Why Is That Sub On Dry Land?!?? 

I really enjoy these Szimanski-style visits to other museum ships and talking not just about the history of the object but also the complexities of conservation and display.

I volunteer for the Bama's living history crew and I was so excited for our last drill that brought in workers and volunteers from other museum ships around the country for the HNSA yearly meeting. Almost fell out of my chair at the luau when they mentioned the New Jersey and the people who make their videos were there as well. Happy they did a video by the ole drum while they were down.

We went to Alabama for vacation this year and actually spent two days at the USS Alabama park. Absolutely AMAZING! To be able to freely walk these ships and just take it all in just totally blew us away! Thank you to all who work endlessly to make these beautiful ships available to those who want to see them.

I have been to this museum many times in my life, I have spent the night on the Alabama many times, all the way back when she and the drum were both floating and before the aircraft building was built. I remember when the got the SR-71, and when Drum was taken out of the bay. I always loved our trips there and can't wait till I can take my boys to see them very soon. Also I have spent a few nights on the USS Kidd in Baton Rouge and I visited the Korean war museum in Korea while I was stationed there and they had a few smaller vessels on dry land. But I always remember time on the Alabama and Kidd sleeping where the sailors did and the ships rocking in the waves...

I have this Greek mate who has been living in Australia for around 20 years. One day while driving to Melbourne we stopped off in Holbrook for a hambuger. As you may be aware Holbrook is a small inland town next to a creek, but has some history attached to submarines and torpedoes. While walking back to the car he noticed the Oberon class sub sitting in the middle of a park buried up to it's waterline. Of course it is only the outer hull and sail but in a green-grassed park, from a distance looks like a sub at sea. "How the bloody hell did that get here" he asked. I just couldn't help myself and replied, "well during the last big flood it came up the swollen creek to deliver goods and evacuate some of the towns people. And while there the flood receded and it's been stuck there ever since". He took the bait hook, line and sinker and now I fear that if he ever finds out the truth, he might kill me.

In bridge design they support the beams on a neoprene bearing pad, perhaps the same could be done to minimize direct contact with the concrete anchors. I know the submarine floating away is a very serious issue but my inner 10 year old thought “How cool would it be to have a submarine wash up in your back yard!”

I was obsessed with WWII German U-Boats many years ago so I made it a mission to visit them. U-995 Type VIIC is on the beach in Laboe and of course in the USA the U-505 IXC in Chicago tidy in an enclosed museum.

I visited USS Alabama and USS Drum in the late 80's ... when Drum was moored behind Alabama....need to go back down and revisit.

USS Batfish in Muskogee, OK, when the river super flooded she tried to make a break for the sea

i visited the submarine batfish in oklahoma with my wife and friends!! i couldn't believe how confine the compartments are!! it was awesome!! and got to see the mast of the uss oklahoma!! watching from missoura!! love the mighty mo!!👍🤘🖖😉🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

I finally got to go to the USS Alabama museum this year and can't wait to go back

I remember reading about USS Batfish refloating during the 2019 OK floods. She's just sat on the ground on her hull, not chained to anything, allowing her to float when the museum really didn't want her too.

I’ve seen the USS Batfish, she’s in Muskogee Oklahoma, super cool to see a sub in the middle of the US. Her story is quite amazing.

Seeing how sadly deteriorated the USS Ling had become from sitting in the mud and lack of maintenance I prefer seeing these ships properly mounted on stands.

I've been to Mikasa park in Yokosuka, Japan, three times now. Mikasa is basically embedded in concrete up to the waterline. You can train some of the tertiary battery guns and can see a lot of the internal spaces which are used for displays and diagrams of the Battle of Tsushima. It's always very cool to visit the last pre-dreadnought remaining.

You are in my stomping ground. Love coming to the USS Alabama park

I've visited U.S.S Alabama many times. One of my final memories with my dad before he died was going there with him and my daughter. He was wheelchair bound so could not climb around the ship, but he got rolled up onto the deck.

I actually watched the process to move the Drum to land in the summer of 2001. Was a very interesting piece of engineering. I only wish i would have taken photos.

When we lived near Meridian Mississippi, we did make a trip to Mobile and went through the USS Alabama and the USS Drum. The Drum was still in water at that time. I wouldn't trade that day for anything. It's a precious memory.

Hey a question I can answer for once! I've been on the Drum, and Alabama, before, beautiful submarine and the Alabama is massive.

Ahhh I used to see these guys every year when I was a kid. Used to be you could go all the way up the conning tower and it was just so amazing. Ended up meeting a submariner while I was walking through USS Drum when I was like 8 years old and he gave us an awesome tour of the boat. Awesome place.

