BREMERTON (April 28, 2018) — Los Angeles-class submarine USS Bremerton (SSN-698), transits the Puget Sound, returning to its namesake city, Bremerton, Washington. The 37-year-old Bremerton, commissioned March 28, 1981, is scheduled to begin the inactivation and decommissioning process at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in July. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Wyatt L. Anthony.
As the local Navy League and the City of Bremerton are working on bringing the sail of the ex-Bremerton submarine to its namesake city, the Kitsap Sun takes a look at other cities that have gotten a sail of a decommissioned submarine from the U.S. Navy and preserved it publicly, or in the works to do so.
It takes years for the Navy to dismantle and recycle nuclear-powered submarines after a sub is decommissioned. Puget Sound Naval Shipyard is the only place where the Navy conducts its Ship/Submarine Recycling Program (SRP), the process it uses to dispose of decommissioned nuclear vessels.
Cities and groups around the country have requested the Navy to preserve the sails of the decommissioned subs in namesake cities, like the ongoing effort in Bremerton. Others include Albuquerque, New Mexico; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Corpus Christi, Texas; Cincinnati, Ohio and Phoenix, Arizona.
Also, the sails of at least 10 submarines not named after a city are preserved around the nation, including four in Washington State. Two submarines are preserved as a whole. There could be more similar cases in other cities or states. This story — including the map and photos — will be updated once more information is available and confirmed.
USS Bremerton: Navy League proposing city park The discussion to preserve the sail of the USS Bremerton in its namesake city as a monument started around 2020 between the Bremerton-Olympic Peninsula Council of the Navy League and the city of Bremerton. In May, the president of the local Navy League, Tom Zwolfer, and Mayor Greg Wheeler jointly signed a letter to the Navy, making a preliminary request.
The components requested are the sub’s sail, sail planes, anchor, rudders and stern planes. A possible location to build the monument is a triangular plot of grassy area at First Street and Callow Avenue, near the Naval Base Kitsap’s Charleston gate, tentatively to be named “Navy League Park.”
According to a preliminary design, the anchors of the USS Bremerton cruiser (CA-130) will also be showcased at the monument. The cruiser was commissioned in 1945, struck from the Navy list in 1973, and sold for scrap in 1974, according to the Naval Vessel Register. Its anchors are placed at Hal’s Corner, between Warren Avenue and Sheridan Road in Bremerton.
Commissioned in 1981, the USS Bremerton submarine served the country for 37 years before it was inactivated in 2018 and decommissioned in 2021 at PSNS, according to the Naval Vessel Register.
USS Albuquerque: New Mexico city plans monument at beach. The City of Albuquerque brought the sail of the USS Albuquerque (SSN-706) home last year. This month, the city announced a draft concept plan to build a USS Albuquerque Memorial at Tingley Beach in Albuquerque. The sail of the sub is now in Pascetti Steel in Albuquerque. The steel company will restore the pieces and prepare for reassembly, according to a statement on September 9. The sail had previously been stored at Kirtland Air Force Base after being transported from Bremerton to its namesake city in New Mexico in January 2023. Restoration of the sail is tentatively scheduled to be completed in September next year, and the engineering and design of the monument and plaza are slated to be conducted between this fall and next spring, according to the project website.
The Los Angeles-class submarine USS Albuquerque arrived at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard from San Diego in 2015 and was decommissioned in 2017 after 33 years of service. The Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, with assistance from the Navy League of the United States – New Mexico Council, petitioned the Navy to return the sail to its namesake city.
The latest site plan shows that the sail will be placed on a black concrete foundation in an existing pond at Tingley Beach. Next to the pond are walkways, parking lots, and plazas that show the sub’s service area in the five oceans of the world and two cities, Gorton, Connecticut, where it was commissioned, and Bremerton, where it was decommissioned. The estimated cost of the project is $5.4 million, according to the city statement.
More information is available at: https://www.ussalbuquerque.org/.
USS Oklahoma City: Riverfront memorial construction could start in 2025
In April 2023, Oklahoma City Council approved a memorandum of understanding with the Oklahoma City Riverfront Redevelopment Authority and the USS Oklahoma City Park Association to design and construct a commemorative display featuring nautical items from the USS Oklahoma City submarine (SSN-723) and cruiser (CL-91/CG-5/ CLG-5), according to a statement from the city.
Items to be featured include the sail and diving planes of the sub, and possibly the screw, anchor and ship’s bell from the cruiser. The display will be on the north shore of Wiley Post Park along the Oklahoma River, according to the city.
The Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine Oklahoma City was commissioned in 1988 and served the nation for 34 years. The sub arrived in Bremerton for decommissioning in November 2021 and was inactivated and decommissioned in 2022. The Oklahoma City cruiser (CL-91) served from 1944 to 1979.
