USS Bowfin (SS-287)
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USS ''Bowfin'' (SS/AGSS-287), is a of the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
named for the
bowfin The ruddy bowfin (''Amia calva'') is a ray-finned fish native to North America. Common names include mudfish, mud pike, dogfish, grindle, grinnel, swamp trout, and choupique. It is regarded as a relict, being one of only two surviving species ...
fish. Since 1981, she has been open to public tours at the USS ''Bowfin'' Submarine Museum & Park in
Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...
,
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
, next to the USS ''Arizona'' Memorial Visitor Center. ''Bowfin'' was laid down by the
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNS), often called the Portsmouth Navy Yard, is a United States Navy shipyard on Seavey's Island in Kittery, Maine, bordering Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The naval yard lies along the southern boundary of Maine on ...
at
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, on 23 July 1942, and launched on 7 December 1942 by Mrs. Jane Gawne, wife of
Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
James Gawne, and commissioned on 1 May 1943,
Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...
Joseph H. Willingham in command.


First patrol

Following fitting out, the submarine proceeded via
Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...
, to
New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the outlet of the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, which empties into Long Island Sound. The cit ...
, her base for shakedown training. Early in July 1943, she got underway for the Pacific war zone, and after transiting the
Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...
and crossing the Pacific, reached Australia. After-voyage repair at
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preceded her getting underway on 19 August to move north and west along the Australian coast to Darwin. She topped off her fuel tanks at that port and sailed on the morning of 25 August for her first war patrol. ''Bowfin'' reached the Mindanao Sea on 2 September, but patrolled for more than three weeks without finding any worthwhile targets. On 24 September, she met to conduct coordinated operations. The next day, the two submarines began tracking a six-ship
convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...
and continued the chase for some five hours before ''Bowfin'' finally attained a suitable attack position. She then launched her six bow
torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...
es – four at a cargo ship and two at a trailing transport. Three exploded against the side of the first ship and both of those fired at the second struck home. The submarine immediately turned her
fantail Fantails are small insectivorous songbirds of the genus ''Rhipidura'' in the family Rhipiduridae, native to Australasia, Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Most of the species are about long, specialist aerial feeders, and named as "f ...
toward the convoy and emptied her stern tubes, sending four torpedoes in the direction of a tanker. Gunfire at her
periscope A periscope is an instrument for observation over, around or through an object, obstacle or condition that prevents direct line-of-sight observation from an observer's current position. In its simplest form, it consists of an outer case with ...
forced ''Bowfin'' to go deep, so prevented her crew from observing the progress of her last salvo, but they heard its torpedoes explode. When the submarine rose to
periscope depth A periscope is an instrument for observation over, around or through an object, obstacle or condition that prevents direct line-of-sight observation from an observer's current position. In its simplest form, it consists of an outer case with ...
about an hour later, the passenger-cargo ship ''Kirishima Maru'' was slowly sinking, the tanker was on fire, and the transport seemed to be settling by the stern. However, the two latter ships apparently were able to limp back to port, for the sinking of neither was confirmed by postwar study of Japanese records. Later in the day, members of ''Bowfins crew heard distant explosions and inferred that ''Billfish'' was going after the remnants of the convoy, a conclusion that proved to be correct, for their sister ship managed to damage two Japanese ships totaling about 12,000 tons. Although the submarines continued to pursue the remaining enemy vessels as they fled during the night, the battered group of Japanese ships finally managed to slip away in the darkness. The following morning, after ''Bowfin''s
radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...
had picked up an enemy plane also equipped with radar, the submarine was forced to submerge to avoid detection. Two days later, she came across a inter-island steamer and shadowed her until reaching a firing position about three hours later. She then launched three torpedoes. One stopped before reaching the target, and the other two missed. On 30 September, as she left the Mindanao Sea, ''Bowfin'' chanced upon a diesel-propelled
barge A barge is typically a flat-bottomed boat, flat-bottomed vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. Original use was on inland waterways, while modern use is on both inland and ocean, marine water environments. The firs ...
carrying over 100 Japanese soldiers, and opened fire on it with her four-inch gun. When the target responded with machine gun fire, the submarine's 20-mm guns entered the fray. The battle came to an abrupt end when a four-inch round struck the enemy's magazine and blew apart the already sinking barge. On 2 October, as the submarine continued through the
Makassar Strait Makassar Strait () is a strait between the islands of Borneo and Sulawesi in Indonesia. To the north it joins the Celebes Sea, while to the south it meets the Java Sea. To the northeast, it forms the Sangkulirang Bay south of the Mangkalihat P ...
toward Australia, her crew sighted a
schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...
off
Balikpapan Balikpapan is a seaport city in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Located on the east coast of the island of Borneo, the city is the financial center of Kalimantan. Balikpapan is the city with the largest economy in Kalimantan with an estimated 20 ...
. Willingham fired two shots across the stranger's bow, but failed to bring her to and sank her with gunfire. ''Bowfin'' arrived at
Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...
on 10 October, ending a successful patrol.
Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...
Ralph Waldo Christie, who commanded American submarines in the area, was lavish in his praise of the submarine's performance; he rewarded her commanding officer with the opportunity of heading a submarine division. To free him for the new role, Lieutenant Commander Walter T. Griffith relieved Willingham as commanding officer of ''Bowfin'' on 26 October.


