Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company built 28 of the best built submarines in the U.S. Navy. However, the sub floating in the Manitowoc River for the last 54 years was not built here.
So, why is USS Cobia here and not a Manitowoc-built submarine?
After World War II, the U.S. had a surplus of boats in its “mothball” or reserve fleet. These vessels were sold to other countries, used as training vessels or scrapped.
In 1956, a law was passed authorizing the secretary of the Navy to donate ships to states, cities and nonprofit organizations for memorial purposes.
That same year, local submarine veterans, many of whom had returned to Manitowoc after serving on Manitowoc boats, formed the Manitowoc Chapter of U.S. Submarine Veterans of WWII.
In between reminiscences of wartime stories was talk about bringing a submarine back to Manitowoc.
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By 1967, the group realized there weren’t many Manitowoc boats left. Only six remained, and they were scheduled to be scrapped in the next few years.
So, in 1968 the Manitowoc Submariners Memorial Association was formed with the goal of bringing a sub back to Manitowoc.
To apply for a ship donation, the group had to secure a temporary and safe berth and show continued funding for maintenance and a permanent berth.
By this time, they had three options: USS Rasher in California (too far away), USS Cobia in Milwaukee (not built in Manitowoc) or USS Redfin in Baltimore.
Rasher and Redfin were scheduled to be disposed of in 1971, so the group set out to raise the funds necessary to bring Redfin home while also working to establish a new maritime museum to accompany the submarine.
They held a membership drive and sold custom-made Jim Beam “Operation Redfin” decanters to raise the money.
Unfortunately, the Navy decided to move up its deadline and scrap Redfin in 1970, cutting a year off the timeline to raise enough funds to acquire the sub.
It was nearly impossible to raise $200,000 in just a few months.
In addition to the lack of funds, Redfin was also leaking and would need to be dry docked for repairs before it could be towed here. This meant it would cost nearly $250,000 to repair and tow Redfin to Manitowoc.
Undeterred, the sub vets decided to take a closer look at USS Cobia. Cobia had served as a training vessel in Milwaukee since 1959 and would only require towing costs to acquire.
Scheduled to be stricken from the Naval register in June 1969, Cobia was still in excellent condition and had very few alterations after the war — unlike Redfin, which looked nothing like its WWII configuration.
Since the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company initially used blueprints from the Electric Boat Company in Connecticut, where Cobia was built, the sub was identical to the Gato-class boats built in Manitowoc.
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The choice was simple: $250,000 for Redfin or $20,000 for Cobia.
USS Cobia arrived in Manitowoc on Aug. 17, 1970, and was transferred to the Manitowoc Submariners Memorial Association during a dedication ceremony on Aug. 23.
Today, Cobia is a National Historic Landmark and an International Submariners Memorial, and is considered to be the most completely restored WWII submarine on display. All thanks to a small group of dedicated veterans and their determination to keep Cobia and a worthy memorial to the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company and all submariners.
In September 2025, USS Cobia is scheduled to be dry docked for routine underwater hull inspections and cleaning. For more information or to donate to the project, visit wisconsinmaritime.org .
Karen Duvalle is submarine curator at Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc.
This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Manitowoc is home to the most completely restored WWII submarine, the USS Cobia. Here's how it ended up in the city.
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