Photo: Chang W. Lee/The New York Times
Maritime enthusiasts are attempting to raise money to save the USS Ling, a War War II vintage Balao-class submarine, from a likely date with the scrap yard. They hope to move the submarine from where it is currently stuck in the mud in the Hackensack River to the Ohio River as part of a World War II-focused Louisville Naval Museum.
For several years, things have not been going well for USS Ling. The submarine has been tied up along the Hackensack River since 1972. For over three decades it was operated as a museum ship and was the centerpiece of the New Jersey Naval Museum. The museum operated from a riverfront site which they leased from the newspaper, The Record, later part of the North Jersey Media Group, for a nominal $1 per year. That ended in January 2007, when the owner of the site, informed the museum that the site was going to be sold for redevelopment within the year and that the museum and submarine would need to be relocated.
When Hurricane Sandy hit the northeast in 2012, it destroyed the dock and gangway that provided access to the submarine, causing the museum to shut down. The redevelopment of the property continued however in 2018.
Also in 2018, vandals broke into the sub, stealing plaques and opening values causing the submarine to flood. The extent of the damage has never been fully assessed.
So now the USS Ling is inaccessible from shore and sitting in the river mud. That mud may prove to be one of the biggest challenges to moving the beleaguered 312-foot-long submarine. The Hackensack River has silted significantly in the 47 years that the Ling has been tied up along the river bank. Once dredged for barge traffic, it is now deep enough only for shallow draft small craft.
The submarine is also directly upstream from the Court Street Bridge, a swing bridge built in 1908, which may present its own issues. It is also not clear what the condition of the submarine’s hull may be and what repairs may still be needed if the craft is successfully extracted from the river’s mud.
The mission to save the old submarine is reportedly being headed up by two veterans, Mark Gatton and Lewis Palmer. The Air Force Times reports: The Navy still owns the submarine but is not contributing to its restoration. However, Gatton said several sailors from a naval base in Connecticut have volunteered their time. Since their initial visit, it has been pumped dry, patched and pressure washed.
It’s a start, but they still have a long way to go. Gatton dreams that one day the submarine will anchor a museum that is like a step back in time to the 1940s, with tour guides dressed in period clothing, and cars and buildings that look like they’re from the WWII era.
But first, the old submarine needs to be dragged out of the river mud.
To learn more, go to the Save the USS Ling Facebook page or the Lousiville Naval Museum web site.
I am surprised they cant seal the sub and pressurise it to blow the water out. I mean it is a submarine right?
The channel was dredged to 11 feet in 1971, (navigation by local knowledge), tells me it probably wasn’t even that deep. (NOAA 12337).
How they are going to get that down the river without dredging, I don’t know.
I wonder too if the swing bridge has been welded shut.
It must have been a bit of a chore to even have gotten that thing so far up that skinny part of the river, the last few turns and the bridge are very tight for a 300 foot vessel under tow.
What is the draft of a Balao class sub???
Progress, getting rid of the water was an issue..it’s no longer an issue..
In WWII, Manitowoc Shipbuilding built the same Balao class submarines..
These vessels were brought down the Mississippi river utilizing floating dry-docks
Get the local fire brigade to set up high pressure hoses and wash the mud away on a falling tide (if the river is tidal). Call it a training exercise.
According to a google search.
The Balao (SS-285) class was a welded, riveted, and high-tensile steel submarine — 311.8 feet long overall, with a 27.3-foot extreme beam, a height of 47.2 feet, and a 15.3-foot draft at surface trim. They displaced 1,525 tons standard surfaced and 2,424 tons submerged.
15′ 4″ draft wont help with a 11′ river depth
It is probably incorrect that the Navy still owns the submarine. If decommissioned and given to a museum, they do, however, still have a contractual say in how a museum disposes of their former vessel. The basis of this rule is to ensure that a museum does not allow a vessel to fall into the hands of an enemy foreign power for re-use. The museum is also not allowed to re-power and operate the vessel. It must be treated as a historical artifact. So, the Navy will need to approve the transfer to another museum. Sadly, the Navy does not provide any funding to its museum ships.
I am sure that you are right. There have been several references to “Navy ownership” in the press. They no doubt are references to the limited control the Navy has over the use and disposition of the sub.