Mare Island Museum
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Preserving and presenting the history of Mare Island - the West’s first Naval Base and Shipyard.
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The San Francisco Bay Area Responds Couples were being separated nationwide on Valentine’s Day 1942 as we entered the bloodiest war in history. At a time when nearly all war news was bad, and just 38 days after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, there was a small glimmer of hope that made the news. The Gato class submarine USS WAHOO (SS238) was launched symbolizing some of the initial output that resulted from mobilizing America’s arsenal of defense. She became the first of fifteen submarines to be built at Mare Island during WWII. WAHOO would join seven of her sister Mare Island built submarines already in the fight in a Pacific submarine campaign that gutted Japanese industrial and military strength by the end of the war. During her short history she would be one of the top performing boats of the war before being sunk by hostile action on October 11, 1943. WAHOO and her sister submarines contributions to the war effort were out of proportion to our nation’s investment, but the cost in submariners lives was another matter, those losses were terrible. Pacific submarines sank 4.9 million tons of Japanese Merchant Marine vessels during the war accounting for 60% of all Japanese losses. Additionally, our submarines sank 700,000 tons of Japanese naval ships accounting for 30% of the total lost including 8 aircraft carriers, 1 battleship and 11 cruisers. A total of 288 submarines were deployed throughout the war and 52 submarines were lost. There were 22 Mare Island built submarines that fought in the war and of those, 8 or 36% were sunk (two by their own torpedoes). The Pacific submariners comprised only 1.6% of the Navy, but they suffered the highest loss rate in the U.S. Armed Forces, with 22% of our brave sailors killed. The WAHOO conducted a total of seven war patrols, the last five under Commander Dudley “Mush” Morton. WAHOO returned to Mare Island for overhaul before deploying for her final war patrol. Noted naval historian Theodore Roscoe said about Morton "Few skippers equaled Morton's initiative, and none had a larger reserve of nerve, combining capability with dynamic aggressiveness, Morton feared nothing on or under the sea." Morton is credited with sinking 19 ships totaling nearly 55,000 tons; his total was second only to his own executive officer, Richard H. O'Kane. Retired Rear Adm. O'Kane went on to command the Mare Island built USS TANG (SS 306). Adm. O'Kane would survive the sinking of the TANG by her own torpedo. WAHOO’s performance under Morton was so prodigious that on his fourth patrol the American submarine command in Pearl Harbor reported to him that the "Japanese think a submarine wolf pack operating in Yellow Sea. All shipping tied up.” The wolf pack was the WAHOO operating alone. Morton was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross and an athletic field on Mare Island is named Morton Field in his honor. This field was chosen as the location of the final closure ceremony on March 29, 1996 when Mare Island Naval Shipyard's 142 years of service came to an end. Come visit Mare Island’s historic Alden Park, St. Peter's Chapel, Naval Officers Mansions and the Mare Island Museum. On this first United States (US) Naval base on the Pacific Coast, you will be treated to one of the largest non-federal collections of official US Navy artifacts anywhere. Artifacts range from an anchor lost by the HMS CENTURION after her horrific voyage around Cape Horne in 1739, cannons captured in 1871 during a punitive expedition against the Kingdom of Joseon in Korea by the US Asiatic Squadron, to the control room of a Cold War era submarine constructed with actual components from Vallejo’s namesake, the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine MARIANO G. VALLEJO (SSBN 658). Stop by and check us out. We are located at 1100 Railroad Avenue on Mare Island in Vallejo and across the street from historic dry dock 1 (completed construction in 1891). Open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Saturday. We are closed on Sundays. #Navy #History #SanFrancisco #BayArea #California #NARFE #northbay #solano #sonoma #napa #vallejo #winecountry #military #tourism #oldnavy #museum
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Tragedy at Sea Drive onto the grounds of Mare Island's Touro University and head up the hill to what used to be the Bachelor Officers Quarters (BOQ) and you will find the administrative offices for the university. The building maintains its name from when it was a navy base, Wilderman Hall. That name harkens back to a tragedy that occurred just after Thanksgiving in 1973. In 1971 Commander Alvin Wilderman, the captain of the USS PLUNGER (SSN-595) brought his submarine to Mare Island for a major overhaul. The arrival of the submarine was subject to much fanfare, for not only did such an overhaul represent a vast amount of work for the shipyard, but she was also constructed at Mare Island ten years before becoming the 500th ship built here. During the PLUNGER’s stay at Mare Island, Cdr. Wilderman proved himself to be a real gentleman and extremely smart individual well liked by shipyard personnel. The award-winning PLUNGER was also singled out for more awards by the fleet including designation as ship-of-the-month and she was awarded the Battle “E” for efficiency award. As the overhaul work and testing program work completed, the PLUNGER was scheduled for sea trials. Sea trials are the final step in returning a ship to the fleet. During sea trials every system is operationally tested in its natural environment as shipyard workers ride with the crew to assist. That testing program was to take place outside of the Golden Gate in an area off the Marin Headlands known famously as the “Potato