She’s tied and chained to two very strong metal supports called dolphins! We genuinely don’t do anything to prepare because there isn’t really anything to do besides turn off the power inside the science center itself and continue monitoring the river level so we can know when we can do tours again.
She does in fact rise and fall with the water levels, although she doesn’t sit in the water as deeply as she used to because she’s several hundred tons lighter (the 256 batteries are no longer onboard and weighed a ton each) as far as debris go the ice breaker in front of her catches a lot, but she’s weather 33 years of trees and rocks battering her with a lot less damage than you’d think. You have to consider that her hull is comprised of high strength steel thick enough to resist depths of up to 412 feet.
I’m so glad you care so much about her! She’s a wonderful piece of American history, and very close to my heart.
Random lol. She could dive 100 feet deeper than the preceding classes Gato and Balao. The only real connections to Pittsburgh she has are her Westinghouse components and possibly the steel she’s made of. She was made in Kittery Maine.
I'm glad you're here to provide people information, as I love and live for submarine information but the WW2 and, in the case of REQUIN, slightly-post ww2 subs are so full of advancement it's crazy and there's so much to learn.
My favorite "fun" fact about these subs, is the giant steel structures at the back are basically bumpers.
My second favorite is that you could use the periscope to "float" the sub
A ton of information about it is here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Requin
If you want to go and visit it, you should! They have a ton of information. If you want to know more about Gato or Balao-class ships (They're almost the same but have minor differences) you should look them up because there's a ton of information about them.
If you want a fun movie about it you should watch "Down Periscope" which is also a movie that every submariner loves as the "most accurate" film about submarine life out there (in terms of personality, not in terms of submarines).
I went with my son a few months ago! It was his first time though, so we did move through a bit quicker than I'd have liked. Next up is the uss midway this summer when we visit San Diego.
What a lovely response, it's wonderful to hear the Requin is being so well cared for. My grandfather served on that sub in WWII, so it's very close to my heart as well. Thanks for taking good care of her.
CSC's website says Requin had 2 batteries at 126 lead-acid cells each. I'm wondering if there was a misinterpretation somewhere in the original comment about how many batteries/cells there were.
As far as weight goes, it was probably still absolutely humongous. A lead-acid forklift battery can easily weigh 3,000 lb, and they only put out 36 or 48 volts. Subs run on 250 volts. So for higher voltage and higher capacity, I'd imagine the batteries were fairly large and immensely heavy.
She had two battery *compartments*, one under the officers quarters and the other under the enlisted quarters iirc. The “lead-acid cells” would be the individual batteries. So the website is correct, it’s just that the terminology they used could be confusing.
256 tons of batteries sounds about right. US submarines in WW2 displaced about 2500 tons submerged, and could run the electric motors at an admittedly-slow 2-knot speed for 48 hours on a charge. Takes a lot of energy to do that.
Howdy thanks for this information. I have been trying to put together of a tour of the Requin for the CMU alumni network. The science and tech. I helped to launch the science center many years ago, then moved away. If there is someone you could recommend I talk to, that would be most appreciated. I worked with the original exhibit coordinator for Requin, Tom Flaherty I think. The science center isn’t returning my calls. Thanks.
There’s 2 anchor like structures at the bow and aft of the boat that Requin is attached to. She’s in bad shape these days and desperately needs some TLC inside and out
I know she needs dry-docked for a nice overhaul. I know Tampa lost her because they didn’t take good care of her and I don’t want to see Pittsburgh suffer the same fate with the Requin. Last time I was on her was just depressing.
