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SS-581 Blueback

When the Blueback was launched in 1959 she was the last diesel-electric sub to be commissioned by the US Navy. Of the three Barbel Class submarines, the Blueback is the only extant ship. The Blueback was ordered in 1956 by the US Navy, and her keel was laid in 1957 by lngalls Shipbuilding Corporation of Pascagoula, Mississippi. She was finally commissioned 15 October 1959.

The third and last of her class, the USS Blueback was launched from lngalls Shipbuilding Corporation inPascagoula, Mississippi on 16 May 1959. Ingalls had never built a submarine before - in fact, no shipyard in the entire southern United States had built a submarine since the early attempts during the Civil War. At the launch, Rear Admiral L. R.Daspit, Director of Undersea Warfare Division of the Navy remarked on the "ideal tear-drop" hull design, noting that "Blueback will have great speed and maneuverability." He continued, this "ship has the latest and best electronic equipment yet designed, Blueback will be well equipped to act as a killer submarine on an antisubmarine patrol, to act as a mine-layer, to perform reconnaissance missions, or to do other military missions which require surprise, stealth, or undetected operations for their success." It was also noted at the time that the Blueback would be the last diesel submarine.

After being commissioned on 15 October 1959, the ship went through a short "fitting out" period of arming and crewing before heading out in 1960 to her newhome in San Diego, California. There, she performed acceptance trials and training runs, before relocating to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. ln 1965, she was deployed to assist American operations in Vietnam. Blueback spent the next decade patrolling the Pacific and running "special assignments" in the Far East. For her service, Blueback was awarded two battle stars for particþatìng in high profile engagements during Vietnam. Unfortunately, much of Blueback's operational history is as yet still classified; however, her superior engineering allowed the crew to complete a wide variety of reconnaissance and covert operations, just as she was designed to.

During her service history the USS Blueback was modified by the US Navy to incorporate the latest technologies; however, these modifications do not negatively impact the vehicle's character-defining features or significance. The only notable modification is the relocation of the dive planes from the vessel's bow to the conning tower in 1964.

The Blueback was decommissioned in 1990 and acquired in 1994 by the Oregon Museum of Science and lndustry (OMSI) in Portland. Museum staff has carefully restored the ship to its in-service appearance, altering only what was necessary to make the ship accessible to the public.

In February 1994, the Oregon Museum of Science and lndustry (OMSI) purchased the dilapidated Blueback and towed her to her current berth on the Willamette River in Portland. When OMSI acquired the sub, the boat could safely be called a "floating pile of junk." Rust and grime covered the majority of the hull, and the interior spaces were little better; after 30 years of nearly constant use, followed by a several year long period of disuse, the interior needed a good scrubbing. Bulkheads were removèd, cleaned, and painted. The outer hull needed repairs, a good stiff cleaning to remove the rust, and a fresh coat of black paint. Currently, OMSI maintains the Blueback as a museum ship, in such a condition that future submariners and "old salts" alike can experience a little piece of life on a military sub.

The USS Blueback is moored on the east bank of the Willamette River, The bow faces upstream to the southtoward the Ross lsland Bridge (OR 26). Downtown Portland is easily visible on the West side of the river to the northwest. The Marquam Bridge (l-5) crosses the river a few hundred feet to the north of the Blueback's homeport. The east side of the river retains an industrial feel and association despite the recent conversion of nearby warehouses and factories to mixed-use developments.

As a ship, the Blueback retains its historic setting because it is located in an appropriate maritime environment. Although inland, Portland is a Pacific Ocean port and the city regularly receives ocean-going commercial-ship traffic traveling along the Columbia and Willamette Rivers. Designed to travel great distances and assigned to various ports throughout its service career, the Blueback is not historically associated with any particular moorage.

The Blueback is currently maintained as a museum ship by OMSI. Generally, any changes made to the Blueback were done to facilitate the safety of visitors to the ship. To that end, an entry hatch has been added to the port, or left side of the hull, roughly center - it opens directly aft of the officer's wardroom. The sub is entered through a stairway just aft of the officer's wardroom, or mess. This entry hatch has a double hatch, with a covered porch and a railing on the stairs. To keep the sub from drifting and to compensate for the changing levels of water in the Willamette River, two large mooring brackets were welded to the port side of the hull, which are connected to the pilings on the dock, allowing the sub to rise and fall as the water level changes. In addition, the Blueback's massive five-blade brass propeller was removed, and is now set up as a memorial right outside the museum's main building on the walkway that leads down to the dock.

To prevent water and debris from seeping into the sub, openings such as ballast tanks and the six torpedo tubes, which will not be used by a museum ship, have been welded closed. Other minor modifications involve the removal of classified or sensitive equipment by the Navy, such as one of the periscopes. Replacement parts, however, have been used wherever possible, as is the case with the two periscopes. Several Plexiglas panels have been installed in various places in the ship. In the engine room, for example, Plexiglas panels have been added to one engine to show its inner workings to visitors. Usually, these panels take the place ofan existing solid metal access panel, and are there to show what is behind without having to open the panel.

Aside from these minor modifications, the Blueback's appearance is identical to what it was during its service and retains a very high degree of physical integrity throughout. In keeping with its current use as a museum ship, guided tours are offered several times a day. OMSI's goal is to keep the submarine as authentic aspossible to give visitors the best presentation of life on a submarine. As such, the sub is meticulously maintained so that everyone, young and old, can see a Cold War submarine "in action."

The pivotal importance of the Cold War and the involvement of the U.S. Armed forces in this global conflict is well-recognized by historians. The Blueback tells an important piece of this story: How the US Navy developed and fielded new weapons in response to the changing realities of navalwarefare. The Blueback is the sole physical example of how this transition affected the design of submarines after the loss of the two other sister ships decades ago. Although comparable in design, the USS Albacore, the test-ship that pioneered the concepts used on the Blueback, never was intended for active combat and has lost its integrity of setting. The Blueback maintains its historic setting because it islocated in an appropriate marine setting on the Willamette River.

During the Cold War the changing nature of navel warfare forced the development of faster, quieter, and more technólogically advanced submarines. The USS Blueback represents the development of key technologies during this period. For its time, the Blueback's hull was the most advanced design of any submarine in theworld when she was launched. This tear-drop design quickly became the standard hull form for all subsequent submarines, both domestic and foreign. The hull design also pioneered the use of the "sail" over a traditional conning tower. Other important technologies were developed on Blueback and her sister ships as well, such as push button ballast and dive controls, flight-yolk steering, and modern communication and weapons systems. At the same time, the Blueback and her sister ships are unique in that they were built as diesel-electric submarines during a time when the US Navy decided that it would be an "all nuclear" navy. The decision meant that the Barbels served as some of the last diesel-electric subs in a navy of nuclear boats. Blueback herself was in service after some of her newer successors had already been decommissioned. As the only remaining ship of her class and as a physical link to the development of navel technology in the Cold War the USS Blueback is eligible for the National Register.

As the last diesel-electric submarine to join the US Navy and the last to be decommissioned, the Blueback represents an important transition in maritime technology and navel warfare.