USS Ling facts for kids
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|+USS Ling (SS-297)
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|} The USS Ling (SS-297) is a special type of submarine called a Balao-class submarine. It was part of the United States Navy and is named after a fish called the ling, also known as the cobia. This submarine was built during World War II, but it was finished so late in the war that it never saw any combat.
After the war, the Ling was put into storage in 1946. Later, in 1960, it was changed into a training ship. In 1971, it was removed from the Navy's official list of ships. It was then given to a group called the Submarine Memorial Association. They turned it into a museum ship in Hackensack, New Jersey. The Ling is currently stuck in the Hackensack River and has not been open to visitors since 2016.
Contents
- Building and Early Service
- Becoming a Museum Ship
- Where the Submarine Is Now
- Challenges Moving the Ling
- See also
Building and Early Service
The Ling started being built on November 2, 1942, by the Cramp Shipbuilding Company in Philadelphia. It was officially launched into the water on August 15, 1943. After launching, it was moved to the Boston Navy Yard to be completed and tested. The Ling was officially put into service on June 8, 1945.
After being tested at sea, the Ling began its first voyage on September 15, 1945. This was just 13 days after Japan had surrendered, ending World War II. The submarine was based in Naval Submarine Base New London in Connecticut for a short time.
In February 1946, the Ling sailed to the Panama Canal Zone. It operated there for a few weeks before heading north. On October 26, 1946, the Ling was taken out of service. It had only been in active service for about 1 year and 4 months.
In March 1960, the Ling was moved to Brooklyn, New York. There, it was changed into a training ship at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. It was used to teach sailors how submarines work. The Ling received two awards for its service: the American Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal. On December 1, 1971, the Ling was officially removed from the Navy's list of ships.
Becoming a Museum Ship
Six months after being removed from the Navy, the USS Ling was given to the Submarine Memorial Association. This group was formed in 1972 to save the Ling from being scrapped. They wanted to bring the submarine to Hackensack, New Jersey, to create a memorial. This memorial would honor sailors who lost their lives serving their country.
Many people and companies helped to fix up the Ling and get it ready for visitors. It arrived in New Jersey in January 1973. The submarine was cleaned, painted, and polished to look almost new. The inside parts were also fixed up with real equipment from the World War II era. The Ling became the main attraction at the New Jersey Naval Museum.
In 2006, something exciting happened. The submarine had five safes inside, but no one knew the combinations. A famous locksmith named Jeff Sitar was able to open them using only his fingers and a special sound device. Inside the safes, they found old pennies, bullets, keys, and many old training manuals from the 1940s and 1950s.
The Ling was even used in a movie! In 2010, it was used as a set for a Russian-language film called Katya. In the movie, the Ling pretended to be a different submarine, the Soviet K-129.
Where the Submarine Is Now
From 1972 until the museum closed, the New Jersey Naval Museum paid only one dollar a year to rent the land for the Ling. In 2007, the company that owned the land said they would sell it. This meant the museum and the submarine would have to move.
The museum itself closed in September 2013 because of damage from Hurricane Sandy. It closed again in July 2015 for emergency repairs. The museum was supposed to leave the property by August 2018.
Challenges Moving the Ling
Moving the Ling has become very difficult. The Hackensack River, where the submarine is located, has become too shallow. This is because a dam upstream, the Oradell Dam, takes a lot of water for drinking. This means less fresh water flows down the river.
Over time, a lot of mud and dirt has built up in the river. This makes the river too shallow for the Ling to move. There are no plans or money to dig out the river. Also, the mud in the river has industrial pollution, which makes digging it up even harder.
There are also four bridges south of the Ling that do not open. Two are for cars, and two are for trains. These bridges make it impossible to move the submarine down the river. Because of these problems, the Ling cannot be moved from its current spot.
See also
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States |
|
| Namesake | Ling, Fish |
| Builder |
|
| Yard number | 552 |
| Laid down | 2 November 1942 |
| Launched | 15 August 1943 |
| Commissioned | 8 June 1945 |
| Decommissioned | 26 October 1946 |
| Stricken | 1 December 1971 |
| Honours and awards |
1 Battle Star |
| Status | Former Museum Ship, at former location of the New Jersey Naval Museum in Hackensack, New Jersey |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Balao-class diesel-electric submarine |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 311 ft 8 in (95.00 m) |
| Beam | 27 ft 3 in (8.31 m) |
| Draft | 16 ft 10 in (5.13 m) maximum |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed |
|
| Range | 11,000 nm (20,000 km) surfaced at 10 knots (19 km/h) |
| Endurance |
|
| Test depth | 400 ft (120 m) |
| Complement | 10 officers, 70–71 enlisted |
| Armament |
|
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U.S.S. LING
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|
 |
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 Location in Bergen County, New Jersey
Location in New Jersey
Location in the United States
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| Location | Hackensack River at 150 River Street, Hackensack, New Jersey |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1945 |
| Architect | Cramp, William & Sons |
| Architectural style | BALAO Class |
| NRHP reference No. | 78001736 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | 19 October 1978 |
