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Work provided by University of Oregon

USS Blueback SS-581 (Portland, Oregon)

Creator Display
  • United States Navy (builder/contractor)
  • Ingalls Ship Building (builder/contractor)
Creator
Date
  • 1959
Description
  • National Register of Historic Places (Listed, 2009)
View
  • interior: Crew Quarters, starboard side, looking north
Temporal
  • 1950-1959
MODS Note
  • Commissioned in 1959, the USS Blueback (SS-581) is nationally significant for its engineering as the last surviving example of a Barbel Class submarine. Only consisting of three ships, the Barbell class combined proven WWII-era diesel-electric motor technology with a revolutionary tear-drop hull shape, high-strength steel, and other improvements that were incorporated into later submarine designs. The technological advance was driven by the transition in submarine warfare from the older Fleet Boat system to the modern nuclear-powered vessels of the Cold War. However, the Blueback and her sister ships were a transitional design. After independently studying nuclear power in the Nautilus test ship and the tear-drop hull shape with the Albacore test submarine and the active-duty Barbell Class, these technologies were later combined to create the modern nuclear submarines used by the U.S. Navy from the Cold War to the present. As the last diesel-electric submarine to join the US Navy and the last to be decommissioned, the Blueback represents an important transition in maritime technology and navel warfare. Source: Oregon State Historic Preservation Office. The USS Blueback was acquired by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, Portland, Oregon, in February 1994. This submarine appeared in the 1990 film The Hunt for Red October before being towed to its present location, a pier right outside the museum. It was opened to the public on May 15, 1994.
  • This image was included in the documentation to support a nomination to the National Register of Historic Places, a program of the National Park Service. The image is provided here by the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office and the University of Oregon Libraries to facilitate scholarship, research, and teaching. For other uses, such as publication, contact the State Historic Preservation Office. Please credit the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office when using this image.
Subject
Work Type
Location
Street Address
  • 1495 Water Avenue, located on the east bank of the Willamette
GPS Latitude
  • 45.5105941
GPS Longitude
  • -122.6686981
Rights Holder
  • Oregon State Historic Preservation Office
Identifier
  • OR_Multnomah_USSBlueback_0007.jpg
Source
Provenance
  • University of Oregon Libraries
Citation
  • National Register of Historic Places, http://www.nps.gov/nr
  • USS Blueback, National Register of Historic Places Nomination
Is Part Of
  • Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (Portland, Oregon)
Institution
Conversion
  • This image is derived from a digital file (TIFF or JPG) received from the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office.
Submission Date
  • 05/04/2015
Modified
  • 08/12/2022
Collections

APA

Building Oregon, University of Oregon. (25 Apr 2025). USS Blueback SS-581 (Portland, Oregon) Retrieved from https://oregondigital.org/concern/images/df67rd99t

MLA

Building Oregon, University of Oregon. "USS Blueback SS-581 (Portland, Oregon)" Oregon Digital. 25 Apr 2025. https://oregondigital.org/concern/images/df67rd99t

Chicago

Building Oregon, University of Oregon. "USS Blueback SS-581 (Portland, Oregon)" Oregon Digital. Accessed 2025-04-25. https://oregondigital.org/concern/images/df67rd99t

Wiki

{{cite web | url= https://oregondigital.org/concern/images/df67rd99t | title= USS Blueback SS-581 (Portland, Oregon) |author= |accessdate= 2025-04-25 |publisher= }}
Data Sources
Footer Number Term External URI
1 United States. Navy http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n79059051
2 Ingalls Shipbuilding http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n83229924
3 Submarines (Ships) http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85129487
4 museums (buildings) http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300005768
5 monuments http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300006958
6 naval museums (buildings) http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300005827
7 watercraft http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300042940
8 memorials (monuments) http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300006956
9 history museums (buildings) http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300243189
10 vehicles (transportation) http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300219258
11 military museums (buildings) http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300005826
12 submarines http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300212607
13 Oregon Museum of Science and Industry >> Multnomah County >> Oregon >> United States https://sws.geonames.org/5744298/
14 Portland >> Clackamas/Multnomah/Washington Counties >> Oregon >> United States https://sws.geonames.org/5746545/
15 Multnomah County >> Oregon >> United States https://sws.geonames.org/5742126/
16 Oregon >> United States https://sws.geonames.org/5744337/
17 United States https://sws.geonames.org/6252001/
18 University of Oregon http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n80126183

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