Second patrol

Upon completion of refitting, ''Bowfin'' got underway on 1 November and headed for the
South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...
. From time to time during this patrol, she again cooperated with ''Billfish''. On 8 November, ''Bowfin'' picked up the trail of a group of five
schooners A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail ...
. When she pulled within range of them, she opened fire with her four-inch gun and sank three before bombs from a Japanese plane forced the submarine to dive, allowing the two surviving vessels to slip away. After staying down until dark, ''Bowfin'' surfaced and resumed patrolling. Before long, she discovered and opened fire upon a large sailing ship, which went down after suffering hits by two four-inch shells. Two days later, she found her next victims, two small steamers heading for Tawi-Tawi Bay, and set both ablaze with gunfire. Her luck was even better on the morning of 26 November, while she was approaching the coast of
Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as Indochina and the Indochinese Peninsula) is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to th ...
during a blinding rainstorm. Without prior knowledge that any other vessels were near, she unexpectedly found herself surrounded by Japanese shipping. After barely avoiding a collision with a tanker by backing all engines, she torpedoed and sank the tanker ''Ogurasan Maru'' and then sank the cargo ship ''Tainan Maru''. A few hours later, her torpedoes sank ''Van Vollenhoven'', a coaster that the Japanese had taken from her French owners when they overran Indochina almost two years before. On 28 November, after having sunk a small passenger-cargo ship with one torpedo, ''Bowfin'' joined ''Billfish'' in attacking a convoy and quickly sank the cargo ship ''Sydney Maru'' and tanker ''Tonon Maru''. Meanwhile, one of the Japanese ships fired on ''Bowfin'' and scored hits, which opened leaks in her starboard induction line; while serious, they did not prevent the submarine from getting off her last two torpedoes. Repair efforts at daylight slowed, but did not completely stop the flooding, and ''Bowfin'' began her voyage back to Australia. En route to her base on 2 December, she came across a "two-masted yacht...which...," in Griffith's words, "...looked like it might have been some planter’s yacht taken over by the Japs." The submarine's deck gun promptly destroyed this stranger; thereafter, ''Bowfin'' enjoyed an uneventful passage that brought her to Fremantle a week later. There, Rear Admiral Christie praised her performance as the "classic of all submarine patrols".


