USS Silversides WW2 Submarine Private Tour by Scott

[@BGTech1]

When I was younger my Boy Scout troop would take a trip here every two years for a tour and an overnight onboard the sub. I was about 10. I remember being so amazed with the complexity of the submarine. I sure miss those days.

[@JasperJokerII]

One thing that always stands out for me when visiting these ships is this. You cannot find any part made in China. All quality manufactured pieces built in the USA by thousands of mostly out of business companies

[@dysfunctional_vet]

if i had the money, i would get one and make it a museum.....our nation owes so much to such men as these

[@Josh-hr5mc]

This is what would happen post WW2 with pilots. Some of them would obtain the plane themselves and fly it themselves to its new home.

[@kenhenry8101]

My uncle was one of the radio men on the Silversides during the last few years of WWII. I will plan on a visit in the near future.

[@submarineradioman5535]

Not many of us left!

[@792slayer]

I was just there on Jan. 28. It is absolutely worth seeing.

[@kcaskmelater5079]

Very vell done, retired submariner here 21 years on nuclear fast attack

[@Fevebblefester]

A long time ago in a city far away when the USS Silversides was moored at Navy Pier in Chicago the scout troop I led spent a weekend night onboard the boat. Our tour was led by a retired Navy man and he really put on a great operation. Our boys had so much fun we went back later in the year and spent a night on what I remember was the USS Crockett, a former patrol ship and later research vessel. Several of our leaders were active duty Navy and Marines who also made the trip great. One of the members of our group was on one of the first crews on the USS Nautilus when it was on active service. I encourage any group looking for a fun look at history to spend a night there. Then after the sub had moved to Muskegon we took another group there as well.

[@JohnMason8183]

I'm a retired submariner (nuc). You've done a most excellent job presenting the Silversides and the WWII submarine service. Thank you!

[@JGlaister]

We took the tour of Silversides about 20 years ago. So far I've toured Clamagore, Cobia, Requin, Silversides, and Torsk.

[@unknownrider3071]

An excellent tour - thanks. My late father almost certainly help build your boat. In 1939 he started working a a welder at MINSY, and worked on submarine torpedo-tube cradles and doors. He mentioned working on Wahoo, Tang, Skate, and Tinosa. In early 1945 he was finally allowed to enlist, but the war ended before he shipped out. I would love to have shown him your video.

[@MattNeufy]

Woah I never thought I’d ever get to see the internals of an actual Gato class submarine since reading Thunder Below!! This is awesome! Thunder Below by Eugene B. Fluckey is the fantastic story of the USS Barb which sunk the most tonnes of any sub in WWII, in addition to being the only sub to ever sink a train. Yes, this sub (well, it’s crew) actually took out a train. Seriously good read (or listen on audible as I did in the truck) and I’d highly recommend it to anybody watching this video

[@johnpancharian480]

I finished Thunder Below recently and really liked it. Splice the main brace! If you liked that book definitely read Clear The Bridge and Wahoo by Dick O'Kane.

[@GarryAReed]

Thank you for the wonderful tour Scott, thank you and all of your co-workers for the excellent shape of the boat. I was a sailor aboard the USS Belknap DLG-26 a Guided Missile Frigate in the late 60’s & I know the effort you men are giving of yourselves is not easy; but I know that you love it. So on behalf of Sailors every where especially your boats old crew, departed sailors, us old codgers, & current navy, WELL DONE ! God Bless 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🦅🦅🦅

[@Merotina1]

I was several timeson the U 995 in Laboe, Kiel, in Germany. It is an Type VII C/41 U-Boot. and it is WAY smaller than this one.

[@dukx3986]

Its crazy how big this kitchen is vs U-boat.

[@altratronic]

This guy is an excellent tour guide.

[@BradiKal61]

You might think that living in the torpedo room would be the worst place to be but it was the furthest from the diesel engines that propelled the ship most of the time. (plus it had that escape chamber)

[@michaelsnell4034]

They also had to hot rack and share bunks as some of the racks were folded to the walls where they stowed torpedoes until they had to reload.