Patch.” The area got its name from ships carrying potatoes to market that would overturn in rough conditions as swells broke over the shallow reefs guarding the entrance to the gate. The area was particularly hazardous during storms when wind whipped waves could turn the area into an aquatic hell. As the week prior to the PLUNGER’s Friday departure for sea trials progressed, a Pacific Storm was expected to hit at any time, although weather reports did not predict unusual intensity. High pressure over California held the storm at sea until Thursday when that high-pressure area began to drift to the east. As PLUNGER departed Mare Island Naval Shipyard rain was in the forecast, but there was still nothing particularly noteworthy in the predicted weather. As it turned out, a full gale was about to hit with winds so strong that the aircraft carrier RANGER that was scheduled to dock at Alameda Naval Air Station was held out in the bay to allow the storm to blow itself out. Meanwhile PLUNGER headed out the Golden Gate on the surface and into the teeth of the fast-moving storm. On the small bridge was Cdr. Wilderman, the Officer of the Deck (OOD) and a lookout. PLUNGER was encountering heavy weather with winds in excess of 50 miles per hour and seas 12 feet and higher. The sail of this class of submarine was very small and low to the water. Recognizing the seriousness of the worsening situation, Cdr. Wilderman ordered the OOD and lookout below. He was now alone on the bridge. The PLUNGER was entering the Potato Patch 6 miles out when at 4:17pm a large comber washed over the bridge and Cdr. Wilderman was swept into the chilly waters. As word of man overboard reached nearby shore facilities and ships, a massive search was undertaken. Back at Mare Island available ships were put to sea to assist the Coast Guard and other submarines including the USS SEAWOLF (SSN-575) that were operating in the area. Fog, gale force winds and driving rain all worked to hinder rescue operations. By the following day the storm had moved east, and calmer seas and sunny skies broke out, but it was too late. No sign of Cdr. Wilderman was ever found. A sadness broke over the shipyard as hundreds attended the well-liked skipper’s funeral services. For his selfless act ordering others to safety while he remained alone on the bridge, he was posthumously awarded the Meritorious Service Medal. According to his wife Diane, Cdr. Wilderman considered Vallejo the best Navy town in the United States and he spent some of the happiest days in the Navy at Mare Island. Cdr. Wilderman was not forgotten by his friends at Mare Island and ten years later, an effort culminated to name the BOQ located in one of the most peaceful and verdant areas of the shipyard after the fallen man. That recommendation was approved by the Chief of Naval Operations and the BOQ was so named in his honor. It is fitting that Touro University chose to retain the name Wilderman Hall and continue to honor Cdr. Wilderman who passed away at 36 years of age in service to his Nation. Cdr. Wilderman left behind his wife Diane and two sons. Come visit Mare Island’s historic Alden Park, St. Peter's Chapel, Naval Officers Mansions and the Mare Island Museum. On this first United States (US) Naval base on the Pacific Coast, you will be treated to one of the largest non-federal collections of official US Navy artifacts anywhere. Artifacts range from an anchor lost by the HMS CENTURION after her horrific voyage around Cape Horne in 1739, cannons captured in 1871 during a punitive expedition against the Kingdom of Joseon in Korea by the US Asiatic Squadron, to the control room of a Cold War era submarine constructed with actual components from Vallejo’s namesake, the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine MARIANO G. VALLEJO (SSBN 658). Stop by and check us out. We are located at 1100 Railroad Avenue on Mare Island in Vallejo and across the street from historic dry dock 1 (completed construction in 1891). Open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Saturday. We are closed on Sundays. #Navy #History #SanFrancisco #BayArea #California #NARFE #northbay #solano #sonoma #napa #vallejo #winecountry #military #tourism #oldnavy #museum
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Groundbreaking On July 7, 1964 thousands of workers and members of the public descended on the building ways of the former Mare Island Naval Shipyard to lay the keel of a massive new submarine. It was the height of the Cold War and this ship was to be one of the “41 For Freedom.” That phrase referred to the number of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines required to silently prowl, while hidden by the ocean depths, ever ready to unleash Armageddon on the Soviet Union in the event of a first strike. The strategic purpose of the submarine was to prevent nuclear war by presenting a credible threat of massive and unstoppable retaliation to any such first strike. Last Wednesday a much smaller, but equally enthusiastic group, gathered for the groundbreaking of a permanent memorial to those who built and crewed that important submarine. Among those in attendance were members of the Mare Island Historic Park Foundation, Vallejo City Council members, the City Manager and staff, County and State officials, representatives of Mare Island businesses, community organizations, and a representative from US Congressman Mike Thompson’s office. Seventeen nuclear submarines and over 500 ships were built at Mare Island, but this one was special. She was to be the only U.S. warship ever to be named after Mariano G. Vallejo. Vallejo was a Mexican general who figured prominently in California’s early history and he is the city of Vallejo’s namesake. At the keel laying ceremony the President of the United States located 2,400 miles away in the White House welded his initials onto the keel of the submarine using a remotely coupled device . Workers went on to construct