Welcome aboard the U.S.S. Bowfin...
aka: The Pearl Harbor Avenger
From the USS Bowfin website:
USS Bowfin (SS-287) is a fleet attack submarine that fought in the Pacific during WWII, and helped to make famous the term, “Silent Service.” Bowfin was launched on 7 December 1942, exactly one year to the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. She was nicknamed the Pearl Harbor Avenger, so it is fitting that she is permanently homeported at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
It looks huge from these external photos, but you will learn that it is only a mirage once you get inside.
God Bless America.
Watch your head when walking into the
entrance
exit. Yeah. We started the tour on the wrong side of the submarine. Whoops! Oh well. JD is rockin' that tour guide headset.
The USS Bowfin is a super small submarine (I guess all submarines are tiny on the inside though). JD, being the studly tall man he is, would've never been able to work in there. I, on the other hand, strode through that submarine like a pro (being short does have it's advantages after all).
The door was half the size of JD. Would not have bode well in an emergency.
There is something I just love about these meters. They look so classy, vintage and cool. Don't you love them? Maybe I'll enlarge one of these and frame it.
Keys to the chief's quarters.
Tour Tickets:
You can buy combo tickets for the USS Bowfin and USS Missouri. The Aviation tour is included but we didn't have time to go there.
Audio Tour:
A headset and handheld tour guide is included in the price of the package. There are two versions you can listen to - an adult and a family-friendly version. The adult version includes interviews from Bowfin veterans while the family-friendly version vividly describes historic scenes of what each part of the submarine was like when in action. I must admit, I
kind of
enjoyed listening to the family version just as much as I did the adult version.
Get the Picture:
Almost any tourist place or restaurant you visit will have a "house photographer". While most places have the typical cardboard layout, the USS Bowfin prints your photo onto the front page of a newspaper with info about the Bowfin. That alone makes the USS Bowfin a memorable experience. This is the one and only photo we would actually recommend you purchase.
