MANITOWOC (NBC 26) — The USS Cobia will head to Sturgeon Bay for maintenance.
- The Maritime Museum says the $1.5 million project will happen in September.
- This is the first time the USS Cobia will have moved in nearly 30 years.
- Navy Veteran Mark Becker says he hopes projects like this ensure the Cobia will be here for future generations
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
The USS Cobia, a staple of Manitowoc waters, is going to be on the move. The sub has not moved in nearly 30 years, but this year the ship is heading north. It’s just a temporary stop away from home.
"What does the Cobia mean to you?” NBC 26 asked Navy Veteran, Mark Becker.
"Oh wow,” he replied. “Everything."
For U.S. Navy veterans like Becker, the Cobia is a symbol of their service.
"Guys come here just to sweep, just to polish brass,” he said. “I mean my God, we won't do that at home."
According to the Maritime Museum, the USS Cobia went on 6 war patrols and sank 13 enemy ships during World War II.
In 1970, the Cobia arrived in Manitowoc to serve as an international memorial for submariners, like Mark.
"She brings me back to a time in my life that I have missed for years,” Becker said.
Now, for the first since 1996, the Cobia will be on the move, but far from heading out to battle.
"It will come out of the water and we can see the underwater hull and what's been happening down there since our last dry dock in '96,” said Maritime Museum Subarmine Curator Karen Duvalle.
Duvalle says the beloved ship will be towed from our port here in Manitowoc to Sturgeon Bay. There, they'll place it in a dry dock.
"It's just like taking a car in for a tune-up,” said Duvalle. “We take our boat in."
Crews will repair and enhance the exterior of the ship and hard-to-reach places inside the sub.
"It's just a great experience, educational tool for the museum,” said Duvalle. “A great experience for people and we want to keep it that way."
The maintenance on the Cobia, now 82 years old, will go far in ensuring the sub endures as long as possible right here in Manitowoc.
"She is a gem and if something happens to her, she's gone,” Becker said. “We can't have that. We have to have her here for future generations."
The museum says that the project will cost at least $1.5 million and they are still asking for donations.
More information on the project can be found here.
