USS Bowfin
Service
- 1 May 1943 — 1 December 1971855 days of the war
- Name
- USS Bowfin
- Namesake
- Bowfin
- Builder
- Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine
- Laid down
- 23 July 1942
- Launched
- 7 December 1942
- Commissioned
- 1 May 1943
- Decommissioned
- 12 February 1947
- Recommissioned
- 27 July 1951
- Struck
- 1 December 1971
- Fate
- Museum ship in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii since 1 August 1979 (1979)
- Status
- Preserved
Specifications
- Length
- 94.79 m (311 ft)
- Beam
- 8.23 m (27 ft)
- Draught
- 4.88 m (16 ft)
- Speed
- 20.3 knots (37.5 km/h, 23.3 mph)
- Range
- 11,000 nmi (20,372 km)
- Complement
- 10
- Main gun
- 102 mm (4 in)
USS Bowfin was a Balao-class submarine diesel-electric submarine built for the United States Navy. The ship was named after Bowfin. Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine laid her keel on 23 July 1942. Launched on 7 December 1942, she entered service on 1 May 1943.
She was one of 111 ships of her class. The class followed the Gato-class submarine and was succeeded by the Tench-class submarine.
She measured 94.8 m (311 ft) long with a beam of 8.2 m (27 ft). Her designed speed was 20.2 knots, and she carried a complement of 10. Her main battery was of 102 mm (4.0 in) calibre.
She was in commission for 855 days of the Second World War. She was decommissioned on 12 February 1947. She recommissioned on 27 July 1951. She was struck from the register on 1 December 1971.
She has been preserved on 1 August 1979.
Written from the harvested record. Every figure above is sourced; the wording is this site's own.
Armament and machinery
Armament and machinery
- Propulsion
- 4 × General Motors Model 16-248 V16 Diesel engines driving electric generators
- 2 × 126-cell Sargo batteries
- 4 × high-speed General Electric electric motors with reduction gears
- two propellers
- 5,400 shp (4.0 MW) surfaced
- 2,740 shp (2.0 MW) submerged
- Armament
- 10 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes (six forward, four aft; 24 torpedoes)
- one 4 in/50 caliber deck gun
- one 40 mm Bofors antiaircraft cannon
- two .50 cal (12.7 mm) machineguns
Sister ships
- ARA Santa Fe (S-21)
- USS Apogon
- USS Archerfish (SS-311)
- USS Aspro (SS-309)
- USS Atule
- USS Balao
- USS Bang
- USS Barbel (SS-316)
- USS Barbero
- USS Batfish (SS-310)
- USS Baya
- USS Becuna
- USS Bergall (SS-320)
- USS Besugo
- USS Billfish (SS-286)
- USS Blackfin
- USS Blanquillo (SS-323)
- USS Blenny
- USS Blower
- USS Blueback (SS-326)
- USS Boarfish
- USS Brill
- USS Bugara
- USS Bullhead
Sources
- Facts harvested from USS Bowfin on Wikipedia. Figures only — no wording is taken from it.
- Photograph: Max Smith — Self-photographed — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons