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USS Bowfin (SS-287)
Encyclopedia
{|USS Bowfin, Balao-class
submarine
, was a ship of the United States Navy
named for the bowfin
, a voracious, predatory fish native to the Great Lakes, the Mississippi valley, and nearby waters. Since 1981, it has been open to public tours at the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park in Pearl Harbor
, Hawaii
, next to the USS Arizona Memorial
Visitor Center.
Bowfin was laid down by the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
at Kittery, Maine
on 23 July 1942; launched on 7 December 1942 by Mrs. Jane Gawne, wife of Captain James Orville Gawne; and commissioned on 1 May 1943, Commander
Joseph H. Willingham in command.
, to New London, Connecticut
, her base for shakedown training. Early in July, she got underway for the Pacific war zone and, after transiting the Panama Canal
and crossing the Pacific, reached Australia
. Post-voyage repairs at Brisbane
preceded her getting underway on 19 August to move north and west along the Australian coast to Darwin
. She topped off her fuel tanks at that port and sailed on the morning of 25 August for her first war patrol.
The warship reached the Mindanao Sea
on 2 September, but plied its waters for more than three weeks without encountering any worthwhile targets. On 24 September, she rendezvoused with to conduct coordinated operations. The next day, the two submarines began tracking a six-ship convoy
and continued the chase for some five hours before Bowfin finally attained a suitable attack position. She then launched her six bow torpedo
es — four at a freighter and two at a trailing transport. Three exploded against the side of the first ship and both of those fired at the second struck home. The submarine immediately turned her fantail toward the convoy and emptied her stern tubes, sending four torpedoes in the direction of a tanker. Gunfire at her periscope
forced Bowfin to go deep and so prevented her from observing the progress of her last salvo, but her crew heard its torpedoes explode. When the submarine rose to periscope depth about an hour later, the 8,120-ton passenger-cargo ship Kirishima Maru was slowly sinking, the tanker was on fire, and the transport seemed to be settling by the stern. However, the two latter ships apparently were able to limp back to port, for the sinking of neither was confirmed by postwar study of Japanese records. Later in the day, members of Bowfin’s crew heard distant explosions and inferred that Billfish was going after the remnants of the convoy, a conclusion which proved to be correct, for their sister ship managed to damage two Japanese ships totaling about 12,000 tons. Although the submarines continued to pursue the remaining enemy vessels as they fled during the night, the battered group of Japanese ships finally managed to slip away in the darkness.
The following morning, after Bowfin’s radar
had picked up an enemy plane also equipped with radar, the submarine was forced to submerge to avoid detection. Two days later, she came across a 1,400-ton inter-island steamer and shadowed her until reaching a firing position about three hours later. She then launched three torpedoes. One stopped before reaching the target, and the other two missed.
On 30 September, as she left the Mindanao Sea, Bowfin chanced upon a diesel-propelled barge
carrying over 100 Japanese soldiers and opened fire on it with her 4-inch gun. When the target responded with machine gun
fire, the submarine’s 20-millimeter guns entered the fray. The battle came to an abrupt end when a 4-inch round struck the enemy’s magazine and blew apart the already sinking barge.
On 2 October, as the submarine continued her retirement through Makassar Strait
toward Australia, she sighted a schooner
off Balikpapan
. Willingham fired two shots across the stranger’s bow but failed to bring her to and sunk her with gunfire.
Bowfin arrived at Fremantle
on 10 October, ending a successful patrol. Rear Admiral
Ralph W. Christie, who commanded American submarines in the area, was lavish in his praise of the submarine’s performance; he rewarded her commanding officer with the opportunity of heading a submarine division. To free him for the new role, Lt. Comdr.
Walter Thomas Griffith relieved Willingham in command of Bowfin on 26 October.
. From time to time during this patrol, she again cooperated with Billfish. On 8 November, Bowfin picked up the trail of a group of five schooners. When she pulled within range of them, she opened fire with her 4-inch gun and sank three before bombs from a Japanese plane forced the submarine to dive and thus allowed the two surviving vessels to slip away. After staying down until the return of darkness, Bowfin surfaced and resumed patrolling. Before long, she discovered and opened fire upon a large sailing ship which went down after suffering hits by two 4-inch shells. Two days later, she found her next victims, a pair of small steamers heading for Tawi-Tawi Bay
, and set both afire with gunfire.
Her luck was even better on the morning of 26 November while she was approaching the coast of Indochina
during a blinding rainstorm. Without prior knowledge that any other vessels were near, she unexpectedly found herself surrounded by Japanese shipping. After barely avoiding a collision with a tanker by backing all engines, she torpedoed and sank the 5,069-ton tanker Ogurasan Maru and then dispatched the 5,407-ton freighter Tainan Maru. A few hours later, her torpedoes ended the career of Van Vollenhoven, a 691-ton coastal cargo ship which the Japanese had taken from her French owners when they overran Indochina almost two years before. On 28 November, after having sent a small passenger-cargo ship to the bottom with a single torpedo, Bowfin joined Billfish in attacking a convoy and quickly sank Sydney Maru, a 5,425-ton freighter and Tonon Maru, a 9,866-ton tanker.