Excellent in every way. Thanks for your work and authoritative presentations.

Oh my gosh! I remember seeing this with my Boy Scout Troop! We had so much fun seeing the planes and stuff. I also remember sleeping on the USS Alabama and playing manhunt with some of the other troops. We also visited Pensacola Naval Air Base as well. So many good memories.

I've been aboard USS Cobia, SS245, which acts as a stand in for the 28 "freshwater" submarines built in Manitowoc, WI during WWII. The Cobia is still afloat in the Manitowoc River, is listed as a National Historic Place(and traditionally trades salutes with another National Historic Place that serves as part of Highway 10, the SS Badger car ferry). Cobia is also credited by the Wisconsin Maritime Museum as having the oldest known operational radar set in the world.

I've visited DRUM twice; once as a kid when she was still floating, then a couple of years ago. A deck around the boat at the waterline would help preserve the sight of her afloat, but the underwater part could still be accessible. OR, build a dummy drydock deck around her to give the impression of being out of water for overhaul.

I've visited my local museum ships, USS Hazard and USS Marlin, here in Omaha, Nebraska. They are both out of the water but right next to the river and have wandered a bit when we get floods.

Visited the USS Alabama and USSDrum several years ago with my family, and some friends. I was pleasantly surprised at how well maintained that they both were! I really enjoyed the trip, though I can't say as much for my family and friends...I don't think they enjoyed it as much as I did. I think that this museum was set up the year I was born, 1964. Thank you so much for presenting this! Also, the Pensacola Aviation museum and Lighthouse is a special visit that I highly recommend! Thank you again!

I’ve visited the USS Drum and Alabama many times!!!

USS Albacore (AGSS-569) in Portsmouth, NH It's research submarine that pioneered the US version of the teardrop hull form of modern submarines. Well maintained. Self paced tour. Nice museum ship to visit.

“Macro-artifacts” Imagine being an archeologist and discovering one of these. “It belongs in a museum!”

Great video from the battleship.

So glad to see you in my home state of Alabama. I visit and support the USS Alabama whenever I'm down that way. Will you be doing episodes aboard ship?

Swedish sub HMS Neptun is a great example of this, it even has a little friend beside it in the facility.

greetings from pensacola!! love visiting the USS Alabama every year, and the Drum too of course

I believe the last time I was on the drum was when she was still in the water. I think one of the major events that lead to the decision to bring the drum on land was a series of Hurricanes caused significant damage to the ship. It was either Opal or the major one a few years later that first started the discussion to bring her on land. I love that old boat. She has a long distinguished service history. One of the unique things about the drum though is I believe the conning tower was actually replaced mid war due to combat damage.

Hello, I'm a ship-lover from landlocked Bavaria. So wherever I go, I strive to visit museum ships wherever possible, and come to think of it, a lot of them a on dry land, like: Cutty Sark in London, now propped up on a specially built steel cradle, connected to her framework. Even her keel is high in the air. Fram and Gjöa in Oslo. Two rather small ships designed to deal with immense ice-pressure, so I guess they wouldn't pancake easily. Echo in Picton. A Scow, designed to sit on the shore for loading and unloading. She sadly has been broken up meanwhile. U1 and Theodor Heuss in Munich. A submarine (inside a building, dry all around) and a lifeboat. And I know two local river-barges (Plätten), propped up next to the Inn river in Rosenheim, one of them inside a museum. This also reminds me of my cousin, who worked as a junior in an engineering firm, who was supervising a larger construction project. The concrete box, which was to form the basement had been cast when heavy rain set in and the water in the ditch around it rose faster than inside. It was saturday, nobody picked up the phone (the time before cellphones), so she, the office junior, had to decide that the basement was about to float up and destroy itself and it was best to just flood the whole thing to weigh it down. Luckily, her boss approved of her crisis management and all was well.

Cool…! Thanks for sharing!

I happened to visit the Drum when I was working in Alabama. I enjoyed the presentation they had.

I wish i could have gotten a tour with you as a guide when I visited last year.

A few years ago my family and went to see to uss Alabama and the uss drum it was awesome to see that little piece of histor

Thank You for the Sub videos, we toured the Drum this summer. Was worth the trip from Kansas.

wow i just asked this exact question on a different creaters video. This is great thank you

I remember touring USS Drum while it was in the water behind BB60 many times as a young kid and early teen. This is my home state park and one of my favorite places. Looking at Drum from The rear deck of BB60 (by the float plane) will never leave my memory

Me and my boys toured the drum a few years back Really cool!!!

