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USS Requin – A Submarine in Pittsburgh

Florian Buechting Museums & Exhibitions No Comments

USS-481 Requin (museum ship)

see review
USS-481 Requin (museum ship)
4.4

Rating

 4.4/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Great piece of maritime / military history
  • Really good insight of living in a submarine
  • Comparably wide, so that it is easy to move through it

Flyctory.com Cons

  • No individual admission

I already presented you my review of Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh. As its key attraction is that special, I however decided to split out the review of the USS Requin, a submarine, which is located right in front of the museum in the Ohio River. The USS-481, how it is technically named, was launched in 1945 and decommissioned in December 1968. Since 1990, it is part of the exhibition of the science museum. It is a so called Tench Class vessel.

 

USS Requin – Location & Admission

The submarine is located on the North Bank of Ohio River. It belongs to the exhibitions of the Carnegie Science Center. The easiest way to reach it by local transport is the Allegheny station of Pittsburgh Light Rail. The museum and the nearby facilities like Heinz Field feature sufficient parking space as well.

There used to be separate tickets for visiting the USS Requin only – nowadays, you can only visit it as a Carnegie Science Center member or by purchasing a general admission for the museum.

 

USS Requin – The Visit

During your visit, you more or less explore the whole ship – on deck and under deck. Of course, walking on top of the submarine is really cool as you have lovely views of Pittsburgh Downtown and the three rivers. You are nonetheless likely more interested to see the interior of the SS-481. Your visit roughly takes you from the front to the back of the vessel. The sections of the ship are signposted and documented, so that you do not loose track or orientation. Accordingly, one of the first places you visit is the torpedo room, thereafter you pass the cabins of the higher ranks and the control room. I am typically quite afraid of narrow rooms – but I have to say that due to the large size of the vessel, I felt quite comfortable (and also made it through the narrow ship doors).

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Visiting the Requin really gives you a great inside of marine life inside such a ship. Thus, I was not only fascinated by all the instruments in the control room, but also about the team’s cabins or the mess decks, which followed the Control Room sections.

The rear of the ship features its Engine Room. There is also a small exhibition of Requin memorabilia before you head out to the deck of the ship again.

 

USS Requin – Services

There are scheduled guided tours through the submarine. All other services like toilets or food are provided by the science museum.

 

USS Requin – My View

95 meter long and a 8.33 meter diameter – the Requin is truly an imrepssive water vessel. Due to its dimensions, it feels comparably wide. The explanations are really good so that you lean a lot about this ship, but also how life is organized on board a submarine. Overall, a visit of the Carnegie Science Center would not be complete without stepping outside from the cafe in the basement of the museum. The Requin is really a naval highlight.

 

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