[@criagwade9195]

thank you to those who serves in our Navy and those who keep our fleet preserved

[@marcusinfestus1333]

Great work on the preservation! (Modern boats are NOT so well kept)

[@Activated_Complex]

Thanks for the video. I’m still watching it, but I had to say real quick, Scott is a very engaging and knowledgeable speaker on the subject of life aboard the Silversides. I’m really enjoying this.

[@bpowersman5000]

I went to see the Silversides as a little kid, been obsessed with naval ships ever since. Talk about awesome! If you can and have children definitely make the trip, it truly is awesome to see these old vessels!

[@turkey0165]

I’m glad this historic boat is sitting in freshwater and preserved! Thanks for the great video!

[@marvwatkins7029]

I visited it when it used to be in Chicago (where the U-505 still is) . It was stupid that the City didn't want it around. But across and up the lake it's Muskegon's gain.

[@maddmikeyr9337]

As a retired soldier and now instructor (as well as a WWII reenactor) Your passion for the old girl is evident. An interesting explanation and video tour. NICELY DONE!

[@brucesz2334]

My family and I had visited the Silversides when she was docked at Navy Pier in Chicago. A very interesting tour and although I was Navy, and long ago discharged, this tour assured me that submarine duty would not have been for me. God bless those that served on her and thank you for serving!

[@samuelleahy4780]

Went here a few times as a kid, brings back memories seeing this video.

[@gregrich91]

I had the pleasure of sleeping on it as a cub scout ~25 years ago. Thanks for this blast from the past!

[@Gladiator_gator]

wow same i was from the troop out of Hesperia mi and stayed on silversides around the same time also lol

[@kevinc.8869]

I worked in shipyards for years and have found some cool stuff in bilges. Mostly dropped tools. Sometimes they were mine and I was down there to retrieve them.

[@uralbob1]

Great video! As a cold war submarine veteran and Michigander, I am extremely proud of this boat, and I'm grateful for all you guys and gals who give yourselves to this proud, beautiful monument!

[@SatelliteLily]

This is so good! I am a friend and fan of the USS Batfish which has been in Muskogee OK since 1972. I'd love to come visit you guys sometime! The Silversides looks amazing!

[@campingwithcorgis]

The evolution of the WW2 Fleetboat is an amazing story. War Plan Orange determined the need for a submarine to be heavily armed, have long range, and would need to operate independently in the warm waters of the Pacific. And by chance, through lots of trial and error, by the eve of WW2 we had developed these wonderful boats that were arguably, the finest in the world.

[@mrkmwatson]

Took my wife, sister-in-law, and mother-in-law (later two live in Muskegon) on the tour. Wife is an USAF vet. After a few comments, they started asking more questions about life on a sub, life in the Navy, and what my service was like on a carrier. The Silversides is a great boat. Still, nothing like going into an active sub, and the torpedo room, and seeing the sign “War Shot” hanging along side the fish.

[@jimschneider381]

Thank you for a great video tour and explanation of the various parts of the boat. I remember our Boy Scout troop got to board the Silversides when she was moored at the Chicago Naval Armory in the mid 1960's.

[@nicoferguson1215]

You too? I did so in the mid to late 2000s, cub scout troop 335

[@jimschneider381]

@@nicoferguson1215 Boy Scout Troop 828. It was part of our annual winter hike along the lakefront, starting around Belmont Harbor and ending downtown around the Chicago River.

[@nicoferguson1215]

@@jimschneider381 I really don't remember why we went, but we slept on her overnight; same night, a girl scout troop further aft caused trouble by hitting the dive alarm ALL NIGHT....... As far as I know, that troop is still banned

[@luckygreenlady]

My Father in Law William Gruenes was on this Sub! Awesome

[@ncwarrior62]

Beautifully preserved. Those men were a tough breed back then. Today’s youth has no clue what our military both men and women went through! Thank you for sharing!!

[@jason7524]

I stayed 2 night on this sub in boy scouts. It was really neat to see how everything worked and how it was way back when. I hope future generations will be able to see this. The experience will always be with me. I even think I have a 50 cal bullet from the shop still..