Meanwhile, one of the Japanese ships fired on Bowfin and scored hits which opened leaks in her starboard induction line which, while serious, did not prevent the submarine from getting off her last two torpedoes. Repair efforts upon the return of daylight slowed but did not completely stop the flooding, and Bowfin began her voyage back to Australia. En route to her base on 2 December, she came across a “two masted yacht...which...,” in Griffith’s words, “...looked like it might have been some planter’s yacht taken over by the Japs.” The submarine’s deck gun promptly destroyed this stranger; and, thereafter, Bowfin enjoyed an uneventful passage which brought her to Fremantle a week later. There, Rear Admiral Christie praised her performance as the “classic of all submarine patrols.”
s to Makassar Strait
where — on 16 January —she encountered a small schooner; surfaced, and sank the sailing vessel with her deck gun. The following day, she came across a cargo ship and two escorts; but her attacks on these targets were frustrated by malfunctioning torpedoes. One from her first spread of four bow torpedoes hit and stopped the freighter, but the other three missed and two shots from her bow tubes detonated before reaching the target. After reloading her tubes, she returned to the convoy the following day and finished off the crippled cargo ship with four torpedoes which sent the 4,408-ton Shoyu Maru to the bottom. She also managed to hit one of the escorts with two “fish,” but did not sink her.
Out of torpedoes, Bowfin returned to Darwin for more and, while in port, picked up Rear Admiral Christie who remained on board the submarine for the rest of the patrol to check on torpedo performance, first hand, and to learn the secret of Bowfin’s remarkable success. The day after she returned to sea, the submarine put three torpedoes into a small cargo ship. Lt. Comdr. Griffith claimed that the target sank and his distinguished passenger confirmed the kill, but the sinking was not borne out by postwar examination of Japanese records — possibly because Bowfin’s alleged victim was too small to be listed. About daybreak on 28 January, Bowfin began trailing a large tanker; and she continued the chase until reaching striking range that evening. She then fired all six bow torpedoes; but, since the target simultaneously changed course, none struck home. After a rapid reload, she sent six more toward the tanker and, this time, two exploded against the side of the Japanese ship, sending towers of fire and smoke skyward. Nevertheless, the tanker remained afloat; and, as Bowfin closed to administer the coup de grace, the enemy ship began fighting back with her main battery and machine gun fire. Undaunted, the submarine kept up the attack and during the ensuing twenty minutes fired six more torpedoes: two misses, followed by a pair of hits, then a miss, and finally another hit. At this point the tanker’s fire was becoming more accurate and forced the submarine to dive. When she came up, the Japanese vessel was retiring from the scene and by dawn had disappeared over the horizon.
The next day, Bowfin laid a minefield in Makassar Strait before beginning the voyage back to Australia. On 30 January, she came across a pair of small schooners which she destroyed with her four inch gun. The submarine moored at Fremantle on 5 February and began preparations for her next mission.
. On 10 March, she sighted a convoy of four ships screened by a couple of escorts. Bowfin fired six bow tubes, but four of the torpedoes exploded prematurely. Japanese planes forced Griffith to dive and thus prevented anyone on board from observing the fate of the two other torpedoes. During the ensuing action in which the escorts searched for the submarine and she in turn strove to hide at some 350 feet below the surface, a chain dragged by one of the Japanese hunters scraped across Bowfin’s hull. Meanwhile, depth charge
explosions — more than twenty — shook the submarine severely but did no debilitating damage. When Griffith dared to rise to the surface, he saw a freighter down by the stern being taken under tow. Despite the efforts of the enemy escorts and of five circling Japanese aircraft, Bowfin attacked the convoy but could not follow the progress of her torpedoes because one of them had boomeranged and threatened her by running in a circular pattern. She dived to escape the danger and did not come up again until the next day. She attacked the freighter again, but the Japanese escorts drove her down once more. Later that day, she rose to periscope depth, found the damaged ship alone, and finished the 4,470-ton Tsukikawa Maru off with four well-aimed torpedoes.
The submarine then began looking for the rest of the convoy, caught up with it well after dark, and fired her remaining torpedoes, but none scored. She then headed back to Darwin for more, and stood out to sea again on 15 March with a fresh supply. Three days later, she emptied her bow tubes while attacking a small convoy, but all six either ran under their targets or missed wide of their marks. The inevitable depth charge barrage followed, but proved to be equally ineffective. When Bowfin attacked again later that day she launched four torpedoes — all of which were wasted.
She did better on the night of 24 March when, at the end of a long chase, she attacked a five-ship convoy in the Celebes Sea, sinking two freighters — 5,139-ton Shinkyo Maru and 5,395-ton Bengal Maru. She also damaged a third ship but could not finish her off for want of torpedoes. As a result, she headed back to Darwin where she arrived on 1 April.
s. Although this sixth patrol proved to be her longest in both time and distance, she only managed to put two torpedoes into a freighter on 14 May, and it refused to sink. She performed lifeguard duty before heading via Midway
for Pearl Harbor
where she arrived on 21 June.
