Hay cod I have some of these lightbulbs and a pigtail my dad repaired subs that came back from the pacific in 43- 45 i remember it well, if I can find them I will drop them off to pampanito for you. May Thea’s Boats Last For Ever.
In the UK they used ruby red light bulbs. The bulbs themselves are made from a gorgeously dark red glass, very thick and heavy. I got a box of them on eBay years ago! There are more on sale now! They have “property of HM Government” stamped on them. They don’t produce much light but it’s deep, rich red!
night light sockets with the word "BLUE" cast into them, Because when they were built, that is the color the Navy thought would preserve night vision... The realization they were wrong may have been early in 1943 and changed to red but they just replaced the globe not the whole fixture.
About 20 years ago, I bought one of those pigtail socket extensions from a surplus store here in the Minneapolis/St.Paul area. It looks just like that in the video. I remember they had a whole box of them (now long gone) and I dug through and found one that the short rubber cord wasn't cracked on. I honestly didn't know what it was really made for other than I made use of it in a basement backroom to lower the bulb down below some duct work. It's still installed in my backroom today. Let me know if you want pictures of it, assuming it really is a submarine pigtail.
Blue lighting is used for night vision in some spaces aboard surface ships because red affects the visibility of the radar and computer screens. Also, blue lights were typically used at refueling-at-sea stations aboard surface ships.
Something else blue light related. Surface ships have three stern lights. A regular white light (which can be set to bright or dim) a blue "convoy" stern light (designed to be visible from the ship directly astern and no further) and a "wake" light which, believe it or not, is to illuminate the wake. I am not sure why, but I'm thinking it also has to do with convoy operations. Might be even less visible at a distance than the blue convoy light? Perhaps used in heavy weather?
Early in the 40s, they believed blue lights were better for night vision, and so they were called blue lights and had the blue lights in the fixtures. It was later they determined that red light was better, but the lights were cast already.
In the theater, back stage running lights are usually blue. That's because if any light spills out in view of the audience, blue is less noticeable than red. Since there is a long history of sailors also working backstage on the rigging in theaters, that might be why they chose blue first.
Believed? Doing an experiment must be an insurmountable obstacle. Strangely enough a lot of work on color theory was done way way before that, so smells like BS.
On the nuclear submarines I served in, our main lighting was fluorescent and some of our emergency lighting was incandescent. We had modified battle lanterns hooked up to emergency lighting bus. Just to reinforce the peculiarities of submarine adaptation, the fluorescent tubes in our lighting had what was called depth charge clips. Meant to keep the tubes from unseating. By the time we came along, I seriously doubt even a modern boat would survive a depth charge, make that a depth bomb. No doubt a nuke.
I’ve been there. If you’ve never seen this exhibit-it’s down the street from the rock & roll hall of fame in Cleveland-you need to. It’s crazy to see what they lived with.
Paul, try "Armaflex" (brand) foam pipe insulation. It comes in various I.D.s and is probably about the right thickness. With cool LED lamps the foam will probably not be in jeopardy of being damaged. Test a bit out and see. It is commonly available. SIZES AVAILABLE: ½”, 1” (13mm, 25mm) Nominal Wall Thickness 1/2" to 1-3/8" ID in 1/2" walls; 1/2" to 6" IPS ID in 1" walls Architect - former diesel boat submariner
Want to once again give a shout out to the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet program. As an alumni (1972-76) the Sea Cadets organized a campaign of restoration for the Cod. As I stated previously, I became a plank owner of those efforts. Whenever I'm back in Cleveland I do spend time aboard her, and those visits bring back many fond memories. Thanks to Paul and all those connected with keeping this proud boat alive.
They did use blue light globes because they had shorter wavelengths, but the Navy he eventually shifted too red because the red has the shortest wavelength. Red light also let's your eyes adjust to the darkness when you go out and it's pitch black out.
Hi Paul, With respect to the rubber rings for the light bulbs that you need to reproduce, you should be able to cast them in silicone using an inexpensive mold. it's a simple process...I will contact you via your website...the process could come in handy for other applications as well..
Haha I love the beginning :D For anyone wondering, the "Henry" Paul is talking about is the museumship CCGS Alexander Henry in Thunder Bay, Ontario. You videos are very informative Paul, I need to get down to Cleveland sooner then later
Paul Go to a old fashioned hardware store to look for what you need. I have a couple of those holder that you are trying to find. However where yours are rubber mine are plastic. They were used by electrician to screw into socket on fuse panels lor light. They were also used in WW2 in vehicle that required lightbulbs tanks, ambulances, mobile field office. I suspect they were also used on ships with large caliber guns to avoid bulb breakage when firing. Check with some on the Battleship museums. If I find mine you can have them. Home Depot has light bulb extenders and so does Lowes.
A most enlightening episode! I'll have to remember to look more closely at the light fixtures next time I visit the Cod. There's always something new to appreciate after I see these videos--thanks for making them!
I was wondering how they safely changed the bulbs. I can't imagine being in a sub while being depth charged especially when the lights go out. It would take nerves of steel. Submariners are brave souls!
Greetings from the Great White North eh! Switch to Blue and I'll stay attentive for you - though I doubt you'd catch me napping on watch during one of your videos. You reminded me about 'Operation Pacific' - got something to watch later now - thank you ;) Respect
Are you sure that's a steam tight and not explosion-proof fixture? As for replacing broken bulbs, we used our fuse pullers, just jammed the end into the broken socket and twisted the remains out.
Blue was also used because it did not affect night vision. But, on surface ships blue light stands out like a sore thumb. It is even more visible then white light.
Greetings from the north shore of Lake Ontario. I'm pretty sure that Canadian ice breakers don't carry depth charges (dynamite maybe but I couldn't say for sure). On the other hand, HMCS Haida (a tribal class destroyer, now a national historic site in Hamilton, ON) most definitely carried depth charges (and used them quite effectively too). Museum ships are awesome. Keep up the good work.
