“Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!” —David Farragut, Battle of Mobile Bay, August 5, 1864 Even though he was in damned good shape, Charlie Rush was winded by the short climb up the narrow ladder to the conning tower. He shook his head and tried to take in a full breath of air, but the horrible stuff seemed to catch in his throat. It was as if his lungs refused to breathe it in. The air was even worse up there in the close quarters of the conning tower than it had been below in the control room. The air was not the worst of it, though. Not by a long shot. The conning tower is a small room—shaped like a cylinder about ten feet by twenty feet—and packed tightly with devices to control and steer the boat. It was usually fully manned while on the surface or while at periscope depth. It also held the torpedo data computer and the aft and forward torpedo firing panels. The periscopes dominated the center of the compartment, along with the sonar and radar consoles. A ladder on the forward starboard side led up to the bridge, and the hatch to the control room was on the forward port side.
What do You think about War Beneath The Waves (2010)?
