Tom's Favorite Places

U.S.S. Cod

U.S.S. Cod is a World War II Gato-class fleet type submarine, moored as a memorial in Cleveland, Ohio. Cod is the only fleet type boat remaining which is still in her wartime configuration, which means you enter and leave the boat using the same hatches and ladders the crew used.

Climbing down the ladder into the forward torpedo room and then moving aft through the submarine to the after torpedo room is like stepping back in time; it's a really cool self-guided tour, through a submarine which has been kept up by a dedicated crew of volunteers. Over the years she has been closely returned to her wartime internal appearance; except for the lack of personal belongings, it looks as though the crew just left the sub. Below are a few photos I made of the Cod when I visited recently.

This is a view looking aft along the main deck from the bow. The large yellow object in the deck to the right is a rescue buoy which can be deployed in the event the sub sinks. The open forward torpedo room hatch is visible just beyond the rescue buoy.

Here is a view looking forward in the forward torpedo room; four of the six torpedo tubes are easily visible. You can also see two crew bunks to the left and right (tucked in above the torpedoes), with small green leather bags for personal articles hanging from them. The torpedo to the right is a cutaway Mark 14 steam torpedo; a Mark 18 electric torpedo is to the left.

Moving aft into the forward battery compartment, here is a view of the officer's wardroom, which serves as office, recreation room and dining room for the officers. This view looks forward toward the pantry area. The forward battery has a compartment below decks which housed a large bank of batteries for powering the sub while submerged. The forward battery is also where the officer's cabins and the Chief's quarters are located.

Here is a view of the Captain's cabin, indentifiable by the depth gauge and compass repeater at the foot of the bunk. As you can see, the rooms are very small.

Moving aft, we come into the control room, which is the compartment housing the diving controls, emergency helm, air and electrical systems and the radio compartment. The control room is "rigged for red," meaning the lighting is red to help preserve night vision. This is a view of the "Christmas Tree" (so called because of it's red and green lights), which indicates the status of all hull openings; and the hydraulic manifold, which is used to open and close the ballast tank vents. The emergency helm is partly visible to the right.

Here are controls for the diving planes (large finlike devices on bow and stern which control the angle of the boat when submerged), the stern planes to the left and the bow planes to the right. Also visible are the bow plane angle indicators, depth gauges, and so on. The dimly white-lighted area to the left holds the trim manifold and navigation gear. The ladder to the conning tower can be partly seen at left.

Here is a view of the radio shack, which is tucked into the after section of the control room.

Continuing aft, we come to the after battery compartment, which houses the galley, crew's mess and crew bunkroom. Like the forward battery, there is a compartment below decks which housed a large bank of batteries for powering the sub while submerged; there's also a larder for food storage as well as a large freezer. Here is a view of the incredibly compact galley, which had to be efficient enough to prepare 3 squares a day (and snacks) for 80+ men.

Here is the crew's mess, which serves as recreation room and dining room for the crew. It can hold up to 24 people at a time, which meant that the crew generally ate in 3 shifts.

This is the crew's bunkroom, which is also "rigged for red" in consideration of the men who slept here. There are not enough bunks for everyone, so the crew had to "hot-bunk", which meant one man climbed into a bunk another had just left.

Leaving the crew's bunkroom, we come to the forward engine room, which houses two of the four diesel engines. This view looks forward; the two large tanks against the forward bulkhead are freshwater stills which distilled seawater for drinking, bathing, cooking, battery maintenance and so on. The after engine room looks essentially the same, although without the two freshwater stills.

Aft of the engine rooms is the maneuvering room, which is not only where the speed of the boat was controlled, but also where power from the generators or batteries (depending upon whether the boat was surfaced or submerged) was routed to where it was needed.

Finally, we come to the after torpedo room. Visible near the top of the compartment are several crew bunks; the torpedo rooms were the most sought-after sleeping compartments, as they were cooler and quieter than any others. The ladder behind the gentleman studying the displays is the ladder leading to the main deck.

On the day I visited Cod, a film crew from the History Channel was filming a program aboard. Here, some of the weary "submarine crew" are relaxing alongside the conning tower fairwater structure until their next scene.

Here are two of the "officers" on the bridge, one peering through binoculars and the other through the forward TBT (Target Bearing Transmitter). There seems to be a minor technical glitch here; almost invariably, the periscope shears above and behind the bridge would be manned by lookouts when on the surface.