the massive ship launching her amid tumultuous celebration on what was termed “Vallejo’s Greatest Day.” The USS MARIANO G. VALLEJO (SSBN-658) and her crews went on to serve the Nation for 29 years always ready to respond in an instant if called upon. In 1991 the Cold War ended and four years later the MARIANO G. VALLEJO was decommissioned followed by the closure of Mare Island the following year. The ship was destined for the scrap heap, but the City of Vallejo and the Mare Island Museum combined forces to acquire her sail. The sail has sat in various locations for years awaiting its final home. Former crew member Master Chief Petty Officer Bill Linne’, USN, Retired, has spent years and uncountable hours on behalf of the Mare Island Historic Park Foundation working a with a team of volunteers to ensure that the sail is permanently placed on display for the public to enjoy in perpetuity on the public concourse in Mare Island’s Historic Core. The permitting and real estate arrangements have been addressed, and enough funding is in place to allow proceeding with the initial stages of the permanent placement of the sail in the building ways in front of the Mare Island Museum. The sail will rest in the same location where former President Lyndon Banes Johnson welded his initials on her keel amid much ado at the start of construction before her launch all those many years ago. The final push is on to ensure the memorial is in place in time for a crew reunion this fall. That effort just received a big boost at the groundbreaking when City of Vallejo Vice-Mayor Pippin Dew and City Manager Greg Nyhoff announced a significant contribution to help complete the memorial. Our country is blessed to be served by so many who give so much to support preserving the history of how we, as a Nation, navigated the challenges presented by the past. Challenges that provide lessons learned to inform responses to future issues we will face as a Nation. We will provide additional detail on the fundraising needed to complete this important memorial in future posts. Come visit Mare Island’s historic Alden Park, St. Peter's Chapel, Naval Officers Mansions and the Mare Island Museum. On this first United States (US) Naval base on the Pacific Coast, you will be treated to one of the largest non-federal collections of official US Navy artifacts anywhere. Artifacts range from an anchor lost by the HMS CENTURION after her horrific voyage around Cape Horne in 1739, cannons captured in 1871 during a punitive expedition against the Kingdom of Joseon in Korea by the US Asiatic Squadron, to the control room of a Cold War era submarine constructed with actual components from Vallejo’s namesake, the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine MARIANO G. VALLEJO (SSBN 658). Stop by and check us out. We are located at 1100 Railroad Avenue on Mare Island in Vallejo and across the street from historic dry dock 1 (completed construction in 1891). Open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Saturday. We are closed on Sundays. #Navy #History #SanFrancisco #BayArea #California #NARFE #northbay #solano #sonoma #napa #vallejo #winecountry #military #tourism #oldnavy #museum
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The Muscle Behind the Point of the Spear December 17, 1941 thousands converged on Mare Island Naval Shipyard for the launch of the Navy’s newest submarine tender USS SPERRY (AS-12). The mission of submarine tenders is to carry the large amounts of food, fuel, torpedoes, and other supplies, and to provide for the forward deployed maintenance needed to keep submarines in their operating areas. The SPERRY's launch occurred 5 months early at a time of National Emergency. Ten days before Japanese aircraft appeared without warning over the huge naval base at Pearl Harbor decimating our Pacific Fleet and forever changing the lives of nearly every person in the country. The United States (U.S.) was at war and the SPERRY was the first ship to be launched following the declaration of war. She would be followed by thousands of ships as the entire industrial capacity of the nation focused on the war effort. For her part, SPERRY was soon to figure prominently in the conduct of the war in the Pacific theater of operations. As the SPERRY slid down the building ways, Japanese forces were on a rampage across the Pacific with attacks underway in China, the Philippines, Guam, Wake Island, Malaya, Hong Kong, Thailand and Midway Island. The U.S. was rocked back on its heels following the attack on Pearl Harbor, but a few carriers and the submarine fleet were still available. Because of their ability to operate with stealth and their range the fleet type submarines could roam at will the entire Pacific carrying the fight to the enemy. The job of the SPERRY was to function as a supply and repair center for those submarines keeping them deployed as close to the front lines as possible. Her first deployments sent her to Pearl Harbor and Australia to complete refits and voyage repairs to submarines, but as the war moved on and the U.S. went on the offensive, SPERRY was deployed further out into the Pacific servicing those submarines closer and closer to Japan. SPERRY finished the war stationed at Guam 1,500 miles from Tokyo and by then the Pacific Ocean had been converted to an American lake by the incredible output of U.S. industrial might and the unrelenting naval and military campaigns (to give you an idea of the intensity of those campaigns, during one month U.S. naval vessels bombarded Saipan with 40,000 tons of projectiles). SPERRY continued to serve following World War II participating in the Korean War and finishing her service in San Diego where she was decommissioned in 1982, 40 years after entering service. Changes in the types of submarines and their missions have reduced the need for the once large fleet of submarine tenders such as the SPERRY. The U.S. still operates two submarine tenders and