[@792slayer]

I just toured the sub this weekend. I would have liked to see more of the guts, like the lower 2 torpedo tubes in forward torpedo, and the battery rooms, but still a very cool experience.

[@robertadams2857]

GATO class subs I thought has 5 engines. 4 main and 1 aux, not sure what description. USS Cod in Cleveland is a GATO and is now in dry dock. Awesome pieces of tech for WW2. Imagine being in the middle of the ocean in such a small boat.

[@Midlosoup]

I was lucky enough to tour this sub while it was sitting in the water at Navy Pier. It was being decommissioned and i understood it was going to be sold for scrap. Then I heard it ended up in your museum. Tight quarters inside!

[@nicholasmiller964]

Great video, great and informative narration Scott!

[@orig6redwings124]

As I stated in your shorter video of this submarine, I've passed by this submarine numerous times while boating/fishing on Lake Michigan and I've always wondered what it was like inside!! Thank you so much for the videos!

[@josephkendall3708]

My Grandmother helped build her at Mare Island and worked on her many times during the war. She was a welder.

[@abundantYOUniverse]

Very well done, and very interesting! Thanks!

[@zoidberg444]

Great tour - I just read Thunder Below by rear admiral Eugene B. Fluckey and it really helped seeing what a Gato class submarine was actually like and the layout as opposed to just reading the descriptions of it. I have seen other submarines but not one of these before.

[@mlovmo]

This guy Scott Hardin is really a great spieler, and good asset for the museum.

[@thomasmaniscalco3591]

Great presentation. Very understandable and in plain language. Well done!

[@festivelad5079]

Recently got to sleep on this sub for a usnscc drill, one of the best preserved wwII submarines I have ever seen

[@dduff9478]

Super Video! Many thanks to USS Silversides Submarine Museum staff and volunteers!!

[@wilsonlam4272]

I recalled USS Silverside was at Navy Pier in Chicago for many years, visiting several time when it was in Chicago, until they move it to Michigan. Sad to see leaving Chicago.

[@rickklein7792]

During my reserve duty with the ARMY, we assisted the group that were starting restoration on the Silversides while at Navy Pier. We brought our wrecker crane down to the pier to wench the remaining torpedoes out of the hold. This was back in the early 70's. After it moved to Muskegon my family visited the sub. I think this was in the late 90's.

[@danielueblacker9118]

Excellent video thanks for your job being done with heart and skill.

[@d.sparkes346]

Great film! Also great job explaining things, thanks!

[@jacksonmichaelor]

My nephew spent the summer of 1998 working on the Silversides. He really liked that boat.

[@PFLEONARDI0906]

I was on the Silverside numerous times when it was docked in Chicago. Plus seeing the U505 in Chicago. Great times when I was a kid and young adult...

[@brucegibbins3792]

Geeeeez, I would give the gold right out of my teeth to spend the night aboard the USS Silversides. But residing twelve thousand miles away, my ambition is unlikely to be realised any time soon.

[@patriley9449]

Best WWII submarine video tour I have seen.

[@gregsmith7635]

This randomly appeared in my feed, and I was thrilled. I toured this boat in the late 90s while in Muskegon for business. And didn’t have a camera with me. Thanks for a great memory!

[@toddfraisure1747]

I found this very interesting and would like to see and hear more along with my grandson who is watching it with me. I took him to the Puget Sound Navel Shipyard and Bangor Base a mess of times and I've been there dozens and dozens of times since I was a kid. My Dad's side of our family almost all worked there and some were active high ranking officers with my godfather Uncle being a ships Captain and never get bored with it. You can almost picture the sailors of the past manning their stations and get a sense of how claustrophobic it would be even on a above water level vessel.

[@SaltiDawg2008]

The boat looks great! I served on two Diesel Boats and three SSN's.

[@TheHagaar]

The Silverside and the Daniel A Joy (DE 585), were tied up at USNR training facility in Chicago in the 1960"s.

