This was worth the trip back to Foley Alabama. We were here last summer but ran away when a hurricane was headed at us. Foley is about 15 miles north of the Gulf Coast. Foley is about 35 miles from Mobile Alabama where the ship and submarine are located in a large park with other airplanes and ground vehicles. If you are in the area, you should definitely visit the memorial park. Plan on a full day to see the USS Alabama battleship and the USS Drum submarine. The Drum is the third submarine I have toured. The first was the small USS Clamamore in Charleston South Carolina. Last year was the larger USS Silversides in Muskegon Michigan. The Drum is the largest so far. I could actually pass other people in most sections, where the others were one person wide.
There is quite a story about how the Drum was saved after sitting in Mobile Bay for years, causing the hull to rust through. Here is a link to read the story about the Drum, how they got it onto land and the two main people who restored the ship, Tom Bowser and Leslie Waters. It's quite a story so check out this link and watch the video of the restoration.
 |
| The conning tower was fenced off but I climbed the ladder high enough to see inside. |
 |
| Valves and panel to show status of valves for diving and surfacing. |
 |
| When all else fails, this was an escape hatch. The Momsen Lung was used to provide some air for each sailer to get to the surface. |
No comments:
Post a Comment