by the way one thing I have been looking at is submarines that could possibly be operational for the US - but not nuclear ones
I can think of three off the top of my head
USS Tusk SS-426 and USS Cutlass SS-478 - both are still in commission in Taiwan - both are Balao class submarines and both have operational torpedo tubes - I could see the US buying them back in say 1998 or 1999 and having them rejoin the Pacific Fleet as subs operating around Korea and possibly eventually making their way to the US
I would have those two as the best prospect for operational US subs to join the Corpus Christi along with USS Dolphin AGSS-555
there are others as well
USS Pampanito SS-383 - i.e. the sub they used for Down Periscope - she is still operational at least for surface ops, has an operational periscope, engine and even one operational torpedo tube - she would need new screws but there are museum subs that have screws she could use - and the mod to her hull for tourist access was relatively minor and should permit shallow dives
Dolphin AGSS-555 - she was fully operational in the timeline and was a deep sea research sub that had one external torpedo tube that was used for deep sea testing - but could be used as a regular tube - she would have needed to have a snorkel added to operate her diesels underwater but she could be used as is with just the batteries for diving if she was just loitering - her one tube had to be externally loaded so its strictly one shot
USS Cod - SS-224 - she is a Gato class and had no holes cut in her hull and thus she can dive as well as she did back in the day. It would take work to get her back to fully operational -but she could be restored
|