Now for some pics of the HMAS Onslow. This is the (disappointingly black and not yellow) submarine that sits in Sydney's Darling Harbour as a museum piece. Of the four vessels in the harbour that you can tour, I found the submarine the most fascinating of them all. A vessel of stealth and mystery!
The first pic is of the torpedo room at the bow of the submarine. There are 6 torpedo tubes and the one on the top left is loaded with torpedo power!
The second picture is of the periscope - something a submarine would be incomplete without. I was surprised to peer through the scope to see the top of Sydney Tower in clear view.
Third is the keyboard on one of the computers aboard the ship. I just thought it cool that it has a key with a picture of a crosshair on it. What would the instruction manual say about it? Press to aim torpedos? One can only imagine.
Figure 4. :P
Touring the inside of a submarine, let alone being a crew member, is not for the claustrophobic or overly giant! The length of the port and starboard sides of the submarine are lined with sleeping bunks. These cramped quarters are designed to hold 60 crew members who take shifts sleeping. I suspect that, compared to you and I, these sailors have a very different sense of what is a comfortable amount of personal space.
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You are slacking on your blogs miss! :)
ReplyDeleteThe days down under must last longer than up here.
ReplyDeleteyes, yes, that is exactly it. it's not that i'm slacking at all :P
ReplyDeleteNot only do the days last MUCH longer in these parts (what with summer solstice approaching), we are living 18 hours in the future with respect to the westcoast :) hello from the future!