Property Record
809 S 8TH ST, 75 MARITIME DR
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | USS COBIA |
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| Other Name: | |
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| Reference Number: | 28634 |
| Location (Address): | 809 S 8TH ST, 75 MARITIME DR |
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| County: | Manitowoc |
| City: | Manitowoc |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
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| Year Built: | 1943 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1985 |
| Historic Use: | ship |
| Architectural Style: | NA (unknown or not a building) |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Metal |
| Architect: | ELECTRIC BOAT CO. |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | USS COBIA (submarine) |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 1/14/1986 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 1/1/1989 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office. SIMILAR TO SUBS BUILT IN MANITOWOC DURING WWII. THE SUB CARRIED A CREW OF 8 OFFICERS AND 72 ENLISTED MEN. IN 1970 THE COBIA WAS BROUGHT TO MANITOWOC AND ESTABLISHED AS A MEMORIAL TO SUBMARINERS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD AND TO THE PEOPLE WHO BUILT THE MANITOWOC SUBS. THE SUB WAS DESIGNATED AS A NHL IN 1986. Gato class submarine. At the height of World War II, the submarine USS Cobia sank thirteen Japanese ships and helped establish a Pacific blockade that hampered Japan’s oceanic commerce, keeping the Axis powers from acquiring supplies. Although the Cobia was built by the Electric Boat Company of Groton, Connecticut, not by the local Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company, the sub’s presence here reminds us that Manitowoc’s shipyards did build twenty-eight similar submarines that saw action against the Japanese. The Cobia survives unaltered. The 312-foot-long ship was one of the last thin-skinned, Gato-class submarines to be built. The navy designed these submarines to maintain speeds averaging seventeen knots and to reach a depth of three hundred feet. Soon after the Cobia was built, the navy switched from the Gato class to the new Balao submarines, capable of descending to greater depths. The Cobia’s weaponry included torpedoes, a deck gun, and two machine guns. Today the ship is maintained as part of a maritime museum and as a memorial to submariners. Covenant/Easement: From 9/23/1991 to 9/23/1996. A 'covenant file' exists for this property. It may contain additional information such as photos, drawings and correspondence. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office. |
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| Bibliographic References: | ARCHITECTURAL AND HISTORICAL WALKING TOUR OF DOWNTOWN MANITOWOC, BY THE MANITOWOC COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 1988. MANITOWOC HERALD TIMES REPORTER 7/5/1995. Buildings of Wisconsin manuscript. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |