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From the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco's most lethal tourist attraction is getting ready for a makeover.
The Pampanito, a World War II-era submarine that sank six Japanese ships and damaged four others, has been sitting for too long in the harsh salt water of San Francisco Bay. The boat has algae and all sorts of tiny sea critters living on her hull, along with the rust, chipped paint and general disrepair that come with age.
To spruce up the old warship and keep it as a floating tourist attraction at Fisherman's Wharf, the Maritime National Historical Park Association will take the Pampanito to Alameda later this month for a couple of weeks in dry dock. There, at Bay Ship and Yacht Co., the 1,500-ton vessel will have its hull power-washed, rust ground down and sections of deteriorated metal replaced.
The boat will close to tourists Jan. 20, and is scheduled to be back in action around Feb. 10.
"The goal is to have the Pampanito looking almost exactly as it did in 1945 when it was decommissioned," said Aaron Washington, the boat's manager.
This will be the fourth time the submarine has been in dry dock.
In addition to cleaning and repairing the sub's hull, workers will go over all exposed parts of the sub to fix rust and corrosion. Hinges on deck openings are rusted and broken, there are rusted-out holes in part of the conning tower and on the deck both fore and aft.
And the boat will be entirely repainted.
The general public might not notice much change, Washington said, other than the spiffy paint job. But old sailors and people with an eye for detail will notice that a lot of imperfections no longer exist.
The Pampanito (SS-383) is a Balao-class submarine, commissioned Nov. 6, 1943, at the height of World War II. The 311-foot vessel carried 10 officers and 80 enlisted men. She went on six long-range war patrols and, in addition to sinking and damaging ships, rescued 73 allied prisoners of war who had been on one of the ships the Pampanito sunk.
Thomas Thompson, a member of the maritime park association's board of trustees, said the repair work is necessary to make sure the submarine looks and functions almost exactly as it did when it was skimming around the Pacific more than 60 years ago.
In addition to the tourists who crawl around the Pampanito, other constituencies have an interest in the boat: retired submariners who live in the area, Navy veterans and World War II buffs.
The Pampanito still has several working parts, including one torpedo tube, the periscope, engines, galley and ice-cream maker.
The maritime park association is trying to raise $287,000 to pay for the cost of the dry-docking. So far, $177,000 has been raised.
Thompson said the park association hopes to start a permanent endowment to pay for maintenance of the sub, as well as build and develop an indoor museum dedicated to submarine warfare.
For information about the World War II submarine Pampanito, go to www.maritime.org/pamphome.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/01/08/BAG6RNEJJI1.DTL
E-mail John Koopman at jkoopman@sfchronicle.com
San Francisco's most lethal tourist attraction is getting ready for a makeover.
The Pampanito, a World War II-era submarine that sank six Japanese ships and damaged four others, has been sitting for too long in the harsh salt water of San Francisco Bay. The boat has algae and all sorts of tiny sea critters living on her hull, along with the rust, chipped paint and general disrepair that come with age.
To spruce up the old warship and keep it as a floating tourist attraction at Fisherman's Wharf, the Maritime National Historical Park Association will take the Pampanito to Alameda later this month for a couple of weeks in dry dock. There, at Bay Ship and Yacht Co., the 1,500-ton vessel will have its hull power-washed, rust ground down and sections of deteriorated metal replaced.
The boat will close to tourists Jan. 20, and is scheduled to be back in action around Feb. 10.
"The goal is to have the Pampanito looking almost exactly as it did in 1945 when it was decommissioned," said Aaron Washington, the boat's manager.
This will be the fourth time the submarine has been in dry dock.
In addition to cleaning and repairing the sub's hull, workers will go over all exposed parts of the sub to fix rust and corrosion. Hinges on deck openings are rusted and broken, there are rusted-out holes in part of the conning tower and on the deck both fore and aft.
And the boat will be entirely repainted.
The general public might not notice much change, Washington said, other than the spiffy paint job. But old sailors and people with an eye for detail will notice that a lot of imperfections no longer exist.
The Pampanito (SS-383) is a Balao-class submarine, commissioned Nov. 6, 1943, at the height of World War II. The 311-foot vessel carried 10 officers and 80 enlisted men. She went on six long-range war patrols and, in addition to sinking and damaging ships, rescued 73 allied prisoners of war who had been on one of the ships the Pampanito sunk.
Thomas Thompson, a member of the maritime park association's board of trustees, said the repair work is necessary to make sure the submarine looks and functions almost exactly as it did when it was skimming around the Pacific more than 60 years ago.
In addition to the tourists who crawl around the Pampanito, other constituencies have an interest in the boat: retired submariners who live in the area, Navy veterans and World War II buffs.
The Pampanito still has several working parts, including one torpedo tube, the periscope, engines, galley and ice-cream maker.
The maritime park association is trying to raise $287,000 to pay for the cost of the dry-docking. So far, $177,000 has been raised.
Thompson said the park association hopes to start a permanent endowment to pay for maintenance of the sub, as well as build and develop an indoor museum dedicated to submarine warfare.
For information about the World War II submarine Pampanito, go to www.maritime.org/pamphome.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/01/08/BAG6RNEJJI1.DTL
E-mail John Koopman at jkoopman@sfchronicle.com
