Soviet military was selling their old submarines at the end of the Cold War and an American living in Seattle purchased this one. It was towed by tugboat to San Diego to be part of the museum's exhibit until early 2008.

- AV

32 comments:

Isadora said...

THREE TOILETS for 78 sailors????
Oh, noooo. And look at the captain's room - the photo looking over him while he sleeps. What a nightmare and so typically Russian.

The submarine is real cool though :)

Mike said...

Really interesting photos. I don't ever recall seeing windows in a sail before, how weird. I don't think much of the toilets. I went inside a sub once and couldn't get over how cramped it was.

Andrea said...

This is an interesting post. Great pictures. Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

Thank goodness for photos. The interior looks very claustrophobic. No thanks, will not get inside it!

kml said...

Great S post! Yours should be the only submarine of the day!

Fénix - Bostonscapes said...

What a great post, AV! That's a very cute submarine sail. The torpedo room... Can you imagine having to spend more than a few minutes in that scary place? Brrrr.

Oswegan said...

That's really cool. I love the second shot. And the toilet right next to all the pipes, I suppose you could multi-task. I think if there was a line, I'd be tempted to head for the torpedo tube. Fire in hole!

~Oswegan

Jean M Fogle said...

Years ago in CT we got to board an inservice sub, thanks to my dad being military. It was incredible to imagine living under the water for the amount of time they were out. My 6 foot 5 inch son had a hard time even moving on the sub!

mrsnesbitt said...

Cor!!! Those pepes in the toilet! Imagine.......sitting there...then the pipe springs a leak! WOW! That would certainly make me go! LOL!

Digital Flower Pictures said...

Very nice series of photos, AV. I think I like the sail one the best.

Lilli & Nevada said...

Great post, now just imagine getting the flu and 3 toilets to 78 men OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!!

dot said...

You see the most interesting things!! Great pictures of the sub. My brother was stationed on one in Key West many years ago and took me on board. I can't imagine having to live on one.

AVCr8teur said...

Isadora, only 3 toilets and 3 showers for 78 sailors on only 36 tons of water stored aboard. If they run out of water, no showers. I figured the picture of Brezhnev would give it away as a Russian sub.

AVCr8teur said...

Mike, I just read the description about the sail and it says there's a shower up there where it uses salt water only; however, I can't figure how do you prevent the water from dripping down.

AVCr8teur said...

Andrea, thanks for dropping by again. Glad you liked the photos.

AVCr8teur said...

Deb, I guess visitors had gotten claustrophobic in there before because there is an example of a hole outside the sub to make sure people can go through it before entering. I'm small and it was a tight squeeze. I got stuck in one whole because of my backpack. :P

AVCr8teur said...

kml, I think you're right. I don't expect too many people to post S photos with subs unless it's a submarine sandwich.

AVCr8teur said...

Thanks Fenix, when you walk down those stairs in my pictures, you see the torpedo room right away. In the movies, subs are always too hot and water is always leaking in.

AVCr8teur said...

Jean, it's hard enough being 6'5", but in a sub, that would make me claustrophobic. He would have to squeeze by everything.

AVCr8teur said...

Denise, you're funny. I think listening to water in the pipes will make you want to go too.

AVCr8teur said...

Digital Flower, when I took the sail, it was actually crooked because the sub was slightly leaning to one side. I had to correct it in Photoshop just so people wouldn't think I was drunk. :)

AVCr8teur said...

Oswegan, multi-tasking while in the john. That's funny! I read that the toilets need air & water pressure to work. Your torpedo idea sounds better all the time.

AVCr8teur said...

Lilli & Nevada, I guess if that happens, they better surface or everyone will just have to hold it.

AVCr8teur said...

Thanks Dot! I can't imagine living on one either. It was kind of eerie being in there and imagining the things they did during the Cold War.

Web-OJ said...

Living underwater must be absolutely scary. This is the first time I have seen the interiors of a sub. Poor guys who work on one. Such a hard life.

M. CHRISTOPHE said...

It's not a photo report, it's a nightmare !!!
Very interesting

Lynette said...

Oh, those are some great photos of an historic subject. I'll bet you're glad that you went to see it.

photowannabe said...

Terrific S post. I like the artistic way you captured the torpedo tube and the other ones too.

AVCr8teur said...

Web-oj, it is scary since you don't have any windows to see outside and there is no escape when you're underwater. Those poor guys have no choice I assume once they're in the military.

AVCr8teur said...

Laurent, I agree, I wouldn't want to be stuck in a large metal capsule with only 3 bathrooms and a shower that uses salt water. It must not have smelt very good inside.

AVCr8teur said...

Lynette, I was glad to see it. I originally passed by the museum without thinking until I saw there was a pirate ship that was actually part of the exhibit. when I noticed the sub, I was hooked. It was a once-in-a-lifetime peek into a Soviet sub.

AVCr8teur said...

Thanks Photowannabe! I thought the look into the torpedo tube was very cool too. How many people could say they've done that? Now all of you have seen it too! :)