Historic Naval Ships Visitors Guide

HNSA Crest with photos of visitors at the ships.

USS PAMPANITO (SS-383)

USS Pampanito Under Tow, 1996, going under the
Golden Gate bridge for the first time since 1945.

Pampanito Under Tow, 1996 - USS Pampanito Archives Photo

Class: Balao
Launched: July 12, 1943
At: Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Commissioned: November 6, 1943

Length: 311 feet, 8 inches
Beam: 27 feet, 4 inches
Draft: 17 feet (surface trim)
Displacement: 1,525 tons
Armament: Ten 21-inch torpedo tubes; one 4-inch/50 caliber gun; one 40 mm Bofors; one 20 mm Oerlikon gun

Address:
USS Pampanito
Maritime Park Association
P.O. Box 470310
San Francisco, California 94147-0310
Tel: (415) 775-1943
Fax: (415) 441-0365
Email: pampanito@maritime.org
http://www.maritime.org/pamphome.htm
Latitude: 37.809941, Longitude: -122.416395
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A World War II fleet submarine, Pampanito earned six battle stars for her service in the Pacific, sinking five vessels totalling 27,332 tons. Her biggest day came on September 12, 1944, when she and two other submarines surprised an 11-ship convoy and sank seven vessels. Later, Pampanito rescued 73 Allied prisoners of war who had been carried aboard the enemy transports.

Laid up after the war, Pampanito was acquired by the Maritime Park Association (formerly the National Maritime Museum Association) and opened to the public at Pier 45, near San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf. Pampanito conducts youth group overnight encampments, as well as science and history education programs.

USS Pampanito is a National Historic Landmark.

USS Pampanito in summer of 1945
Pampanito in Summer 1945 - US Navy Photo