Blueback offers glimpse of submarine history
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
USS Blueback sits on the Portland waterfront, next to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. (Photo by Elaine Helm Norton)
Just a short drive from the Puget Sound area, a piece of U.S. submarine history sits on the Portland waterfront. USS Blueback, the Navy's last non-nuclear fast attack submarine, is on exhibit at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.
Visitors ages 3 and up can tour the boat for $5.75. The regular guided tour lasts about 45 minutes and includes information about how crews worked and lived on a sub less than 2/3 the length of a Los Angeles-class fast attack.
Special technical tours are offered the second Sunday each month starting at 10 a.m. The next available date is Dec. 12. Two-hour tech tours are led by submarine veterans and cover in more detail how the Blueback worked. Tickets are $15 and available for ages 12 and up.
For more details about tours visit the OMSI Web site. School groups can also make arrangements to camp-in on the Blueback, which recently marked its 50th anniversary.