Submarine Lionfish at Battleship Cove.

During World War II, submarine service accounted for 1.6% of the Navy’s personnel, and for 55% of all enemy shipping destroyed. They accomplished these phenomenal results with a formidable allotment of weapons. USS Lionfish's weapons systems, which helped her to sink a Japanese schooner and submarine*, comprised the following:

One 5-inch deck gun
Ten 21” torpedo tubes
20MM and 40MM guns
four .50 caliber machine guns

*During her second war patrol, USS Lionfish engaged in a duel with a Japanese submarine and reported hearing "breaking up" noises after deploying a volley of torpedoes. The sinking has not yet been confirmed.

"It makes the submarine look infinitely more menacing."

-Strafford Morss

LIONFISH GETS HER GUN: After two tours in the Second World War, numerous Cold War exercises, and a stint in Providence as a training sub for the Navy Reserves, the USS Lionfish found her home at Battleship Cove. However, when the Lionfish resurfaced in 1972 for her final deployment as a floating museum, she reported for duty without the five-inch deck gun she would have carried as standard armament in World War II. Much to the consternation of the Battleship Cove community, the MK 40 had been mysteriously plucked from the deck of the Balao-class submarine. Thus began a twenty-nine-year search for its replacement.

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VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: Do you have free time? Would you like to make a difference in the community? We need volunteers like you for all sorts of restoration and community outreach projects. Click here for more details.

STARS & STRIPES: Join the elite ranks of the Stars & Stripes Commission! Battleship Cove's most prestigious level of annual membership, Stars & Stripes enlists an exclusive group of...Ctd.

Your photo here: Do you have a great photo of Lionfish's armament? Send it to us, and maybe we'll post it here!

Your photo here: Do you have a great photo of Lionfish's armament? Send it to us, and maybe we'll post it here!