Since you are in the torpedo room. While about the Razorback (N Little Rock) they have a "creeper trolley" on loan from the Cavalla (Galveston) that they would put a man in a torpedo tube to clean & grease it. Quite claustrophobic but would make a great subject. Thanks
Thanks for mentioning the Cavalla, a Gato class sub museum at Seawolf Park in Galveston. Our family visited it several times when all of us lived in Houston. I wonder how the USS Stewart destroyer escort at the same sight is doing. It was in need of remedial painting last time I saw it in the 2000s.
Yes the tube creeper (offical Navy nomenclature) is a fixture aboard fleet subs, one per torpedo room. Many subs are missing one or both. Our one is ashore being analyzed for a project to replicate them. It's indeed a good subject for a future program!
You don't need to check for all kinds of hoses, that won't perfectly fit anyways. Go to any local shop that has a waterjet cutter. Get a sheet of cellular rubber, and have rings cut out. That will have the right dimensions and will look close enough.
Agreed. I very much doubt that the rings were made from hose to begin with. There's no need for cording to reinforce the rubber for this application, and during wartime both rubber and cord are not going to be used if not absolutely required.
As I sit here and study the picture of the light bulb. It looks like the threaded brass connector is longer that what a normal light bulb would be, and the rubber ring just slides over the base. It is my guess that is was a speciality item made by (whatever company) that was contracted to make them. There maybe some sitting a warehouse (forgotten about) that is owned by the Navy. May you have good weather and following seas.
No way, you guys have a TH-cam channel now. I visited the USS COD a few years ago. Back when the coning tower was closed to the public for restoration. I brought my U-505 hat
6:13 Your solution is to make a mold. Not a difficult task since you have an intact part. You will over mold your new lights with a silicone ring. You can add carbon, and flattening agents to make it appear more rubber like, and not glossy. Durometer is determined by the silicone type. With a little additional work you can make a slightly undersized mold for just the ring. Shouldn't be an issue to slide it over with some alcohol for lubrication.
I suggested 3D printing. I would suggest for a molded part that polyurethane would be better. You can get it in a color that looks a lot like rubber. You can easily get it up to 80A so it is very like hard rubber. A 1 pound kit will cost something like $40. You just need a dry environment to work in. Humidity can be your enemy.
I'm sure there are a lot more than just two of those bulbs still in existence. I would posit the actual figure is in the hundreds, if not thousands...the bulk of which being unused 'NOS' examples. The world is a much larger place than we often give it credit for.
@@paulfarace9595 They don't, and the very idea the government would still be warehousing such crap is preposterous. Sure, they don't have the best reputation for spending money wisely, but even THEY wouldn't be that wasteful, LOL. The examples that I posit still exist are the ones that I'm sure many, many serviceman pilfered, whether it be for souvenirs, or simply to use at home in their workshops, as, save for the rubber doughnut, they are still ordinary medium base bulb found and used in every home. It's just a theory, but I bet cases of these things were 'strategically relocated'. As with anything like this, I'm sure most were used up over the years, but it's also just as likely some were just plunked down into the corner of some attic or garage somewhere, and later forgotten about. These, sir, are the NOS examples I suspect still exist.
WWII equipment stocks were so vast many troops were issued WWII date stamped canteens, and pouches in the 1980s (I had one in USAF Basic) and WWII spare parts like .50 Browning MG parts are still commonly in service in 2024 per G.I.s mentioning they were issued such. The enormous equipment auctions that kept "Army-Navy" stores stocked well into the 1970s as bases were drawn down put many tons of obsolete military electronics and kits on the market. Many mixed lots were sold (I miss the last years of bases selling directly to troops at DRMO before that was outsourced) which could well have had those bulbs. It's worth keeping an eye out because not every owner knows what they really have and not all my fellow boomers have croaked yet.
In my day serving in SSK's of the Royal Navy Submarine arm, the main source of lighting in the control room whilst a periscope depth / snorting was 'Black Lighting'!
Hey, it just occurred to me, maybe the long lost treasure on The Curse of Oak Island, is those depth charge bulbs ? Great marketing opportunity. Keep bringing home the bacon Paul !
I wouldn't be surprised if the Ling was loaded with those bulbs but no one can get to them now. I'm going to guess they were originally fitted with or planned to be fitted with blue lights but the Navy found out red was much better for the application
A little something I know from photography darkroom, the red light would washout anything red. You notice that the blue light is over a panel with red switches. It would be hard to see the position of those switches when running red. Just a guess, the blue light would make those switches appear black. I am dying to know if that is a correct assumption. I have to get up to Cleveland sometime and go through the Cod.
Not in this case. Red light maintains night vision but early in the war, when these fixtures were made, the belief was that blue light dilated the pupils.
Looking out at Stuart Channel, from Vancouver Island, I obviously need to pay MUCH closer attention to the Coast Guard when they come by to maintain our navigational aides. Maybe depth charges are useful during Spot Prawn season.
Here’s a fun fact about Rush-Bagot for you: the US armed their Coast Guard cutters on the lakes starting around a decade and a half ago, which was justified by the US on the basis that they were armed for law enforcement duties, not naval duties. At that time, we Canadians reserved our right to do the same. So clearly the Alexander Henry was just showing a little fair exchange with some RCMP-issue depth charges a la Mounties on the Bounty
An option would be latex rubber. Make a mold and add a dye to the latex and you can make all you want cheaply. Note..using LED bulbs heat will not be an issue. Over a decade or so the latex will dry and shrink a bit making your replacement look like an original
Don't know about WWII, or subs, but many surface ships use blue lights in certain areas. As I recall, very dim blue lights are often found in berthing and walkways outside electronics spaces because your eyes perceive it as brighter.
