USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park

Brief History of the USS Bowfin

The USS Bowfin was launched on December 7, 1942, exactly one year after the tragic attack on Pearl Harbor. Although the U.S. was deeply involved in the conflict with Japan, the launch of the USS Bowfin was marked as an important point in U.S. history and sent a signal that even though the U.S. had suffered a terrible tragedy a year earlier, the country would not only recover, but emerge stronger than ever. 

Following WWII, the USS Bowfin was decommissioned and subsequently recommissioned in 1951 at the height of the Korean War, on active patrol in the Pacific until being decommissioned once again at the war’s conclusion. In 1960 she was sent to Seattle where she served as a training vessel for the Naval Reserve. Her name was officially struck from the Navy list in 1971. In 1980, the submarine was finally brought to Pearl Harbor, where she remains, and enjoys the title of the “Pearl Harbor Avenger,” having completed nine successful patrols before arriving at her current peacetime berth. 

The submarine’s namesake- the bowfin- is an aggressive, ambush-style fish with powerful jaws that puts up a tough fight when caught. Just like the fish, the USS Bowfin proved to be a formidable underwater adversary and was responsible for sinking dozens of enemy ships and damaging several more throughout the course of WWII. From the South China Sea to the Sea of Japan, the USS Bowfin patrolled enemy waters and ranked 15^th in the number of ships sunk during her patrols.

The USS Bowfin Today 

In 1986, the Department of the Interior designated the USS Bowfin a National Historic Landmark. She is docked next to the USS Arizona Memorial Visitor Center and acts as a 10,000-square-foot floating museum that features over 4,000 artifacts such as recruiting posters, battle flags, weapon systems, photos, and more. 

Each year, the submarine draws thousands of visitors from around the world who flock to the site to experience a small sample of what life inside such a mighty submarine might have been like.