Alexander the Great (356 to 323 B.C.) ruler of Macedonian and conqueror of the known world in his time, is the first person known to have descended into the sea in a vessel of any kind.

 

Following the war, the COBIA was decommissioned and placed in the reserve fleet until 1951 when she was re-commissioned in order to help train students at the submarine school at New London, located on the east coast in Groton, Connecticut.

But after helping many future submariners to become acclimated to life in the Silent Service, the COBIA was once again placed out of commission in 1954 following an overhaul at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and placed in reserve for another five years.

The COBIA helped to train Naval Reservists when it was
stationed in Milwaukee

Reserve Training
In 1959, the COBIA was transferred to the Naval Reserve Division 9-227, a command that oversees the training of naval reservists throughout the Mid-West, and brought to Milwaukee to help in the continued training of reserve submariners in the area.

The COBIA was towed from the sub base in New London, Connecticut to the Electric Boat Company and placed in dry dock, where it was tied up at a base pier, along with the USS CERO. The submarine was prepared for this semi-inoperative role by having it screws and batteries removed and the ballast tanks welded shut. In addition to that, the 3"/.50-cal. deck gun was removed along with the 40mm and 20mm cannons and the .50-cal. machine guns.

The COBIA was then towed down the Saint Lawrence Seaway by the ACCOKEEK. Just before entering the Snell Lock, the ACCOKEEK blew a piston. COBIA dropped anchor to help with repairs, but when it came time to leave the anchor got stuck. Orders were given to cut the anchor lose. Afterwards, it was recovered by the Coast Guard and shipped to Milwaukee on a flat bed truck.

Darrell Roblee, EMP2SS, was assigned to the COBIA and helped to prepare the boat for its transfer from the East Coat to Milwaukee. He describes the trip as an "interesting experiance."

"Going through the locks we had exciting personnel times."

"The Ltjg. Officer of the deck, fresh out of college, did not get along with the C.O.B. [Chief of the Boat], who had 20 plus years of service. After entering the locks, the Ltjg. started issuing orders over the 7MC, such as 'take in #1', then 'take in #2'."

"Fenders started tearing off. The hull started scrapping the walls of the lock. The C.O.B. started to discuss the situation with the Ltjg. The Ltjg. would not listen, so we pulled the fuses on the amplifier."

"At the next lock, the Ltjg. discovered he had no 7MC, but had a bullhorn in the conning tower. In the lock we had the same problem, so we gave the bullhorn the deep six between locks. After that our movie privileges were taken away until we reached Milwaukee. Thereafter the C.O.B. and the Ltjg. did not talk."

The COBIA was permanently moored to the pier and served as a dockside trainer only and never conducted operations out on Lake Michigan. Reservists would spend time on the COBIA tracing down the various systems and occasionally running the diesel engines or other secondary machinery.