That rubber ring idea we need for string lights on the construction site. Question, what did subs use for electricity? Ac or dc, was it 120 volts, how many amps were the fuses rated?
How about: Not rubber hose. Go find someone with a 3D printer and the "rubber" filament. The LED bulbs don't get all that hot so the stuff will be fine You just need to do an accurate measure of what is needed and get someone to put the couple of hours needed into printing the part.
@@Katchi_ I likely have been doing engineering longer than you have been alive. Unlike what many may believe "vulcanization" has nothing to do with StarTrek. It is some chemistry involving natural rubber and sulfur and some heat. It was discovered by Goodyear. He added sulfur and carbon black. Although many people tell a story of heroic levels of effort to find it, it was in fact and accidental discovery he made after a lot of failure. You used to be able to buy tire patching kits that vulcanized rubber onto the ire you were fixing. You did this outdoors. You clamped the thing over the hole in the tire and put a match to it. There would be a fire and a horrid stink. When the mess cooled off, there was new hard rubber created.
LEDs don't get that hot, cut some small pool noodles or something similar and put black heat shrink on, amazon has heat shrink in all sizes. or use some PVC pipe with heat shrink, use some hole saws and cut some plugs out of wood. you get the point.
I can guess what a steam tite fixture actually is from context where you mentioned your holy grail was found, but maybe make a short video on why vapor tight bulb enclosures were important aboard Cod (Hint: What did submariners fear accumulating in the battery compartment???) and in the fleet in general?
A lot of LED lights have a plastic globe. Glass ones are rare really. The shape isn't quite the same as a 1940s era glass globe. The frosting is also not quite right. If you look at a real light bulb when it is powered off, you will see that the frosting is slightly gray but on an LED it is very white.
@@kensmith5694 By now - at least on my side of the atlantic - you can also get LEDs that are put in exactly the same shape of bulb as the original incandescents. Frosted but not exactly 100% opaque from the screw base up just like basic quality incandescents, without a plastic bit that hides the power supply. They're neat! But also not terribly common. Most people are satisfied with the conventional ones with the plastic base.
@@mfbfreak I made my comment about shape after looking at a few options. I could design one where the power supply was in the center of the bulb area and had LEDs all around it to hide it. I suspect that is what they have done. Note for those who don't do electronics: The actual LEDs are very small things. Think of a square about 0.1 inches (2.5mm) on a side. That would be the size of the LED with some housing around it so it can be handled by machines. A central dot about 1/3rd of that size is the part that lights up. On LED makes a fair bit of light but you are going to need something like 20 of them to match the light of a 50W bulb. Each of those LEDs needs about 3V to light it up. To make life easy, you can wire them in series (end to end) so that you need about 60V of DC to make them work. Getting from the 120VAC mains power down to the 60V is fairly easy to do efficiently. The result is a bulb that only gets warm to the touch.
Red and blue lights are both suitable for low-light conditions and help your eyes adjust to the dark. Red is slightly better at helping your eyes adjust, but it washes out all the colors and some colors completely disappear. Blue is better at distinguishing colors in those low-light conditions but is slightly slower to adapt. So it's a trade-off: do you need to adapt your eyes faster, or do you need to accurately read charts, drawings, notes, etc.?
I remember seeing a few of the light bulbs with the black ring on the USS Ling, I am not sure if they are still on board. Who knows what is actually still left on her. I remember asking specifically why there was the the rubber on the light bulbs when I was a kid.
Ladies of the night, used to put on a red light... Bear with me... If said lady was in a movie it's a blue movie!!! 😂 Hey at least I tried! Loving the channel btw 👍
The red light district got its name from the red signal lamps carried by railroad workers taking a work break at the cat houses often situated near the tracks. The red lamps were filled with kerosene and had to be left on the front porches of the house.
Great video as always. Can you please make a video about how a submarine back then could re-supply at sea. Were submarine tenders a thing in ww2, like they are now? Keep up the great work.
Some of sub tenders (USS Fulton for sure) that we moored too with SSBN and SSN were recommissioned WW2 submarine tenders. I remember seeing photos of “diesel boats” moored up the same as I remember mooring the SSBN too. I am sure those quarterdecks can tell some stories of submariners returning from liberty
Submarine tenders, ships that provided maintenance and resupply for submarines, have been around as long as there have been subs. Like their cousins, seaplane and destroyer tenders, they can provide support facilities forward of permanent shore facilities. Secure a harbor, anchor a tender, and presto! a forward base for subs.
So - when submerged what is the power source to the bulb? same as Surfaced? Submerged a lower voltage DC should make ships systems "easier" - House light bulbs use 120V 60 HZ AC.
The ones in storage would be directly attracted to the hull as the bulbs screwed in are. There wouldn’t be as much of an energy transfer to them. Plus the ones in’s forage would have had lots and lots of padding around them. At that point if a blast is big enough to shatter the protected bulbs in storage, chances are there won’t be anybody left alive
Blue was originally thiugtvto preserve night vision. When they realized red was the right color the fixtures had been made with the word blue cast into them.
@@Studio23Media ok i see the convo now, it wasnt about best color for night vision it was about best color for preserving complete dark vision. Red would suite that better but thats the reason why they switched to green because human eye sees better with it, i mean i know the first night vision models were red vis but they trashed those.
Fun thought. Since the lights are attached to the hull, the hull should give off a faint hum in whatever frequency the ship's AC runs at. Wait, is it AC or DC?
Would be DC. Everything runs off batteries. Diesel charges the batteries with DC generator. Propeller motor is DC. Also in case you didn't know, light bulbs last longer on Direct Current. Alternating Current is hard on the filaments. Same was true for vacuum tubes in radios. Cheap radios did not have a power supply. The tube filaments were wired in series like old Christmas tree lights and dropped the voltage with resistance.