Third patrol

The submarine got underway on 8 January 1944 for her third war patrol. She proceeded through the
Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...
,
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, and
Flores Sea The Flores Sea covers of water in Indonesia. The sea is bounded on the north by the island of Celebes and on the south by Sunda Islands, the Sunda Islands of Flores and Sumbawa. Geography The seas that border the Flores Sea are the Bali Sea ...
s to
Makassar Strait Makassar Strait () is a strait between the islands of Borneo and Sulawesi in Indonesia. To the north it joins the Celebes Sea, while to the south it meets the Java Sea. To the northeast, it forms the Sangkulirang Bay south of the Mangkalihat P ...
, where – on 16 January – she encountered a small schooner, surfaced, and sank the sailing vessel with her deck gun. The following day, she came across a cargo ship and two escorts, but her attacks on these targets were frustrated by malfunctioning torpedoes. One from her first spread of four bow torpedoes hit and stopped the cargo ship, but the other three missed, and two shots from her bow tubes detonated before reaching the target. After reloading her tubes, she returned to the convoy the following day and finished off the crippled cargo ship with four torpedoes, which sank the ''Shoyu Maru''. She also hit one of the escorts with two torpedoes, but did not sink her. Out of torpedoes, ''Bowfin'' returned to Darwin for more, and while in port, picked up Rear Admiral Christie, who remained on board the submarine for the rest of the patrol to check on torpedo performance, first hand, and to learn the secret of ''Bowfin''s remarkable success. The day after she returned to sea, the submarine put three torpedoes into a small cargo ship. Lt. Comdr. Griffith claimed the target sank and his distinguished passenger confirmed the kill, but the sinking was not borne out by postwar examination of Japanese records – possibly because ''Bowfin''s alleged victim was too small to be listed. About daybreak on 28 January, ''Bowfin'' began trailing a large tanker, and she continued the chase until reaching striking range that evening. She then fired all six bow torpedoes, but since the target simultaneously changed course, none struck home. After a rapid reload, she sent six more toward the tanker, and this time, two exploded against the side of the Japanese ship, sending towers of fire and smoke skyward. Nevertheless, the tanker remained afloat. As ''Bowfin'' closed to administer the ''coup de grace'', the enemy ship began fighting back with her main battery and machine-gun fire. Undaunted, the submarine kept up the attack, and during the ensuing 20 minutes, fired six more torpedoes - two misses, followed by a pair of hits, then a miss, and finally another hit. At this point, the tanker's fire was becoming more accurate and forced the submarine to dive. When she came up, the Japanese vessel was retiring from the scene, and by dawn had disappeared over the horizon. The next day, ''Bowfin'' laid a minefield in Makassar Strait before beginning the voyage back to Australia. On 30 January, she came across two small schooners, which she destroyed with her four-inch gun. The submarine moored at Fremantle on 5 February and began preparations for her next mission.


Fourth patrol

Underway on 28 February 1944, the submarine headed for the
Celebes Sea The Celebes Sea ( ; ) or Sulawesi Sea (; ) of the western Pacific Ocean is bordered on the north by the Sulu Archipelago and Sulu Sea and Mindanao Island of the Philippines, on the east by the Sangihe Islands chain, on the south by Sulawes ...
. On 10 March, her crew sighted a convoy of four ships screened by two escorts. ''Bowfin'' fired six bow tubes, but four of the torpedoes exploded prematurely. Japanese planes forced Griffith to dive, thus preventing anyone on board from observing the fate of the two other torpedoes. During the ensuing action, in which the escorts searched for the submarine, and she, in turn, strove to hide at some 350 ft below the surface, a chain dragged by one of the Japanese hunters scraped across ''Bowfin''s hull. Meanwhile,
depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon designed to destroy submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited ...
explosions – more than 20 – shook the submarine severely, but did no debilitating damage. When Griffith dared to rise to the surface, he saw a cargo ship down by the stern being taken under tow. Despite the efforts of the enemy escorts and of five circling Japanese aircraft, ''Bowfin'' attacked the convoy, but could not follow the progress of her torpedoes because one of them had boomeranged and threatened her by running in a circular pattern. She dived to escape the danger and did not come up again until the next day. She attacked the cargo ship again, but the Japanese escorts drove her down once more. Later that day, she rose to periscope depth, found the damaged ship alone, and finished the ''Tsukikawa Maru'' off with four torpedoes. The submarine then began looking for the rest of the convoy, caught up with it well after dark, and fired her remaining torpedoes, but none scored. She then headed back to Darwin for more, and stood out to sea again on 15 March with a fresh supply. Three days later, she emptied her bow tubes while attacking a small convoy, but all six either ran under their targets or missed wide of their marks. The inevitable depth charge barrage followed, but proved to be equally ineffective. When ''Bowfin'' attacked again later that day, she launched four torpedoes – all of which were wasted. She did better on the night of 24 March, when at the end of a long chase, she attacked a five-ship convoy in the Celebes Sea, sinking two cargo ships: '' Sinkyo Maru'' and ''Bengal Maru''. She also damaged a third ship, but could not finish her off for want of torpedoes. As a result, she returned to Darwin, where she arrived on 1 April.


