[gordyf808]

The yard I used to work for dry docked the Museum Submarine Bowfin this AM
Could only get pics from the pier today as things weren't pumped out all the way.
Should be able to go on the dock tomorrow and get some closeups.
Bowfin is part of the Pearl Harbor historical complex.
Been about 20 years since it was last up
Aloha

 

[Clyde]

Looks as if it can use some attention, good that it is getting it. Didn't a boat on the East Coast sink at moorings a few years ago?

Looks like Bowfin got to keep her shafts and props, unlike Texas.

 

[ncreptile]

Glad it's getting the repairs it needs.

Another ww2 era sub is not so lucky. The USS Clamagore is about to be torn apart for it's materials because the cost of repair is too expensive for the museum it's at. We've got billions to send to other nations and little apparently to repair our nations history.

 

[Tempest2]

Given the way things are developing in the South China Sea, and the Navy's fading ability to keep the ships it has running - much less properly bulk-up for new geopolitical challenges - they might think about refurbishing some of these old boats, not scrapping or making museums out of them.

Maybe not ones that old.

 

[milprileb]

Had a memorable visit on the the Bowfin. In 1986, while on a mission to CincPac, we had a day off and got to the Bowfin as the retired Chief custodian there was closing up. Two Army SF guys don't show up often there and we hit him up with some WWII sub questions as he was locking up and he stopped. "You guys really that interested , I'll take you on a tour" and so he did , just us two and blistering him with questions. Then he went and got a cooler of beer out of his truck and we sat on the Bowfin as sun set over Pearl Harbor and he told us submarine sea stores until it got dark and the beer long gone. Yeah, I'm glad Bowfin is getting some TLC and be there for future generations to learn about WWII submarines and the brave men that served aboard those glorious boats. Saluting you Chief, thanks for everything.

 

[limpetmine]

They should take a page from the USS Drum playbook, and get it out of the water.
The ship that sunk at the pier was the USS Sullivan. They've pumped it out and have it back up, but with major damage.

 

[timmct]

USS The Sullivans (DD-537) - Wikipedia USS The Sullivans (DD-537) - Wikipedia

 

[Cleo45]

Glad to see her getting the attention she desrves. I go on board every time I get to Oahu, she is an amazing piece of history!

 

[SSG_Lord]

They just dry docked the USS Cod last summer, she's back in Cleveland now and looks amazing.

 

[BlackPowder]

Glad it's getting the repairs it needs.

Another ww2 era sub is not so lucky. The USS Clamagore is about to be torn apart for it's materials because the cost of repair is too expensive for the museum it's at. We've got billions to send to other nations and little apparently to repair our nations history.

This makes me sick. I have very fond memories of touring the Clamagore with my parents when I was 6 or so, along with Yorktown and a Coast Guard cutter whose name I don’t recall.

 

[Clyde]

They should take a page from the USS Drum playbook, and get it out of the water.
The ship that sunk at the pier was the USS Sullivan. They've pumped it out and have it back up, but with major damage.

Sullivans ("S" is part of the name - ship was named for five brothers who were all crewman on CLAA Juneau sunk by the Japanese during the fighting around Guadalcanal) was the second museum ship to sink at moorings in the Northeast. First one was WWII submarine USS Ling.

 

[Tempest2]

USS The Sullivans (DD-537) - Wikipedia USS The Sullivans (DD-537) - Wikipedia

I had forgotten they named a Fletcher-class after the five hero-brothers; as usual the reminder of that loss makes me want to cry.


(Heros? If you were on a USN ship near Guadalcanal in the last-half of 1942, you were a hero. See "Savo Island, Battle of.")

 

[timmct]

I was on a fishing crew here in Rhode Island; fish trapping out of Sakonnet Point...

The skipper of the boat was George Mendonsa...he had served as Quartermaster on The Sullivans....

You can't see it but the steamer for the trap gang was named "Maria Mendonsa" after George's mother.

I only wanted to make a point that it was (DD 537) The Sullivans as he was very proud of his service and in how his Destroyer was named.

He was a HUGE guy and an exemplary American of "the greatest generation".

George Mendonsa, 95, Most Likely the Sailor in a Famous Photo, Dies - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

 

[Uncle Grinch]

Love to see threads about these old navy ships and boats. I toured a sub at Charlotte and don’t remember the name, but it was tight! Can’t imagine serving on one of these back in WWII.

My uncle served on The Sullivans DD-537. Think it was during the late 50’s.

 

[Nirvana]

Glad it's getting the repairs it needs.

Another ww2 era sub is not so lucky. The USS Clamagore is about to be torn apart for it's materials because the cost of repair is too expensive for the museum it's at. We've got billions to send to other nations and little apparently to repair our nations history.

I hate losing a sub, but if all the ones that could be lost it’s the one we can survive. It’s a sub that was built too late to see WW2 combat, and was then heavily modified postwar.

The Ling is similar in that it’s basically postwar as well. There are some guys out there acting like they are going to preserve it. My interactions with them lead me to believe that they have 0% chance of saving the sub. They acted like they were in some secret club, refused to answer even the most basic questions, and seemed to lack even the most simple of plans. I suspect it’s going away as well.

 

[milprileb]

Saving history is important, even more so in these days that have evil forces wanting to erase it and replace it with their
version of history. Surviving subs are historically significant , they need to be preserved and protected.

 

[Blackbat242]

I hate losing a sub, but if all the ones that could be lost it’s the one we can survive. It’s a sub that was built too late to see WW2 combat, and was then heavily modified postwar.

Then it is representative of the first part of the Cold War, which is important history as well!

 

[mkgr22]

 

[Doggoneit]

They should take a page from the USS Drum playbook, and get it out of the water.
The ship that sunk at the pier was the USS Sullivan. They've pumped it out and have it back up, but with major damage.

I have visited the Drum several times, parked next to the Battleship Alabama. It make for a fun day trip.

 

[Doggoneit]

Glad it's getting the repairs it needs.

Another ww2 era sub is not so lucky. The USS Clamagore is about to be torn apart for it's materials because the cost of repair is too expensive for the museum it's at. We've got billions to send to other nations and little apparently to repair our nations history.

I am sure that the museum would gladly have you restore the sub rather than wrecking it.

It is not an either/or proposition. Personally, if it were an either/or I would rather spend billions protecting our future than saving one rotted out WWII sub. It is not as if it were the only one remaining. In fact, there is still one U.S. made WWII sub that is still in service.