Newsletter #87 March 2020

USS ALBACORE (AGSS 569)

NEWSLETTER #87

March 2020

Before he passed away, Joe Sawtelle established several trust funds with the New Hampshire Charitable Trust. This money was to be used for the betterment of Albacore Park. The wording of these trusts was such that they could be open to interpretation… and they were. After nearly 14 years of litigation, there appears to be a settlement in the near future. Details are not available at this time. That a settlement is in the offing is due to the persistence of PSMA Board Member Paul McEachern and his law firm which devoted countless hours in defense of PSMA’s position.

With the spreading of the coronavirus throughout the U.S., many museums have had to curtail their operations. Albacore Park is no exception. Along with other area attractions (Sea Coast Science Center, Strawbery Banke to name two), the Park was closed to visitors beginning Monday, March 16 th . The Friends of Albacore meeting slated for that day was cancelled with the next meeting to occur sometime in May, exact date to be determined subject to the lifting of bans on the size of gatherings and the relaxation of personal separation space requirements.

Despite the Park’s closure, tentatively there will be a meeting of the Park’s Building and Fund Raising subcommittees and the Albacore Advisory Committee in April. The purpose of this gathering is to review what was learned from the presentation by Seacoast Science Center’s (SSC) Executive Director Jim Chase. Jim provided those assembled with a rundown of his groups efforts to raise money for a significant addition to his center’s facilities that is on the order of Albacore Park’s project.

PSMA Board member Dick Wilder is a radio buff and a “ham” radio operator. As such, he had the idea of enhancing visitors Albacore experience by posting the following at the Radio Room.

Morse code was used on Albacore to transmit and receive messages. Code could be readable, even when voice transmission was unintelligible due to static and faint signals. The “dits” and “dahs” of the code could cut through static.

Radiomen learned code as part of their training and operators could talk to each other at speeds up to 30 wpm (words per minute). A normal code key could be used for slow speeds, but a mechanical “bug” was needed for the higher speeds.

The scrolling display you see here simulates a communication sent from Albacore, call sign NMJY to a central receiving station at Annapolis (NSS). It is short and to the point, confirming to Commander Submarines Atlantic they are checking in routinely as required every 12 hours when underway.

Here is the text.

NSS DE NMJY BT CHECK ONE TWO BT AR

Lots of abbreviations were used to shorten the transmission

DE means “from” ( -..) a dash and two dits

BT is break in text ( - … -)

Translated: To Annapolis Station from Albacore Break Check One Two Break

Last summer, former Thresher Base Commander Kevin Galeaz, together with several Albacore shipmates and Thresher Base members, introduced a troop of local Boy Scouts to the basics of being a submariner. The team gave a short introduction to submarines in the museum before going aboard Albacore. There the scouts were shown the color-coding system used for valves of the various air and fluid systems in submarines. They wrapped up the familiarization session with a simulated Rig For Dive. We are pleased to learn that Kevin plans to continue this project to expose more area youth groups to submarines. As we build more boats, we are going to need to recruit more youngsters to man them. Programs like this of Kevin’s may plant the idea leading to volunteering for the Silent Service. Thanks Kevin.

I regret to report that shipmate Ken Pitman departed on Eternal Patrol on January 24, 2020. Ken was an QMC while on Albacore 1970-1972. Also, Laurence Sheridan departed on Eternal Patrol on June 1, 2019. He was attached to Albacore from 1959 to 1961. Additionally, George Horne departed on Eternal Patrol on December 6, 2019. George was an EM3 when on Albacore 1958-1960. Until next time, shipmate, stay safe and stay healthy.

Jack Hunter

11 Admiralty Drive, Apt 3

Middletown, RI 02842-6254

(401) 849-7282

“jhunter2007@cox.net”