On 16 July, Bowfin left Hawaii
and headed for the Ryukyu Islands
. She encountered no worthwhile targets until 9 August when she sighted four ships heading for the harbor at Minami Daito. She trailed them into port and, after they had moored, fired her bow torpedoes, blowing up two and damaging a third. A stray torpedo hit a dock, sending a bus careering into the water. However, no sinkings were confirmed by Japanese records — again possibly because of the small size of the alleged victims. An authenticated kill came off the Tokara Islands
on 22 August when she attacked a convoy, hit several ships, claimed several kills including two destroyers, but apparently only sank the 6,754-ton transport Tsushima Maru
carrying 1,484 civilians, including 767 schoolchildren. On 28 August, she set a little trawler afire with her 4-inch gun. However, since she had futilely fired her last four torpedoes at this target before surfacing, the submarine headed via Midway and Pearl Harbor for the west coast of the United States. She reached San Francisco, California
, on 21 September and entered the Mare Island Navy Yard
for overhaul.
At the end of the yard work, Comdr. Alexander K. Tyree relieved Comdr. Corbus on 16 December 1944; and, later that day, the submarine got underway westward back across the Pacific. Following training in Hawaiian waters, she headed for a station near the Japanese home islands south of Honshū
where she performed lifeguard services for American planes — both naval and Army — raiding strategic enemy targets in Japan. On 17 February, Bowfin attacked two Japanese subchasers and sank the 750-ton Coast Defense Vessel No. 56 with torpedoes and then survived a 26-depth-charge attack by her victim’s consort which had herself barely escaped destruction when some of Bowfin’s torpedoes exploded prematurely. The submarine later sank a Japanese sea truck with one torpedo. On 19 March about 15 miles south of Shikoku
, she rescued the pilot and gunner of a downed torpedo bomber
. The submarine soon set a course for the Marianas
and ended the patrol upon her arrival at Guam
on 25 March.
. Her first kill came on 1 May when two of her torpedoes sank the 2,719-ton transport Chowa Maru. A week later, she overtook, torpedoed, and destroyed an 880-ton freighter Daito Maru No. 3; but, that proved to be the last score of the patrol. After a fortnight of futile searching for targets, she arrived at Apra Harbor
, Guam, for refit.
While training for her ninth and final patrol of the war, Bowfin rescued a Marine Corps
pilot whose fighter
had crashed. She got underway on 29 May and pointed her bow back toward the enemy homeland. One of nine submarines protected by newly developed mine-detecting sonar
and sent into the Sea of Japan
, she carefully threaded her way through the dangerous minefields of Tsushima Strait
which guarded this previously sacrosanct maritime heart of the Japanese Empire, but found little enemy shipping. Nevertheless, she wasted neither of her two attackable contacts: the first, the 1,898-ton transport Shinyo Maru took four torpedoes before sinking on 11 June; and the second, the 887-ton freighter Akiura Maru met a similar fate on 13 June.
The submarine left the Sea of Japan by La Pérouse Strait
(Soya Misaki) and headed for Hawaii. She reached Pearl Harbor on Independence Day
and began preparations to return to action. Early in August, Bowfin sailed for the Marianas, her staging point for her 10th war patrol. However, while en route, she received word of Japan’s capitulation. As a result, she reversed course and returned to Hawaii and, then, headed for the Panama Canal on her way to the east coast of the United States. Bowfin arrived at Tompkinsville, Staten Island, New York
, on 21 September 1945. She served in the Atlantic Fleet until decommissioned at New London on 12 February 1947 and placed in reserve.
Reactivated because of the Navy’s need to expand the fleet to support United Nations
-led forces during the Korean War
, the submarine was recommissioned on 27 July 1951 and, following shakedown training, sailed for the Pacific. After arriving at San Diego, California
on 6 October, she worked from that port for the next two years, devoting her time to training operations and local exercises. The nominal ending of hostilities in Korea in the summer of 1953 reduced the Navy’s need for active submarines and prompted Bowfin’s second inactivation. She arrived at San Francisco on 8 October 1953 and was placed out of commission, in reserve, at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard on 22 April 1954. The warship remained there until moving to Seattle, Washington
, on 1 May 1960 to replace as the Naval Reserve
training submarine there and to begin a little over a decade’s service. Her name was finally struck from the Navy list on 1 December 1971, and she was taken back to Pearl Harbor, where she now serves as a memorial. Audio Tours are available to the general public at Pearl Harbor. Some areas of the ship are off limits.
Bowfin was declared a National Historic Landmark
in 1986.
was an unmarked Japanese cargo ship that was sunk by Bowfin between 10 and 10:30 p.m. local time on August 22, 1944 as the ship was carrying hundreds of schoolchildren from Okinawa to Kagoshima. Attacked while in convoy, Tsushima sank close to the island of Akusekijima
. 1,484 civilians including 767 schoolchildren were killed; 59 children survived the sinking.
On her sixth patrol, Bowfin destroyed a pier at Minami Daito that contained a crane and a bus. Thirteen small vessels were sunk by the Bowfin's deck guns.
, Hawaii. Visitors can tour the submarine with an audio narration of life in the vessel during World War II
.
The park's museum features exhibits and artifacts about submarines and the history of the United States Submarine Service, including detailed models, weapon systems, photographs, paintings, battleflags, recruiting posters and a memorial honoring the 52 American submarines and the more than 3,500 submariners lost during World War II.
