The WWII Submarine That Sank Japanese Ships Now Rests as a National Historic Landmark in Philadelphia

The USS Becuna

The USS Becuna began her life hunting Japanese ships in 1944. Now she spends her days teaching visitors about submarine warfare at Philadelphia’s waterfront.

Between those two chapters, she earned four battle stars and saved countless American lives.

Here’s here amazing story.

Birth of a Predator

The Becuna came to life on January 30, 1944, at Electric Boat in Connecticut. Named after a pike-like fish – a hunter, of course – she joined the fleet in May under Lt. Commander Henry Sturr’s command.

Her crew called her “Tiger of the Sea,” and at 308 feet long, this killing machine was built for one job: hunting Japanese ships in the vast Pacific.

She was a beast for her time. About 1,500 tons on the surface, almost 2,400 tons underwater.

Four big diesel engines charged batteries that powered her underwater, letting her hit 20 knots on top and 9 knots below. And man, was she armed.

War in the Pacific

After training in Hawaii, Becuna headed out in August 1944 for her first hunt. These were weeks-long death missions in enemy waters.

On her first trip out, her crew spotted Japanese ships and fired six torpedoes, claiming two tankers, though the paperwork later couldn’t back it up. Her second patrol took her to the South China Sea hunting bigger game.

In December, Becuna spotted two Japanese cruisers but couldn’t get a clean shot before they slipped away. Third time was the charm.

In February 1945, she nailed the Japanese tanker Nichiryu Maru off Vietnam. For her trouble, she got hammered with 70 depth charges before sneaking away.

If you’ve never been depth charged, picture being locked in a metal dumpster while someone beats it with a baseball bat. For hours.

By war’s end, Becuna had done five patrols and officially sank two Japanese tankers totaling 3,888 tons. She earned four battle stars for her trouble.

Life Underwater

What made submarines special wasn’t just their hunting skills but the guys who ran them.

Becuna packed 80 men into her hull: eight officers, five chiefs, and 67 regular sailors, all squeezed into a metal tube smaller than my apartment.

Space was so tight that torpedo guys slept right next to their weapons, ready to load and fire whenever. She had six torpedo tubes up front and four more in back.

These tubes were her teeth, firing 21-inch torpedoes that could split a ship wide open. Food was serious business underwater.

They ate four times daily: breakfast, lunch, dinner, and midnight snacks. Fresh food lasted maybe two or three weeks of a two-month patrol.

After that, nothing but cans.

Cold War Warrior

After the war, Becuna didn’t retire. She worked in the Pacific until 1949, then moved to the Atlantic, mostly training new submariners.

But then the Cold War heated up, and America needed better subs to face the Russians. In late 1950, Becuna got a nine-month makeover called the GUPPY program.

They gave her more batteries, a snorkel to run diesel engines while underwater, and a streamlined sail for better diving.

After her upgrade, she spied on the Soviets during the Cold War.

She’d trail Russian subs with listening gear, hanging around the Atlantic and Mediterranean during Korea and Vietnam.

The Last of Her Kind

What makes Becuna special today is she’s the only GUPPY 1-A submarine left anywhere. They finally retired her in 1969 after 25 years of service.

By 1973, the Navy struck her from their books. After a deal to sell her to Venezuela fell through, she became a museum ship in 1976.

Now, “Becky” sits at Penn’s Landing in Philly, where she’s been since ’76 when they opened her for America’s 200th birthday party. She’s part of the Independence Seaport Museum alongside the old Spanish-American War cruiser Olympia.

The Mighty Becuna Today

Becuna sits in the Delaware River’s fresh water, which helps preserve her because it’s less damaging than saltwater.

She’s a National Historic Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In 2001, she won the American Welding Society’s award for historic structures. When you walk her decks and squeeze through her hatches, you’re not just in a museum – you’re hanging with the ghosts of naval warfare.

The cramped spaces, the huge torpedo tubes, the complex controls – they all tell the story of guys who volunteered to fight in what was basically an underwater coffin with a 20% chance of staying there forever.

That’s Becuna’s legacy. Not just a warship, but a monument to human guts and smarts.

Step into the Only War Submarine That Will Let You

Visitors today get what the museum calls a “sub-mersive experience” – a tour where you climb down from the deck into the torpedo room and start your journey through naval history.

The tour shows you where guys slept (anywhere they could squeeze a bunk), where they showered (rarely, since that space was better for storing potatoes), and where they ate in the mess, which still has the original game boards on the tables.

You can check out the control room where officers gave orders that meant life or death.

The engine rooms show off the massive diesels that powered her through two wars. It’s tight, it’s stuffy, and it’s absolutely amazing.