@@dfirth224 Likely correct, I'm thinking about it from airplanes. Some are DC but most run AC for the main system. Rectified as needed. E: Big planes. Your Cessna 150 runs off of an alternator and car battery almost exactly like a 40 year old car would.
@@Name-ot3xw My understanding is that aircraft standard power is 120 volts at 400 hertz AC, and 24 volts DC. When I worked in a lab developing an aircraft system, those were the supply voltages we had to be powered by. (I have some uncertainty about the AC voltage, though. Be aware.) The 400 hertz frequency, by the way, is because many inductive components are frequency-dependent, and with higher frequency the device can be physically smaller and thus of lighter weight.
Modern submarine lighting fixtures do use shock-absorbing mounts. The engineering weenies just hadn't figured out a good way to do it yet when Cod was built.
@@matthewmarting7420 The engines moved because they weren’t isolated. They couldn’t be, though; they’d torque right off the isolators. But simple rubber isolators like you’d get from Grainger or McMaster-Carr, with 2 studs or a stud and threaded insert, would absorb any shock
Excellent vid since you have an original blub and mount (which is the hardest part) almost anything can be fabricated or mocked up would just need to find a fabrication place Can we get a video on the other things in that case or the Momsen lung behind you also blue is to preserve night vision
Maybe there’s a large diameter vibration dampener that would be suitable? Or a rubber mat material the right thickness that could be cut to the size needed?
When I was in in the very early 2000s it was mostly just 18” fluorescents with incandescent DC backups, and if that went to crap there’s the worlds 4th best bludgeon the battle lantern… nothing fancy
😂the HMCS Harry Dewolf ice break doesnt have depth charges. Just a 30mm cannon and coms to call in air support, coulda been a Halifax class frigate though.lol
Hay cod I have some of these lightbulbs and a pigtail my dad repaired subs that came back from the pacific in 43- 45 i remember it well, if I can find them I will drop them off to pampanito for you. May Thea’s Boats Last For Ever.
Can you send us an email please! We’d appreciate it!!! Email is below:
usscodsubmarinememorial@gmail.com
In the UK they used ruby red light bulbs. The bulbs themselves are made from a gorgeously dark red glass, very thick and heavy. I got a box of them on eBay years ago! There are more on sale now! They have “property of HM Government” stamped on them. They don’t produce much light but it’s deep, rich red!
night light sockets with the word "BLUE" cast into them, Because when they were built, that is the color the Navy thought would preserve night vision... The realization they were wrong may have been early in 1943 and changed to red but they just replaced the globe not the whole fixture.
Bingo!!!!❤
THIS is a great esoteric detail. Thanks!
I applaud your energy in the preservation of this glorious boat and the advancement of keeping the story alive. Hope the heat is working too!
About 20 years ago, I bought one of those pigtail socket extensions from a surplus store here in the Minneapolis/St.Paul area. It looks just like that in the video. I remember they had a whole box of them (now long gone) and I dug through and found one that the short rubber cord wasn't cracked on. I honestly didn't know what it was really made for other than I made use of it in a basement backroom to lower the bulb down below some duct work. It's still installed in my backroom today. Let me know if you want pictures of it, assuming it really is a submarine pigtail.
The minutiae are always the most interesting. Bulbs. I never would have thought but here I am enjoying it!
Blue lighting is used for night vision in some spaces aboard surface ships because red affects the visibility of the radar and computer screens. Also, blue lights were typically used at refueling-at-sea stations aboard surface ships.
True for today, but not so in WWII subs.
@@paulfarace9595 Yes, indeed. The blue lighting didn't start coming out until, oh, I guess the early 80s.
@@paulfarace9595 I wasn't saying it was true in WW2, I meant modern times.
I wondered why they used blue in CIC instead of red. Just never thought to ask.
Something else blue light related. Surface ships have three stern lights. A regular white light (which can be set to bright or dim) a blue "convoy" stern light (designed to be visible from the ship directly astern and no further) and a "wake" light which, believe it or not, is to illuminate the wake. I am not sure why, but I'm thinking it also has to do with convoy operations. Might be even less visible at a distance than the blue convoy light? Perhaps used in heavy weather?
Early in the 40s, they believed blue lights were better for night vision, and so they were called blue lights and had the blue lights in the fixtures. It was later they determined that red light was better, but the lights were cast already.
In the theater, back stage running lights are usually blue. That's because if any light spills out in view of the audience, blue is less noticeable than red. Since there is a long history of sailors also working backstage on the rigging in theaters, that might be why they chose blue first.
Believed? Doing an experiment must be an insurmountable obstacle.
Strangely enough a lot of work on color theory was done way way before that, so smells like BS.
RC Musseon Rubber in Akron can probably help you.
You guys are killing it with these videos! Can’t wait to get back into the COD this weekend. Great intro Paul!
As a Submarine Vet, cod is on my bucket list. I Decommissioned the USS Trout SS- 566 in 1978.
On the nuclear submarines I served in, our main lighting was fluorescent and some of our emergency lighting was incandescent. We had modified battle lanterns hooked up to emergency lighting bus. Just to reinforce the peculiarities of submarine adaptation, the fluorescent tubes in our lighting had what was called depth charge clips. Meant to keep the tubes from unseating. By the time we came along, I seriously doubt even a modern boat would survive a depth charge, make that a depth bomb. No doubt a nuke.
I’ve been there. If you’ve never seen this exhibit-it’s down the street from the rock & roll hall of fame in Cleveland-you need to. It’s crazy to see what they lived with.
Paul, try "Armaflex" (brand) foam pipe insulation. It comes in various I.D.s and is probably about the right thickness. With cool LED lamps the foam will probably not be in jeopardy of being damaged. Test a bit out and see. It is commonly available.
