Submarine Transport Mission

This Day in History

August 27, 1944

World War II submarines were a vital part of the overall goal for the United States Navy.  Making up less than 2 percent of the Navy, they still effectively sank over 30 percent of the Japanese Navy.  Their missions were strategic.  

Graph courtesy of valoratsea.com.

Submarines were instrumental in disrupting the Japanese supply chain, but they were also instrumental in delivering supplies to their allies.  USS Stingray (SS-186) played a part in the guerrilla operations that took place on August 27, 1944.  She took fifteen Filipino personnel and six tons of supplies on the island of Luzon in advance of military personnel landings.  This way only one of dozens of "special transport" missions that would help assist the United States in the war effort.

Photograph courtesy of U.S. Naval Historical Center.

USS Razorback (SS-394) also helped in these missions.  Razorback was launched on January 27, 1944, and was sent on her first patrol on August 25, 1944.  As a member of an offensive group in support of many of these landings on the Philippines, she would stay east of Luzon until mid-September.  While on patrol defending the special transport missions, she would earn one of her many war victories when she sank an 820-ton destroyer.

Submarines during World War II were an effective tool to help assist the Navy.  They would strangle the Japanese economy by effectively sinking over five million tons of supplies.  Though they were a great asset, this came with a heavy cost.  52 submarines were sunk, resulting in 3,506 men dying during World War II.  Their legacies are incorporated in many museums and memorials we see today.  Patrons of the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum can visit one of these memorials on location.  USS Snook Memorial is on display to the public to commemorate the submarines that are still on patrol.

Bless those who serve beneath the deep,

Through lonely hours their vigil keep.

May peace their mission ever be,

Protect each one we ask of thee.

Bless those at home who wait and pray,

For their return by night or day.

--Submarine verse of the Navy Hymn

Memorial on site at the Museum.

Author: Nicolette Lloyd

AIMM Memberships

"Museum Updates"

The Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum is happy to announce it's new membership drive.  The museum has a variety of different annual membership levels for individuals, families, and even corporations; there is also a lifetime membership available.

Annual Memberships

Crew – Individual Membership – $30

• One year unlimited free admission for 1 member during regular business hours
• 10% discount in the Museum’s store for 1 member

Helmsman – Family Membership - $75

• One year unlimited free admission for a family of 4 during regular business hours
• 10% discount in the Museum’s store for members

Navigator – Supporters Membership – $100

• One year unlimited free admission for 2 members during regular business hours
• 2 free admission passes for friends or family to be redeemed during regular business hours
• 10% discount in the Museum’s store for members

Commander – Corporate Membership – $1,000

• 20% discount to rent the facility for a corporate event
• 1 private tour of the submarine for up to 30 people by appointment only
• 10% discount in the Museum’s store during a corporate event
• 20 free admission passes to be redeemed during regular business hours
• Business acknowledged in the Museum’s newsletter “AIMM Lookout”
• One year unlimited free admission for 2 members during regular business hours
• 10% discount in the Museum’s store for members

Lifetime Memberships

Admiral – Lifetime Membership – $750

• Lifetime free admission for 2 members during regular business hours
• 2 free admission passes annually for friends or family to be redeemed during regular business hours
• 1 private tour of the submarine including off-limit areas for up to 10 people by appointment only
• 10% discount in the Museum’s store for members
• 10% discount for 1 special event hosted at the Museum facility annually
• USS Razorback or USS Hoga challenge coin

To become a member of the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum please contact the museum by phone (501) 371-8320 or email events@aimm.museum.

Thank you for your continued support of the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum.

CSS Hunley: 150th Anniversary of a Successful Submarine Attack

This Year in History

1864

The submarine CSS Horace L. Hunley was built in 1863 by the Confederate States during the Civil War.  Hunley was 39 and a half feet long, weighing seven and a half tons, and was hand-powered by seven crew men turning a hand cranked propeller.  Hunley had many features on it that submarines still use today, such as ballast tanks that could be flooded with water and pumped dry with air, a tapered bow and stern, and diving planes.  Unlike today's submarines, Hunley's only means of attack was its single spar torpedo that had a 90-pound gunpowder warhead that could explode underwater, and might have even had an electric detonator to set it off.

CSS Hunley

Hunley's first, and only, attack was on February 17, 1864, trying to break the blockade at Charleston, South Carolina.  The submarine's attack managed to sink the steam powered USS Housatonic.  However, Hunley did not return from the attack and the blockade remained in place.

Hunley's fate remained a mystery for 131 years until it was discovered in May of 1995, not far from the site of its successful attack.  Hunley was recovered in 2000 and is currently undergoing conservation, further study, and on public display at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center.

CSS Hunley being recovered from Charleston Harbor on August 8, 2000.
Photograph courtesy of Naval Historical Center.

Author: Lyle Grisham

Completed as a student intern through the University of Arkansas at Little Rock History Department.