The museum's other exhibits include the conning tower
of the submarine (which visitors may enter), a Kaiten
torpedo, and a 40 mm Quad gun, along with Poseidon C-3
and Regulus I missiles. The park is located within walking distance of the visitor center for the USS Arizona Memorial, and the USS Missouri Museum
.
Balao class submarine
The Balao class was a successful design of United States Navy submarine used during World War II, and with 122 units built, the largest class of submarines in the United States Navy. An improvement on the earlier Gato class, the boats had slight internal differences...
submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
, was a ship of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
named for the bowfin
Bowfin
The Bowfin, Amia calva, is the last surviving member of the order Amiiformes , and of the family Amiidae...
, a voracious, predatory fish native to the Great Lakes, the Mississippi valley, and nearby waters. Since 1981, it has been open to public tours at the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park in Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, next to the USS Arizona Memorial
USS Arizona Memorial
The USS Arizona Memorial, located at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii, marks the resting place of 1,102 of the 1,177 sailors killed on the USS Arizona during the Attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 by Japanese imperial forces and commemorates the events of that day...
Visitor Center.
Bowfin was laid down by the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard , often called the Portsmouth Navy Yard, is a United States Navy shipyard located in Kittery on the southern boundary of Maine near the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It is used for remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships...
at Kittery, Maine
Kittery, Maine
Kittery is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 9,543 at the 2000 census. Home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery includes Badger's Island, the seaside district of Kittery Point, and part of the Isles of Shoals...
on 23 July 1942; launched on 7 December 1942 by Mrs. Jane Gawne, wife of Captain James Orville Gawne; and commissioned on 1 May 1943, Commander
Commander (United States)
In the United States, commander is a military rank that is also sometimes used as a military title, depending on the branch of service. It is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the military, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Naval rank:In the United States...
Joseph H. Willingham in command.
First patrol
Following fitting out, the submarine proceeded via Newport, Rhode IslandNewport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
, to New London, Connecticut
New London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States.It is located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, southeastern Connecticut....
, her base for shakedown training. Early in July, she got underway for the Pacific war zone and, after transiting the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
and crossing the Pacific, reached Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Post-voyage repairs at Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
preceded her getting underway on 19 August to move north and west along the Australian coast to Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
. She topped off her fuel tanks at that port and sailed on the morning of 25 August for her first war patrol.
The warship reached the Mindanao Sea
Bohol Sea
The Bohol Sea, also called the Mindanao Sea, is located between Visayas and Mindanao in the Philippines. It lies south of Bohol and Leyte and north of Mindanao...
on 2 September, but plied its waters for more than three weeks without encountering any worthwhile targets. On 24 September, she rendezvoused with to conduct coordinated operations. The next day, the two submarines began tracking a six-ship convoy
Convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
and continued the chase for some five hours before Bowfin finally attained a suitable attack position. She then launched her six bow torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
es — four at a freighter and two at a trailing transport. Three exploded against the side of the first ship and both of those fired at the second struck home. The submarine immediately turned her fantail toward the convoy and emptied her stern tubes, sending four torpedoes in the direction of a tanker. Gunfire at her periscope
Periscope
A periscope is an instrument for observation from a concealed position. In its simplest form it consists of a tube with mirrors at each end set parallel to each other at a 45-degree angle....
forced Bowfin to go deep and so prevented her from observing the progress of her last salvo, but her crew heard its torpedoes explode. When the submarine rose to periscope depth about an hour later, the 8,120-ton passenger-cargo ship Kirishima Maru was slowly sinking, the tanker was on fire, and the transport seemed to be settling by the stern. However, the two latter ships apparently were able to limp back to port, for the sinking of neither was confirmed by postwar study of Japanese records. Later in the day, members of Bowfin’s crew heard distant explosions and inferred that Billfish was going after the remnants of the convoy, a conclusion which proved to be correct, for their sister ship managed to damage two Japanese ships totaling about 12,000 tons. Although the submarines continued to pursue the remaining enemy vessels as they fled during the night, the battered group of Japanese ships finally managed to slip away in the darkness.
The following morning, after Bowfin’s radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
had picked up an enemy plane also equipped with radar, the submarine was forced to submerge to avoid detection. Two days later, she came across a 1,400-ton inter-island steamer and shadowed her until reaching a firing position about three hours later. She then launched three torpedoes. One stopped before reaching the target, and the other two missed.
On 30 September, as she left the Mindanao Sea, Bowfin chanced upon a diesel-propelled barge
Barge
A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
carrying over 100 Japanese soldiers and opened fire on it with her 4-inch gun. When the target responded with machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
fire, the submarine’s 20-millimeter guns entered the fray. The battle came to an abrupt end when a 4-inch round struck the enemy’s magazine and blew apart the already sinking barge.
On 2 October, as the submarine continued her retirement through Makassar Strait
Makassar Strait
Makassar Strait is a strait between the islands of Borneo and Sulawesi in Indonesia. To the north it joins the Celebes Sea, while to the south it meets the Java Sea.The Mahakam River of Borneo empties into the strait....
toward Australia, she sighted a schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
off Balikpapan
Balikpapan
Balikpapan is a seaport city on the eastern coast of the island of Borneo, Indonesia, in the East Kalimantan province, a resource-rich region well known for its timber, mining, and petroleum export products. Two harbors, Semayang and Kariangau , and the Sepinggan International Airport are the main...
. Willingham fired two shots across the stranger’s bow but failed to bring her to and sunk her with gunfire.
Bowfin arrived at Fremantle
Fremantle, Western Australia
Fremantle is a city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829...
on 10 October, ending a successful patrol. Rear Admiral
Rear admiral (United States)
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. The uniformed services of the United States are unique in having two grades of rear admirals.- Rear admiral :...
Ralph W. Christie, who commanded American submarines in the area, was lavish in his praise of the submarine’s performance; he rewarded her commanding officer with the opportunity of heading a submarine division. To free him for the new role, Lt. Comdr.
Lieutenant commander (United States)
Lieutenant commander is a mid-ranking officer rank in the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, with the pay grade of O-4 and NATO rank code OF-3...
Walter Thomas Griffith relieved Willingham in command of Bowfin on 26 October.
Second patrol
Upon completion of refitting, Bowfin got underway on 1 November and headed for the South China SeaSouth China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
. From time to time during this patrol, she again cooperated with Billfish. On 8 November, Bowfin picked up the trail of a group of five schooners. When she pulled within range of them, she opened fire with her 4-inch gun and sank three before bombs from a Japanese plane forced the submarine to dive and thus allowed the two surviving vessels to slip away. After staying down until the return of darkness, Bowfin surfaced and resumed patrolling. Before long, she discovered and opened fire upon a large sailing ship which went down after suffering hits by two 4-inch shells. Two days later, she found her next victims, a pair of small steamers heading for Tawi-Tawi Bay
Tawi-Tawi
Tawi-Tawi is an island province of the Philippines located in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao . The capital of Tawi-Tawi is Bongao. The province is the southernmost of the country sharing sea borders with the Malaysian State of Sabah and the Indonesian East Kalimantan province. To the...
, and set both afire with gunfire.
Her luck was even better on the morning of 26 November while she was approaching the coast of Indochina
Indochina
The Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...
during a blinding rainstorm. Without prior knowledge that any other vessels were near, she unexpectedly found herself surrounded by Japanese shipping. After barely avoiding a collision with a tanker by backing all engines, she torpedoed and sank the 5,069-ton tanker Ogurasan Maru and then dispatched the 5,407-ton freighter Tainan Maru. A few hours later, her torpedoes ended the career of Van Vollenhoven, a 691-ton coastal cargo ship which the Japanese had taken from her French owners when they overran Indochina almost two years before. On 28 November, after having sent a small passenger-cargo ship to the bottom with a single torpedo, Bowfin joined Billfish in attacking a convoy and quickly sank Sydney Maru, a 5,425-ton freighter and Tonon Maru, a 9,866-ton tanker.
Meanwhile, one of the Japanese ships fired on Bowfin and scored hits which opened leaks in her starboard induction line which, while serious, did not prevent the submarine from getting off her last two torpedoes. Repair efforts upon the return of daylight slowed but did not completely stop the flooding, and Bowfin began her voyage back to Australia. En route to her base on 2 December, she came across a “two masted yacht...which...,” in Griffith’s words, “...looked like it might have been some planter’s yacht taken over by the Japs.” The submarine’s deck gun promptly destroyed this stranger; and, thereafter, Bowfin enjoyed an uneventful passage which brought her to Fremantle a week later. There, Rear Admiral Christie praised her performance as the “classic of all submarine patrols.”
Third and fourth patrols
The submarine got underway on 8 January 1944 for her third war patrol. She proceeded through the Java, Banda, and Flores SeaFlores Sea
The Flores Sea covers 93,000 square miles of water in Indonesia.- Geography :The seas that border the Flores Sea are the Bali Sea , Java Sea , and the Banda Sea ....
s to Makassar Strait
Makassar Strait
Makassar Strait is a strait between the islands of Borneo and Sulawesi in Indonesia. To the north it joins the Celebes Sea, while to the south it meets the Java Sea.The Mahakam River of Borneo empties into the strait....
where — on 16 January —she encountered a small schooner; surfaced, and sank the sailing vessel with her deck gun. The following day, she came across a cargo ship and two escorts; but her attacks on these targets were frustrated by malfunctioning torpedoes. One from her first spread of four bow torpedoes hit and stopped the freighter, but the other three missed and two shots from her bow tubes detonated before reaching the target. After reloading her tubes, she returned to the convoy the following day and finished off the crippled cargo ship with four torpedoes which sent the 4,408-ton Shoyu Maru to the bottom. She also managed to hit one of the escorts with two “fish,” but did not sink her.
Out of torpedoes, Bowfin returned to Darwin for more and, while in port, picked up Rear Admiral Christie who remained on board the submarine for the rest of the patrol to check on torpedo performance, first hand, and to learn the secret of Bowfin’s remarkable success. The day after she returned to sea, the submarine put three torpedoes into a small cargo ship. Lt. Comdr. Griffith claimed that the target sank and his distinguished passenger confirmed the kill, but the sinking was not borne out by postwar examination of Japanese records — possibly because Bowfin’s alleged victim was too small to be listed. About daybreak on 28 January, Bowfin began trailing a large tanker; and she continued the chase until reaching striking range that evening. She then fired all six bow torpedoes; but, since the target simultaneously changed course, none struck home. After a rapid reload, she sent six more toward the tanker and, this time, two exploded against the side of the Japanese ship, sending towers of fire and smoke skyward. Nevertheless, the tanker remained afloat; and, as Bowfin closed to administer the coup de grace, the enemy ship began fighting back with her main battery and machine gun fire. Undaunted, the submarine kept up the attack and during the ensuing twenty minutes fired six more torpedoes: two misses, followed by a pair of hits, then a miss, and finally another hit. At this point the tanker’s fire was becoming more accurate and forced the submarine to dive. When she came up, the Japanese vessel was retiring from the scene and by dawn had disappeared over the horizon.
The next day, Bowfin laid a minefield in Makassar Strait before beginning the voyage back to Australia. On 30 January, she came across a pair of small schooners which she destroyed with her four inch gun. The submarine moored at Fremantle on 5 February and began preparations for her next mission.
Fifth patrol
Underway on 28 February 1944, the submarine headed for the Celebes SeaCelebes Sea
The Celebes Sea of the western Pacific Ocean is bordered on the north by the Sulu Archipelago and Sulu Sea and Mindanao Island of the Philippines, on the east by the Sangihe Islands chain, on the south by Sulawesi, and on the west by Kalimantan in Indonesia...
. On 10 March, she sighted a convoy of four ships screened by a couple of escorts. Bowfin fired six bow tubes, but four of the torpedoes exploded prematurely. Japanese planes forced Griffith to dive and thus prevented anyone on board from observing the fate of the two other torpedoes. During the ensuing action in which the escorts searched for the submarine and she in turn strove to hide at some 350 feet below the surface, a chain dragged by one of the Japanese hunters scraped across Bowfin’s hull. Meanwhile, depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
explosions — more than twenty — shook the submarine severely but did no debilitating damage. When Griffith dared to rise to the surface, he saw a freighter down by the stern being taken under tow. Despite the efforts of the enemy escorts and of five circling Japanese aircraft, Bowfin attacked the convoy but could not follow the progress of her torpedoes because one of them had boomeranged and threatened her by running in a circular pattern. She dived to escape the danger and did not come up again until the next day. She attacked the freighter again, but the Japanese escorts drove her down once more. Later that day, she rose to periscope depth, found the damaged ship alone, and finished the 4,470-ton Tsukikawa Maru off with four well-aimed torpedoes.
The submarine then began looking for the rest of the convoy, caught up with it well after dark, and fired her remaining torpedoes, but none scored. She then headed back to Darwin for more, and stood out to sea again on 15 March with a fresh supply. Three days later, she emptied her bow tubes while attacking a small convoy, but all six either ran under their targets or missed wide of their marks. The inevitable depth charge barrage followed, but proved to be equally ineffective. When Bowfin attacked again later that day she launched four torpedoes — all of which were wasted.
She did better on the night of 24 March when, at the end of a long chase, she attacked a five-ship convoy in the Celebes Sea, sinking two freighters — 5,139-ton Shinkyo Maru and 5,395-ton Bengal Maru. She also damaged a third ship but could not finish her off for want of torpedoes. As a result, she headed back to Darwin where she arrived on 1 April.
Sixth and seventh patrols
There, Comdr. John H. Corbus relieved Lt. Comdr. Griffith in command of the submarine which got underway again on 24 April and headed for the PalauPalau
Palau , officially the Republic of Palau , is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Philippines and south of Tokyo. In 1978, after three decades as being part of the United Nations trusteeship, Palau chose independence instead of becoming part of the Federated States of Micronesia, a...
s. Although this sixth patrol proved to be her longest in both time and distance, she only managed to put two torpedoes into a freighter on 14 May, and it refused to sink. She performed lifeguard duty before heading via Midway
Midway Atoll
Midway Atoll is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, near the northwestern end of the Hawaiian archipelago, about one-third of the way between Honolulu, Hawaii, and Tokyo, Japan. Unique among the Hawaiian islands, Midway observes UTC-11 , eleven hours behind Coordinated Universal Time and one hour...
for Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
where she arrived on 21 June.
On 16 July, Bowfin left Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
and headed for the Ryukyu Islands
Ryukyu Islands
The , also known as the , is a chain of islands in the western Pacific, on the eastern limit of the East China Sea and to the southwest of the island of Kyushu in Japan. From about 1829 until the mid 20th century, they were alternately called Luchu, Loochoo, or Lewchew, akin to the Mandarin...
. She encountered no worthwhile targets until 9 August when she sighted four ships heading for the harbor at Minami Daito. She trailed them into port and, after they had moored, fired her bow torpedoes, blowing up two and damaging a third. A stray torpedo hit a dock, sending a bus careering into the water. However, no sinkings were confirmed by Japanese records — again possibly because of the small size of the alleged victims. An authenticated kill came off the Tokara Islands
Tokara Islands
The Tokara Islands is a group of islands in part of the Satsunan Islands, which is part of the Nansei Islands. The whole island group belongs to Toshima Village, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan....
on 22 August when she attacked a convoy, hit several ships, claimed several kills including two destroyers, but apparently only sank the 6,754-ton transport Tsushima Maru
Tsushima Maru
Tsushima Maru was a Japanese unmarked passenger/cargo ship that was sunk while carrying hundreds of schoolchildren by the submarine USS Bowfin during World War II. The ship was on her way from Okinawa to Kagoshima. On August 22, 1944, at between 10:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m...
carrying 1,484 civilians, including 767 schoolchildren. On 28 August, she set a little trawler afire with her 4-inch gun. However, since she had futilely fired her last four torpedoes at this target before surfacing, the submarine headed via Midway and Pearl Harbor for the west coast of the United States. She reached San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, on 21 September and entered the Mare Island Navy Yard
Mare Island Naval Shipyard
The Mare Island Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located 25 miles northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates the peninsula shipyard from the main portion of the...
for overhaul.