Fifth and sixth patrols

There, Commander John H. Corbus relieved Lt. Cdr. Griffith in command of the submarine, which got underway again on 24 April and headed for the
Palau Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands ...
s. Although this sixth patrol proved to be her longest in both time and distance, she only managed to put two torpedoes into a cargo ship on 14 May, and it refused to sink. She performed lifeguard duty before heading, via Midway, for
Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...
, where she arrived on 21 June. On 16 July, ''Bowfin'' left
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
and headed for the
Ryukyu Islands The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Geography of Taiwan, Taiwan: the Ryukyu Islands are divided into the Satsunan Islands (Ōsumi Islands, Ōsumi, Tokara Islands, Tokara and A ...
. She encountered no worthwhile targets until 9 August, when her crew sighted four ships heading for the harbor at Minami Daito. She trailed them into port, and after they had moored, fired her bow torpedoes, blowing up two and damaging a third. A stray torpedo hit a dock, sending a bus careening into the water, later an incident the
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comedy film ''
Operation Petticoat ''Operation Petticoat'' is a 1959 American World War II submarine comedy film in Eastmancolor from Universal-International, produced by Robert Arthur, directed by Blake Edwards, and starring Cary Grant and Tony Curtis. The film tells in flash ...
'' incorporated into its story line in 1959 (Grant yelling "We sunk a truck!" in the film after an unintentional misfire caused by a nurse on board). However, no sinkings were confirmed by Japanese records – again possibly because of the small size of the alleged victims. An authenticated kill came off the
Tokara Islands The is an archipelago in the Nansei Islands, and are part of the Satsunan Islands, which is in turn part of the Ryukyu Archipelago. The chain consists of twelve small islands located between Yakushima and Amami-Oshima. The islands have a total ...
on 22 August, when she attacked a convoy, hit several ships, and claimed several kills, including two destroyers, but apparently sank only the transport . According to ''Tsushima-maru'' Commemoration Association data, the ship was carrying 1,661 civilian evacuees, including 834 schoolchildren, of whom 775 were killed. Shortly after the sinking, a "gag order" was enforced, and families and survivors rarely spoke about the incident. The number of victims who have been identified by name, based on notifications from bereaved families (as of 22 August 2012), include 780 schoolchildren. On 28 August, ''Bowfin'' set a trawler afire with her four-inch gun. However, since she had futilely fired her last four torpedoes at this target before surfacing, the submarine headed via Midway and Pearl Harbor for the US West Coast. She reached
San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, on 21 September and entered the
Mare Island Navy Yard The Mare Island Naval Shipyard (MINSY or MINS) was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean and was in service 142 years from 1854 to 1996. It is located on Mare Island, northeast of San Francisco, in Vallejo, Califor ...
for overhaul.


