Comparing the image Dorjan found with the image I reproduce in the OP, it looks as if it could be the same thing, but only if part of it is blocked by whatever it is that looks like a cylindrical structure, which would mean that whatever that is couldn’t be in the background. Also, there’s a lot more stuff in the OP image than in Dorjan’s.
It could be that there’s a piece attached near the railing that curves up and resembles a gun, but with something obscuring part of it. And then there’s a lot of other pipe-like stuff around the base. It’s complicated, but, if that’s the case, this isn’t a gun. It might be an assembly or random pipes standing upright.
That’s the Gato class fleet boat in Manitowoc, right? What did the guide do? I want to take my dad, a former 1st class Machinist’s Mate, to see it, but not if it’s going to irritate him.
Interestingly, the S-49 stopped at Manitowoc, too. Several of the cities she visited (Buffalo, Cleveland, Chicago, etc.) have or had “museum submarines” there later.
Overall, he was pretty good, and nothing really outlandish.
I get overly annoyed when details are wrong, such as then the guide said that the USN’s whole supply of torperdoes were destroyed in Pearl Harbor, when it was actually in the attack on the Philippines, and it was only the torpedeos they had stored there.
There were a few other things he was incorrect, but I don’t remember them offhand.
As long as people don’t expect guides to be historians, then it should probably be ok.
I’ve looked over my other photos of the S-49 once it was in private hands, looking at that curved thing that appears to be coming from near the rail, rather than (as I originally thought) from the center of the gun deck. It’s definitely there, and appears in pictures back at Point of Pines, well before the trip to Chicago. It seems to disappear sometime after Chicago, but it’s clearly there in many shots. It’s surprisingly slim, and its purpose isn’t clear. In some shots it appears to be tied to the railing, so I suspect it could rotate. It might be an arm for hoisting things onto the deck. It might be a ventilator to bring air down into the sub (I’ve been in several museum subs. They generally have air intakes and circulators for the benefit of the visitors), although it appears to be a bit small for that.
Whatever it is, it’s not on the original plans, or in photos of the S-49 from her Navy days.
The eBay picture you linked it is for sale, so I bought it.
Yeah my gut feeling is that it’s a davit of some type, bolted to the deck to help move something on and off the boat, and removed when not needed. Nice to see you’ve added the photo to your collection!
The Cod is, I understand, located right where the S-49 was tied up for the Great Lakes Expo in 1936-7. It was the Midway area, with the reproduction Globe theater nearby.
Yep, almost exactly! It was a very popular attraction at the fair. I found an article announcing it’s arrival. There’s a photo too, but it didn’t scan very well and there’s no mock deck gun or mystery davit in sight.
I’ve just gone through my collection of photos at home. Once you know the damned thing is there, and might be pointing in any direction, you can clearly see the davit (o whatever it is), even on photos of the S-49 in Navy service and as far back as 1925. You can also see a similar curved davit on photos of other S-boat submarines.
But not on any of the Navy photos showing the submarine under weigh. It must have been demountable, enabling them to stow it so that it wouldn’t back against the hull or create unwanted drag. I can’t find it on any pictures of the S-49 (or other S-boats) that show thw davit under any circumstances except while docked.
After the S-49 came into private hands, that was another story. She wasn’t going to be submerging – not with the dive controls locked and no storage batteries on board. So the davit could stay out all the time, if they wanted. They may have taken it down when they were giving tours, though, because there are some photos where I can’t see it. But it would have been useful in bringing heavy things on board, especially if the ramps were in use.
I’ve been poring over my Type IV S-boat plans. I can’t find either a deck-mounted davit at that location, or any fitting for it.
I did find four sockets for Torpedo Loading Cranes, two in the front and two in the back (because these subs had a rear torpedo tube as well as four forward-facing tubes. But a.) none of these are in the place near the gun deck that they appear to be in the photos and b.) the cranes themselves don’t look like the curved davits that seem to be in the photos. The cranes have a vertical section with a jointed moving straight section that can be used to haul the torpedo up.
So the plans don’t appear to show anything like that curved davit at that location. But that curved davit appears to be in other Type IV S-boats , and to be a Navy innovation, not something the civilian owners decided to add. I admit that I’m confused. This might call for another visit to the National Archives.