mental_floss magazine
SUBSCRIBE >
GIFT SUBSCRIPTIONS >
DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTIONS >
subscriber services >
Actually, it didn’t so much surface as it was rescued, years after its final descent, from the bottom of the seafloor off the coast of Liverpool. Currently residing on land near a museum in the UK, its rusting hull sits exposed and rusting for the world to see. Pic via our friends at The Cellar, via a Russian photo blog (which identified the wreck only as “German sub.”)
For those of you in the Southern California region, we heartily recommend a tour of the Scorpion, a Russian sub-turned-tourist-trap currently docked in the water just off Long Beach. It’s as close as most of us will come to embarking on a dank, cramped submarine mission of our own. The best part, though, is the photo of the Scorpion’s original crew: most of the men are blessedly diminutive, except for the sub’s commander, who stands at least 6’5 – and has some of the most alarming permanently-hunched shoulders we’ve ever seen. Tall guys – this blogger included – don’t belong on submarines!
Also, check out the Nautilus in Groton, CT. You remember the first Nuclear sub in the world? My submariner brother tells me that it is roomy compared to even today’s subs.
posted by n2y2 on 4-23-2007 at 8:24 am
I’ve been on the Scorpion in Longbeach, and it is definitely cool. The U-505, a captured WWII German U-boat at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago makes the Scorpion look positively modern, though.
I’ve never been aboard one, but I think the Japanese WWII era “I-boats” are another step downward on the creature comfort scale. Read “I-Boat Captain”, by Zenji Orita (one of the few Japanese sub captains to survive the War) for a glimpse of life inside one of these.
posted by Sid on 4-23-2007 at 8:58 am
If you are Portland, OR, you can check out the SS-581 Blueback (as seen in “Red October”) at the OMSI, one of the last US Navy diesel boats. They hold campouts for kids in this one.
posted by Dick Pilz on 4-23-2007 at 9:42 am
Also, there’s a Russian sub for touring at the Maritime Museum in San Diego. It’s quite amazing, plus you may get to see the ship from Master and Commander, which is also part of the museum. Totally worth the $$.
posted by Lindsay on 4-23-2007 at 2:52 pm
I DON’T REMEMBER THE NAME BUT THERES AN AMERICAN WWII SUB DOCKED SOMEWHERE IN THE SANFRANSISCO BAY. YOU CAN TOUR IT AND GET A FEELING OF HOW CRAMPED IT WAS ALTHOUGH YOU WON’T GET THE FEELING OF POSSIBLY EXPERIENCING A HORRIFIC DEATH THAT COULD OCCUR ON SUCH A SUB.
posted by JOHN BROWN on 4-25-2007 at 9:03 am