SIZES AVAILABLE:
½”, 1” (13mm, 25mm) Nominal Wall Thickness
1/2" to 1-3/8" ID in 1/2" walls; 1/2" to 6" IPS ID in 1" walls
Architect - former diesel boat submariner
Will look into your lead ! Thanks. But we need a thickness of less than 1/2 inch... more like 5/16"
Want to once again give a shout out to the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet program. As an alumni (1972-76) the Sea Cadets organized a campaign of restoration for the Cod. As I stated previously, I became a plank owner of those efforts. Whenever I'm back in Cleveland I do spend time aboard her, and those visits bring back many fond memories. Thanks to Paul and all those connected with keeping this proud boat alive.
A plank owner is one that comes out of the shipyard and is on board the day she is commissioned. Just as I am a plank owner of the USS Nimit's.
They did use blue light globes because they had shorter wavelengths, but the Navy he eventually shifted too red because the red has the shortest wavelength. Red light also let's your eyes adjust to the darkness when you go out and it's pitch black out.
Red has the longest wavelength we can see however your last sentence is correct for other reasons.
An enlightening episode!
Interesting knowledge which I was unaware. I see the famed Momsen Lung over your left shoulder. Best museum sub I’ve ever been to! 👍👍😁🇺🇸
Thank you!😂
Hi Paul, With respect to the rubber rings for the light bulbs that you need to reproduce, you should be able to cast them in silicone using an inexpensive mold. it's a simple process...I will contact you via your website...the process could come in handy for other applications as well..
Haha I love the beginning :D For anyone wondering, the "Henry" Paul is talking about is the museumship CCGS Alexander Henry in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
You videos are very informative Paul, I need to get down to Cleveland sooner then later
Yes, please come, but leave HMCS Henry and her depth charges in Canada!!!
WOW, another super interesting video! It's amazing how many small details have to be considered for the operation of a submarine. 🤔🤷
Paul Go to a old fashioned hardware store to look for what you need. I have a couple of those holder that you are trying to find. However where yours are rubber mine are plastic. They were used by electrician to screw into socket on fuse panels lor light. They were also used in WW2 in vehicle that required lightbulbs tanks, ambulances, mobile field office. I suspect they were also used on ships with large caliber guns to avoid bulb breakage when firing. Check with some on the Battleship museums. If I find mine you can have them. Home Depot has light bulb extenders and so does Lowes.
A most enlightening episode! I'll have to remember to look more closely at the light fixtures next time I visit the Cod. There's always something new to appreciate after I see these videos--thanks for making them!
Interesting topic. Thanks for shedding light on it, el capitano and crew.
I was wondering how they safely changed the bulbs. I can't imagine being in a sub while being depth charged especially when the lights go out. It would take nerves of steel. Submariners are brave souls!
Flashlights
Greetings from the Great White North eh! Switch to Blue and I'll stay attentive for you - though I doubt you'd catch me napping on watch during one of your videos. You reminded me about 'Operation Pacific' - got something to watch later now - thank you ;)
Respect
Are you sure that's a steam tight and not explosion-proof fixture? As for replacing broken bulbs, we used our fuse pullers, just jammed the end into the broken socket and twisted the remains out.
Explosion proof fixtures are wider and more bowl like.
@@paulfarace9595 it's been so long I wasn't sure anymore, but yeah, I know which ones you mean now, thanks.
Blue was also used because it did not affect night vision. But, on surface ships blue light stands out like a sore thumb. It is even more visible then white light.
So did red
Video technology at its best, acting as well. Keep up the superb work!
Please dint encourage Evan! He's planning his Oscar acceptance speech!😂
I love this stuff! Please keep doing what you’re doing and I have the COD on my bucket list right next to Battleship NJ❤
Paul, I think I'd look at using radiator hose. It'll probably be less expensive as well. Thanks 👍👍🇺🇸🇺🇸
Greetings from the north shore of Lake Ontario. I'm pretty sure that Canadian ice breakers don't carry depth charges (dynamite maybe but I couldn't say for sure). On the other hand, HMCS Haida (a tribal class destroyer, now a national historic site in Hamilton, ON) most definitely carried depth charges (and used them quite effectively too). Museum ships are awesome. Keep up the good work.
Let's not get Haida involved! 😮😂
Since you are in the torpedo room. While about the Razorback (N Little Rock) they have a "creeper trolley" on loan from the Cavalla (Galveston) that they would put a man in a torpedo tube to clean & grease it. Quite claustrophobic but would make a great subject.
Thanks
Thanks for mentioning the Cavalla, a Gato class sub museum at Seawolf Park in Galveston. Our family visited it several times when all of us lived in Houston. I wonder how the USS Stewart destroyer escort at the same sight is doing. It was in need of remedial painting last time I saw it in the 2000s.
Yes the tube creeper (offical Navy nomenclature) is a fixture aboard fleet subs, one per torpedo room. Many subs are missing one or both. Our one is ashore being analyzed for a project to replicate them. It's indeed a good subject for a future program!
You don't need to check for all kinds of hoses, that won't perfectly fit anyways.
Go to any local shop that has a waterjet cutter. Get a sheet of cellular rubber, and have rings cut out. That will have the right dimensions and will look close enough.
Agreed. I very much doubt that the rings were made from hose to begin with. There's no need for cording to reinforce the rubber for this application, and during wartime both rubber and cord are not going to be used if not absolutely required.
The exploding light bulbs in Das Boot were unexpected. Must have been terrifying.
As I sit here and study the picture of the light bulb. It looks like the threaded brass connector is longer that what a normal light bulb would be, and the rubber ring just slides over the base. It is my guess that is was a speciality item made by (whatever company) that was contracted to make them. There maybe some sitting a warehouse (forgotten about) that is owned by the Navy. May you have good weather and following seas.