[@Scremndemon1]

Howdy Scott. You lucky dog. Who knows we might be related somehow lol. My great, great, great grandfather was Joseph Hardin Sr cofounder of the Franklin Resolve and Commander of the NC light Rangers battle of Kings Mountain and RAMSEUR'S Mill. Original Over the Mountain Men of the revolution. Hardin County Tenn named after him

[@customspoons]

I'm an ex Royal Navy Radio Operator in the UK. Would love to visit if I ever find myself in Michigan.

[@jmccracken491]

Scott you are a true knowledgeable person. You have truly studied what you speak of.

[@DonDubleone1986]

Great video !!! Thank you.

[@Howoldareweanywayyipes]

Thank you for your complete knowledge of this submarine.

[@romansroad2007]

Great blog. Blessings to the men who served in the wars.

[@chrisambrose8838]

Very nice explanation of the submarine! I have been on the USS LIONFISH and the USS COD and plan on seeing this boat this summer! Can’t wait to see her!

[@topturretgunner]

To see her fully operational again would be something. She seems well maintained.

[@chuckbrasch4575]

My brother was a radioman on the USS Grayback SS-208. The view at 9:38 may have been very similar to the one on the Grayback.. VERY interesting! ! ! ! (I recognize one piece of equipment ...the Hallicrafters SX-28 at the top. (old ham gear)

[@LakeshoreParanormal]

Awesome video I took a tour here a few year back

[@edwardpate6128]

Lucky here in Michigan to not only have this boat but the destroyer USS Edson DD-946 in Bay City.

[@josephturner4047]

On a British diesel boat there was only one shower. And they kept the beer in there. You washed in a sink. I was a nuclear submariner and I swear, I could still smell diesel off my skin 2 years after I left.

[@thomashanke6750]

My wife hated when I would open my seabag after coming back from patrol. The smell of oil/ machinery penetrated everything. Nuke MM for 11 years(82-93). I have to say, I did love that smell. Thank you for your service. I do miss operating the engine room though, even after all these years.

[@dam1041960]

Surface speed was more important than submerged. Noise was a problem with under water speed. Plus the sub was designed for speed on top. And now its reverse.

[@Darthbelal]

When I was just into my teen years, I did read a book on the Silversides and wondered if that sub survived the war. I did find out that Silversides did survive, but I didn't know she had been preserved. Would love to visit. Oh, and thank you for preserving a bit of history.

[@davidherbst]

I've been to a handful of museum submarines, and the Silversides is the best of them.

[@martyzielinski1442]

Ever been in the Albacore? U505?

[@davidherbst]

@@martyzielinski1442 I have not.

[@martyzielinski1442]

@@davidherbst Both worth having a looksee. The Albacore is an early 1950’s experimental model near Portsmouth Maine that they ran out of WW2 parts for in 1971. The German U505 is here in Chicago. They dragged it through the great lakes and across Lake Shore Drive in 1954. So probably PERMANENTLY here now....I took the tour about 30 years ago and was particularly impressed with the orderliness of everything. All nice neat 90 degree corners on everything. Unlike the Albacore which doesn’t have a single right angle anywhere. I spotted one hatch in the deck with seven sides.......no two of them the same length!

[@jacksonjohnson9674]

Wow, very cool.. and, I think the most important piece of equipment might be the fresh water condenser. I remember serving aboard ship in the 90's and going to the water fountain to get a drink of water and and getting a big gulp of salt water because there was some foul up with the fresh water supply valves.

[@IntheBlood67]

Most excellent! Attention! Hand Salute for all those still on Patrol!

[@gavelboy01]

I visited the Silverside years ago. It was completely different from the dubs I've been in during my service in Europe. I did miss your tour of the lathe, machining room etc. And it was nice to see a Hobart 20qt. mixer in the galley. I rebuild those now adays. I love to see old stuff still working. Great video.

[@submarineradioman5535]

Well done Scott!!!

[@charlesadamson7810]

Great Tour, Thank You

[@johnnymac1580]

Excellent presentation, thank you!

[@SuperSteelblue]

Great presentation.

