« previous next »
Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: Mk. IV TDC  (Read 20036 times)

Offline Mark Sarsfield

  • Former USS Batfish Volunteer
  • Chief Petty Officer
  • *
  • Posts: 1514
  • Total BZs: 9
    • View Profile
Mk. IV TDC
« on: March 13, 2008, 08:49:15 AM »
Fred,

  When was the Cod's Mk. IV TDC installed?  It seems like even though the Mk. IV was available during the war, a lot of boats continued to use the Mk. III due to the time it would take to cut a hole in the conning tower hull, to remove and repalce the TDC's, run new wiring, etc.

  In general, do you know how many boats got a Mk. IV during the war and how many were retrofitted after the war?

  Thanks.
Logged

Regards,
Mark Sarsfield
USS Batfish reenactor



"If you have one bucket that can hold 5 gallons and one bucket that can hold 2 gallons, how many buckets do you have?" - IQ test from Idiocracy

Offline Fred Tannenbaum

  • Unofficial Independent USS Silversides Historian
  • Petty Officer 2nd Class
  • *
  • Posts: 151
  • Total BZs: 7
    • View Profile
Re: Mk. IV TDC
« Reply #1 on: March 13, 2008, 09:24:59 AM »
Hey Mark: Paul Farace ("far-ah-chee") at pfarace@att.net can definitely tell you when Cod got her Mark IV TDC. I don't know how many boats received a Mark IV. I don't think the Silversides has one and I could check the war patrol reports to see when she got that. Also, you'd have to check with a measuring tape but I think it may have been possible to assemble the TDC in pieces, passing them through hatches instead of having to cut holes in the conning tower. Again, Paul may know more.


Logged

Offline Mark Sarsfield

  • Former USS Batfish Volunteer
  • Chief Petty Officer
  • *
  • Posts: 1514
  • Total BZs: 9
    • View Profile
Re: Mk. IV TDC
« Reply #2 on: March 13, 2008, 09:59:25 AM »
Okay.  I was wondering how easy it would be to dismantle a TDC to fit through one of the hatches or torpedo loading ports.
Logged

Regards,
Mark Sarsfield
USS Batfish reenactor



"If you have one bucket that can hold 5 gallons and one bucket that can hold 2 gallons, how many buckets do you have?" - IQ test from Idiocracy

Offline Mark Sarsfield

  • Former USS Batfish Volunteer
  • Chief Petty Officer
  • *
  • Posts: 1514
  • Total BZs: 9
    • View Profile
Re: Mk. IV TDC
« Reply #3 on: March 13, 2008, 12:06:12 PM »
I was talking to "Gino" on the SubSim forum.  Apparently he works on/helps with the Cod and he said that some of the TDC components are still too large to fit through the bridge hatch.  I had always heard that they had to cut a hole in the hulls to add and remove TDCs on the boats.
Logged

Regards,
Mark Sarsfield
USS Batfish reenactor



"If you have one bucket that can hold 5 gallons and one bucket that can hold 2 gallons, how many buckets do you have?" - IQ test from Idiocracy

Offline Mark Sarsfield

  • Former USS Batfish Volunteer
  • Chief Petty Officer
  • *
  • Posts: 1514
  • Total BZs: 9
    • View Profile
Re: Mk. IV TDC
« Reply #4 on: March 13, 2008, 02:30:20 PM »
Here's a follow-up response from Gino.  He corrected several points...

Quote
Just got of the phone with our TDC-guru (as you call him...)

Well, I couldn't have been more wrong... 
The Cod did receive a Mk3, that was upgraded to a Mk4 after the war.

They would 'only' have to separate the PK and AS from each other and fit in the Receiver unit.
Essentially the TDC remained the same, you'd still have to crank in the basic parameters. The receiver 'units' could be used by selecting the appropriate switch on the Receiver.

Now, what utterly puzzles me is that Cod who never was in the Guppy program did receive the upgrade, but e.g. Hawkbill and Icefish never did.
Must have been a government thing...

So it seems that most, if not all boats, received a Mk3 during ww2. And that some of those boats received the upgrade and others didn't.

Let me get out an e-mail to someone who might know the precise data...

To be continued...

groetjes,
__________________
Gino den Ridder
Assistant Curator
Logged

Regards,
Mark Sarsfield
USS Batfish reenactor



"If you have one bucket that can hold 5 gallons and one bucket that can hold 2 gallons, how many buckets do you have?" - IQ test from Idiocracy

Offline Lance Dean

  • USS Drum Fan
  • Forum Administrator
  • Chief Petty Officer
  • *
  • Posts: 1522
  • Total BZs: 10
  • John calls me "Gunner"
    • View Profile
    • My website
Re: Mk. IV TDC
« Reply #5 on: March 13, 2008, 04:11:22 PM »
Paul Farace is a registered user here.  Perhaps he'll chime in on this subject.
Logged

Offline Mark Sarsfield

  • Former USS Batfish Volunteer
  • Chief Petty Officer
  • *
  • Posts: 1514
  • Total BZs: 9
    • View Profile
Re: Mk. IV TDC
« Reply #6 on: March 13, 2008, 04:20:58 PM »
Gino's response is information from Dr. John.  He said Dr. John taught him how to operate the TDC on the Cod.  He thought the "guru" that I emailed was John, but when I told him it was Paul, he laughed.   ;)
Logged

Regards,
Mark Sarsfield
USS Batfish reenactor



"If you have one bucket that can hold 5 gallons and one bucket that can hold 2 gallons, how many buckets do you have?" - IQ test from Idiocracy

Offline Mark Sarsfield

  • Former USS Batfish Volunteer
  • Chief Petty Officer
  • *
  • Posts: 1514
  • Total BZs: 9
    • View Profile
Re: Mk. IV TDC
« Reply #7 on: March 14, 2008, 11:38:25 AM »
Here's what Paul wrote to me:

Quote

Mark:

No absolute record, but my guess would be in 1951 when she was recommissioned. COD was brought up to late 1945 fleet sub standards in some regards, the short wire radio antennas and VHF whip and a radio shack refit below, and the Mark IV TDC (which can easily pass through the hatch). We did NOT get the SV or SS radars, but rather kept our Mod. 5 SJ and SD radars. The Navy didn't want to blow too much money on these Gatos when they were scrambling for GUPPY money and funds for Nautilus.

Why do you ask? How are things on BATFISH. We were just at the National Archives and saw tons of beautiful BATFISH photos (most published in the TIME/LIFE book "War Beneath the Pacific."

Paul
 

Since upgrading to a Mk. IV meant inserting the Receiver module between the PK and AS modules, it looks like the Receiver module is narrow enough (based on pictures) to fit through the bridge hatch. So, I think John and Paul are both right, depending on which part/module of the TDC you're talking about.

Logged

Regards,
Mark Sarsfield
USS Batfish reenactor



"If you have one bucket that can hold 5 gallons and one bucket that can hold 2 gallons, how many buckets do you have?" - IQ test from Idiocracy

Offline Paul Farace

  • USS Cod Volunteer
  • Chief Petty Officer
  • *
  • Posts: 572
  • Total BZs: 12
    • View Profile
Re: Mk. IV TDC
« Reply #8 on: April 09, 2008, 11:28:17 PM »
Me a TDC expert? That IS a frigging joke!   :uglystupid2:

I am lucky I can spell it!!!!    :-\

No, call me the Martha Stwart of the boat!   ;D

I think all of the pieces of the TDC can fit through a hatch. Next time I am aboard, I will measure.

Our TDC expert, HANDS DOWN, is Terry Lindel, who lives in the Seattle, WA area.  He pretty much can write the book on the TDC.

Paul

Logged
Johnny Cash's third cousin, twice removed
Pages: [1]   Go Up
« previous next »