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Where decisions were made. The control is the nerve center of the ship. Dive in to see the details.
USS Blueback: The Real Thing
OMSI is home to the U.S. Navy's last non-nuclear, fast-attack submarine, the USS Blueback (SS-581). The Blueback was the first battle-ready class of submarines to use the teardrop hull. It was in official operation throughout the Pacific Ocean for 31 years. The USS Blueback served in the entertainment industry, too! It appeared in the hit movie The Hunt for Red October and an episode of Hawaii Five-O and has been used as a location for a Discovery Channel documentary and various commercials.
For more information, call the submarine hotline 503.797.4624
USS Blueback (SS-581) was a Barbel-class submarine in the United States Navy. She was one of three in her class, the last diesel-electric propelled submarines built by the United States Navy. They incorporated numerous, radical engineering improvements over previous classes and were the first production warships built with the teardrop-shape hull and “attack center” within the hull rather than a conning tower in the sail.
Blueback is the common name for the Sockeye Salmon. When the Blueback was commissioned, submarines were named after fish. Since the 1970’s, most U.S. Navy submarines have been named after cities or states.
Blueback earned two battle stars for her Vietnam War service.
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Awarded: June 29, 1956
Builder: Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi
Keel Laid: April 15, 1957
Launched: May 16, 1959
Commissioned: October 15, 1959
Decommissioned: October 1, 1990
Struck from Navy Registry: October 30, 1990
Opened at OMSI: May 15, 1994
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General Characteristics
Class and Type: Barbel-class diesel-electric submarine
Displacement: 1,744 long tons light
2,146 long tons full
2,637 long tons submerged
402 long tons dead
Length: 219 feet, 6 inches overall
Beam: 29 feet
Draft: 25 feet max
Propulsion:
Three Fairbanks-Morse diesel engines, total 4,500 bhp (3.6 MW)
Two General Electric electric motors, total 6,440 bhp (2.3 MW)
One screw
Speed: 17 knots (20 mph) surfaced; 21 knots (24 mph) submerged
Endurance: 30 minutes at full speed; 102 hours at 3 knots (4 mph)
Test depth: 712 feet operating; 1,050 feet collapse
Complement: 8 officers, 77 men
Armament: 6 x 21 inches (530 mm) bow torpedo tubes, 22 torpedoes
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Hollywood Star
Blueback appeared in the movie The Hunt for Red October, although it did not perform the famous stunt of “jumping” out of the water during an emergency surfacing procedure. According to one source, the Blueback was used because it was the last active sub with six forward torpedo tubes.
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