On our tour of the engine room in the old USCGC Mackinaw, we got to speak with a guide who had actually served in that engine room. I was thinking all along that my friend John Cooper would eat this up. The photo is of one of six 10 cylinder opposed diesel engines that powered the ship. The ship is a diesel electric and the engines were turning big generators. These engines were installed (in pairs) in the submarines that were being built at the end of the war. We saw a short video of starting the engine which was at least a three man effort as several valves needed operation and each cylinder was vented at least once before the thing fired up. One other interesting fact is that the engines were two stroke.
