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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

Patches contributed by Mike Smolinski.

Bowfin (SS-287) (AGSS-287) (IXSS-287)
1946-Present

Radio Call Sign: November - Whiskey - Sierra - Lima

To Additional Pages

1942-45

Balao Class Submarine: Laid down, 23 July 1942, at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, ME.; Launched, 7 December 1942; Commissioned USS Bowfin (SS-287), 1 May 1943; Decommissioned, 12 February 1947, at the Naval Submarine Base, New London, CT.; Laid up in the Reserve Fleet at New London; Recommissioned, 27 July 1951, at New London, CT.; Decommissioned, 22 April 1954, at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, CA.; Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet; Redesignated Auxiliary Research Submarine (AGSS-287) in 1962; Redesignated Miscellaneous Submarine (IXSS-287) in 1971; Struck from the Naval Register, 1 December 1971; Final Disposition, on permanent display as a memorial at the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Bowfin received the Presidential Unit Citation for her second war patrol, the Navy Unit Commendation for her sixth war patrol, and eight battle stars during World War II.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 1,526 t., Submerged: 2,414 t.; Length 311' 9"; Beam 27' 3"; Draft 15' 3"; Speed, Surfaced 20.25 kts, Submerged 8.75 kts; Cruising Range, 11,000 miles surfaced at 10kts; Submerged Endurance, 48 hours at 2kts; Operating Depth Limit, 400 ft; Complement 6 Officers 60 Enlisted; Armament, ten 21" torpedo tubes, six forward, four aft, 24 torpedoes, one 4"/50 deck gun, one 40mm gun, two .50 cal. machine guns; Patrol Endurance 75 days; Propulsion, diesel-electric reduction gear with four General Motors main generator diesel engines, 5,400hp, Fuel Capacity 94,400 gal., four General Electric main motors with 2,740 hp, two 126-cell main storage batteries, two propellers.

