Electric Heating Co., Inc

Submarine

As a bit of a departure from our weekly professional offering of heater tech stuff or sales scoop, I would like to share my experience at the commissioning of the USS New Hampshire, a 377 foot long Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarine.

The event took place at The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard along the coast of New Hampshire and I was one of a very few to later take a tour of the entire sub. The sub was named for the state of New Hampshire as a result of a letter writing campaign by an elementary school class in Dover, N.H. It was built at the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics in Groton, CT. She finished all her sea trials and was commissioned at the end of October.

The Captain who took me through was a bit touchy about pictures on the bridge or around the power plant, but I thought that you would enjoy the galley and living quarters. The ship carries a complement of 134 officers and enlisted seamen and 90 days worth of rations.

The weapons systems include 24 torpedoes and 12 missiles, as well as 2 mini-subs that carry Seals on surface missions. I asked him if the mini-subs had any weapons systems and, after looking at me with a wry smile, replied, "Yeah, the Seals."

The torpedo room, shown above, is where they have a bit of extra room ... and that is where they keep all of the exercise equipment. I also asked what they do for air when they are submerged for a month. The Captain explained that they draw in water and put a charge through it to separate the oxygen for the sub and pump out the hydrogen. The tour and the boat were most impressive and, in addition to the memory of a great experience, I was left with three good knots on the top of my 6'8" (2m) frame. .... Eli Whitney

Friday Funnies

The wheel of my grocery cart was making a horrible scraping sound as I rolled it through the supermarket. Nevertheless, when I finished my shopping and saw a cartless woman, I offered it to her, explaining, "It makes an awful noise, but it works."

"That's O.K.," she replied, taking it. "I have a husband at home like that."

Dalton Electric Heating Co., Inc (978)356-9844
28 Hayward Street Ipswich, MA 01938 USA

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