She was operated bythe Turkish Navyfrom 1973 until 1995. On 14 Jan 04, we also took a quick visit to TCG Gayret (D352), ex-USS Eversole (DD-789)a 1946 built Gearing class (FRAM upgrade) destroyer. She is now amuseum ship open to the public. On 11 Jan 04 at the Rahmi M Koc museum in Istanbul ( ), we hadthe opportunity to take pictures aboard theTCG Ulucalireis (S-338), ex-USS Thornback (SS-418). On 14 Jan 04 at Naval base Golcuk we had a brief time aboard TCG Hizirries (S-342), ex- Gudgeon. We also created a 35 minute film that shows the underway operation includingdamage control drill, diving, snorkel operation, sonar operation and surfacing. On 12 Jan 04 at Naval base Golcuk, and 13 Jan 04 underway these pictures weretaken of TCG Pirireis (S-343), ex-USS Tang. We experienced the passionher crew has for her when they expressed their opinion that she should get new batteriesand be kept operational for another 10 years. We learned during the visit that Hizirries isexpecting orders for decommissioning sometime very soon. The crews of both boats feel their 50+ year old boats are wellsuited to their missions. The spirit of the crew, the "soul" of the boat is as strongnow as ever. The fine material condition of these 50+year old vessels is a testament to the care they have received from there crews andshipyards.īoth submarines are used primarily for special operations missions, they are alsoused for mining. The high level of professionalism, skill andspirit of the officers and crew was matched only by their hospitality,flexibility and "can do" attitude. The level ofcooperation was extraordinary. Everyone we worked withexceeded all reasonable expectations at every step of the process. We are very thankful to the Turkish Navy. Allthe photos and video were subjected to security review by the Navy, none wasdeleted or modified. We were given unprecedented access tothe boats, including the opportunity to take photographs and video. With the generous cooperation of the Turkish Navy, in January of 2004,volunteers Carl Nolteand Rich Pekelney visitedTurkey to document the historic boats. For security reasons, very little color film has beencreated ofthe interior operations of these boats, and almost no sound recordings.During 2003/2004, we requested and received permission todocument these historic boats. There are numerous sights andsounds unique to these submarines that will be lost forever when these lasttwo boats are retired. The Tang class was the first new classof submarines designed and built by the USA after World War IIand they incorporated the lessons learned from the remarkably successful fleetsubmarines.They became the prototypes for the first three classes of US nuclear submarines. Museum documentation of operational US built diesel submarines in TurkeyTurkey has the only two operational Tang Class submarines in the world.Both ex-USS Tang (SS-563), and ex-USS Gudgeon (SS-567) were firstcommissioned in 19 and were sold to Turkey in the early 1980s.These are the 3rd and 4th oldest working US submarines (The oldest arein Taiwan).Although only a few Tang class boats were built, they where importantboats. Museum documentation of operational US built diesel submarines in Turkey
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