both are home ported in Apra Harbor, Guam, the same harbor where SPERRY serviced all those fleet submarines back during World War II. Following her decommissioning, SPERRY was held in reserve until 2011 when she was brought back to the now closed former Mare Island Naval Shipyard to be serviced for her last voyage to Brownsville Texas and the scrappers cutting torches. Come visit Mare Island’s historic Alden Park, St. Peter's Chapel, Naval Officers Mansions and the Mare Island Museum. On this first United States (US) Naval base on the Pacific Coast, you will be treated to one of the largest non-federal collections of official US Navy artifacts anywhere. Artifacts range from an anchor lost by the HMS CENTURION after her horrific voyage around Cape Horne in 1739, cannons captured in 1871 during a punitive expedition against the Kingdom of Joseon in Korea by the US Asiatic Squadron, to the control room of a Cold War era submarine constructed with actual components from Vallejo’s namesake, the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine MARIANO G. VALLEJO (SSBN 658). Stop by and check us out. We are located across the street from historic dry dock 1 (completed construction in 1891). Open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Saturday. We are closed on Sundays. #Navy #History #SanFrancisco #BayArea #California #NARFE #northbay #solano #sonoma #napa #vallejo #winecountry #military #tourism #oldnavy #museum
Pre-WWII BATTLESHIP NAVY U.S. NAVY FLEET EXERCISE FLEET PROBLEM 20544
Changing of the Guard In its later years Mare Island Naval Shipyard was known as a submarine yard. This was because so many submarines were built and serviced here. Despite that reputation, many surface ships were built including a battleship, cruisers, destroyers and auxiliaries. On the dawn of World War II, the prevalent view was that future naval warfare would be decided by surface fleets dominated by capital ships. This 10-minute film is interesting as it was made by the US Navy on the eve of World War II when the view of the decisive role battleship fleets were expected to fulfill dominated. Just months after the film was released Japanese naval aircraft descended on the Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor shattering changing everything. Surface fleets played critical roles in the island-hopping campaign that characterized the Pacific War that followed, but naval air power and the US submarine fleet emerged as equally vital, if not more important elements of our Navy, a change that continues to this day. https://youtu.be/W2-N0ABrQ-Q Come visit Mare Island’s historic Alden Park, St. Peter's Chapel, Naval Officers Mansions and the Mare Island Museum. On this first United States (US) Naval base on the Pacific Coast, you will be treated to one of the largest non-federal collections of official US Navy artifacts anywhere. Artifacts range from an anchor lost by the HMS CENTURION after her horrific voyage around Cape Horne in 1739, cannons captured in 1871 during a punitive expedition against the Kingdom of Joseon in Korea by the US Asiatic Squadron, to the control room of a Cold War era submarine constructed with actual components from Vallejo’s namesake, the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine MARIANO G. VALLEJO (SSBN 658). Stop by and check us out. We are located across the street from historic dry dock 1 (completed construction in 1891). Open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Saturday. We are closed on Sundays. #Navy #History #SanFrancisco #BayArea #California #NARFE #northbay #solano #sonoma #napa #vallejo #winecountry #military #tourism #oldnavy #museum
Mare Island Naval Cemetery - A Love Story
Unearthing the Past Here is a link to an interesting story associated with the Mare Island Cemetery. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RwSTdZrgs0&feature=share Come visit Mare Island’s historic Alden Park, St. Peter's Chapel, Naval Officers Mansions and the Mare Island Museum. On this first United States (US) Naval base on the Pacific Coast, you will be treated to one of the largest non-federal collections of official US Navy artifacts anywhere. Artifacts range from an anchor lost by the HMS CENTURION after her horrific voyage around Cape Horne in 1739, cannons captured in 1871 during a punitive expedition against the Kingdom of Joseon in Korea by the US Asiatic Squadron, to the control room of a Cold War era submarine constructed with actual components from Vallejo’s namesake, the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine MARIANO G. VALLEJO (SSBN 658). Stop by and check us out. We are located across the street from historic dry dock 1 (completed construction in 1891). Open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Saturday. We are closed on Sundays. #Navy #History #SanFrancisco #BayArea #California #NARFE #northbay #solano #sonoma #napa #vallejo #winecountry #military #tourism #oldnavy #museum
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Who Knew? The world’s first nuclear powered submarine, the USS NAUTILUS (SSN-571), arrived from the East Coast to berth at Mare Island Naval Shipyard early in 1958. She was commissioned in Fall 1954 and had immediately set about breaking every record in the book. Now, 4 years later, her arrival at Mare Island was part of an elaborate ruse designed to hide the purpose of her real mission. A mission that was personally ordered by the President of the United States. The Cold War had been ongoing for seven years, and both the United States and the Soviet Union had developed and deployed nuclear weapons. With the NAUTILUS, the U.S. possessed a new submarine of unparalleled capability that demonstrated the U.S.’s ability to accomplish the complex engineering, construction and operation of such a vessel. Nautilus served as both a source of pride, and comfort for the U.S. population. That population lived in an age when everyone understood they lived under the