Museum

Poseidon Missile

Poseidon C-3 Missile

The only one of its kind to be on public display, a Poseidon C-3 missile with all of its electronics, hydraulics and propulsion elements still intact, is on display for visitors to examine at USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park.

This massive cutaway mock-up weighs 12,000 pounds, is 34 feet long and is 74 inches in diameter. The C-3 strategic missile was capable of being launched from a submerged Fleet Ballistic Missile submarine. The first submarine to carry and launch a C-3 missile was USS James Madison (SSBN-627) in August of 1970. The missile was donated to the Museum by the U.S. Navy through Lockheed Missile and Space Company, which manufactured the C-3 missiles for the Navy.

The C-3 Poseidon was designed to be the new-and-improved, more powerful successor to the A-3 Polaris Missile, which is also on display at USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park. The C-3 was larger and more than twice the weight of the A-3. Outfitted with multiple independently-targetable re-entry vehicle (MIRV) warheads, the C-3 was twice as accurate and had twice the explosive power of the A-3. Considering these factors, experts believe it to be eight times as deadly as the A-3.

The Poseidon missile program, with an estimated production cost of $2 billion, was announced by President Lyndon B. Johnson on January 18, 1965. Despite the new missile’s connection to the Polaris missiles, Johnson chose to give it the new name "Poseidon," named after the Greek mythological god of the sea.

Secrets of the Sub

Hawaii Themed Submarines

USS Kamehameha (SSBN-642) was launched on 16 January 1965 and commissioned on 10 December 1965. This submarine holds the name for King Kamehameha the Great. It is fitting that one of our submarines bear the name of this striking figure in Hawaiian history. His people were intrepid seafarers and knowledge of stars, winds and currents still arouse wonder and admiration. For much of USS Kamehameha's service, she was based in Rota, Spain conducting deterrence patrols during the Cold War. Commissioning gifts to the submarine are on display at the museum.

USS Honolulu

USS Honolulu (SSN-718), a Los Angeles-class submarine, was the third ship of the United States to be named for Honolulu, Hawaii. She was launched on 24 September 1983 and commissioned on 6 July 1985. Honolulu’s patrols are commemorated by ten surfboards signed by the crews aboard her at the time. One of the four surfboards held at Bowfin Park is on display in the museum.

USS Hawaii

The USS Hawaii (SSN 776) is the first commissioned vessel of its name. Launched June 17, 2006 and Commissioned May 5, 2007 she is fortunate to be homeported in her namesake state. The submarine was named to recognize the tremendous support the Navy has enjoyed from the people and state of Hawaii, and in honor of the rich heritage of submarines in the Pacific.

Hawaii is the third of the Virginia Class submarines. The Virginia-class of attack submarines surpasses the performance of any current projected threat submarine, ensuring U.S. undersea dominance well into the next century.

Bowfin Museum collections include models of all three submarines.