page_title: USS Batfish (SS-310)
section_title: Towing and permanent placement
hierarchical_section_title: USS Batfish (SS-310) / Museum ship / Towing and permanent placement
caption_attribution_description: English: A photo of the torpedo room of the USS Batfish (SS-310) submarine
context_page_description: USS Batfish, is a Balao-class submarine, known primarily for the remarkable feat of sinking three Imperial Japanese Navy submarines in a 76-hour period, in February 1945. USS Batfish is the first vessel of the United States Navy to be named for the batfish, a fish found off the coast of Peru, at depths ranging from 3 to 76 metres.
context_section_description: On 9 December 1971, ownership of the boat was transferred to the Oklahoma Maritime Advisory Board. The towing was divided into two phases. Phase one was a direct offshore tow from Orange to the Avondale Shipyard in New Orleans. At the shipyard, Batfish would be raised on steel lifting straps and cradled between two pairs of bare-decked barges, so the submarine's draft would be high enough to make phase two of the tow, 1,350-mile (2,170 km) upriver, possible. Strike action at the Orange drydock caused the submarine to instead be towed to the Bethlehem Steel drydock in Beaumont, Texas. After a general inspection and clearing of fuel and ballast tanks, Batfish was sealed up and was ready to tow to Avondale on 1 March 1972. At Avondale, it was found that the four barges were insufficient to reduce the submarine's draft, and a new plan for six 120-by-32-foot (36.6 by 9.8 m) barges, ballasted to the outside and linked together by steel cables. On 13 March, Batfish was partially secured to the barges by lifting straps, but no cables had been placed to bind them together. That afternoon, the English tanker Silverman passed through a nearby 5-knot (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) zone at 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph): the resulting wake sank one barge and seriously damaged several others, although Batfish herself escaped major harm.
  The flotilla of barges was re-assembled, and Batfish was slowly moved up-river by two tugs at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph). On 3 May 1972 she passed with ease through Lock-and-Dam Number 6, but her superstructure had trouble clearing a bridge on the way into Little Rock, Arkansas, and was only able to pass under when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lowered the river level by 3 feet (0.91 m). One tug returned downriver, and the second tug continued the tow towards Fort Smith. Batfish arrived at the Will Brothers Port of Muskogee Terminal on 7 May 1972: this was her temporary home until a 120-foot (37 m) wide, ¹⁄₄-mile (0.40 km) trench could be dug to the boat's permanent berthing site. On 4 July 1972, while still at Muskogee Terminal, Batfish was unofficially opened to the public. Heavy spring rains flooded the Arkansas River on 12 March 1973, which caused Batfish to strain at her moorings, with fears that she would rip loose and damage the surrounding docks or collide with the new U.S. Route 62 bridge downriver and block the channel. Although the submarine remained moored, the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Commission wanted to return the submarine to the Navy. However, the Navy expected Oklahoma to honor its contract. 
  On 4 April 1973, the trench to the new slipway was completed, and Batfish was maneuvered into position by cables attached to four bulldozers, plus a Port of Muskogee tugboat. Over the next week, further flooding of the slip was used to bring the submarine to her final resting elevation, and by 1 May, she had been realigned to overlook the Arkansas River at what is now Muskogee War Memorial Park: Home of the USS Batfish. Batfish was officially opened on the Memorial Day weekend; by the end of August 1973, the submarine was attracting a thousand visitors a week, with income from paid attendance doubling over the boat's first seven weeks on display. The submarine had been restored well, with the exception of the conning tower, and she is open to the public year round.
  The submarine suffered $150,000 in damage during the May 2019 floods. While the park and grounds are open for visitors, the submarine remains closed due to the flood damage while funds are raised for repairs.  
  On November 19th, 2019 World of Warships publisher Wargaming announced that they would be holding a fundraiser for the submarine.  Beginning that day players could contribute to the game's "Save the Batfish" campaign.  For $10 players would receive in-game items including a patch that was similar to the one worn by sailors on the boat during their service.  100% of the campaign's proceeds went towards the "Save the Batfish" fund.
caption: Torpedo room
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