At the end of the yard work, Comdr. Alexander K. Tyree relieved Comdr. Corbus on 16 December 1944; and, later that day, the submarine got underway westward back across the Pacific. Following training in Hawaiian waters, she headed for a station near the Japanese home islands south of Honshū
Honshu
is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
where she performed lifeguard services for American planes — both naval and Army — raiding strategic enemy targets in Japan. On 17 February, Bowfin attacked two Japanese subchasers and sank the 750-ton Coast Defense Vessel No. 56 with torpedoes and then survived a 26-depth-charge attack by her victim’s consort which had herself barely escaped destruction when some of Bowfin’s torpedoes exploded prematurely. The submarine later sank a Japanese sea truck with one torpedo. On 19 March about 15 miles south of Shikoku
Shikoku
is the smallest and least populous of the four main islands of Japan, located south of Honshū and east of the island of Kyūshū. Its ancient names include Iyo-no-futana-shima , Iyo-shima , and Futana-shima...
, she rescued the pilot and gunner of a downed torpedo bomber
Torpedo bomber
A torpedo bomber is a bomber aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes which could also carry out conventional bombings. Torpedo bombers existed almost exclusively prior to and during World War II when they were an important element in many famous battles, notably the...
. The submarine soon set a course for the Marianas
Mariana Islands
The Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...
and ended the patrol upon her arrival at Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
on 25 March.
Eighth and ninth patrols
Underway on 23 April for her eighth war patrol, the submarine plied the waters north of Honshū and HokkaidōHokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
. Her first kill came on 1 May when two of her torpedoes sank the 2,719-ton transport Chowa Maru. A week later, she overtook, torpedoed, and destroyed an 880-ton freighter Daito Maru No. 3; but, that proved to be the last score of the patrol. After a fortnight of futile searching for targets, she arrived at Apra Harbor
Apra Harbor
Apra Harbor is a deep-water port on the western side of Guam in the Mariana Islands. The harbor is formed by Orote Peninsula in the south and Cabras Island in the north. To the south, the harbor narrows and then widens again to form an inner harbor. The southern end of the harbor is the location...
, Guam, for refit.
While training for her ninth and final patrol of the war, Bowfin rescued a Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
pilot whose fighter
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
had crashed. She got underway on 29 May and pointed her bow back toward the enemy homeland. One of nine submarines protected by newly developed mine-detecting sonar
Sonar
Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...
and sent into the Sea of Japan
Sea of Japan
The Sea of Japan is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, between the Asian mainland, the Japanese archipelago and Sakhalin. It is bordered by Japan, North Korea, Russia and South Korea. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no tides due to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific...
, she carefully threaded her way through the dangerous minefields of Tsushima Strait
Tsushima Strait
is the eastern channel of the Korea Strait, which lies between Korea and Japan, connecting the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea.The Tsushima Strait is the broader eastern channel to the east and southeast of Tsushima Island, with the Japanese islands of Honshū to the east and northeast, and...
which guarded this previously sacrosanct maritime heart of the Japanese Empire, but found little enemy shipping. Nevertheless, she wasted neither of her two attackable contacts: the first, the 1,898-ton transport Shinyo Maru took four torpedoes before sinking on 11 June; and the second, the 887-ton freighter Akiura Maru met a similar fate on 13 June.
The submarine left the Sea of Japan by La Pérouse Strait
La Perouse Strait
La Pérouse Strait is a strait dividing the southern part of the Russian island of Sakhalin from the northern part of the Japanese island of Hokkaidō, and connecting the Sea of Japan on the west with the Sea of Okhotsk on the east....
(Soya Misaki) and headed for Hawaii. She reached Pearl Harbor on Independence Day
Independence Day (United States)
Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain...
and began preparations to return to action. Early in August, Bowfin sailed for the Marianas, her staging point for her 10th war patrol. However, while en route, she received word of Japan’s capitulation. As a result, she reversed course and returned to Hawaii and, then, headed for the Panama Canal on her way to the east coast of the United States. Bowfin arrived at Tompkinsville, Staten Island, New York
Tompkinsville, Staten Island
Tompkinsville is a neighborhood in northeastern Staten Island in New York City in the United States. Though the neighborhood sits on the island's eastern shore, along the waterfront facing Upper New York Bay — between St...
, on 21 September 1945. She served in the Atlantic Fleet until decommissioned at New London on 12 February 1947 and placed in reserve.