constant threat of nuclear annihilation and a ship like the NAUTILUS helped swing the balance of power in the U.S.’s favor. Such a weapon would surely act as a deterrent against nuclear aggression, but the advantage was not long lived. In 1957 the Soviets launched the first satellite into space. The satellite was called Sputnik and it demonstrated how much more advanced than the U.S. the Soviets were in developing missile technology. Sputnik was a simple satellite that was placed in low earth orbit and emitted a mindless beep every 3 seconds as it circled the earth 7 times per day. Despite its simplicity, Its significance was not lost on the American public. Up to that point any attempt to launch a preemptive nuclear strike against our nation would have come in the form of long-range subsonic aircraft. Such an attack would leave plenty of time to react and defend against (Nike missile batteries were arrayed around the San Francisco Bay Area for just that purpose). Placing atomic bombs on ballistic missiles would be a game changer because such an attack would be unstoppable. Suddenly the Soviets were on the threshold of achieving that capability. Meanwhile U.S. attempts at launching such a missile were still blowing up on the launch pad. Those of us who lived through that period clearly remember how Sputnik dominated the headlines and stirred up a wave of near hysteria throughout the nation. President Eisenhower had grown tired of failures in the US missile programs as he gathered his advisors in the White House for a hastily called meeting of the National Security Council to discuss the Soviet achievement. The President needed a success and an example to demonstrate that the U.S. remained a technological superpower. Through a combination of serendipity and hard work he ended up turning to the NAUTILUS for that demonstration. The year before, Captain William Anderson took command of the NAUTILUS as her second skipper and he had a dream to use her capability to accomplish a first. His wish was so audacious that he dared not publicly discuss it even as he spent endless hours researching the possibilities. His hope was to use the NAUTILUS to seek passage from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean by traveling submerged under the polar ice cap. While his plan had its small group of supporters, all of them recognized that the plan entailed a level of risk that would be extremely controversial. Despite the risks, the strategic benefits of operating under the arctic ice was not lost on the Pentagon. The year before NAUTILUS was authorized to conduct highly classified exploratory runs under the ice gaining valuable insight into the problems and procedures for under ice navigation. Word of those operations leaked out of the Pentagon even before the NAUTILUS returned to port infuriating the President. The notoriety NAUTILUS gained for her under ice exploration and President’s anger over the disclosure would inadvertently set the stage for NAUTILUS’s presence at Mare Island. The possibility of breaking through the Bering Straits and Chukchi Sea into the Arctic Ocean and on to the Atlantic Ocean intrigued the President. He believed that such a demonstration would help counter the Soviet advances in missile technology and he personally authorized the attempt while at the same time making it the most top-secret peacetime naval operation in history, Operation Sunshine. The purported purpose of the NAUTILUS’s west coast presence was good will visits and fleet training, but the real purpose was to position her in the Pacific Ocean to make the attempted passage. Her real mission was so secret that the entire Navy chain-of-command was unaware of her purpose. There was also an unexpected purpose to her Mare Island visit. While in transit to Mare Island NAUTILUS suffered a casualty in her engineering spaces. Oil soaked lagging ignited spreading smoke throughout the boat. Crew members were forced to fight the fire in choking smoke and near zero visibility, but the ship was able to surface and ventilate. This was something they could never do once under the arctic ice, and that fact was not lost on anyone. While at Mare Island the damage from the fire was repaired and, more importantly, the ships low pressure air system was modified to allow every crew member to don air fed masks and snap into connections throughout the ship to provide breathing air while operating the ship or fighting such a fire. After leaving Mare Island NAUTILUS tried twice to break through the ice to the Arctic Ocean succeeding the second time. The approaches to the Arctic Ocean from the West are very shallow and and required NAUTILUS to maneuver around or under massive ice ridges to reach the deeper waters under the North Pole. Captain Anderson was forced to abandon his first attempt when ice ridges extended so far down that passage was impossible. He retreated to Hawaii to await the ice to clear and in mid-July he again headed for the Bering Straits where he broke through to the Arctic Ocean and the North Pole. Following her successful transit, Captain Anderson was airlifted by helicopter off the boat near Iceland and flown directly to the White House where President Eisenhower announced the feat. President Eisenhower awarded the NAUTILUS a Presidential Unit Citation and Captain Anderson was awarded the Legion of Merit. The press went nuts worldwide as they tried to out-do each other with hyperbole regarding the accomplishment. To their astonishment every crew member of the NAUTILUS became instant celebrities and were heralded everywhere they went including a ticker tape period in New York City. Several crew members inadvertently stopped the game and were treated to a standing ovation when they walked into Yankee Stadium as Micky Mantle stood at bat. Watch a 13 minute Navy period video of this voyage here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMvjYdehma8 Come visit Mare Island’s historic Alden