We recently took our grandsons, Jack and Thomas, to tour the USS Albacore Submarine in Portsmouth.
Built at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in the early 1950's, Albacore was the first Navy-designed vessel with a teardrop shaped hull built specifically to operate under water. It was the prototype for the Navy's nuclear powered submarine force.
Albacore was placed in commission in December of 1953 and decommissioned in September of 1972. In 1984 she was towed from Philadelphia and returned to Portsmouth.
She has been at her current location, Albacore Park in Portsmouth, since 1985.
The USS Albacore, once a research submarine, now preserved as a museum, offers self-guided tours to the public.
You walk through at your own pace.
There are red buttons positioned throughout that trigger audio recordings. The recordings are very interesting, offering personalized stories from actual past crew members and information regarding different features of the sub.
Jack and Thomas LOVED their tour of the USS Albacore!
It's a pretty cool experience walking through a submarine, but very hard to imagine a crew of 55 living and working inside such a confined space.
I highly recommend taking a visit to the USS Albacore.
Thumbs up from Jack and Thomas!
HOURS:
Open year round, Daily 9:30 - 4:00
Memorial Day to Columbus Day 9:30 - 5:00
January and February only open on weekends
ADMISSION:
Adults $7.00
Retired Military (20 years) $4.00
Children 7 - 17 $3.00
Children under 7 and Active Duty Military are FREE
Located at 600 Market Street, Portsmouth NH
"In 1989, Albacore was designated a National Historic Landmark due to her contributions to submarine design.
In 2000, she was further honored with the designation of being a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark for her many unique systems and a Historic Welded Structure for her hull.
In May of 2005, Albacore was inducted into the Submarine Hall of Fame in Norfolk, Virginia for her contributions to submarine engineering and tactics."
For more information on hours, pricing, family rates and group rates,
call 603.436.3680 or visit their website.
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