Visiting the USS Growler nuclear attack submarine

Earlier this Fall, Paola and I took advantage of the summer Friday night free admission to the Intrepid Air and Space Museum to visit, among other things, a Cold War-era nuclear-armed submarine, the USS Growler.

During the late 1950s they were the front line nuclear deterrent and expected to be one of the sacrificial first shots if the Cold War went hot. The crew expected their boat to be discovered and sunk as soon as they launched their missiles. Historical context aside, it must have been quite challenging spending nearly two months underwater with a crew of over 80 and a shortage of clean air and showers.

Here are some photos from our visit. Surprisingly not as cramped as we expected.