Park, St. Peter's Chapel, Naval Officers Mansions and the Mare Island Museum. On this first United States (US) Naval base on the Pacific Coast, you will be treated to one of the largest non-federal collections of official US Navy artifacts anywhere. Artifacts range from an anchor lost by the HMS CENTURION after her horrific voyage around Cape Horne in 1739, cannons captured in 1871 during a punitive expedition against the Kingdom of Joseon in Korea by the US Asiatic Squadron, to the control room of a Cold War era submarine constructed with actual components from Vallejo’s namesake, the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine MARIANO G. VALLEJO (SSBN 658). Stop by and check us out. We are located across the street from historic dry dock 1 (completed construction in 1891). Open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Saturday. We are closed on Sundays. #Navy#History #SanFrancisco #BayArea #California #NARFE #northbay #solano #sonoma #napa #vallejo #winecountry #military #tourism#oldnavy #museum
Mare Island’s key place amid the tides of history
The Role of the Military Four years ago SFGate published an informative article about Mare Island characterizing it as playing "the most significant role in U.S. naval history." https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Mare-Island-s-key-place-amid-the-tides-of-5990735.php?fbclid=IwAR2Z_bDy_D_XjI86Q3MrLLFxtgtTL7x-lPYGSpJlv6YclgSzIZXaxwirRHk Come visit Mare Island’s historic Alden Park, St. Peter's Chapel, Naval Officers Mansions and the Mare Island Museum. On this first United States (US) Naval base on the Pacific Coast, you will be treated to one of the largest non-federal collections of official US Navy artifacts anywhere. Artifacts range from an anchor lost by the HMS CENTURION after her horrific voyage around Cape Horne in 1739, cannons captured in 1871 during a punitive expedition against the Kingdom of Joseon in Korea by the US Asiatic Squadron, to the control room of a Cold War era submarine constructed with actual components from Vallejo’s namesake, the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine MARIANO G. VALLEJO (SSBN 658). Stop by and check us out. We are located across the street from historic dry dock 1 (completed construction in 1891). Open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Saturday. We are closed on Sundays. #Navy #History#SanFrancisco #BayArea #California #NARFE #northbay #solano#sonoma #napa #vallejo #winecountry #military #tourism #oldnavy #museum
Five Problems That Could Torpedo America's Naval Shipbuilding Capability
Industrial Base The famous military novelist Tom Clancy once wrote “Amateurs discuss tactics,…. Professional soldiers study logistics.” It was an acknowledgement of the fact that while tactics is a sexy subject it is logistics that are the lifeblood of the military. A key part of logistics for the Navy is the industrial base that it relies on to produce and maintain its ships, aircraft and weapons systems. Mare Island Naval Shipyard and the San Francisco Bay Area were a key part of that industrial base. That included not only the buildings and equipment, but also the thousands of skilled tradespeople, engineers and scientists needed bring the infrastructure to life. During the Cold War there was constant discussion regarding what needed to be done to maintain and sustain this base; however, following the end of the Cold War that base eroded. This Forbes article provides interesting insight into the current state of the industrial base and the challenges the Navy is facing today. https://www.forbes.com/sites/lorenthompson/2019/07/19/five-problems-that-could-torpedo-americas-naval-shipbuilding-capability/#7ed3ed8a34d9 Come visit Mare Island’s historic Alden Park, St. Peter's Chapel, Naval Officers Mansions and the Mare Island Museum. On this first United States (US) Naval base on the Pacific Coast, you will be treated to one of the largest non-federal collections of official US Navy artifacts anywhere. Artifacts range from an anchor lost by the HMS CENTURION after her horrific voyage around Cape Horne in 1739, cannons captured in 1871 during a punitive expedition against the Kingdom of Joseon in Korea by the US Asiatic Squadron, to the control room of a Cold War era submarine constructed with actual components from Vallejo’s namesake, the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine MARIANO G. VALLEJO (SSBN 658). Stop by and check us out. We are located across the street from historic dry dock 1 (completed construction in 1891). Open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Saturday. We are closed on Sundays. #Navy #History #SanFrancisco #BayArea #California #NARFE #northbay #solano #sonoma #napa #vallejo #winecountry #military#tourism #oldnavy #museum
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First Woman The Civil War had ended 6 years before, and the United States was just entering the second phase of industrial revolution. In 1871, women were not yet common in the workforce and while Mare Island Naval Shipyard employed 1,500 workers, there were no women employed. That changed early in the year when Elvira Baldwin was hired as the “Matron” for the Mare Island hospital. A Matron was the person in charge of the attendants in the hospital. A few months after she was employed Ms. Baldwin wrote her niece in Austin, Minnesota. The following is extracted from her letter and it provides interesting details about her work, Mare Island, the Bay Area and our nation at the time: "You will see by the heading of this letter I am not living in Sacramento but on Mare Island. I am Matron of the Naval Hospital. I came here the first of March. The Island is about sixty miles from Sacramento and thirty from San Francisco. I can go to Sacramento in three hours and to San Francisco in one and a half. This place is where all the Men of War vessels stop for repairs and lay up when out of service; the Island is about one half