Seventh through ninth patrols

At the end of the yard work, Commander Alexander K. Tyree relieved Commander Corbus on 16 December 1944; later that day, the submarine got underway westward back across the Pacific. Following training in Hawaiian waters, she headed for a station near the Japanese home islands south of
Honshū , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the seventh-largest island in the world, and the second-most populous after the Indonesian ...
, where she performed lifeguard services for American planes – both naval and Army – raiding strategic enemy targets in Japan. On 17 February, ''Bowfin'' attacked two Japanese subchasers and sank the ''Coast Defense Vessel No. 56'' with torpedoes, and then survived a 26-depth-charge attack by her victim's consort, which had herself barely escaped destruction when some of ''Bowfins torpedoes exploded prematurely. The submarine later sank a Japanese sea truck with one torpedo. On 19 March about 15 miles south of
Shikoku is the smallest of the List of islands of Japan#Main islands, four main islands of Japan. It is long and between at its widest. It has a population of 3.8 million, the least populated of Japan's four main islands. It is south of Honshu ...
at 09:30, the submarine was on watch when a lone Navy torpedo bomber with white stars on its wings and its tail shot up headed in low toward the submarine. The plane had been hit moments earlier by enemy flak during its bombing run over the Kure Naval Yard. The plane landed in the water dead ahead, about 500 yards off the bow. It floated for two minutes and then nosed down and sank. Both men in the plane jumped out and hung onto an inflated raft. Eleven minutes later, the crew of ''Bowfin'' had them aboard. She rescued the pilot, Lieutenant R. U. Plant, and gunner, J. Papazoglakis (Pakis) of the downed
Grumman TBF Avenger The Grumman TBF Avenger (designated TBM for aircraft manufactured by General Motors) is an American World War II-era torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and eventually used by several air and naval a ...
torpedo bomber A torpedo bomber is a military aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes. Torpedo bombers came into existence just before the World War I, First World War almost as soon as aircraft were built that were capable of carryin ...
of Torpedo Squadron 83 (VT-83) from the aircraft carrier . The two men were cold and wet from just a few minutes in that water, but otherwise safe and sound. The captain ordered the life raft sunk and the dye marker destroyed with small arms fire and then resumed patrol on the lifeguard station. The submarine soon set a course for the
Marianas The Mariana Islands ( ; ), also simply the Marianas, are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly Volcano#Dormant and reactivated, dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean ...
and ended the patrol upon her arrival at
Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...
on 25 March. Underway on 23 April for her eighth war patrol, the submarine plied the waters north of Honshū and
Hokkaidō is the second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by railway via the Seikan Tunnel. The ...
. Her first kill came on 1 May, when two of her torpedoes sank the transport ''Chowa Maru''. A week later, she overtook, torpedoed, and destroyed the cargo ship ''Daito Maru No. 3'', but that proved to be the last score of the patrol. After a fortnight of futile searching for targets, she arrived at
Apra Harbor Apra Harbor, also called Port Apra, is a deep-water port on the western side of the United States territory of Guam. It is considered one of the best natural ports in the Pacific Ocean. The harbor is bounded by Cabras Island and the Glass Breakwat ...
, Guam, for refit. While training for her ninth and final patrol of the war, ''Bowfin'' rescued a
Marine Corps Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included raiding ashore (often in supp ...
pilot whose fighter had crashed. She got underway on 29 May and set course for Japan. One of nine submarines protected by newly developed mine-detecting
sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects o ...
and sent into the
Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it ...
, she threaded her way through the minefields of
Tsushima Strait or Eastern Channel (; ''Dongsuro'') is a channel of the Korea Strait, which lies between Korea and Japan, connecting the Sea of Japan, the Yellow Sea, and the East China Sea. The strait is the channel to the east and southeast of Tsushima Isl ...
, which guarded this previously sacrosanct maritime heart of the Japanese Empire, but found little enemy shipping. Nevertheless, she wasted neither of her two possible contacts: the first, the cargo ship took four torpedoes before sinking on 11 June; and the second, the cargo ship ''Akiura Maru'' met a similar fate on 13 June. The submarine left the Sea of Japan by
La Pérouse Strait La Pérouse Strait (), or , is a strait dividing the southern part of the Russian island of Sakhalin from the northern part of the Japanese island of Hokkaidō, and connecting the Sea of Japan on the west with the Sea of Okhotsk on the east. ...
(Soya Misaki) and headed for Hawaii. She reached Pearl Harbor on
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and began preparations to return to action. Early in August, ''Bowfin'' sailed for the Marianas, her staging point for her 10th war patrol. However, while en route, she received word of Japan's capitulation. As a result, she reversed course and returned to Hawaii and, then, headed for the Panama Canal on her way to the east coast of the United States. ''Bowfin'' arrived at Tompkinsville, Staten Island, New York, on 21 September 1945. She served in the Atlantic Fleet until decommissioned at New London on 12 February 1947 and placed in reserve.


Post-war

Reactivated because of the Navy's need to expand the fleet to support
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-led forces during the
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, the submarine was recommissioned on 27 July 1951, and following shakedown training, sailed for the Pacific. After arriving at
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, on 6 October, she worked from that port for the next two years, devoting her time to training operations and local exercises. The nominal ending of hostilities in Korea in the summer of 1953 reduced the Navy's need for active submarines and prompted ''Bowfin''s second inactivation. She arrived at San Francisco on 8 October 1953, and was placed out of commission, in reserve, at the
Mare Island Naval Shipyard The Mare Island Naval Shipyard (MINSY or MINS) was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean and was in service 142 years from 1854 to 1996. It is located on Mare Island, northeast of San Francisco, in Vallejo, Califor ...
on 22 April 1954. The warship remained there until moving to
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, Washington, on 1 May 1960 to replace as the Naval Reserve training submarine there, and to begin a little over a decade's service. Her name was finally stricken from the Navy list on 1 December 1971, and she was taken back to Pearl Harbor, where she now serves as a memorial. Audio tours are available to the general public at Pearl Harbor. Some areas of the boat are off limits. ''Bowfin'' was declared a
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...
in 1986. and   In 1987, she was drydocked and refitted to be used as a floating location to portray three different submarines in the epic miniseries '' War and Remembrance''. She was drydocked again in 2004, and a third time in 2022.


