On October 12th through the 14th of 2018, some YLs from Kansas, Texas, and Oklahoma were guests of the USS Batfish Radio Club and participated in honoring the memory of 75th anniversary of the lost 52 submarines event. More information and photos are available at https://w5nor.org/batfish. The USS Batfish is a Balao-class submarine. During WW2, the Batfish sunk three Japanese Navy submarines in a 76-hour timeframe. As a tribute to the 52 submarines and 3,505 US sailors that were lost during the war, Albert Kelly and a group of submarine veterans worked to bring the Batfish to the Muskogee War Memorial Park, at the port of Muskogee, OK in the early 1970’s. The members of the USS Batfish and USS Oklahoma Amateur Radio Club are working to remember and commemorate each of the United States Navy Submarines that were lost during the Second World War on the 75th Anniversary of their loss. During this activation, there were two submarines that were honored. The USS Wahoo was sunk in October 1943 with 80 men on board. The USS Dorado was also sunk in October 1943 and had 77 men on board. The YLs made a total of more than 350 contacts during the 3-day event. QSL information is available on the WW2SUB club website. They called CQ on board the Batfish from one of the three radios systems they had on board. They used the WW2SUB club gear that is located in the original radio room. And, with the assistance of their USS Batfish Club host Wade Harris KF5IF, built temporary stations in the crew’s mess and in the operation area. They hung wire antennas and deployed the club’s portable tower in the rain. Many of the YLs slept overnight in the original crew quarters on the ship. They even got to experience a power outage on the sub.
Honoring boats of The Silent Service. My family toured the Battleship Alabama Memorial in Nov 2007, We also toured the USS Drum. To actually spend the nights in the sub. Scary and Amazing! I hope everyone enjoyed themselves. Erika DD
Oh my, what a great event for the girls! We've toured many WWII ships and several submarines including the captured German U-505. Those subs were cramped and even the period destroyers were relatively small (narrow!)
So excited to see this! My grandfather served on submarines for 20 years and retired as a Chief Torpedoman. I grew up hearing stories and I have been fortunate enough to meet some of the guys he served with in the silent service. I hope to make contact with this group the next time they activate.
I've never spent the night on the USS Drum but have spent three nights on the USS Alabama with my son and his Scout troop. I can't imagine what it was like during the war.
It's good to see that some of the old fleet boats are still around. The two submarines I was on are long gone. SSBN 632, SSBN 657. MT1 (SS) Wilson W4KG
The USS Batfish Activates often. They are honoring each of the lot 52 submarines on the 75th anniversary of thier loss. They will also be activating for Veterans Day. You can find out more information on their Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/Batfisharc/
So where does one find out the frequencies that are/will be used? I could not find anything on the web page or facebook. TIA
This will vary based on the activation. The Facebook group https://facebook.com/Batfisharc/ should be the best way to stay in touch. There's email info, and phone numbers that should be able to help. "Like" the page, and you'll see the activations as they happen.
Oh that's sounds neat Jeff; I'm sure your Son and the rest of the boys had a blast! We took two different Alabama Tours, which got us around to whatever was accessible via tour at the time. Then the Drum experience. The Alabama being the sister ship of the South Dakota BB57, we made a day of it. Going through the SD memorial in Sioux Falls lacks the Awesomeness Factor of actually climbing through these warships... There's only pieces, photos and videos of as the Ship was scrapped long ago. Craig and I look forward to venturing to the USS Iowa someday. I did talk to the Iowa on HF during one of their Ham Radio activations in 2017 I love motor yachting or being on a pleasure cruise, however serving on one of those submarines is way beyond anything I can imagine. As an adult I got the creeps on the submarine ride at Disneyland... Erika DD
