Gone from the SuBase scene will be the fleet snorkel submarine with its shiny capstans, raised bow, and forecastle mounted deck-gun, just a few of the many distinctions gathered by this veteran of over 25 years of service to her country. Notwithstanding her late arrival to the war, she made three patrols and accounted for destroying 7,200 tons of enemy shipping, including two destroyers and one submarine. After the war, the Sea Owl was based in Panama for four years before joining Submarine Squadron Eight at the Groton SuBase where she's been homeported ever since.
Most boats have their sonar arrays near the keel in a chin mount that precludes their bottoming.
The Sea Owl gained a unique distinction in Feb. 1958, when the first buoyant ascents from a submarine was conducted off St. The occasion for the ship's last bottoming was in March 1969 off St. The Sea Owl is also the last submarine to be equipped with a deck gun. How the ship came to be so armed provides an interesting anecdote. Dan Bodnar,Chief of the Boat for the past six years, ordered a 45 caliber line-throwing gun through the Navy Supply System.