There probably is a case of 1,000 bulbs stored next to the box containing the Ark of the Covenant captured by Indiana Jones!😅
No way, you guys have a TH-cam channel now. I visited the USS COD a few years ago. Back when the coning tower was closed to the public for restoration. I brought my U-505 hat
It's still off limits to step up into. But halfway up the ladder is sufficient for most visitors.
I visited COD a few years ago too. Ironically it was the day World of Warships released their video about COD too.
Thanks for the video Paul. Nice to see you keeping the Cod in good shape. Jon, Torsk Bandit - Gone, before you can weld it down.
6:13 Your solution is to make a mold. Not a difficult task since you have an intact part. You will over mold your new lights with a silicone ring. You can add carbon, and flattening agents to make it appear more rubber like, and not glossy. Durometer is determined by the silicone type. With a little additional work you can make a slightly undersized mold for just the ring. Shouldn't be an issue to slide it over with some alcohol for lubrication.
I suggested 3D printing. I would suggest for a molded part that polyurethane would be better. You can get it in a color that looks a lot like rubber. You can easily get it up to 80A so it is very like hard rubber. A 1 pound kit will cost something like $40. You just need a dry environment to work in. Humidity can be your enemy.
I'm sure there are a lot more than just two of those bulbs still in existence. I would posit the actual figure is in the hundreds, if not thousands...the bulk of which being unused 'NOS' examples. The world is a much larger place than we often give it credit for.
Wwll there are plenty on the subs lost to enemy attack. As for NOS, I only wish the military had 80-year-old stock...
@@paulfarace9595 They don't, and the very idea the government would still be warehousing such crap is preposterous. Sure, they don't have the best reputation for spending money wisely, but even THEY wouldn't be that wasteful, LOL. The examples that I posit still exist are the ones that I'm sure many, many serviceman pilfered, whether it be for souvenirs, or simply to use at home in their workshops, as, save for the rubber doughnut, they are still ordinary medium base bulb found and used in every home. It's just a theory, but I bet cases of these things were 'strategically relocated'. As with anything like this, I'm sure most were used up over the years, but it's also just as likely some were just plunked down into the corner of some attic or garage somewhere, and later forgotten about. These, sir, are the NOS examples I suspect still exist.
WWII equipment stocks were so vast many troops were issued WWII date stamped canteens, and pouches in the 1980s (I had one in USAF Basic) and WWII spare parts like .50 Browning MG parts are still commonly in service in 2024 per G.I.s mentioning they were issued such. The enormous equipment auctions that kept "Army-Navy" stores stocked well into the 1970s as bases were drawn down put many tons of obsolete military electronics and kits on the market. Many mixed lots were sold (I miss the last years of bases selling directly to troops at DRMO before that was outsourced) which could well have had those bulbs. It's worth keeping an eye out because not every owner knows what they really have and not all my fellow boomers have croaked yet.
Congratulations Evan on getting 2 cookies!
In my day serving in SSK's of the Royal Navy Submarine arm, the main source of lighting in the control room whilst a periscope depth / snorting was 'Black Lighting'!
code blue meaning at battle stations and being quite. They would turn lights to red so they had better night vision.
Nope... but you're correct on red for night vision... it's used only at night to maintain night vision for topside watchstanders.
Hey, it just occurred to me, maybe the long lost treasure on The Curse of Oak Island, is those depth charge bulbs ? Great marketing opportunity. Keep bringing home the bacon Paul !
I believe the Oak island guys are just digging in an old outhouse pit
@@kevinthomas895 How many yrs have they been messing w/that worthless hole anyway?
Might be able to look into TPU filament 3D printing. Measure the dimensions, get someone to model and 3D print you a couple to try out.
3d printers can easily print 95A TPU. That's an easy looking print.
Was looking for this comment, probably the easiest, most accurate way to go about this problem
I wouldn't be surprised if the Ling was loaded with those bulbs but no one can get to them now. I'm going to guess they were originally fitted with or planned to be fitted with blue lights but the Navy found out red was much better for the application
A little something I know from photography darkroom, the red light would washout anything red. You notice that the blue light is over a panel with red switches. It would be hard to see the position of those switches when running red. Just a guess, the blue light would make those switches appear black. I am dying to know if that is a correct assumption. I have to get up to Cleveland sometime and go through the Cod.
Not in this case. Red light maintains night vision but early in the war, when these fixtures were made, the belief was that blue light dilated the pupils.
Looking out at Stuart Channel, from Vancouver Island, I obviously need to pay MUCH closer attention to the Coast Guard when they come by to maintain our navigational aides. Maybe depth charges are useful during Spot Prawn season.
Here’s a fun fact about Rush-Bagot for you: the US armed their Coast Guard cutters on the lakes starting around a decade and a half ago, which was justified by the US on the basis that they were armed for law enforcement duties, not naval duties. At that time, we Canadians reserved our right to do the same.
So clearly the Alexander Henry was just showing a little fair exchange with some RCMP-issue depth charges a la Mounties on the Bounty
An option would be latex rubber. Make a mold and add a dye to the latex and you can make all you want cheaply. Note..using LED bulbs heat will not be an issue. Over a decade or so the latex will dry and shrink a bit making your replacement look like an original
Don't know about WWII, or subs, but many surface ships use blue lights in certain areas. As I recall, very dim blue lights are often found in berthing and walkways outside electronics spaces because your eyes perceive it as brighter.
And red light does not cause eyes to constrict like bright light does and is good for preserving night vision.
The devil is in the details. Great work Paul.
That rubber ring idea we need for string lights on the construction site.
Question, what did subs use for electricity? Ac or dc, was it 120 volts, how many amps were the fuses rated?
DC from the batteries normally, Ac generation would be both noisy, and also wasteful of the precious battery power.
DC for lighting and motors in 110-v ... amperage was according to need.