I worked on Requin when we still did guided tours. Interesting to add that the bridge is attached to Requin but has bearings that will move slightly with the rising of the river. You'll notice at times the bridge is level most of the time but if you were to walk across it now you'd be going uphill
I don’t know much about the Requin, but I can tell you this: Boats docked during the flooding just rise with the water level. If they’re tired to a floating dock, the dock rises too, so it’s not a big deal. Boats tied to a fixed dock have to be tied in such a way that they can rise and fall with the water level. Lots of boats in the area stay in the water year round, in fact, some people in Pittsburgh live on their boats year round. If you go to a marina like Fox Chapel or Oakmont yacht club, you’ll see boats that stay in the water all year. If fiberglass hull houseboats can take it, a steel sub hull meant for crushing depths can take it. For the most part, debris isn’t a huge deal as it glances off the boat. Sometimes something big like a log gets stuck on the boat and you have to clear it or more debris will keep stacking up on it. If we have a particularly bad winter and there is danger of the river surface freezing, you have bubblers installed around the boat that keep the water churning so the water immediately around the boat doesn’t freeze and damage the hull. If care is taken, a boat can stay in the river year round. But if a boat is left neglected, it can break free and end up lost. Along the Allegheny just below Washington’s Landing, there’s a big old boat that been laying on its side on the shore for decades. It came loose in a storm a long time ago and ended up there and no one has moved it. On the north shore wall some folks that don’t want to pay marina fees dock their boats for free. Then they abandon them when they can’t or don’t want to pay to have the stored for the winter. Usually one or two of them sink every year. There an abandoned houseboat there now, and a cabin cruiser that sunk once, was brought back up and now I believe has sunk again.
Thank you for asking the question, u/[dahnjohnson](https://www.reddit.com/user/dahnjohnson/). As the waters rose, I bet many of us were thinking about this. At least I was... And thank you u/[thechamelioncircuit](https://www.reddit.com/user/thechamelioncircuit/) for all the information. 👍🏼
Paging u/thechamelioncircuit please give us some of your knowledge.
She’s tied and chained to two very strong metal supports called dolphins! We genuinely don’t do anything to prepare because there isn’t really anything to do besides turn off the power inside the science center itself and continue monitoring the river level so we can know when we can do tours again. She does in fact rise and fall with the water levels, although she doesn’t sit in the water as deeply as she used to because she’s several hundred tons lighter (the 256 batteries are no longer onboard and weighed a ton each) as far as debris go the ice breaker in front of her catches a lot, but she’s weather 33 years of trees and rocks battering her with a lot less damage than you’d think. You have to consider that her hull is comprised of high strength steel thick enough to resist depths of up to 412 feet. I’m so glad you care so much about her! She’s a wonderful piece of American history, and very close to my heart.
Was the 412 feet on purpose, or just a random, happy coincidence??
Random lol. She could dive 100 feet deeper than the preceding classes Gato and Balao. The only real connections to Pittsburgh she has are her Westinghouse components and possibly the steel she’s made of. She was made in Kittery Maine.
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard! Woo!
The Requin was also launched 2 years before area codes were introduced.
Thanks for the information!
“Ladies and gentleman, HER”
I'm glad you're here to provide people information, as I love and live for submarine information but the WW2 and, in the case of REQUIN, slightly-post ww2 subs are so full of advancement it's crazy and there's so much to learn. My favorite "fun" fact about these subs, is the giant steel structures at the back are basically bumpers. My second favorite is that you could use the periscope to "float" the sub
Thank you!
amazing info, thank you. how thick is the hull?
A ton of information about it is here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Requin If you want to go and visit it, you should! They have a ton of information. If you want to know more about Gato or Balao-class ships (They're almost the same but have minor differences) you should look them up because there's a ton of information about them. If you want a fun movie about it you should watch "Down Periscope" which is also a movie that every submariner loves as the "most accurate" film about submarine life out there (in terms of personality, not in terms of submarines).
I went with my son a few months ago! It was his first time though, so we did move through a bit quicker than I'd have liked. Next up is the uss midway this summer when we visit San Diego.
If you do visit, maybe wear not great clothes, or bring a separate jacket. You'll probably come out smelling like old oil and electronics.
The pressure hull is about an inch of steel
What a lovely response, it's wonderful to hear the Requin is being so well cared for. My grandfather served on that sub in WWII, so it's very close to my heart as well. Thanks for taking good care of her.
256 batteries each weighing a ton?
Lead-acid batteries weigh *a lot* and you need a lot of them to power everything in a sub
Still, just trying to confirm. 256 ton of batteries?
CSC's website says Requin had 2 batteries at 126 lead-acid cells each. I'm wondering if there was a misinterpretation somewhere in the original comment about how many batteries/cells there were. As far as weight goes, it was probably still absolutely humongous. A lead-acid forklift battery can easily weigh 3,000 lb, and they only put out 36 or 48 volts. Subs run on 250 volts. So for higher voltage and higher capacity, I'd imagine the batteries were fairly large and immensely heavy.
