One might expect to see many things when visiting Arkansas—farmland, fried food, even an ex-President—but a submarine might not make that list, especially considering that central Arkansas is more than 700 miles inland. Travel to the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum on the Arkansas River in North Little Rock, however, and that is exactly what’s awaiting you.
The museum’s centerpiece is the 311-foot-long USS Razorback (SS-394), Arkansas’ only historic naval vessel open to the public for tours. The Razorback was launched on 27 January 1944 with three other submarines during the largest single-day launch of subs in U.S. history. After her commissioning that April, the boat earned five battle stars for her service during World War 11 and was in Tokyo Bay at the Japanese surrender.
After her World War II service, the Razorback was modernized during Phase IIA of the Greater Underwater Propulsive Power (GUPPY) program. She spent the last years of her U.S. service on multiple deployments to the western Pacific, including off Vietnam.
The boat was decommissioned in 1970 and simultaneously transferred to Turkey, where she served as the TCG Muratreis until 2001. At her decommissioning from the Turkish Navy, she had the honor of being the longest-serving front-line combatant submarine in history.
Through the work of a group of submarine veterans and the city of North Little Rock, the Razorback returned to the United States in 2004 to become part of a new museum. After extensive conservation work, she opened for tours in the summer of 2005 with a small museum building operating on the riverbank and was an instant success.
The historic tugboat USS Hoga (YT-146), the last surviving vessel present in Pearl Harbor during the 7 December 1941 attack, will join Razorback this summer in North Little Rock. When Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor, the Hoga was under way within 10 minutes of the first strike. She and her crew assisted wherever they were needed while fighting intense fires and pulling stranded ships from danger. The Hoga helped push the sinking USS Nevada (BB-36) from the harbor entrance, preventing the entrapment of the entire fleet, and fought fires on the USS Arizona (BB-39) and other vessels for 72 continuous hours. The Hoga and her crew were commended by Admiral Chester Nimitz for distinguished service, efficient action, and disregard of personal safety.
In June 1948, the Navy loaned the tug to the city of Oakland, California, where she served as a fireboat. For her service to the United States, the Hoga received National Landmark status on 30 June 1989. In 1993, Oakland returned the tug to the Navy and in 1996 she was transferred to the Maritime Administration for storage.
In February 2002, the city of North Little Rock, along with the North Little Rock History Commission and a local group of submarine veterans started working to acquire the Hoga in competition with four other cities. On 25 March 2004 Mayor Patrick Hays signed the transfer papers for the USS Razorback/TCG Muratreis in Turkey and later that same day the Navy notified the mayor that North Little Rock was selected to receive the Hoga.
The Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum has rapidly expanded in just three years. In August 2006, all museum exhibits moved to the newly restored Army Corps of Engineers barge Savannah Lou. An additional expansion later that year gave the museum more than 2,000 square feet of exhibit space and a new research library. All museum facilities, with the exception of the Razorback, are fully handicap accessible. A complete still photo tour of the submarine is available for people unable or unwilling to climb the ladders necessary to enter and exit the boat.
During the summer months beginning 31 May, the museum is open Thursday through Monday from 1000 to 1800, except from 1300 to 1800 on Sundays. During the rest of the year tours are given on weekends only. Year round, groups can schedule tours during hours when the museum is not open to the public by calling museum staff at 501-371-8320. Admission is $6 for adults and $4 for, children under 12, senior citizens, as well as active duty and retired military personnel. The group rate for tours scheduled in advance is $4 per person. Additional information on the museum and its historic vessels, as well as lesson plans for teachers are available at the museum’s Web site at http://www.aimm. museum.