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USS PAMPANITO
WWII Submarine on San Francisco Bay
It
remains as one of the few seaworthy submarines which saw action during
the Second World War.
Other submarines can be tour in museums, in sections
or replicas, but the USS Pampanito is found moored at the dock of Pier
45 in San Francisco, between the bay sightseeing cruise boats of Red
Fleet and just the next to the dockside museum of mechanical arcade
curios (see Musee
Mechanique) on Fisherman’s Wharf.
The USS Pampanito, designated a National Historic Landmark, is actually
part of the San
Francisco Maritime National Park (see San
Francisco Maritime Museum).
While the sailing ships of the Maritime Park are tethered a few piers
down
at Hyde Pier beyond
the
seafood
restaurants,
the submarine is tied to the former cruise dock, moored in front of
the SS
Jeremiah O’Brien “Liberty Ship” as if in a scene
from a World War Two movie, or awaiting its next mission to set to
sea to
disrupt Japanese shipping in the South Pacific.
The USS Pampanito, SS-383 is a Balao class fleet submarine constructed
at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard of New Hampshire and launched on July
12, 1943. This heroic submarine sank 6 Japanese ships and damaged 4
more, sending over 27,000 tons of war cargo shipping to the bottom
during six
patrols as one of an elite force of United States under sea vessels
which that helped turn the tide of World War II in the Pacific, Pampanito
made
six patrols during World War II. The Pampanito was heavily damaged
and barely survived depth charges during its first tour, spotted and
tracked
by a Japanese destroyer during its attack on a convoy. In its best
known incident, in September of 1944, while part of “wolf pack” sub
patrol, the USS Pampanito, along with the USS Sealion and USS Growler,
attacked a Japanese convoy transporting mostly oil and rubber, sinking
several ships. In the midst of the convoy unknown to the American subs
was a ship carrying 2,000 British and Australian POWs. The next day,
the Pampanito returned to the site of the attack and heard the voices
of men shouting in English, clinging to floating debris from the Rakuyo
Maru sunk by a torpedo from the Sealion. The Pampanito rescued 73 of
the survivors and called in three other subs to pick up others.
The USS Pampanito is 311 feet, 9 inches from nose to stern fin, carried
a crew of 10 officers and 70 enlisted men, and was armed with 10 torpedo
tubes, 6 forward and 4 aft, with a 5 inch deck gun and a top speed
of 23 knots on the surface and 11 knots submerged. The USS Pampanito
earned
6 battle stars and was decommissioned on December 15, in 1945 following
the end of the war. She was reinstated as a training ship in 1960 until
1971. The Pampanito also served duty for Hollywood, appearing as the
fictional USS Stingray in the 1995 Kelsey Grammar movie Down Periscope.
Look for the broom on her mast, signifying a “clean sweep” of
successful patrol sweeping the enemy from the seas.
The USS Pampanito submarine is a floating museum. A tour down the tight
hatches and through the cramped quarters is self-guided with an audio
tour, featuring voices and stories of the crew and its history. Open
daily from 9 am to 8 pm mid-May to mid-October, except on Wednesdays
when it closes at 6. And from October through May open 9 am to 6 pm
Sunday to Thursday and until 8 pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Admission
is $9
for adults, $6 for seniors, $4 for 6-12 and active military, free for
children under 6 and military in uniform. The audio tour is a separate
charge of $2. The Pampanito is included with the San Francisco Go
Card discount
pass. © Bargain
Travel West
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Maritime
Pampanito
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