Excellent review

The Family and I visited the Drum and USS Alabama in Aug of this year was really cool.

I just visited this sub and battleship Alabama last week. After watching several of your videos, it was incredibly exciting to see it first hand. One day I hope to see the USS New Jersey as well!

I saw USS DRUM when I went to see USS ALABAMA several years ago. I have also made two visits to U-505 when it was on display in the open air. Seeing it now that they have it enclosed and safe from the elements is on my 'To Do' list.

The USS Albacore is a museum submarine in Portsmouth, NH. A trench was dug from the Piscataqua River across a roadway and a set of railroad tracks and then the sub was floated to its display location. Then the trench was filled in behind the sub and the water was pumped out. Albacore was a research submarine and the first sub to use the teardrop shaped hull used later in nuclear subs. Inside the depth and speed gauges are still covered as the sub's top speed and deepest dive depth are still classified.

Great series. Yes, visited the Drum and the Albacore.

I used to live in Pensacola as a kid and would visit the Alabama and Drum all the time. The last time I was there the Drum was still in the water behind the battleship so you can tell it's been a few years:)

USS Alabama,USS Texas, USS Lexington, USS New Jersey, loved them all. Great vid.

Been to the Uboat at the Science and Industry museum in Chicago. It used to be outside but dry docked and now they built a building around it to preserve it.

ive seen this guy everywhere. subbed for that guy

I've visited the USS Cavalla and the Buckley-class DE USS Stewart which are both dry-berthed in Galveston, buried up to the waterline.

Visited the Alabama in '92' when the drum was still in the water, just aft of the Battleship. What a fabulous museum park. Perhaps the best in the country. Lots to see for us Viet Vets!

Glad to see you in my neck of the woods. Born in Mobile and have been going to the Battleship park since the late 70's. Now I get to take my kid.

My German teacher used to take us on field trips to the U-505 in Chicago as well as the Christ kindle market for our Christmas fieldtrip. Was always amusing to us. But was really awesome to see the submarine especially the inside tours.

I was fortunate enough to grow up very close to Drum , Alabama , and the assorted exhibits . Was on Drum many many times before they pulled her out. So glad they did.

A number of years ago I took a driving tour of several states and visited the USS Drum on my way west and the USS Razorback in Little Rock on my way back east. It was good to experience a submarine both in and out of the water. Seeing the parts of the Drum that I couldn't see on the Razorback gave a little more perspective that I wouldn't have had otherwise. The folks in the Razorback visitors center asked me how the experience differed between the 2 boats. It was a very similar experience but I told them that at least their boat is still in water.

We have an Oberon class boat up high and dry in Fremantle Western Australia Went on it 3 weeks ago , what an eye opener that was 👍👍

I have been aboard both the Drum & the Alabama. The aircraft pavilion & outdoor displays are all awesome too. It's been a few years. I need to go again.

The USS Albacore is on dry land in New Hampshire. It was built here at the Portsmouth shipyard (when they built subs) it was to test the teardrop design.

I remember visiting the Drum when it was at the old Washington Navy Yard back in the mid-60's clp

I remember going on her when she was still in the water behind the battle ship. I was a little fella. probably 35, 36 years ago. when we went about 12 years ago she was out of the water but had 2 and 3 foot holes rusted in the hull at the water line. they have done an excellent job with it.

I was in Texas about five years ago, so I visited the Lexington, Texas, and Sea Wolf park which has a sub and a destroyer escort on dryland. Interesting visit.

I think the way the Japanese brought the IJN Mikasa into a dry slip, closed it off, then backfilled to support the hull is a good way to preserve very old ships. Mikasa is the last of the late 19th century British battleships remaining, plus the flagship at Tsushima Strait in 1905. It is the centerpiece of a nice park on the waterfront in Yokosuka Japan, and if in the country, well worth the visit.

The Nimitz Museum in Fredericksburg, TX has The Japanese Midget Sub HA-19. It was one of the five midget subs involved in the attack on Pearl Harbor. It sits displayed inside the museum. Worth the visit if you're ever passing through the area.

The last time I was on the UUS Drum was the week before Catrina. In seeing the earlier damage, I think they did the right thing, and are doing well with their work!!!

I remember going to it as a kid when it was still in the water. Having seen the damage to the hanger after katrina, I can only imagine what would of been the outcome if she was still in the water at the time. Never knew it was anchored down though, that's pretty cool.

I visited the Alabama and Drum pretty much 30 years ago.(1991) When I was a little boy. Somewhere I have a picture of me sitting at one of the AA guns on the deck of the Alabama. The drum was still in the water then.