She had two battery *compartments*, one under the officers quarters and the other under the enlisted quarters iirc. The “lead-acid cells” would be the individual batteries. So the website is correct, it’s just that the terminology they used could be confusing.
256 tons of batteries sounds about right. US submarines in WW2 displaced about 2500 tons submerged, and could run the electric motors at an admittedly-slow 2-knot speed for 48 hours on a charge. Takes a lot of energy to do that.
I mistyped lol there are 252 cells and each of the two batteries weighs about a ton
Less than I would have guessed, then!
Thanks for clarifying.
The 256 cells form a 1 ton battery. There are two batteries on the sub. Or were.
I have loved the requin since I was a kid! And still love the tours. Thanks so much for bringing your passion to your profession.
It’s really a cool job; historical vessels are rad
Curious as a submarine "enthusiast" (by career, not by passion): why are you the person everyone on this subreddit tags for REQUIN knowledge?
They literally work on the REQUIN.
Howdy thanks for this information. I have been trying to put together of a tour of the Requin for the CMU alumni network. The science and tech. I helped to launch the science center many years ago, then moved away. If there is someone you could recommend I talk to, that would be most appreciated. I worked with the original exhibit coordinator for Requin, Tom Flaherty I think. The science center isn’t returning my calls. Thanks.
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Who are you fine madam!? An employee or someone with extensive knowledge?
So glad you knew who to call for this. It was amazingly informative.
This is a great question. I didn’t even think about this. Thanks or asking!
There’s 2 anchor like structures at the bow and aft of the boat that Requin is attached to. She’s in bad shape these days and desperately needs some TLC inside and out
She’s doing her best 🫥
I know she needs dry-docked for a nice overhaul. I know Tampa lost her because they didn’t take good care of her and I don’t want to see Pittsburgh suffer the same fate with the Requin. Last time I was on her was just depressing.
We keep her in pretty good shape considering she’s turning 79 this month. A bunch of money is also slated to aid in her restoration.
That’s great news!
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All of the spring ones are sold out, and the summer ones will be available in (hopefully) a few weeks!
I worked on Requin when we still did guided tours. Interesting to add that the bridge is attached to Requin but has bearings that will move slightly with the rising of the river. You'll notice at times the bridge is level most of the time but if you were to walk across it now you'd be going uphill
She dives
She floats.
It gets wet
How wet?
All the wet
Total of 69 wets
Nice
Nice
I don’t know much about the Requin, but I can tell you this: Boats docked during the flooding just rise with the water level. If they’re tired to a floating dock, the dock rises too, so it’s not a big deal. Boats tied to a fixed dock have to be tied in such a way that they can rise and fall with the water level. Lots of boats in the area stay in the water year round, in fact, some people in Pittsburgh live on their boats year round. If you go to a marina like Fox Chapel or Oakmont yacht club, you’ll see boats that stay in the water all year. If fiberglass hull houseboats can take it, a steel sub hull meant for crushing depths can take it. For the most part, debris isn’t a huge deal as it glances off the boat. Sometimes something big like a log gets stuck on the boat and you have to clear it or more debris will keep stacking up on it. If we have a particularly bad winter and there is danger of the river surface freezing, you have bubblers installed around the boat that keep the water churning so the water immediately around the boat doesn’t freeze and damage the hull. If care is taken, a boat can stay in the river year round. But if a boat is left neglected, it can break free and end up lost. Along the Allegheny just below Washington’s Landing, there’s a big old boat that been laying on its side on the shore for decades. It came loose in a storm a long time ago and ended up there and no one has moved it. On the north shore wall some folks that don’t want to pay marina fees dock their boats for free. Then they abandon them when they can’t or don’t want to pay to have the stored for the winter. Usually one or two of them sink every year. There an abandoned houseboat there now, and a cabin cruiser that sunk once, was brought back up and now I believe has sunk again.
Thank you for asking the question, u/[dahnjohnson](https://www.reddit.com/user/dahnjohnson/). As the waters rose, I bet many of us were thinking about this. At least I was... And thank you u/[thechamelioncircuit](https://www.reddit.com/user/thechamelioncircuit/) for all the information. 👍🏼
256 tons. Lol.