[@loganbaileysfunwithtrains606]

Kinda funny hearing about how they made the air conditioning onboard to keep the electronics cool, they did the same thing at my job, they spent a lot of money on a big AC system for a room that no one should ever have to be inside of for any extended periods of time and then they bought a $100 window AC unit for the break room and shipping office where people spend the most time in

[@mike89128]

For many years the USS Silversides could be seen at Chicago's Navy Pier. Mayer Daley the elder didn't like the sub being there and cancelled the Navy's lease and kicked it out. Decades later his son, the second mayor Daley, kicked the Air Forse reserve unit out of O'Hare Int'l airport, and destroyed the Chicago Avenue Armory of the Illinois National Guard. Neither liked the military.

[@wirelessone2986]

Weird

[@johnniemayhem]

She was docked at the Naval Armory (not Navy Pier just yet) at the foot of Randolph Street where DuSable Harbor is located today from 1946 until she moved to Navy Pier ( because the Armory was torn down). It was Mayor Washington who didn't care for her being docked at Navy Pier and the deal was made with Muskegon, MI to be her new home.

[@carlgomm9699]

Wonderful show, the only sub I've been on is the USS Batfish in Muskogee OK, I subscribed to this channel because of the quality of this show, it's almost like I'm there !!

[@ricklipp4029]

Thanks Scott, great presentation.

[@davidthelander1299]

Very nice! Thanks for the work you and other volunteers have put in. I’m 70 years old, ex-coastie. I still remember how to work a chipping hammer in the bilge! Would love to help out sometime. I’m an ex- radioman - would love to see the old radio shack. Does it all still work?

[@brianchisnell1548]

Hey, I don't like violence! I want to be a cook! Ok, said the recruiter. I have an opening for a cook on a submarine!

[@dmwil1]

What a treasure! Great video!

[@ajkalwaysneedsmoreinfo.576]

Very interesting thanks for the tour

[@memethem]

18:30 I wanna know about that vintage Kitchen-Aid mixer

[@robinwells8879]

Wonderful living history.

[@jerryforeman4543]

Looks very similar to the USS Cole docked in Cleveland, OH.

[@morteparla6926]

The design differences between WWII submarines and modern submarines is pretty striking, as these old subs looks more like a traditional boat than a submarine.

[@jamesharmer9293]

They were on the surface 90% of the time, so the hull was optimised for surface running.

[@CalumMacNeil-qb6wp]

A very good informative commentary. Most interesting filming also. I have made a 1/72 scale model of this Gatto Class submarine

[@sonus289]

does the boat (silversides) participate in the ham radio museum ships on the air event

[@gbeans4494]

i went here in november/december and got to look at it. it was so fun

[@ub1953]

If wanting details of USS SILVERSIDES war patrols recommend THE WAR BELOW by JAMES SCOTT....hardcover or audiobook also 1950's tv series THE SILENT SERVICE episode USS SILVERSIDES: The SILVERSIDES STORY all available free on KZbin...

[@MattNeufy]

To add on to this, Thunder Below by Eugene B. Fluckey is the fantastic story of the USS Barb which sunk 6,000 more tones than the USS Silversides, in addition to being the only sub to ever sink a train. Yes, this sub (well, it’s crew) actually took out a train. I’ll have to add your book to my audible playlist, I’m sure it mentions the Barb

[@barrykery1175]

Well done tour. Thanks for posting. I thought my Destroyer was small? Compared to an air craft carrier, it is. But I don't think I would have done well on a sub. But at least I could shower once a day, two times if needed since I was in the boiler room where it did get hot. Barry

[@gregboop]

Great overview video.

[@josephturner4047]

Talking of food, the white list as it is called, 2 deck passage was stacked 3 boxes high at the start of a trip (patrol)so that you had to walk with your head down for a while. Not always of course. Just when we were doing a sneaky up north.

[@josephturner4047]

If I remember correctly, the Coxswain of HMS Dreadnought performed an appendectomy on the junior rates mess table. The killick scablifter who wouldn't do it and was really only there for radiation monitoring, held the instruction manual for him.

[@robertwolfiii8711]

I am going to the museum then.

[@nobody6546]

Great Video, Thanks! Some really interesting notes I haven’t heard in other related vids! Good Points. God Bless.