Free Final Patrol by Don Keith

destroyed.
    The Cod and her crew were prime examples of the silent service’s contribution to the hard-won victory in World War II.
    Â 
    Â 
    Â 
    Like many of her sisters, the Cod would have a productive if more sedate life after World War II. She was reactivated in 1951 and took part in Cold War NATO exercises. She later was converted for dockside use as a training vessel. That meant her screws were removed, the bunks were taken out of the after battery to make room for classrooms, and the ballast tanks were sealed to make sure she did not accidentally submerge with a boatload of trainees aboard. Of course, the storage battery cells came out, too.
    In 1959, the sub was towed from the Philadelphia Navy Yard, where she then rested and was prepared for her next job. She journeyed up the Atlantic Coast and down the St. Lawrence Seaway to Cleveland, Ohio. There she served as a training boat for the Naval Reserve Center until 1971. By that time, the navy had virtually eliminated all nonnuclear vessels from its fleet.
    The Cod had outlived her usefulness and was stricken from the register of navy ships. She was likely headed for the junk heap like so many of her sister World War II diesel boats.
    A group in Cleveland, however, had another thought. They noted that since coming to town the submarine had always been popular with local schoolchildren. Even as she was being used as a training boat, the kids frequently visited her on school field trips. They also noted that the sub’s big diesel engines were built by General Motors’ Cleveland diesel plant, a facility located on the city’s west side.
    The old girl had practically been born a Clevelander! It made perfect sense that she was destined to remain there.
    The group formed a corporation called the Cleveland Coordinating Committee to Save Cod with the intent of preserving her as a memorial. The plan was to leave her parked on the city’s lakefront, accessible to anyone who wanted to see what a real hero of World War II looked like. Veterans’ groups agreed and were instrumental in getting her adopted by Clevelanders.
    The navy agreed to give the group guardianship of the submarine in January of 1976 under the usual conditions: she must be maintained, made safe for visitors and shipping, and used only to allow the public to appreciate the historic role of the submarine in naval history. The CCC readily agreed.
    The Cod was officially opened to the public in May 1976 and quickly became a star, major tourist attraction. In 1986 she was designated a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
    Today, the Cod is considered by many submarine purists to be one of the finest restored submarines on display around the country. Not only does she carry the lowest hull number of any surviving World War II submarine, but she is probably the least-modified. For that reason, visitors must use the same actual vertical hatches and ladders that the crew used during World War II and after. There are no stairways or doors to make it easier for people who come calling, nor has her hull been cut away to give better access, as has been the case with other museum boats. Recently, when the cutaway version of a real torpedo was located and placed in one of the torpedo rooms, it had to be loaded just the way they were taken aboard during the war—through a loading hatch in the deck and down a chute to the torpedo room.
    The committee is not content to allow the boat to simply sit there, either. They continue to add to what they have there already. For example, two General Motors diesel engines have recently been obtained, and they will be used for parts to rebuild the Cod ’s original engines to running condition. Another recent project has also restored the boat’s torpedo data computer to its wartime condition.
    Also on display near the submarine are a Mark 14 torpedo, like the ones used at the beginning of World War II; a five-bladed,