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The USS Cavalla is berthed in
Seawolf Park, Galveston, Texas as a memorial to the lost submarine
USS Seawolf. Cavalla was a Gato class fleet sub, designed and built in
the summer of 1943 by the Electric Boat Company and launched on November
14, 1943. She was commissioned on Feb. 29, 1944, the first "leap year"
boat built by E.B. On June 19, 1944, on her maiden patrol,
she sank the 30,000 ton aircraft carrier Shokaku (veteran of
Pearl Harbor and Battle of Coral Sea). This earned her the Presidential
Unit Citation.
After the war, the Cavalla was
decommissioned in 1946. She was brought
back to service in 1951 and assigned to the Submarine Squadron 10 in New
London, Conn. To meet the Soviet threat, she underwent conversion in
1952 to a new class of American sub--the SSK (hunter/killer).
On January 21, 1971, the U.S. Navy
transferred possession of Cavalla to the Texas Submarine Veterans of
WWII. The Cavalla was then delivered to her permanent berth in
Seawolf Park, Galveston, Texas.
Gulf coast locals usually refer to
the Cavalla as the "Seawolf", mistaking the name of the
memorial park for that of the submarine on exhibit there. Next to
her is the
USS Stewart DE-238.
Cavalla is currently enjoying a
renaissance;
volunteer efforts are at a ten year high, the
local press has covered her history and renovation, and efforts are
underway to bring her back to the proud state her
crews maintained.
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Seawolf Park
