Battleship Cove Battleship Cove , located in Fall River , Massachusetts , is a nonprofit maritime museum and war memorial that traces its origins to the wartime crew of the World War II battleship . This dedicated veterans group was responsible for the donation of the decommissioned vessel from the Navy and its subsequent public display in Fall River , Massachusetts . Formally registered as the U . S . S . " Massachusetts " Memorial Committee , Inc . , Battleship Cove was incorporated as a nonprofit educational organization and granted § 501 ( c ) ( 3 ) status by the Internal Revenue Service in 1964 . The site is located at the confluence of the Taunton River and Mount Hope Bay , an arm of Narragansett Bay . Battleship Cove lies partially beneath the Braga Bridge and adjacent to Fall River Heritage State Park , at the heart of Fall River ' s waterfront . The battleship forms a small cove which serves as a protected harbor for pleasure craft during the summer months . The Fall River Yacht Club maintains a dock nearby . The site also contains the historic 1920 Lincoln Park Carousel , originally located at Lincoln Park in nearby North Dartmouth , Massachusetts , restored by local vocational high school students and installed in a new pavilion in the early 1990s . History . In its first year open to the public , more than 250 , 000 visitors explored the historic vessel , USS " Massachusetts " . Soon after , the battleship was recognized as the official memorial to Massachusetts citizens who gave their lives in World War II ( and later , the Persian Gulf War ) , and her interior spaces were reconfigured to accommodate exhibits . Expansion . In 1972 , the , a Second World War - era attack submarine , joined the battleship for public display . Also that year , the Nautical Nights overnight camping program commenced as a model program , enrolling more than 500 , 000 youths to date . The following year , the , a Gearing - class destroyer , was added to the fleet and immediately designated as the Commonwealth ’ s official memorial to the Korean and Vietnam Wars . Soon after , the Mayor of Fall River christened this important site “ Battleship Cove ” . In 1975 Tin Can Sailors , Inc . , a national organization of 24 , 000 destroyer veterans , was founded at Battleship Cove . The year 1984 included the addition of a T - 28 Trojan . This aircraft served as a US trainer , and also served in the VNAF South Vietnam Air Force , reflecting immigrants in the Commonwealth who had served in the Vietnamese armed forces . A new gift shop helped fuel the organization ’ s growth . In 1985 , the Commonwealth awarded a $ 2 . 5 million grant for the preservation of the " Kennedy " , and in that same year the National Park Service designated the " Massachusetts " , the " Lionfish " , and " PT - 796 " as National Historic Landmarks . Subsequently , both the " Kennedy " and " PT - 617 " received NHL status , giving Battleship Cove the highest concentration of such south of Boston . Presently comprising eight vessels , the Battleship Cove fleet is the largest and most diverse collection of historic naval ships in the world . In the 1990s the organization continued to improve with over sixty new exhibitions related to the historic ships and veterans . The success of the overnight program , high visitation from school groups , and general admissions supported an expanded staff and improved ship maintenance efforts . On June 14 , 1997 , the Cove acquired a Cold War relic : the Soviet - built missile corvette . Three years later , the Commonwealth awarded the " Massachusetts " and the " Lionfish " a $ 10 million grant for significant , dry - dock restoration work . Since 1964 , Battleship Cove has hosted more than 5 million youth , veterans , and tourists . As goals for continued success as an educational , historical museum , the Cove is dedicated to expanding and sustaining its outreach with programs like the Battleship Cove Community Boating Program , the Raytheon Inspiring Technological Exploration ( RITE ) Program , and the Veterans ’ Voices Oral History Program . USS " Massachusetts " . The largest ship in the Battleship Cove fleet , USS " Massachusetts " ( BB - 59 ) is the centerpiece of the collection . Known as " Big Mamie " to her crewmembers during World War II , a battleship of the second , was the seventh ship of the United States Navy to be named in honor of the sixth state . Her keel was laid down 20 July 1939 at the Fore River Shipyard of Quincy , Massachusetts . She was launched on 23 September 1941 sponsored by Mrs . Charles Francis Adams III , and commissioned on 12 May 1942 at Boston , Massachusetts , with Captain Francis E . M . Whiting in command . " Massachusetts " received eleven battle stars for World War II service and earned a reputation as a " Work Horse of the Fleet " . During World War II , no United States Navy personnel were killed in action while aboard the " Massachusetts " . It is said that " Big Mamie " fired both the first US Navy 16 inch shells of World War II ( at the Vichy French battleship Jean Bart in the Naval Battle of Casablanca during Operation Torch ) ; and the last ( at a Japanese steel works at Hamamatsu ) , hours before the war ended . The USS " Massachusetts " is one of only eight United States battleships remaining , of the many that were produced in the first half of the 20th century . USS " Joseph P . Kennedy , Jr . " . USS " Joseph P . Kennedy , Jr . " ( DD - 850 ) is a of the United States Navy . The ship was named after Joseph P . Kennedy , Jr . , a naval aviator , son of the former Ambassador to Britain , Joseph P . Kennedy , Sr . , and older brother of future President John F . Kennedy . " Joseph P . Kennedy , Jr . " is presently on display as a museum ship in Fall River , Massachusetts . Among the highlights of its service are the blockade of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis and the afloat recovery teams for Gemini 6 and Gemini 7 . It is now a floating museum in Battleship Cove , Fall River , Massachusetts . In the spring of 2000 , " Kennedy " was brought to Rhode Island Sound for the movie " Thirteen Days " , portraying both herself and the . USS " Lionfish " . USS " Lionfish " ( SS - 298 ) , a , was the only ship of the United States Navy named for the lionfish , a scorpaenoid fish found in the West Indies and the tropical Pacific . After completing her shakedown cruise off New England , she began her first war patrol in Japanese waters on 1 April 1945 . Ten days later , she dodged two torpedoes fired by a Japanese submarine and on 1 May destroyed a Japanese schooner with her deck guns . After a rendezvous with the submarine , she transported B - 29 survivors to Saipan and then made her way to Midway Island for replenishment . On 2 June she started her second war patrol , and on 10 July fired torpedoes at a surfaced Japanese submarine , after which " Lionfish " s crew heard explosions and observed smoke through their periscope . She subsequently fired on two more Japanese submarines and ended her second and last war patrol performing lifeguard duty ( the rescue of downed fliers ) off the coast of Japan . When hostilities ended on 15 August she headed for San Francisco and was decommissioned at Mare Island Navy Yard on 16 January 1946 . " Lionfish " was recommissioned on 31 January 1951 , and headed for the East Coast for training cruises . After participating in NATO exercises and a Mediterranean cruise , she returned to the East Coast and was decommissioned at the Boston Navy Yard on 15 December 1953 . In 1960 , the venerable submarine was called to duty again , this time serving as a reserve training submarine at Providence , Rhode Island . In 1971 , she was stricken from the Navy Register , and in 1973 , she was unveiled for permanent display as a memorial at Battleship Cove , where she has evolved into one of the museum ’ s most popular exhibits and a revered monument to all submariners . " Hiddensee " . Originally commissioned by the East German Navy as the " Rudolf Egelhofer " , the " Hiddensee " is a built at the Petrovsky Shipyard in 1984 , located near the former Soviet ( now Russian ) city of Saint Petersburg ( formerly Leningrad ) . An example of a Soviet - built missile corvette , " Hiddensee " was designed to oppose any naval threat to the East German Coast , and to fulfill this mission carried long - range STYX anti - ship missiles and an array of defensive weapons designed to ensure her own survival . Following the reunification of Germany , the " Hiddensee " served with the Federal German Navy until her decommissioning in April 1991 . Shortly thereafter she was reactivated and transferred to the U . S . Navy . Joined briefly by a crew of 20 former East German sailors , a small civilian U . S . crew conducted extensive testing with the vessel at the Navy ' s Solomons , Maryland , facility in the Patuxent River . After 50 underway deployments in the Chesapeake Bay and Virginia Capes areas , Navy budget cutback severely curtailed operations , but she continued on as a research vessel until April 1996 . The " Hiddensee " joined the Battleship Cove fleet in Fall River on June 14 , 1997 . She is moored on the port side of the . PT Boats . The year 1975 marked the arrival of PT boat " PT - 796 " , joined in 1984 by " PT - 617 " , forming the only pair of restored PT boats on display in the world . " PT - 617 " is the only remaining Elco PT boat on display similar to that of John F . Kennedy ' s " PT - 109 " . USS " Fall River " . USS " Fall River " ( CA - 131 ) was a heavy cruiser launched 13 August 1944 by New York Shipbuilding Corp . , Camden , N . J . ; sponsored by Mrs . Alexander C . Murray , wife of the mayor of Fall River ; and commissioned 1 July 1945 , Captain D . S . Crawford in command . On 31 October 1945 , " Fall River " arrived at Norfolk , out of which she sailed in experimental development operations until 31 January 1946 . The cruiser was assigned to JTF 1 , organized to conduct Operation Crossroads , atomic weapons tests in the Marshall Islands in the summer of 1946 . To prepare for this duty , " Fall River " sailed to San Pedro , Calif . , where from 16 February to 6 March she was altered to provide flagship accommodations . Arriving at Pearl Harbor 17 March , she embarked Rear Admiral F . G . Fahrion , commander of the target vessel ' s group for the tests , and with him sailed in the Marshalls between 21 May and 14 September . After west coast training , " Fall River " served a tour of duty in the Far East as flagship of Cruiser Division 1 from 12 January 1947 to 17 June 1947 . She returned to Puget Sound Navy Yard , where she was placed out of commission in reserve 31 October 1947 . The tip of her bow is now on display at Battleship Cove .