Boing Boing tv's retro-tech correspondent Todd Lappin of Telstar Logistics submerges us in WWII history on the supersized submarine USS Pampanito.
This Balao-class ship was built in 1943, and today one of her younger volunteer caretakers schools us on all the gadgets, gizmos, and old-school technology that kept this baby cruising to Pearl Harbor and back.
Did you know that subs like this couldn't submerge for more than 24 hours back then, because they'd run out of battery life? Think of it like this, Gen-Y-ers, that's like when your iPhone 3G slides into "red" mode, because you've been twittering too much. Only — with people inside. And big guns to shoot bad guys.
Link to Boing Boing tv blog post with discussion thread, downloadable video, and podcast subscription instructions.
Pampanito trivia: she's named after this little fishie, prized as a seafood delicacy. Wait, a sushi ingredient? Doesn't sound like a great idea for a WWII military ship!
Shot for BBtv by Eddie Codel, during the Long Now Foundation's Mechanicrawl.
Previously:
* Multi-millenial Mechanical clocks (Long Now Mechanicrawl pt. 1)
* WWII Boatpunk: Aboard the SS Jeremiah O'Brien, with Todd Lappin (pt. 2)