Post-war
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
-led forces during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, the submarine was recommissioned on 27 July 1951 and, following shakedown training, sailed for the Pacific. After arriving at San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
on 6 October, she worked from that port for the next two years, devoting her time to training operations and local exercises. The nominal ending of hostilities in Korea in the summer of 1953 reduced the Navy’s need for active submarines and prompted Bowfin’s second inactivation. She arrived at San Francisco on 8 October 1953 and was placed out of commission, in reserve, at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard on 22 April 1954. The warship remained there until moving to Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, on 1 May 1960 to replace as the Naval Reserve
United States Navy Reserve
The United States Navy Reserve, until 2005 known as the United States Naval Reserve, is the Reserve Component of the United States Navy...
training submarine there and to begin a little over a decade’s service. Her name was finally struck from the Navy list on 1 December 1971, and she was taken back to Pearl Harbor, where she now serves as a memorial. Audio Tours are available to the general public at Pearl Harbor. Some areas of the ship are off limits.
Bowfin was declared a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 1986.
Sunken enemy vessels
- The passenger-cargo ship Kirishima Maru on 25 September 1943
- The tanker Ogurasan Maru and cargo ship Tainan Maru on 26 November 1943
- The Vichy FranceVichy FranceVichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
cargo ship Van Vollenhoven on 26 November or 27 November 1943 - The passenger-cargo ship Sydney Maru and the 9,866-ton tanker Tonan Maru on 28 November 1943
- A pair of schoonerSchoonerA schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
s she destroyed with her 4 inch gun on 30 November (1943) - The cargo ship Shoyu Maru on 17 January 1944
- The cargo ship Tsukikawa Maru on 10 March 1944
- The cargo ships Shinkyo Maru and Bengal Maru on 24 March 1944
- The passenger-cargo ship Tsushima MaruTsushima MaruTsushima Maru was a Japanese unmarked passenger/cargo ship that was sunk while carrying hundreds of schoolchildren by the submarine USS Bowfin during World War II. The ship was on her way from Okinawa to Kagoshima. On August 22, 1944, at between 10:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m...
on 22 August 1944 - Assisted in the sinking of the 4,500-ton cargo ship Bisan Maru on 14 May 1944
- The frigateFrigateA frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
Coastal Defense Vessel No. 56 on 17 February 1945 - The passenger-cargo ship Chowa Maru on 1 May 1945
- The cargo ship Daito Maru No. 3 on 8 May 1945
- The passenger-cargo ship Shinyo MaruShinyo MaruShinyo Maru was a Japanese Cargo steamer during the Second World War. She was one of the hell ships, used to transport prisoners of war. She had served under a number of other names under a long career.-Career:...
No. 3 on 11 June 1945 - The cargo ship Akiura Maru on 13 June 1945
The sinking of Tsushima Maru
Tsushima MaruTsushima Maru
Tsushima Maru was a Japanese unmarked passenger/cargo ship that was sunk while carrying hundreds of schoolchildren by the submarine USS Bowfin during World War II. The ship was on her way from Okinawa to Kagoshima. On August 22, 1944, at between 10:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m...
was an unmarked Japanese cargo ship that was sunk by Bowfin between 10 and 10:30 p.m. local time on August 22, 1944 as the ship was carrying hundreds of schoolchildren from Okinawa to Kagoshima. Attacked while in convoy, Tsushima sank close to the island of Akusekijima
Akusekijima
is a volcanic island located in the Tokara Islands in part of the Nansei Islands, Japan. Most of the island is surrounded by steep cliffs. Access to the island is limited to the "Ferry Toshima", which only runs twice a week and takes 11 hours from Kagoshima....
. 1,484 civilians including 767 schoolchildren were killed; 59 children survived the sinking.
On her sixth patrol, Bowfin destroyed a pier at Minami Daito that contained a crane and a bus. Thirteen small vessels were sunk by the Bowfin's deck guns.
USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park
The submarine is owned and operated by the Pacific Fleet Submarine Memorial Association, and is now part of the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park in Pearl Harbor, on the island of OahuOahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
, Hawaii. Visitors can tour the submarine with an audio narration of life in the vessel during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
The park's museum features exhibits and artifacts about submarines and the history of the United States Submarine Service, including detailed models, weapon systems, photographs, paintings, battleflags, recruiting posters and a memorial honoring the 52 American submarines and the more than 3,500 submariners lost during World War II.
The museum's other exhibits include the conning tower
Conning tower
A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer can con the vessel; i.e., give directions to the helmsman. It is usually located as high on the ship as practical, to give the conning team good visibility....
of the submarine (which visitors may enter), a Kaiten
Kaiten
The Kaiten were manned torpedos and suicide craft, they were used by the Imperial Japanese Navy in the final stages of World War II.-History:...
torpedo, and a 40 mm Quad gun, along with Poseidon C-3
UGM-73 Poseidon
The Poseidon missile was the second US Navy ballistic missile system, powered by a two-stage solid fuel rocket. It succeeded the Polaris missile beginning in 1972, bringing major advances in warheads and accuracy...
and Regulus I missiles. The park is located within walking distance of the visitor center for the USS Arizona Memorial, and the USS Missouri Museum
USS Missouri (BB-63)
|USS Missouri is a United States Navy Iowa-class battleship, and was the fourth ship of the U.S. Navy to be named in honor of the U.S. state of Missouri...
.