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Honoring Those Who Served
Moored along the Manitowoc River, adjacent to the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, is the World War II
fleet submarine USS COBIA (SS-245). COBIA has local and national significance as an icon of
Wisconsin's shipbuilding heritage. COBIA is a GATO-class fleet submarine similar to the twenty-eight
subs built in Manitowoc during World War II. Even though it is the same class of submarine built
by Manitowoc shipbuilders, COBIA was a product of the Electric Boat Company of Groton, Connecticut.
COBIA was launched in November 1943. In June 1944, it began the first of six war patrols in which it sank
thirteen Japanese vessels for a total of 20,000 tons of enemy shipping. By July 1944, COBIA had established
itself in the annals of World War II sub history by attacking an enemy convoy bound for Japanese-held Iwo Jima.
COBIA sank two vessels, including a troop transport carrying a Japanese tank battalion of twenty-eight
tanks. U.S. Marines considered this sinking critical to their success in capturing Iwo six months later.
COBIA's most colorful battle took place in February 1945, when it engaged two armed Japanese sea
trucks in a running gun duel. COBIA sank both of them, but not without the loss of Ralph Clark Houston,
a 20 mm gun loader and COBIA's only casualty of the war. COBIA was nearly lost in May 1945, during an
eight-hour depth charging by the Japanese minesweeper HATSUTAKA. The minesweeper attacked COBIA in 120
feet of water and blasted it over twenty feet into the muddy seafloor of the Gulf of Siam. COBIA escaped
intact, but heavily damaged. Ironically, COBIA's fate became intertwined with two Manitowoc-built boats
through this incident. The HATSUTAKA sank the Manitowoc-built submarine LAGARTO the week before
attacking COBIA and the enemy minesweeper was sunk less than a week after the COBIA attack by USS HAWKBILL,
another Manitowoc-built submarine.
Ever since World War II, COBIA's role has changed to keep pace with its various missions. By 1959,
the U. S. Navy considered COBIA obsolete as a deployable warship and transferred it to the Milwaukee
Naval Reserve Center. There it served as a training platform for the next eleven years. In 1970,
the Navy decommissioned COBIA and it was towed to Manitowoc to serve as an international memorial
to submariners. In 1986, COBIA was incorporated as a part of the Manitowoc Maritime Museum, declared
a National Historic Landmark, and placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
As the Manitowoc Maritime Museum changed its name to the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, COBIA has become
one of the Museum's major exhibits, supporting tours and a variety of overnight programs. As a
National Historic Landmark, COBIA has been restored to its original 1945 configuration. You can go on board and
tour its topside and inside. You'll see the torpedo rooms, wardroom, crew's quarters, engine rooms
and much more. No movie can match the real thing, so don't miss COBIA when you visit the Museum!
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To support the ongoing restoration of COBIA, we require certain
artifacts, supplies, and equipment. To maintain the historical fabric and interpretation of COBIA, all
artifacts should be from the WWII era or as close as possible.
Please click here to see our Wish List of restoration
items.
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 USS COBIA is
a major exhibit at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, requiring thousands of man-hours of maintenance and restoration.
Beginning in 1970, the Museum began performing routine maintenance on COBIA consistent with available personnel and
financial resources.
In 1990, COBIA underwent an inspection by Russell Booth, a recognized authority on the restoration of historic submarines.
Booth's report contained recommendations for the long-term preservation and rehabilitation of COBIA. The first part of
this plan was successfully completed in 1996 with dry-docking of COBIA at Sturgeon Bay. Hull restoration that took place
during the dry-docking project later allowed the Wisconsin Maritime Museum to focus its efforts on the rehabilitation
of the submarine's interior spaces using the techniques required on board historic museum vessels.
Since 1997, a process has been underway to return the submarine to its appearance and condition at the
height of World War II submarine development in 1945. In 1998, the Museum was awarded a grant from the
Wisconsin Department of Transportation's Statewide Transportation Enhancement Program (STEP). This grant
helped underwrite interior restoration that included installation of World War II era flooring, bunks,
metal trim, and crew lockers.
Often, the best way to preserve machinery is to restore and operate it. For example, engines and
electrical equipment may deteriorate from long periods of inactivity. After many years of meticulous
research, cleaning and repair, many of the submarine's systems have come on-line. Two specific
volunteer-led projects that have been completed are the installation of a DC power drive on board the
submarine and the rebuilding of main engines #1 and #2. Other recent successes include the restoration
of COBIA's SJ-1 radar, thought to be the oldest operational radar in the world, and the return of the
World War II radio shack to operational status.
COBIA
volunteers of all kinds make a significant contribution to both the preservation and the rehabilitation
of the submarine. COBIA is fortunate to have a truly outstanding and talented volunteer support group.
These dedicated individuals have brought to bare valuable skills in the long-term preservation of the
vessel. Over the years, special projects have been initiated and led by Sub Vets, Inc., U.S. Submarine Veterans
of World War II, and many of individuals interested in preserving this living memorial to the submarine service.
COBIA has also benefited from the expertise of Naval Reserve units that regularly drill on
board the submarine. The Museum has allowed COBIA to serve as a training platform for Naval
Reservists, who perform training activities on COBIA and practice specialties ranging from internal
communications to diesel engine systems. The work performed by these skilled reservists, in the
conduct of their drill training, has helped to complete a variety of complex technical projects.
To accommodate the continued restoration plans and long-term preservation of COBIA, a dedicated
restoration area has been completed within the newly-expanded Museum. In the COBIA Restoration Shop,
staff and volunteers have access to metalworking and machine tools for repair work and parts
manufacture. Staff and volunteers can easily transport equipment and materials from the COBIA Shop to
the submarine. Visit us any time during the year to see the results of this on-going restoration work
and many other submarine related events occurring at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum.
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Get information about Museum hours, admission, and location.