mile wide and three long. There is a great deal of work done on the Island, large workshops, and beautiful residences of the officers of the Navy. There are from ten to fifteen hundred workmen most of the time engaged on the Island. The Hospital where I am is a very large building over two hundred feet long and three stories high, it is built of brick and is in a beautiful location. There are at present about forty patients, they take no other patients only those belonging to the ships. I have not many things to do with the patients unless some of the officers from the ships are here and then I have only to see that the attendants do their duty and see that the linen is properly taken care of, so you can see that my duties are very light. There are two physicians and an apothecary besides about a dozen others employed in the building... I forgot to tell you that there is quite a city just across from here by the name of Vallejo. A steamer plies between here and there every half hour, it only takes about five minutes to cross. My salary is not large, it is only $480 a year although I have a prospect of having it raised soon. My situation is very easy, and I have everything found except my clothing so that I have that clear." Elvira Baldwin didn’t exactly start a cascade of women being hired at Mare Island. Twenty-nine years later, at the turn of the century, there were only six women employed on the shipyard. That would all change with the United States entry into World War I in 1917. Come visit Mare Island’s historic Alden Park, St. Peter's Chapel, Naval Officers Mansions and the Mare Island Museum. On this first United States (US) Naval base on the Pacific Coast, you will be treated to one of the largest non-federal collections of official US Navy artifacts anywhere. Artifacts range from an anchor lost by the HMS CENTURION after her horrific voyage around Cape Horne in 1739, cannons captured in 1871 during a punitive expedition against the Kingdom of Joseon in Korea by the US Asiatic Squadron, to the control room of a Cold War era submarine constructed with actual components from Vallejo’s namesake, the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine MARIANO G. VALLEJO (SSBN 658). Stop by and check us out. We are located across the street from historic dry dock 1 (completed construction in 1891). Open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Saturday. We are closed on Sundays. #Navy #History#SanFrancisco #BayArea #California #NARFE #northbay #solano #sonoma #napa #vallejo #winecountry #military #tourism #oldnavy #museum
Science Channel
Historic Dry Dock The Science Channel's Mysteries of the Abandoned series has published a 3-minute trailer for their upcoming take on the first naval graving dock to be put in service on the Pacific Coast at the former Mare Island Naval Shipyard. https://www.facebook.com/ScienceChannel/videos/1056899087849568/ Come visit Mare Island’s historic Alden Park, St. Peter's Chapel, Naval Officers Mansions and the Mare Island Museum. On this first United States (US) Naval base on the Pacific Coast, you will be treated to one of the largest non-federal collections of official US Navy artifacts anywhere. Artifacts range from an anchor lost by the HMS CENTURION after her horrific voyage around Cape Horne in 1739, cannons captured in 1871 during a punitive expedition against the Kingdom of Joseon in Korea by the US Asiatic Squadron, to the control room of a Cold War era submarine constructed with actual components from Vallejo’s namesake, the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine MARIANO G. VALLEJO (SSBN 658). Stop by and check us out. We are located across the street from historic dry dock 1 (completed construction in 1891). Open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Saturday. We are closed on Sundays. #Navy #History #SanFrancisco #BayArea #California #NARFE #northbay #solano #sonoma #napa #vallejo #winecountry #military #tourism #oldnavy #museum
Photos from Mare Island Museum's post
The Dogs of War Lie Sleeping She rides quietly alongside historic Pier 45 at San Francisco’s famous Fishermen’s Wharf. The warship is the historic museum ship USS PAMPANITO (SS-338) built during World War II, and, along with her sister submarines, credited with sweeping the seas of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) turning the Pacific Theater of operations into an American lake. That war ended 74 years ago and has become a distant and largely forgotten memory, but during its time it affected nearly every person on the planet as opposing alliances conducted total war against each other. A tour of PAMPANITO’s now silent hull provides an intriguing insight into the submarines that comprised less than 2 percent of the U.S. Navy, but sank over 30 percent of the IJN, including eight aircraft carriers. These warships combined with the other branches of the military were instrumental in the winning of World War II and changing the political alignment and social structure of the world. Submarines such as the PAMPANITO paid a heavy price for their success. By the end of the war submariners had suffered the highest percentage causality rate of any branch of the service. To be displayed on San Francisco’s waterfront, PAMPANITO had to first survive 6 war patrols, and then overcome the determined resistance to berthing her on that waterfront by Port Commissioner Harry Bridges. PAMPANITO was not the most successful of the US submarines, but her survival was dependent on some incredible acts of drama and heroism including seamen crawling into ballast tanks damaged by depth charges to find and repair leaks on the submarine while she ran submerged, a near mutiny and one of the most controversial sinking’s of the war. The PAMPANITO was directed by intercepted intelligence to the remnants of IJN convoy HI-72. Intelligence officials understood ships in that convoy were carrying prisoners of war (POW), but there is no evidence that