Pry the rubber ring off Leviton 001-55 socket. Its rated for a 660w bulb.
How about: Not rubber hose. Go find someone with a 3D printer and the "rubber" filament. The LED bulbs don't get all that hot so the stuff will be fine You just need to do an accurate measure of what is needed and get someone to put the couple of hours needed into printing the part.
How about you get a clue, and leave the solutions to the engineers.
@@Katchi_ I am an engineer. I suggest you take your own advice and get a clue. What I suggested will work fine for them.
@@kensmith5694 Riiiight.... what is vulcanization junior engineer?
@@Katchi_ I likely have been doing engineering longer than you have been alive.
Unlike what many may believe "vulcanization" has nothing to do with StarTrek. It is some chemistry involving natural rubber and sulfur and some heat. It was discovered by Goodyear. He added sulfur and carbon black. Although many people tell a story of heroic levels of effort to find it, it was in fact and accidental discovery he made after a lot of failure. You used to be able to buy tire patching kits that vulcanized rubber onto the ire you were fixing. You did this outdoors. You clamped the thing over the hole in the tire and put a match to it. There would be a fire and a horrid stink. When the mess cooled off, there was new hard rubber created.
@@kensmith5694 Copy paste an engineer does not make. Go ahead junior. Print up your solution. Lets see it.
LEDs don't get that hot, cut some small pool noodles or something similar and put black heat shrink on, amazon has heat shrink in all sizes. or use some PVC pipe with heat shrink, use some hole saws and cut some plugs out of wood. you get the point.
Or use foam pipe insulation from Home Depot.
We looked at those options... our next idea is radiation hose.
I can guess what a steam tite fixture actually is from context where you mentioned your holy grail was found, but maybe make a short video on why vapor tight bulb enclosures were important aboard Cod (Hint: What did submariners fear accumulating in the battery compartment???) and in the fleet in general?
LEDs burn so cool that it's possible to get LED light bulbs with plastic globes now instead of glass.
A lot of LED lights have a plastic globe. Glass ones are rare really.
The shape isn't quite the same as a 1940s era glass globe. The frosting is also not quite right. If you look at a real light bulb when it is powered off, you will see that the frosting is slightly gray but on an LED it is very white.
@@kensmith5694 By now - at least on my side of the atlantic - you can also get LEDs that are put in exactly the same shape of bulb as the original incandescents. Frosted but not exactly 100% opaque from the screw base up just like basic quality incandescents, without a plastic bit that hides the power supply. They're neat!
But also not terribly common. Most people are satisfied with the conventional ones with the plastic base.
@@mfbfreak I made my comment about shape after looking at a few options. I could design one where the power supply was in the center of the bulb area and had LEDs all around it to hide it. I suspect that is what they have done.
Note for those who don't do electronics: The actual LEDs are very small things. Think of a square about 0.1 inches (2.5mm) on a side. That would be the size of the LED with some housing around it so it can be handled by machines. A central dot about 1/3rd of that size is the part that lights up. On LED makes a fair bit of light but you are going to need something like 20 of them to match the light of a 50W bulb. Each of those LEDs needs about 3V to light it up. To make life easy, you can wire them in series (end to end) so that you need about 60V of DC to make them work. Getting from the 120VAC mains power down to the 60V is fairly easy to do efficiently. The result is a bulb that only gets warm to the touch.
Love the cold open!
More gong than depth charge ...😢😂
As a mechanic, "rough service" light bulbs are the go to. They can take a pretty good amount of abuse. I wonder how they would hold up in there.
Let's not find out!😂
Red and blue lights are both suitable for low-light conditions and help your eyes adjust to the dark. Red is slightly better at helping your eyes adjust, but it washes out all the colors and some colors completely disappear. Blue is better at distinguishing colors in those low-light conditions but is slightly slower to adapt. So it's a trade-off: do you need to adapt your eyes faster, or do you need to accurately read charts, drawings, notes, etc.?
Conner! Stop picking on poor Cod! 🤣
......great video as expected - have you considered making a "DIVE! DIVE!" intro ?
I remember seeing a few of the light bulbs with the black ring on the USS Ling, I am not sure if they are still on board. Who knows what is actually still left on her. I remember asking specifically why there was the the rubber on the light bulbs when I was a kid.
How sad...😢
Ladies of the night, used to put on a red light... Bear with me... If said lady was in a movie it's a blue movie!!! 😂 Hey at least I tried! Loving the channel btw 👍
Hadn't thought of this angle but love it.....
The red light district got its name from the red signal lamps carried by railroad workers taking a work break at the cat houses often situated near the tracks. The red lamps were filled with kerosene and had to be left on the front porches of the house.
Blue lights are for normal nighttime operation to help sleep
Sooo, how did they store spare bulbs aboard so that the spares didn't also get broken being depth charged?
Carefully. Probably in something that protected them from violent movement.
The shockwave mostly propagated through things directly attached to the hull. A box of light bulbs in a cabinet would be safe.
Love the opening bit! 🤣
very interestibg. What is that pink periscope looking thing in the aft torpedo room at the beginning of the video?
It's a pink attack periscope head... subject of a future episode!
I would think that rubber ring on the submarine light bulb would also help prevent the bulb from shattering in the first place.
Great video as always. Can you please make a video about how a submarine back then could re-supply at sea. Were submarine tenders a thing in ww2, like they are now? Keep up the great work.
Bletchley Park code breakers knew when and where the German U boats were going to be resupplied and had the sub tenders sunk.
We didn't replenish subs at sea in WWII. Cod tested refueling at sea in 1952... a future program !!!
