Private USS Bowfin Tour – discover for yourself what life was like for submariners in World War II

If you’ve ever watched a film where the main location is onboard a submarine, but you have never been onboard one yourself, chances are you will have failed to appreciate just how cramped life for the crew of submariners is. More than that, because space is at a premium, luxury and comfort are two words that are never applicable to how a submarine is fitted out. After a tour round USS Bowfin you will be able to watch films such as Crimson Tide, Run Silent, Run Deep, or The Enemy Below with a whole new perspective.

USS Bowfin submarine tour – with a special difference 

Tours are great as you can concentrate on looking around you while someone else provides all the useful information, rather than having to continually keep your head stuck in a guidebook to understand what it is that you are supposed to be looking at. Better still though, how about a half-day private morning tour for a small group of up to six of you with someone who has first-hand knowledge of what they are talking about? Your host for the private USS Bowfin Captain’s Tour is a retired naval captain who served on submarines, so who better to show you round?

USS Bowfin – discover what life was like for World War II submariners

USS Bowfin is pretty unique in that it is probably the best-preserved of all World War II submarines with much of the onboard equipment you will see being original. Once onboard you will get to see, from an up-close-and-personal viewpoint, just how little room these remarkable submariners had to live in while fighting during the War.

Welcome onboard the Pearl Harbor Avenger

USS Bowfin was nicknamed the “Pearl Harbor Avenger” and your distinguished guide will be able to explain in great detail, just why. Suffice it to say that this vessel isn’t just any ordinary World War II submarine. It was responsible for sinking 44 major enemy vessels and was one of the most highly decorated submarines that saw active service during World War II. It is also perhaps fitting that the submarine’s ‘resting place’ is alongside the WWII Submarine Waterfront Memorial located on Oahu, Hawaii. Part of the tour will also allow you time to investigate many of the 52 plaques at the memorial that recount missions that submariners went on where lives were lost.

The Kaiten – the Japanese kamikaze torpedo

Last, but definitely not least, see and explore an original Japanese kaiten, which literally translated means “Turn the Heaven” or more colloquially, the “Heaven Shaker”. Doubtless you will have heard of Japanese Kamikaze pilots, well the kaiten was the Japanese navy’s version, where those in charge of steering the kaiten, which was basically an over-sized torpedo, were sent on a one-way journey. In fact, once inside the kaiten, the single occupant had no way of getting out again.

USS Bowfin and Lea Lea Tours 

Here at Lea Lea Tours we are committed to finding and providing the best tours to many of Hawai’is wonderful attractions, so many of them steeped in history. The private USS Bowfin Tour is no exception and one you really should consider taking if the history of the Second World War is of interest to you. If you have any questions you would like answered about the tour before reserving your extremely knowledgeable guide for the tour, please feel free to give us a call or send us an email.