Today's classic warship, USS Bowfin (SS-287)
Balao class submarine.
Displacement. 1526 t.
Lenght. 311'8"
Beam. 27'3"
Draft. 16'10"
Speed. 20.3 k.
Complement. 66
Armament. 1 5". 10 21" TT.
USS Bowfin (SS-287) was launched 7 December 1942 by Portsmouth Navy Yard; sponsored by Mrs. J. O. Gawne, wife of Captain Gawne; and commissioned 1 May 1948 Commander J. H. Willingham in command.
Bowfin departed New London, Conn., 1 July 1943 and arrived at Brisbane, Australia 10 August 1843. Between 16 August 1943 and 4 July 1945 she completed nine war patrols operating from the Netherlands East Indies to the Sea of Japan and the waters south of Hokkaido. Bowfin sank 15 merchantmen (including the french cargo ship Van Vollenhoven) and one frigate for a total of 68,032 tons. She is also credited with sinking a crane, bus and pier at Minami Daito on her sixth war patrol. She also shared credit with Aspro (SS-309) for a 4,500-ton merchantman.
Leaving Pearl Harbor 29 August 1945 Bowfin sailed to the east coast, arriving at Tompkinsville, N. Y., 21 September. She operated with the Atlantic Fleet until placed out of commission in reserve at New London, Conn., 12 February 1947.
Bowfin was recommissioned at New London 27 July 1951. Following a short training period she departed for the Pacific, arriving at San Diego 6 October 1951. She continued to operate from San Diego on local operations and training exercises until 8 October 1953 when she arrived at San Francisco to commence inactivation. Bowfin was placed out of commission in reserve at Mare Island Naval Shipyard 22 April 1954.
Bowfin received the Presidential Unit Citation for her second war patrol, the Navy Unit Commendation for her sixth war patrol, the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation for her first patrol and eight battle stars during World War II.
Of the 288 U.S. submarines which saw combat duty during WWII, 188 of them had JANAC officially credited sinking records. USS Bowfin remains a legend, for among these 188 submarines, Bowfin ranks 17th in tonnage and 15th in number of ships sunk. Fifty-two of 288 combat submarines (almost one out of five) and 3,505 out of 14,750 WWII U.S. submariners (almost one out of four) began their "eternal patrols" before Japan surrendered.
USS Bowfin is fortunate that she did not end up as scrap metal or as target practice for another military ship. BOWFIN is one of only fifteen U.S. WWII submarines that survived this dreaded fate.
In early 1972, World War II submariner and Pearl Harbor survivor ADM Bernard A. "Chick" Clarey (CINCPACFLT) and RADM Paul L. Lacy (COMSUBPAC) approached the Secretary of the Navy about acquiring BOWFIN as a memorial to the U.S. Submarine Force at Pearl Harbor. With the assistance of Hawaii Senator Daniel Inouye, the acquisition was secured. She was then towed to Pearl Harbor's Naval Inactive Ships Maintenance Facility.
In 1978, a non-profit organization, the Pacific Fleet Submarine Memorial Association (PFSMA), was formed and chartered. On 3 August 1979, they formally acquired BOWFIN from the U.S. Navy. This acquisition was made possible through an act of Congress passed on 10 August 1956. This act authorized the Secretary of the Navy to transfer by gift or otherwise, on terms prescribed to him, any obsolete vessel of the Navy to any U.S. non-profit organization who would promise to restore and preserve the vessel at no cost to the U.S. government and its taxpayers. There were also other conditions that had be observed in accordance with receiving BOWFIN. One condition mandated that no part of the submarine may be activated for the purpose of navigation or movement of the submarine under her own power. Another condition stipulated that BOWFIN must be maintained in a manner that would not be a discredit to the U.S. Navy or to the proud heritage of the submarine.
Later that month, the submarine was towed to Pier 39, near downtown Honolulu, where a group of volunteers from the civilian and military community alike, eagerly assisted in cleaning and restoring BOWFIN after years of neglect. The Dillingham Corporation did much of the preliminary restoration work as many Navy League members worked hard to secure the necessary funds to support the project. Meanwhile, PFSMA continued to search for a suitable permanent mooring site.
In December 1980, BOWFIN was moved to her present day location at Pearl Harbor, next to the Arizona Memorial Visitor Center -- a fitting location for the submarine that had been launched a year after the attack on Pearl Harbor and nicknamed "The Pearl Harbor Avenger." BOWFIN became the centerpiece of the new "Bowfin Park." On 1 April 1981, BOWFIN officially began her new career as a "museum ship," and welcomed her first visitors on board. By 1985, over one million visitors had walked on her decks, learning about what life was like for the submariners of WWII. In 1986, BOWFIN was named a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
In 1987, BOWFIN was dry-docked in preparation for her role in the ABC Circle Films miniseries, "War and Remembrance." She would portray three different submarines in the miniseries.
Today, Bowfin Park includes a museum with mini-theater, outdoor exhibits, a gift shop, and other visitor facilities situated on four acres of park grounds. The Museum, housing the collection formerly on display at Pearl Harbor Submarine Base Museum, chronicles the history of the U.S. Submarine Force from its inception in 1900, to the modern nuclear fleet. In 1992, a dedication ceremony was held for Bowfin Park's new Waterfront Memorial, which pays silent tribute to the 52 U.S. submarines and the more than 3,500 men of the "Silent Service" who were lost in World War II.
The Pacific Fleet Submarine Memorial Association's mission is to preserve and restore the World War II submarine BOWFIN, as a tribute to all the submariners of WWII, and to all of the members of the U.S. Submarine Force, both past and present. To fulfill this mission, PFSMA relies solely on admission fees, donations, and gift shop sales, and receives no government funding.