Size	Image Description	Source
59k	Shown after her reactivation in late 1951, Bowfin (SS-287) was assigned to SUBRON 3 and 5 during the Korean conflict.	Courtesy of Leeward Publications Ships Data #4, USS Bowfin, submitted by Aryeh (Lee) Wetherhorn.
45k	Bowfin (IXSS-287) served as a Naval Reserve Training Ship at Seattle, Washington for ten years. Moored to the training center pier, her tubes and vents sealed, *Bowfin* finished her Navy career.	Courtesy of Leeward Publications Ships Data #4, USS Bowfin, submitted by Aryeh (Lee) Wetherhorn.
118k	Stern view of the Bowfin (SS-287) at Pearl Harbor, probably after she was decommissioned 1 December 1971. She has been stripped of all her deck guns by the late 1940's.	USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofwwii.org. text courtesy of John Hummel.
111k	Portside view of the Bowfin (SS-287), at Pearl Harbor, probably after she was decommissioned 1 December 1971.	USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofwwii.org. Text from DANFS.
151k	Closeup view of the fairweather and stern of the Bowfin (SS-287), at Pearl Harbor, probably after she was decommissioned 1 December 1971.	USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofwwii.org. Text from DANFS.
219k	Looking down the bow of the Bowfin (SS-287), at Pearl Harbor, probably after she was decommissioned 1 December 1971.	USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofwwii.org. Text from DANFS.
233k	Engineering Control Stand of the Bowfin (SS-287), at Pearl Harbor, probably after she was decommissioned 1 December 1971.	USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofwwii.org. Text from DANFS.
211k	Forward torpedo room of the Bowfin (SS-287), at Pearl Harbor, probably after she was decommissioned 1 December 1971.	USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofwwii.org. Text from DANFS.
73k	Door going into the forward battery....pole is sound head, and you can see the sink for the forward torpedo room of the Bowfin (SS-287), at Pearl Harbor, probably after she was decommissioned 1 December 1971.	USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofwwii.org. Text courtesy of John Hummel.
55k	Starboard view of the Bowfin (IXSS-287), at Pearl Harbor, circa post 1971.	USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofwwii.org.
355k	A starboard view of the submarine Bowfin (IXSS-287) on 27 Jun 1986.	U.S. Navy Photograph # DN-ST-86-09589, by Don S. Montgomery, USN, Ret, from the Department of Defense Still Media Collection, courtesy of dodmedia.osd.mil.
59k	Bowfin (IXSS-287) at the *Bowfin* Submarine Museum & Park, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. 1996.	Courtesy of Grant Riddle / submarinebaseph.com
55k	Starboard view of the Bowfin (IXSS-287), at Pearl Harbor, circa 2001.	USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofwwii.org.
125k	Bowfin (IXSS-287), at the *Bowfin* Submarine Museum & Park, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii., 11 March 2001.	Photo by Daniel W. Gless.
141k	Bowfin (IXSS-287), at the *Bowfin* Submarine Museum & Park, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii., 11 March 2001.	Photo by Daniel W. Gless.
121k	Bowfin (IXSS-287), at the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii., 11 March 2001. Note, this photo was taken from the National Park Services Arizona Memorial Visitor Center next to the Bowfin Museum.	Photo by Daniel W. Gless.
131k	Interior photo of Bowfin (IXSS-287), at the *Bowfin* Submarine Museum & Park, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii., 11 March 2001.	Photo by Daniel W. Gless.
116k	Photo of one of Bowfin's (IXSS-287) torpedo rooms, at the *Bowfin* Submarine Museum & Park, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii., 11 March 2001.	Photo by Daniel W. Gless.
102k	Diving Station Control Room.	Photo courtesy of Robert M. Cieri.
89k	CO's Stateroom.	Photo courtesy of Robert M. Cieri.
295k	Bowfin (SS-287) 25 March 2004 at Pearl Harbor, East Loch.	Courtesy of Dorothy Switzer.
355k	Sailors assigned to the Naval Station Pearl Harbor Firing Detail stand at parade rest near the submarine Bowfin (SS-287) 1 May 2003. The firing detail was part of the ceremonies at the *Bowfin* Submarine Museum and Park commemorating the 60th anniversary of *Bowfin's* commissioning. Former *Bowfin* crew, including a former *Bowfin* Commanding Officer were in attendance at the ceremony.	U.S. Navy photo # N-0106C-003 by Journalist 1st Class Daniel J. Calderón, courtesy of news.navy.mil.
344k	Marisco Ltd. workers repair the aging hull of the decommissioned *Balao-class* submarine Bowfin (SS-287) at their shipyard near the former Naval Air Station Barber's Point, during a restoration project on 5 Oct. 2004. *Bowfin* has served as a floating museum for 23 years, and is moored next to the *Arizona Memorial* Visitor's Center. Known as the "Pearl Harbor Avenger," *Bowfin* was launched one year to the day after 7 Dec. 1941 and was credited with sinking 44 enemy ships during the course of her nine extraordinary war patrols.	U.S. Navy photo # N-3019M-004 by Journalist Seaman Ryan C. McGinley, courtesy of news.navy.mil.
160k	With a "peek-a-boo" view of the sun's corona from under the scaffolding, Marisco Ltd. workers repair the aging hull of the decommissioned *Balao-class* submarine Bowfin (SS-287) at their shipyard near the former Naval Air Station Barber's Point, during a restoration project on 5 Oct. 2004.	U.S. Navy photo # N-3019M-001 by Journalist Seaman Ryan C. McGinley, courtesy of news.navy.mil.
183k	Starboard view of the decommissioned *Balao-class* submarine Bowfin (SS-287) near the former Naval Air Station Barber's Point, during a restoration project on 5 Oct. 2004.	U.S. Navy photo # N-3019M-002 by Journalist Seaman Ryan C. McGinley, courtesy of news.navy.mil.
79k	The Bowfin's (SS-287) plaque drawn by the renowned graphic illustrator John Barrett with the text written by naval author and historian Robert F. Sumrall. Their company Navy Yard Associates offers prints of most destroyers, destroyer escorts, submarines and aircraft carriers in various configurations during the ship's lifetime. The prints can be customized with ship's patches, your photograph, your bio, etc. If you decide to purchase artwork from them please indicate that you heard about their work from NavSource.	Photo courtesy of Navy Yard Associates. Photo added 11/20/07.