Sunken enemy vessels

*The passenger-cargo ship ''Kirishima Maru'' on 25 September 1943 * The tanker ''Ogurasan Maru'' and cargo ship ''Tainan Maru'' on 26 November 1943 * The
Vichy France Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the Battle of France, ...
cargo ship ''Van Vollenhoven'' on 26 November or 27 November 1943 * The passenger-cargo ship ''Sydney Maru'' and the tanker ''Tonan Maru'' on 28 November 1943 * A pair of
schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...
s she destroyed with her four-inch gun on 30 November (1943) * The cargo ship ''Shoyu Maru'' on 17 January 1944 * The cargo ship ''Tsukikawa Maru'' on 10 March 1944 * The cargo ships ''Shinkyo Maru'' and ''Bengal Maru'' on 24 March 1944 * The passenger-cargo ship '' Tsushima Maru'' on 22 August 1944 * Assisted in the sinking of the cargo ship ''Bisan Maru'' on 14 May 1944 * The
frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...
''Coastal Defense Vessel No. 56'' on 17 February 1945 * The auxiliary patrol boat on 2 March 1945 * The passenger-cargo ship ''Chowa Maru'' on 1 May 1945 * The cargo ship ''Daito Maru'' No. 3 on 8 May 1945 * The cargo ship ''Shinyō Maru No. 3'' on 11 June 1945 * The cargo ship ''Akiura Maru'' on 13 June 1945


The sinking of'' Tsushima Maru''

'' Tsushima Maru'' was an unmarked Japanese cargo ship sunk by ''Bowfin'' between 22:00 and 22:30 local time on 22 August 1944 as the ship was carrying hundreds of schoolchildren from
Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...
to
Kagoshima , is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 583,966 in 285,992 households, and a population density of 1100 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Etymology While the ...
. Attacked while in convoy, ''Tsushima Maru'' sank close to the island of Akusekijima. About 1,484 civilians, including 767 schoolchildren, were killed; 59 children survived the sinking. On her sixth patrol, ''Bowfin'' destroyed a pier at Minami Daito that contained a crane and a bus. Thirteen small vessels were sunk by ''Bowfin''s deck guns.


USS ''Bowfin'' Submarine Museum & Park

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 Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northwe ...
, Hawaii. Visitors can tour the submarine with an audio narration of life in the vessel during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. 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 a
Kaiten were crewed torpedoes and suicide attack, suicide craft, used by the Imperial Japanese Navy in the final stages of World War II. Background In recognition of the unfavorable progress of the war, towards the end of 1943 the Japanese high co ...
torpedo and a 40-mm quad gun, along with Poseidon C-3 and Regulus I missiles. The park is located within walking distance of the visitor center for the USS ''Arizona'' Memorial and it is across the Harbor from the Battleship ''Missouri'' Memorial.


See also

*
List of maritime museums in the United States List of maritime museums in the United States is a sortable list of American museums which display objects related to ships and water travel. Many of these maritime museums have museum ships in their collections. Member museums of the Council of ...


References

*


External links

*
USS ''Bowfin'' at World War II Database


*
USS ''Bowfin'' Submarine Museum and Park


{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowfin (SS-287) Balao-class submarines 1942 ships World War II submarines of the United States Cold War submarines of the United States World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument Museum ships in Hawaii Museums in Honolulu Maritime museums in Hawaii Military and war museums in Hawaii Naval museums in the United States World War II museums in Hawaii Military facilities on the National Register of Historic Places in Hawaii National Historic Landmarks in Hawaii Ships on the National Register of Historic Places in Hawaii Ships built in Kittery, Maine World War II on the National Register of Historic Places in Hawaii National Register of Historic Places in Honolulu