SASS CP-677 Modification

The Bunker-Ramo CP677 computer, one of my major engineering and maintenance responsibilities aboard the TAGS.

This is the machine that's part of SASS in Sonar. The cabinet on the left is the extended memory cabinet.

The front cover has been modified with plexiglass-covered cutouts to provide visibility of the register lights while maintaining cooling effectiveness.

We all loved to watch the register lights blink.

A description of this modification is in my October 1972 Cruise Report.

In the Movie Lounge

This is someone else’s photo, and it’s a great shot showing the lounge after modification. Note the plexiglass port covers to keep the noise in the room, when the door was closed. An added advantage was that moving the lenses back made movies fill the screen.

Bob Lord's Head

It became a sort of altar for my first three weeks of duty on the Bowditch. I spent many hours “praying” here, before I got my sea legs. My actual head felt much like a toilet for many weeks. I’m a sucker for irony.

Another OcUnit Stateroom

Down in the Engine Room

The "Main Board" between the two boilers.

Sunset in Puerto Malaga, Southern Spain

One of the MSC crew must have had a rough night--the signals flags for Bowditch's radio call sign are out of order!

Boat Drill

Dave Strause looks on.

Aft Steering Station

Note that it is completely uncovered. In bad weather, when (not if) we lost hydraulic steering power, the MSC crew would ‘elect’ a victim, lash his legs to the railing back here, and let him keep us headed into the waves. He was completely exposed back here. The wheel was linked directly to the rudder by a mechanical gear train. Apparently, the designers figured the poor, elected wretch would be so disoriented, that he wouldn’t even be able to decipher more standard nautical directional terminology.

North Atlantic in January

The weather up there is generally pretty miserable.

Dolphin

Dolphins loved the ship. They’d often play around the hull at sea. One of their faves was to surf the pressure wave off our bow. This is a shot straight down from the foc’sle at the bow.

More Dolphins