U.S.S. Bowfin Submarine Museum

USS Bowfin (SS/AGSS-287), 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.

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 Oahu, 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 USS Parche (SS-384) submarine (which visitors may enter), a Kaiten torpedo, and a 40 mm Quad gun, along with Poseidon C-3 and Regulus I missiles.

Text source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Bowfin_(SS-287)
Photo source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USS_Bowmin_submarine_-_full_view_side.jpg

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