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Monday, Feb. 1, 1999

Submarine to visit city's port

USS Dallas to be docked for 6 days

By STEPHANIE L. JORDAN
Staff Writer

   Many people who tour the nuclear submarine USS Dallas have the same requests, its captain said.
   Can I shoot a torpedo?
   Can I look through the periscope?
   No and yes, said Cmdr. Joe McBrearty, the boat's captain.
   The Dallas, a Los Angeles-class attack submarine, will arrive at 2 p.m. today at Port of Corpus Christi docks 8 and 14 for a six-day visit.
   Although visitors won't be able to torpedo passing tankers and cargo ships, they will get a chance to see a warship made famous by Tom Clancy's "The Hunt for Red October."
   "A lot of people are also very surprised at how small it is," McBrearty said. "Each spot on the submarine is used for three or four purposes."
   Navy officials said the submarine will not be open to the general public for tours because of security concerns, but schools, business groups, social and civic organizations, submarine veterans and officials from the cities of Dallas and Corpus Christi will get a chance to tour the submarine during its visit.
   On Tuesday, submarine veterans from Corpus Christi, Dallas and San Antonio will visit the ship.
   "There's something a little cocky about sailors on the submarines because we know we're doing something many others don't," McBrearty said. "We have a camaraderie that others don't have because we have to work so closely together in tight, cramped quarters."
   About 130 officers and enlisted men live and work in the 360-foot long boat, which can reach speeds of more than 30 knots when submerged.
   The Dallas is an attack submarine, designed to silently track submarines and ships and gather information. In wartime, the sub can attack with torpedoes or Tomahawk cruise missiles and can also lay mines.
   It's not rare for a submarine to make a port stop on the Atlantic coast, but Gulf Coast visits are uncommon, said Lt. Liz McConnell, deputy of Navy Office of Information in Dallas.
   A self-proclaimed cheerleader for submarines, former Corpus Christi Mayor Betty Turner said she's excited about the prospect of seeing a submarine again.
   The City of Corpus Christi's name is on a Los Angeles-class submarine, and one of Turner's most prized possessions is a hat with the boat's name on it.
   "Maybe it's not ours, but the Dallas will still be fun to have in town," Turner said. "Dallas will get everyone charged up about submarines again. From the day our boat was commissioned, the city began a love affair with submarines."
   Navy League State President Grandis Lenken said the Dallas coming to town is a good opportunity for residents of its namesake to have the boat close to home.
   "Dallas is land-locked, but we've got plenty of water down here, so I think this is a good opportunity for both cities to get together," Lenken said. "Plus it will give the kids usually cooped up on the submarine a chance to see Corpus Christi."
   Staff writer Stephanie L. Jordan can be reached at 886-3724 or by e-mail at jordans@caller.com

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  © 1999 Corpus Christi Caller Times, a Scripps Howard newspaper. All rights reserved.