San Diego Maritime Museum - Oceanside Annex (updated October 2006)
Original Concept (September 2005)
Welcome to the Oceanside WW II Submarine Maritime Museum web site. Not only is this web site. under construction, so is the museum. More precisely, a submarine museum in Oceanside, CA should be under construction.
Today, there are 15 WW II Gato/Balao/Tench class submarines, many upgraded to GUPPY class, on display in the US. Noticeably missing from the list of current submarine exhibits is any boat in Southern California.
Since San Diego is one of the premier Navy locations on the west coast, it's appropriate that there be an exhibit in or near San Diego associated with the San Diego Maritime Museum.
I believe that a WW II era submarine has the most historical significance. In addition, obtaining and preparing a nuclear submarine for display would undoubtedly carry with it many times the expense; however, if funding is available ... Anyway, I've confined my campaign here for a diesel-electric WW II boat up to the nuclear age. There are only 7 remaining BALAO and 9 TENCH class documented examples that aren't already museum pieces or scrapped. All have been sold or given to foreign countries which obviously complicates any attempts to recover them for display.
List of possibly surviving examples
In addition to these foreign boats, I do remember a few years ago seeing a WW II submarine located in the Sacramento River in Stockton, CA. Also, although I've searched, I have been unable to determine whether there are any submarines still surviving in the mothball, "ghost fleet," located in Suisun Bay in Northern California. Perhaps there is a misplaced boat somewhere that has somehow fallen off the list of surviving boats.
My Vision
I'd like to place one of these boats on DRY display. All of these boats have been in a harsh, ocean environment for some 60 years. All have sturdy pressure hulls but fragile exterior hulls. Displaying a submarine in its original ocean environment requires continuous maintenance and expense. In short, an indoor environment, secure from the sea and weather will insure that these boats are saved for many generations to appreciate without the prohibitively high ongoing expense.
Artist renderings of the proposed exhibit
Land in and around the San Diego Maritime Museum is obviously at a premium.
Constructing an appropriate venue would be prohibitively expensive. I live in
Oceanside and, while the city is associated with the Marines rather than Navy,
we do have a rich military history. A display such as this is certainly appropriate
for the area. There is mixed-use commercial land available along highway 76
near the Oceanside airport which can accommodate the display. The city of Oceanside
will benefit with the publicity and tourist potentials. In addition to providing
a venue to display the boat, the mezzanine display area can be rented out for
dances, parties, reunions, etc. The San Diego Maritime Museum will benefit from
a satellite location which will draw people in and inform them of the other
displays available in San Diego. By having a separate location, the museum also
increases its merchandising outlets whose profits can be used to fund ongoing
museum activities.
What can you do?
1) First we need to locate a boat. Since the known boats are all in foreign hands and possibly in the US Reserve Fleet, anyone with diplomatic, governmental or other official channels can help in the search.
2) Once we've located an appropriate boat, there still needs to be desire. Is there any interest by the museum, US government, City government to create such a display?
3) Are there possible locations that are in the federal, state, county, or local inventories that can be used to house the exhibit?
4) Assuming that there's a boat, desire, and location for an exhibit, we can begin looking for funds to finance the transportation and setup of the boat.
Let's work together now to locate a candidate boat and see if it's possible to obtain it. I look forward to working with anyone who can help me make this exhibit more than artist renderings.
Update (October 2006)
Since This page was originally published, I've contacted local and federal agencies and, sadly, the chances of locating and securing a WWII era submarine border on impossible. Not only have most if not all been scrapped or sunk. Time has been the enemy and seems to have won. One shining example of success is the SS Razorback which returned home from Turkey for permanent display in Little Rock, Arkansas: <click here for more info> Another boat has surfaced (bad pun intended). The SS Trout, a post-WWII, Tang class submarine is available for the taking, but there are numerous issues (environmental, financial, space, etc) which stand in the way. Hopefully, all of the obstacles can be overcome before the Navy tires of having her tied up at the dock in Philadelphia and sends her to the scrap heap: <click here for more info>
Never one to completely give up on my bizarre fascination with submarines, I've been researching what's been going on with diesel-electric boats since WWII. While the US has moved exclusively to nuclear power, the rest of the world has not totally followed. Obtaining an atomic sub and preparing it for display is a task requiring the resources of a government and far beyond anything I'd EVER entertain. A diesel boat on the other hand .... Just for grins, I've compiled information about late-model diesel-electric boats just in case I should ever find myself with a few million dollars burning a hole in my pocket: <click here for more info>
Clif Caulfield
481 N Cleveland St
Oceanside, CA 92054
760-433-7580
clifandlori@cox.net