The sub is currently in Bremerton and the actual delivery of the sail/dive planes is not anticipated until 2028, Debi Martin, Oklahoma City Council chief of staff, told Kitsap Sun. The council will consider a funding request in October, and if that funding is approved, the construction could begin in mid-Spring 2025. Park elements would be constructed with a facsimile of the sail and dive planes, Martin said. The current estimate for the development of the memorial is $2.15 million and the budget doesn’t include the transportation and installation of the sail/dive planes, Martin said.
USS City of Corpus Christi: Texas city plans addition to veterans memorial
In December 2023, the City of Corpus Christi in Texas approved a resolution to authorize a license agreement with the USS City of CC SSN-705 Submarine Memorial, Inc., for the placement and maintenance of the USS City of Corpus Christi submarine sail at Sherrill Veterans Memorial Park, according to a statement from the city. The estimated timeline for procurement of the sail is about 24 months. The nonprofit group will handle the procurement, according to the city statement.
Commissioned in 1983, the City of Corpus Christi is the 18th ship of the Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarines. The sub arrived in Bremerton in June 2016 and was decommissioned in 2017 with 34 years of service completed. In May, KRIS 6 News, an NBC affiliate in Corpus Christi, reported that the submarine sail arrived at the Coastal Bend from Washington State and was dropped off at a construction company, Bay Ltd., which will refurnish the sail.
USS Cincinnati: Education center planned as part of peace pavilion
At the end of July, the USS Cincinnati Cold War Memorial Peace Pavilion project, which has been in the works for over two decades, broke ground at the Voice of America Metro Park in West Chester, Ohio, according to WYSO Public Radio, NPR’s local news station in southwest Ohio.
The memorial will feature the sail of the Los Angeles-class submarine that will be put on a full-size replica submarine where visitors can walk beneath it. A STEM Education Center is designed to be built next to the rear part of the sub, according to the latest renderings of the memorial provided by the Submarine Cincinnati Memorial Association.
The USS Cincinnati (SSN-693) was commissioned in 1978 and decommissioned in 1996 as part of the reduction in the U.S. military following the end of the Cold War. The boat was scrapped in PSNS in 2012 via the Ship/Submarine Recycling Program. After dismantling, the sub’s sail, forward planes, the upper rudder, and the emergency diesel engine generator arrived in Cincinnati on August 24, 2013, according to the association.
More information about the USS Cincinnati Cold War Memorial Peace Pavilion project is available at https://www.subcincy.org/
USS Phoenix: Cold War monument headed to Arizona
In 2008, the City of Phoenix approved a plan to erect a USS Phoenix (SSN-702) Cold War Monument in Steele Indian School Park. In 2017, the Monument concept or renderings were approved by the City of Phoenix’s Parks and Recreation Board, according to the USS Phoenix (SSN-702) Cold War Monument website.
Commissioned in 1981, the Los-Angeles class fast attack submarine USS Phoenix (SSN-702) had served 17 years before it was decommissioned on July 29, 1998 at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and moved to Bremerton.
The sub’s sail and its diving planes and rudder arrived at the Papago Park Military Reservation in Phoenix in 2016, according to The Arizona Republic. A welcome home and re-christening ceremony was launched at the military reservation that year.
More information about the USS Phoenix project is available at https://www.ussphoenixmonument.org/
Other sub sails preserved around the country
Besides the cities that are still working on building permanent homes for the sail of the decommissioned submarines named after them, some sails of retired subs that are not named after a city can be found in these places around the nation that successfully preserve part of, or the whole of, the submarine.
In Washington State, there are four submarine sails, including the sail of the USS Parche (SSN-683) outside the Puget Sound Naval Museum in downtown Bremerton, the sail of the USS Woodrow Wilson (SSBN 624) at Deterrent Park on Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, the sail of the USS Sturgeon (SSN-637) at the Naval Undersea Museum at Keyport, and the sail of the USS Triton V (SSRN-586) at the USS Triton Sail Park in Richland.
In California, the sail of the USS Mariano G. Vallejo (SSNB 658) is preserved at the Mare Island Historical Park in Vallejo. The sub was built on Mare Island.
In Idaho, the sail of the USS Hawkbill (SSN 666) is stationed at the Idaho Science Center in Arco.
In New Mexico, the sail of the USS James K. Polk (SSBN/SSN 645) is placed at the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History in Albuquerque. The sub was decommissioned at PSNS in 1999, according to the USS James K Polk Veterans Association.
In Texas, the sail of the USS Tautog (SSN 639) is kept at the Galveston Naval Museum in Galveston.
In Florida, the sail of the USS Nathanael Greene (SSBN 636) is displayed in Port Canaveral.
In South Carolina, the sail of the USS Lewis and Clark (SSBN 644) is preserved at the Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum in Mt Pleasant.
In New York City, the USS Growler (SSG-577) submarine is preserved at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. The submarine had stayed in PSNS after being decommissioned and before being moved to New York City in 1988, according to Kitsap Sun newspaper in Oct. 07, 1988.
In Connecticut, the USS Nautilus (SSN-571), the world’s first nuclear powered submarine, is preserved at the Submarine Force Museum in Groton.
