USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park


Adjacent to the visitor center for the Pearl Harbor historic sites, this park harbors the moored WWII-era submarine USS Bowfin, which you can explore on a self-guided tour. A museum that traces the development of submarines from their origins to the nuclear age and details their use during WWII is set to reopen in 2020 after a complete reconstruction. The park has waterside exhibits on every US submarine lost during the war.

Launched on December 7, 1942, one year after the Pearl Harbor attack, the USS Bowfin sank 44 enemy ships in the Pacific by the end of WWII. The US undersea war against Japan was a major contribution to winning the war in the Pacific and is often overlooked. Crewed by less than 2% of the Navy's personnel, the subs sank over 55% of all Japanese ships sunk during the war. A self-guided audio tour explores the life of the crew – watch your head below deck. Children under age four are not allowed aboard.


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