I've visited the North Carolina and the Alabama memorials. A great walk thru time...

I proudly served in the Navy and have been on the USS Alabama, USS Missouri, USS Drum while in the water and out on land, USS Pampanito as well as the USS Arizona Memorial. I also toured the Star of India although not a US military ship.

We visited there Four years ago was a great day would love to go again one day

I remember when Drum was in the water. She was parked right behind Alabama.

There’s two confederate ironclads in the mobile river that need to raised and preserved. There was a movement to raise them but haven’t heard anything in years….

U-505 being mounted underground so that you enter from above it is, to me, the most unique presentation of a museum ship.

You know a good way to solve both of the problems of not being able to see the undersides of a ship, and keeping it in the water? Aquarium Docking. Build an Aquarium around the ship, in or near where it would normally be in the water; pump out all the silt, salt, and other water garbage that would cause the ship extra damage and cloud the water, and keep the water clean and clear with aquarium filtration and such. Then, museum patrons can see the underwater parts by literally going into an underground area where they can see up through the water to the bottom of the ship, all the way around. Yes it is FAR more expensive, but it would give the best of both options. It would be INSANELY expensive though I think.

U534 springs to mind, got inside a few times while it was a museum ship before it was cut into sections after the original museum went out of business and it was bought by Merseytravel. At least it wasn't scrapped though.

Visited the submarine Albacore, in Portsmouth, NH, many years ago.

I remember visiting, Battleship Park, when I was a kid. The Drum, was still moored in the water at the time, and wasn't put on dry land until after hurricane Katrina came through. If I'm not mistaken, we toured the inside of Drum also.

My wife and I visited the USS Alabama in 1977. The park was much smaller back the and the USS Drum was in the water parked behind the battleship. I was fascinated by what I saw, I know that many more pieces of equipment have been added since then

I've been to the USS Batfish SS-310 in Muskogee, OK which is on dryland and the USS Kidd DD-661 in Baton Rouge, LA which is permanently moored on the Mississippi river.

I have visted USS Drum along with the Alabama, a must visit museum

I've been on quite a few warships in my life but I think my favorite is the U505 in Chicago at the Museum of Science & Industry. Not only is the story surrounding the boat amazing but it's now in a fully enclosed building encompassing a huge array of artifacts, memorabilia and exhibits.

IMO the way USS Kidd is displayed is the ideal way to display a museum ship. Also, I can't help but think that taking a ship out of the water takes away the magic, like clipping a birds wings, or something.

I visited the Wasa museum in Sweden last year, they have en extensive part about the preservation of the ship. It, being wood, moves up to centimeters yearly. They control it as best they can, but time will win eventually. It has a pretty elaborate laser system to check the movement. Interesting stuff for sure.

I have visited many times the captured German WWII submarine U505 at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry which is on land. Great school trip and many family visits also. This was great museum experience since so many things were “hands on” displays, something unique in late 60’s.

In 2017 I visited USS drum and battleship USS Alabama. Was an of the cuff visit as we spotted a sign on the highway

I have visited the U505 in Chicago many times since I was a kid. In all that time, it has been out of water. I was outdoors for many decades but within the last 20 years, it was moved to an underground cavern specifically designed for her.

You have finally visited the Alabama me and my father go every year

I've gone to the USS Alabama park and its amzing

I've been on both the Drum and Alabama twice. 1st time both were in the water, 2nd time both were out. (Alabama had a coffer dam around her so the water could be pumped out to repair the ship). As a kid it was exciting to go into a sub that was in the water, but as an adult I understand the logic of preserving dry.

SS Meteor , Superior Wi. Neat display, very unique ship..

In November of 2019, we visited the Alabama and the Drum. both our sons who are retired from the Air Force were shocked at how cramped the interior of the Drum was! I served in the USS Blueback (SS-581), a diesel boat and though much newer, really didn't have much more space that the WW II boats.

As a citizen of the great state of Alabama as soon as you said we're in Alabama I knew exactly what submarine it was

Hopefully I can catch you next time you visit the Alabama, sadly this past time I was at work

I live in Pensacola, Fl, about 60 mile east and have visited the Museum a number of times. I also lived near Charleston, S.C. and spent time at Patriots Point.

We had this issue with the USS Batfish in Oklahoma a while back. Heavy flooding floated the boat and moved her off her mounts.

I saw the Drum and the Alabama back in the mid 1970s. The group I was with sang "Roll Alabama Roll" as we pulled into the park. It is about the CSA Alabama but it seemed appropriate.