Building Oregon

USS Blueback SS-581 (Portland, Oregon)

USS Blueback SS-581 (Portland, Oregon)
Title
USS Blueback SS-581 (Portland, Oregon)
LC Subject
Submarines (Ships)
Creator
United States. Navy Ingalls Shipbuilding
Creator Display
United States Navy (builder/contractor) Ingalls Ship Building (builder/contractor)
Description
National Register of Historic Places (Listed, 2009) Commissioned in 1959, the USS Blueback (SS-581) is nationally significant for its engineering as the last surviving example of a Barbel Class submarine. Only consisting of three ships, the Barbell class combined proven WWII-era diesel-electric motor technology with a revolutionary tear-drop hull shape, high-strength steel, and other improvements that were incorporated into later submarine designs. The technological advance was driven by the transition in submarine warfare from the older Fleet Boat system to the modern nuclear-powered vessels of the Cold War. However, the Blueback and her sister ships were a transitional design. After independently studying nuclear power in the Nautilus test ship and the tear-drop hull shape with the Albacore test submarine and the active-duty Barbell Class, these technologies were later combined to create the modern nuclear submarines used by the U.S. Navy from the Cold War to the present. As the last diesel-electric submarine to join the US Navy and the last to be decommissioned, the Blueback represents an important transition in maritime technology and navel warfare. Source: Oregon State Historic Preservation Office. The USS Blueback was acquired by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, Portland, Oregon, in February 1994. This submarine appeared in the 1990 film The Hunt for Red October before being towed to its present location, a pier right outside the museum. It was opened to the public on May 15, 1994.
View
exterior: Port and aft views, looking southwest
Provenance
University of Oregon Libraries
Temporal
1950-1959
Work Type
memorials (structures) monuments museums (buildings) history museums (buildings) military museums (buildings) naval museums (buildings) vehicles (transportation) watercraft submarines
Latitude
45.5105941
Longitude
-122.6686981
Location
Portland >> Multnomah County >> Oregon >> United States Multnomah County >> Oregon >> United States Oregon >> United States United States Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (United States >> Oregon)
Street Address
1495 Water Avenue, located on the east bank of the Willamette
Date
1959
Identifier
OR_Multnomah_USSBlueback_0001.jpg
Rights
In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
Rights Holder
Oregon State Historic Preservation Office
Source
Oregon State Historic Preservation Office, http://www.oregon.gov/OPRD/HCD/SHPO/
Type
Image
Format
image/jpeg
Set
Building Oregon
Primary Set
Building Oregon
Is Part Of
Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (Portland, Oregon)
Institution
University of Oregon
Citation
USS Blueback, National Register of Historic Places Nomination National Register of Historic Places, http://www.nps.gov/nr
Note
This image was included in the documentation to support a nomination to the National Register of Historic Places, a program of the National Park Service. The image is provided here by the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office and the University of Oregon Libraries to facilitate scholarship, research, and teaching. For other uses, such as publication, contact the State Historic Preservation Office. Please credit the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office when using this image.