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NSSA Supports Community Museum by Reviving Battleship Wisconsin
Story Number: NNS130321-15
3/21/2013

By Douglas Denzine, NSSA Public Affairs Specialist

NORFOLK (NNS) -- Volunteers from Norfolk Ship Support Activity (NSSA) and the Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) began a joint effort to identify and repair shipboard communications issues on board battleship Wisconsin in Norfolk, Va., March 14.

Based on recommendations from INSURV members, NSSA engineers began restoring power to the Interior Communication (IC) switchboards to restore shipboard communications.

"It is a satisfying feeling to have the guys from NSSA tell us they are confident they can get our phones and intercoms working again," said John Elliker, the Wisconsin project manager. "I need to have people who understand the ship to come on board and help put things into working order."

After discussions with INSURV, NSSA's Main Propulsion & Electrical Division Manager Scott Montambo, who quickly determined that NSSA's Engineering Department could lend their expertise to support the repairs.

"I spoke with Capt. Daniel Henderson, the deputy director of Craft and Auxiliary Force Inspections for INSURV. I asked him if he needed people to help augment his team, and he welcomed NSSA's support," said Montambo.

"When you go on board Wisconsin, you have to buddy up when you go visit a lot of the spaces because there is no way to communicate if you run into issues or have a problem," said Montambo.

Wisconsin was decommissioned in Sept. 1991, but was not demilitarized. That means that most of the equipment on the ship was left intact and capable of being brought back online.

Work on the IC systems is proving to be a challenge, according to NSSA's Interior Communications Chief (ICC) John Bartlett, IC/Navigation Branch.

"This is an old ship from World War II, and it was decommissioned and reactivated for the Gulf War, so there is a lot of history there," said Bartlett. "Plus it is an Iowa Class Battleship, so I thought it would be really cool to work on a lot of the old equipment to see how the Navy was back then."

"A big part of what we are doing is getting the 1MC (1 Main Circuit) back up, which is the ship's general announcing system or public address system. This is going to help re-open more of the ship to the public, and ensure that they are safe while touring the spaces," said ICC Matthew Depauw, NSSA IC/Navigation Branch.

More than a dozen members of the NSSA team have volunteered their own time, after working hours, to aid Wisconsin on its new mission to open additional tour spaces on the ship by the summer season.

Other than repairs to the intercoms and phones, NSSA hopes to replace missing equipment in the Combat Engagement Center through recycled materials that would normally be sent off to the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office.

"Communication is important. Having these systems working will make the ship come alive. We don't want just static displays, we want to improve the visitor experience," said Elliker. "I want my grandchildren's grandchildren to be able to come and enjoy this piece of history, so every day we are doing something to make it better."

For more information or to plan a tour of the Wisconsin, visit http://www.nauticus.org/.

For more information about Norfolk Ship Support Activity, visit https://www.nssa.nmci.navy.mil/.

For more news from Norfolk Ship Support Activity, visit www.navy.mil/local/nssa/.