PAMPANITO’s commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander Paul Summers, was made aware of that fact. On the night of 12 September 1944, PAMPANITO torpedoed the Kachidoki Maru that was carrying 950 Australian and British POWs. Those POWs were survivors of the Japanese forced labor used to build the railway connecting Bangkok and Rangoon (Made famous by the movie "Bridge Over the River Kwai") that were being transported to Japan for forced labor in coal mines. PAMPANITO exited the area only to return 3 days later to be stunned by the discovery of the allied survivors. The IJN escort vessels had rescued their own and some of the POWs, but hundreds were left to die. When PAMPANITO came upon the survivors they were assumed to be Japanese and orders were given to stand by to open fire on them. A tense standoff ensued with the oil covered, weakened and dying survivors when one POW yelled out “First you bloody Yanks sink us. Now you’re bloody well to shoot us.” The guns were immediately lowered and as PAMPANITO called in more subs, she alone rescued 73 POWs effectively doubling her crew, and more than any other American submarine during the entire war. PAMPANITO went on to complete 3 more war patrols and was en route back to the San Francisco Bay Area when she was diverted to Wake Island to find and sink a Japanese submarine. It almost worked out the other way when early one morning as the boat was running on the surface, an IJN torpedo slammed into the side of the ship. Unbelievably, the torpedo failed to detonate and merely bounced off her hull. Having survived that encounter, the war ended 4 months later and she was berthed in Mare Island Naval Shipyard’s Reserve Fleet as training ship. Then from 1976 to 1982 she was made available by the Navy for donation. Entities from Vallejo, Rio Vista and San Francisco all attempted to acquire PAMPANITO as a museum ship, but money (or the lack thereof) and all the usual obstacles to obtaining approval and appropriate pier space doomed all but one effort. The San Francisco effort succeeded in navigating most of those obstacles, but the San Francisco Port Commission led by Harry Bridges stood solidly in the way. Harry Bridges, who was born in Australia and was married to a Japanese woman, was philosophically opposed to turning the ship into a monument on San Francisco’s waterfront stating such a monument would constitute a “glorification of war.” Harry’s opposition held up approval for five years until 1981 when the Port Commission voted 4 to 1 (Harry) to lease the space for the PAMPANITO. So what did the Australians think of the PAMPANITO? Following the rescue of the POWs, PAMPANITO was sent to Perth, Australia for R&R and she sailed into an overwhelming reception. Turns out, Australians treated the PAMPANITO and her crew as national heroes. One example of the high esteem with which they were held is evidenced by the fact that when the time came to return to the war zone, several PAMPANITO sailors attempted to desert to continue their awesome stay in Perth, while several former POWs dressed themselves in US Navy uniforms hoping to stowaway and join the crew to fight with them against the hated Japanese. PAMPANITO has been on display for nearly 40 years now. she has become one of the defining features of the San Francisco waterfront and one of the most popular historic vessels in the country hosting as many as 250,000 visitors a year. Since her opening, the Maritime Park Association has worked to interpret the vessel to her visitors and to preserve and restore her to wartime condition and appearance. She is worth a visit and, as you walk her decks, be aware of the many life and death dramas that played out there. One of the saddest was the death of former POW John Campbell, Second Battalion, Gordon Highlanders. Campbell was one of the few POWs up on the deck of the IJN transport when it was hit by PAMPANITO's torpedoes. The Japanese guards left most of the POWs for dead locked in a hold, but Campbell and others on deck overpowered the guards and unlocked the hold releasing the POWs trapped within. After three days on the open ocean Campbell was in appalling condition when he was rescued and brought aboard. When PAMPANITO seaman George Strother’s saw him and learned Campbell had a wife and three kids, the youngest, of which, Campbell had never seen, he made it his personal responsibility to care of Campbell as the PAMPANITO raced to Saipan and help. Campbell did not make it and he expired with his head supported by George Strother’s arms. Campbell was buried at sea with his body covered by an American flag (the crew apologized to the Brits for not having a British flag). You can see a 26 minute reenactment of the rescue that uses some actual footage here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSlpA57zt-E . Come visit Mare Island’s historic Alden Park, St. Peter's Chapel, Naval Officers Mansions and the Mare Island Museum. On this first United States (US) Naval base on the Pacific Coast, you will be treated to one of the largest non-federal collections of official US Navy artifacts anywhere. Artifacts range from an anchor lost by the HMS CENTURION after her horrific voyage around Cape Horne in 1739, cannons captured in 1871 during a punitive expedition against the Kingdom of Joseon in Korea by the US Asiatic Squadron, to the control room of a Cold War era submarine constructed with actual components from Vallejo’s namesake, the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine MARIANO G. VALLEJO (SSBN 658). Stop by and check us out. We are located across the street from historic dry dock 1 (completed construction in 1891). Open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Saturday. We are closed on Sundays. #Navy #History #SanFrancisco #BayArea #California #NARFE #northbay #solano #sonoma #napa #vallejo #winecountry #military #tourism #oldnavy #museum
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