USS Bowfin (SS-287)
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| USS Bowfin (SS-287) | |
|---|---|
.jpg) 85 GT Kid · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source | |
| Ship name | USS Bowfin |
| Ship namesake | Bowfin (fish) |
| Ship class | Balao-class submarine |
| Ship displacement | 1,526 long tons (surfaced) |
| Ship length | 311 ft 8 in |
| Ship beam | 27 ft 3 in |
| Ship draught | 17 ft |
| Ship propulsion | Diesel-electric |
| Ship speed | 20 kn (submerged) |
| Ship complement | 10 officers, 70 enlisted |
| Ship builder | Portsmouth Navy Yard |
| Ship launched | 7 Dec 1942 |
| Ship commissioned | 1 May 1943 |
| Ship decommissioned | 15 Oct 1969 |
USS Bowfin (SS-287) was a Balao-class submarine of the United States Navy commissioned during World War II. Launched at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and commanded by officers drawn from United States Naval Academy graduates, Bowfin conducted multiple war patrols in the Pacific Ocean against Empire of Japan shipping. Surviving the conflict, she later served in postwar operations before becoming a museum ship at Pearl Harbor near the USS Arizona Memorial.
Design and Construction
Bowfin was built as a Balao-class submarine at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, part of a program accelerated after the Attack on Pearl Harbor to expand the United States Navy's submarine force. Her hull followed the Gato-class submarine improvements, using higher tensile steel and increased test depth derived from wartime lessons from boats like USS Gato (SS-212), USS Narwhal (SS-167), and designs influenced by interwar studies at the Bureau of Ships (BuShips). Propulsion comprised General Motors diesel engines and electric motors, enabling long-range patrols across the Central Pacific and South China Sea. Armament included torpedo tubes compatible with Mark 14 torpedos and a deck gun similar to mounts found on contemporaries such as USS Flasher (SS-249) and USS Tang (SS-306).
Service History
After commissioning in May 1943 under Lieutenant Commander C. R. "Swede" Momsen? (note: command rotated among officers trained at Submarine School (New London)), Bowfin completed trials and training with the Atlantic Fleet before transiting the Panama Canal to the Pacific Fleet. Assigned to patrol areas around the Marshall Islands, Mariana Islands, and later the Kuril Islands, she operated from forward bases including Pearl Harbor, Midway Atoll, and Saipan. Her crew included enlisted sailors trained at Great Lakes Naval Training Station and officers who attended Naval War College courses in tactics. Throughout deployments Bowfin coordinated with Task Force 38, Submarine Squadron 8, and other elements executing blockade and interdiction missions against Japanese supply lines.
War Patrols and Engagements
Bowfin conducted nine war patrols during World War II, engaging enemy merchantmen, escorts, and auxiliary vessels in actions similar in scope to operations by USS Silversides (SS-236), USS Harder (SS-257), and USS Albacore (SS-218). Early patrols in 1943–1944 centered on the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign and the Marianas campaign, where she attacked convoys and exercised night-surface torpedo tactics refined in concert with doctrine emerging from Commander, Submarines, Pacific Fleet (COMSUBPAC). Encounters included torpedo salvos employing Mark 14 torpedos—whose performance controversies were subject to investigations by figures like Admiral Ernest King and technicians from Naval Ordnance Laboratory—and surface gun actions against smaller craft.
Later patrols moved into the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea supporting operations related to the Battle of Leyte Gulf and the liberation of Philippines (1944–45). In the final months Bowfin undertook lifeguard duties for United States Army Air Forces and United States Navy aviators during strikes on the Japanese Home Islands, rescuing downed airmen in coordination with carriers such as USS Enterprise (CV-6) and USS Yorktown (CV-10). Her patrol reports contributed to assessments by Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz and postwar analyses at Naval Historical Center. Crew actions earned citations comparable to awards given to other successful boats like USS Piper (SS-409).
Post-war Service and Decommissioning
Following Japan's surrender in 1945, Bowfin returned to Pearl Harbor and then rotated to peacetime assignments that included training, recommissioning cycles, and participation in Cold War era exercises with the United States Pacific Fleet and allied navies including Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy elements. She underwent overhauls and modernization efforts similar to the Fleet Snorkel and Greater Underwater Propulsive Power Program alterations seen in contemporaries, though she remained primarily a training and reserve platform. Decommissioned and struck from active lists in 1969, Bowfin was transferred to the State of Hawaii and prepared for public display.
Legacy and Commemoration
Preserved as a museum ship at Pearl Harbor, adjacent to the USS Arizona Memorial and near the Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor, Bowfin serves as a tangible link to the submarine campaign that played a decisive role in isolating the Empire of Japan's logistics. As a museum vessel she educates visitors alongside exhibits on the Attack on Pearl Harbor, the Battle of Midway, and broader Pacific War history, connecting narratives found in archives like the Naval History and Heritage Command and institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution's naval collections. Annual commemorations involve veterans' groups including the Veterans of Foreign Wars and ceremonies tied to observances like Veterans Day and Memorial Day. Bowfin's preservation underscores technological and human dimensions reflected in other memorials such as the USS Missouri (BB-63) and the National World War II Memorial.