On shore, there is a Type 8A search periscope mounted for people to look through. Here is a view through the scope of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (upper right), the Science Museum (the round thing at upper left center), Browns Stadium (upper center) and the Coast Guard/Navy Reserve docks (foreground). The tops of Cod's periscope shears are visible in the lower foreground of the periscope view.

	This is a view looking aft along the main deck from the bow. The large yellow object in the deck to the right is a rescue buoy which can be deployed in the event the sub sinks. The open forward torpedo room hatch is visible just beyond the rescue buoy.
Here is a view looking forward in the forward torpedo room; four of the six torpedo tubes are easily visible. You can also see two crew bunks to the left and right (tucked in above the torpedoes), with small green leather bags for personal articles hanging from them. The torpedo to the right is a cutaway Mark 14 steam torpedo; a Mark 18 electric torpedo is to the left.
	Moving aft into the forward battery compartment, here is a view of the officer's wardroom, which serves as office, recreation room and dining room for the officers. This view looks forward toward the pantry area. The forward battery has a compartment below decks which housed a large bank of batteries for powering the sub while submerged. The forward battery is also where the officer's cabins and the Chief's quarters are located.
Here is a view of the Captain's cabin, indentifiable by the depth gauge and compass repeater at the foot of the bunk. As you can see, the rooms are very small.
	Moving aft, we come into the control room, which is the compartment housing the diving controls, emergency helm, air and electrical systems and the radio compartment. The control room is "rigged for red," meaning the lighting is red to help preserve night vision. This is a view of the "Christmas Tree" (so called because of it's red and green lights), which indicates the status of all hull openings; and the hydraulic manifold, which is used to open and close the ballast tank vents. The emergency helm is partly visible to the right.
Here are controls for the diving planes (large finlike devices on bow and stern which control the angle of the boat when submerged), the stern planes to the left and the bow planes to the right. Also visible are the bow plane angle indicators, depth gauges, and so on. The dimly white-lighted area to the left holds the trim manifold and navigation gear. The ladder to the conning tower can be partly seen at left.
	Here is a view of the radio shack, which is tucked into the after section of the control room.
Continuing aft, we come to the after battery compartment, which houses the galley, crew's mess and crew bunkroom. Like the forward battery, there is a compartment below decks which housed a large bank of batteries for powering the sub while submerged; there's also a larder for food storage as well as a large freezer. Here is a view of the incredibly compact galley, which had to be efficient enough to prepare 3 squares a day (and snacks) for 80+ men.
	Here is the crew's mess, which serves as recreation room and dining room for the crew. It can hold up to 24 people at a time, which meant that the crew generally ate in 3 shifts.
This is the crew's bunkroom, which is also "rigged for red" in consideration of the men who slept here. There are not enough bunks for everyone, so the crew had to "hot-bunk", which meant one man climbed into a bunk another had just left.
	Leaving the crew's bunkroom, we come to the forward engine room, which houses two of the four diesel engines. This view looks forward; the two large tanks against the forward bulkhead are freshwater stills which distilled seawater for drinking, bathing, cooking, battery maintenance and so on. The after engine room looks essentially the same, although without the two freshwater stills.
Aft of the engine rooms is the maneuvering room, which is not only where the speed of the boat was controlled, but also where power from the generators or batteries (depending upon whether the boat was surfaced or submerged) was routed to where it was needed.
	Finally, we come to the after torpedo room. Visible near the top of the compartment are several crew bunks; the torpedo rooms were the most sought-after sleeping compartments, as they were cooler and quieter than any others. The ladder behind the gentleman studying the displays is the ladder leading to the main deck.
On the day I visited Cod, a film crew from the History Channel was filming a program aboard. Here, some of the weary "submarine crew" are relaxing alongside the conning tower fairwater structure until their next scene.
	Here are two of the "officers" on the bridge, one peering through binoculars and the other through the forward TBT (Target Bearing Transmitter). There seems to be a minor technical glitch here; almost invariably, the periscope shears above and behind the bridge would be manned by lookouts when on the surface.
On shore, there is a Type 8A search periscope mounted for people to look through. Here is a view through the scope of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (upper right), the Science Museum (the round thing at upper left center), Browns Stadium (upper center) and the Coast Guard/Navy Reserve docks (foreground). The tops of Cod's periscope shears are visible in the lower foreground of the periscope view.

Tom's Favorite Places

U.S.S. Cod

For more information and pictures of U.S.S. Cod, visit the U.S.S. Cod web site.