Long-Serving Submarine Commissioned This Day

This plaque was recently donated to AIMM, and researching the background of this artifact revealed a story that needs to be told...

On this day in 1944, USS Baya(SS-318) was commissioned.  At the time, no one had any idea that they were commissioning a submarine that would stay in service for nearly 30 years.

Baya completed five war patrols during WWII, winning four battle stars.  However, it would be her peacetime service that would be far more important to the the Navy.

Baya was decommissioned shortly after the war ended, but her inactive status would last only a short time.  She was converted into an experimental submarine and re-commissioned as AGSS-318, an "Auxiliary Research Submarine".

From 1948 until 1972, Baya conducted countless experiments with different kinds of Sonars, different fire control systems and many, many other kinds of research.  There are at least ten photographs of Baya during this period, and every picture shows her in a different configuration, with different equipment.  A complete history of her activities would probably require a very large book.