Some of sub tenders (USS Fulton for sure) that we moored too with SSBN and SSN were recommissioned WW2 submarine tenders. I remember seeing photos of “diesel boats” moored up the same as I remember mooring the SSBN too. I am sure those quarterdecks can tell some stories of submariners returning from liberty
Submarine tenders, ships that provided maintenance and resupply for submarines, have been around as long as there have been subs. Like their cousins, seaplane and destroyer tenders, they can provide support facilities forward of permanent shore facilities. Secure a harbor, anchor a tender, and presto! a forward base for subs.
So - when submerged what is the power source to the bulb? same as Surfaced? Submerged a lower voltage DC should make ships systems "easier" - House light bulbs use 120V 60 HZ AC.
When I was on the COD I asked that very question. I don’t remember anyone knowing the answer at the time.
Good Job!
Thank You :)
An amazing light BulBP J like the way this guy says light bulb, my wife is super annoyed right now
If the light bulbs shattered when a submarine had depth charge explode nearby, wouldn't that also shatter the ones in storage?
Would the ones in storage be attached to the hull???
The ones in storage would be directly attracted to the hull as the bulbs screwed in are. There wouldn’t be as much of an energy transfer to them. Plus the ones in’s forage would have had lots and lots of padding around them. At that point if a blast is big enough to shatter the protected bulbs in storage, chances are there won’t be anybody left alive
Do you sell those shirts?
I believe blue lighting was used for silent run, as the red lighting was used to preserve night vision.
Blue was originally thiugtvto preserve night vision. When they realized red was the right color the fixtures had been made with the word blue cast into them.
Umm red bulbs were in short supply so you used a green bulb behind a red lens to get blue?
That sounds like the army lol
Subs didn't want blue...
Green is best for dark our eyes can see more shades of green than any other color.
That's not true. Red is.
@@Studio23Media ok i see the convo now, it wasnt about best color for night vision it was about best color for preserving complete dark vision. Red would suite that better but thats the reason why they switched to green because human eye sees better with it, i mean i know the first night vision models were red vis but they trashed those.
So cool!
You all need the Seaview blueprints. Much more roomy. 😂
*The only BLUE I can think of is the two sub personal rotations Blue and Gold.*
Fun thought. Since the lights are attached to the hull, the hull should give off a faint hum in whatever frequency the ship's AC runs at.
Wait, is it AC or DC?
Would be DC. Everything runs off batteries. Diesel charges the batteries with DC generator. Propeller motor is DC. Also in case you didn't know, light bulbs last longer on Direct Current. Alternating Current is hard on the filaments. Same was true for vacuum tubes in radios. Cheap radios did not have a power supply. The tube filaments were wired in series like old Christmas tree lights and dropped the voltage with resistance.
@@dfirth224 Likely correct, I'm thinking about it from airplanes. Some are DC but most run AC for the main system. Rectified as needed.
E: Big planes. Your Cessna 150 runs off of an alternator and car battery almost exactly like a 40 year old car would.
@@Name-ot3xw My understanding is that aircraft standard power is 120 volts at 400 hertz AC, and 24 volts DC. When I worked in a lab developing an aircraft system, those were the supply voltages we had to be powered by. (I have some uncertainty about the AC voltage, though. Be aware.) The 400 hertz frequency, by the way, is because many inductive components are frequency-dependent, and with higher frequency the device can be physically smaller and thus of lighter weight.
Interesting!
where can I get merch with that badass torpedoed skull on it
Why not mount the light fixtures to the overhead with rubber isolators?
If it's moving multi ton engines off their mounts, as per his ancendote, i don't think a rubber isolator will help
Modern submarine lighting fixtures do use shock-absorbing mounts. The engineering weenies just hadn't figured out a good way to do it yet when Cod was built.
Because some big lightbulb company wants a multi million dollar contract to make specialized bulbs and rubber isolators are not expensive enough.
@@matthewmarting7420 The engines moved because they weren’t isolated. They couldn’t be, though; they’d torque right off the isolators. But simple rubber isolators like you’d get from Grainger or McMaster-Carr, with 2 studs or a stud and threaded insert, would absorb any shock
Dont forget we have the haida a tribal class desyroyer here in
hamilton ontario just 1 lake over...lol
True but Haida can't pay the toll to use the Welland canal. 😂
The ONLY Tribal left. Fantastic class of powerful destroyers.
Excellent vid since you have an original blub and mount (which is the hardest part) almost anything can be fabricated or mocked up would just need to find a fabrication place
Can we get a video on the other things in that case or the Momsen lung behind you
also blue is to preserve night vision
All in good time! We're playing the long game!😅
I believe blue was to notify the crew to stay quiet.
Heat shrink tubing might make a good facsimile of the easy change bulb
It would not.
Pigtail is actually the technical term
Well then! this blind squirrel just found a nut!
Maybe there’s a large diameter vibration dampener that would be suitable? Or a rubber mat material the right thickness that could be cut to the size needed?
If you look at the incandescent taillights for army trucks the sockets in the housings are on rubber isolators. It is not hard to pull off.
Thought in a glass and metal cage?
I wonder what lights are used today. Something nearly indestructible with its own backup power is simple now.
When I was in in the very early 2000s it was mostly just 18” fluorescents with incandescent DC backups, and if that went to crap there’s the worlds 4th best bludgeon the battle lantern… nothing fancy
@@jaysonlima7196They now have LED tubes and bulbs to fit existing light fixture.
I LOVE THESE VIDEOS! THANK YOU,THANK YOU, THANK YOU !!!!
😂the HMCS Harry Dewolf ice break doesnt have depth charges. Just a 30mm cannon and coms to call in air support, coulda been a Halifax class frigate though.lol
every E26 base LED bulb i have ever purchased had a plastic globe
There are versions in glass at Home Depot... we bought several hundred.
Return them and get the plastic ones
Cork from the overhead as well.
Looks like pipe insulation would be a close enough material.
Close enough doesn't cut it on USS COD!!!😂
Too thick!😢