USS Razorback (SS-394), a , was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named after the razorback, a species of whale (Balaenoptera physalus) found in the far southern reaches of the Pacific Ocean. She is arguably the longest-serving combat front-line submarine still existing in the world, having been commissioned by two different countries for 56 years of active duty. She was in Tokyo Bay during the surrender of Japan. In 2004, the state of Arkansas adopted the submarine (although she was not named after the University of Arkansas Razorbacks mascot) and she is now a museum ship at the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum.

Construction and commissioning

Razorback′s keel was laid down by the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine on 9 September 1943. She was launched, sponsored by Hazel DuMont (Grant) Davis, wife of Captain H.F.D. Davis, manager of the Portland Navy Yard from June 1940 to June 1944, on 27 January 1944 along with and . was launched a few hours later, making 27 January 1944 the only time the U.S. Navy has launched four submarines at one shipyard in a single day. Razorback was commissioned on 3 April 1944, Lt. Comdr. A.M. Bontier, commanding. between Fisher Island's Race Point and Race Rock in Block Island Sound. A board of inquiry removed the captain and replaced him with Commander Roy S. Benson. The executive officer, Lt. Commander Haynes was also replaced, by Lt Commander C. Donald Brown. Not long after her return to the West Coast, she was decommissioned at Hunter's Point Naval Shipyard. Concurrent with her decommissioning on 30 November, Razorback was transferred to the Turkish Navy.

Honors and awards

In her 26 years of service in the U.S. Navy Razorback earned five battle stars for World War II service, four campaign stars for Vietnam War service and two awards of the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal.

TCG Muratreis (S-336)

The submarine was recommissioned TCG Muratreis (S-336) on 17 December 1971, named after the great Ottoman admiral Murat Reis and served Turkey for 31 years, decommissioning on 8 August 2001.

After decommissioning

thumb|left|USS Razorback in the Arkansas River.

thumb|left|Interior view of bow torpedo room on board USS Razorback.

The city of North Little Rock, Arkansas purchased ex-Muratreis from Turkey on 25 March 2004 for US$37,500. Private donations provided the funds for the purchase and all towing costs.

The submarine departed Turkey under tow on 5 May 2004, crossed the Mediterranean Sea to Gibraltar, and then was towed across the Atlantic Ocean, arriving at Key West, Florida, on the evening of 13 June 2004. On 14 June 2004, she again was taken under tow, and she arrived in New Orleans, Louisiana, on 19 June 2004. From there she was towed up the Mississippi River and the Arkansas River to her permanent berth in North Little Rock.

After a stopover for the dedication of the Montgomery Point Lock and Dam on 16 July, her transit was delayed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers over safety concerns. At the time of transit, she was drafting at her bow and at nearly at her stern, while some portions of the Arkansas River were less than deep. A pair of barges were used as pontoons to lift the submarine a few feet to clear the river bottom while remaining low enough to pass under the bridges along her route, just as the submarine had 32 years earlier.

On 29 August 2004, Razorback reached her berth in North Little Rock, at the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum. She officially opened to the public on 15 May 2005.

Razorback was also the meeting place the Quapaw Area Council Sea Scout ship number 394. Sea Scout Ship 394, as part of the Venturing program, had a particular emphasis on water-based activities. The Sea Scout Ship dissolved after only a few years of being chartered.

Razorback is the subject of a full-length documentary film, "Greyhound of the Sea: USS Razorback," slated for release in 2016. The film is a joint effort between the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Mass Communication.

Razorback shares her shoreline with memorials to the submarines and .

Visitors to the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum can tour the submarine most Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

The USS Razorback is featured in the fictional book SSN Seadragon The Crucible of Leviathan by J.P. Ronald.

Razorback already converted to GUPPY IIA reconnoiters the beaches off Inchon, and lands a covert CIA/Underwater Demolition Team operative to collect vital intelligence in the weeks leading up to the famous Inchon landings of 1950.

Awards

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| colspan="4"|China Service Medal

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|American Campaign Medal

|Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal with five battle stars

|World War II Victory Medal

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|Navy Occupation Service Medal

|National Defense Service Medal with one star

|Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with six stars

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|Vietnam Service Medal

|Gallantry Cross (Vietnam)

|Vietnam Campaign Medal

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Notes

References

  • Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum (AIMM)