USS Blueback: The Real Thing

OMSI is home to the U.S. Navy's last non-nuclear, fast-attack submarine, the USS Blueback (SS-581). The Blueback was the first battle-ready class of submarines to use the teardrop hull. It was in official operation throughout the Pacific Ocean for 31 years. The USS Blueback served in the entertainment industry, too! It appeared in the hit movie The Hunt for Red October and an episode of Hawaii Five-O and has been used as a location for a Discovery Channel documentary and various commercials.

For more information, call the submarine hotline 503.797.4624

Tours

Peer through a periscope. Touch a torpedo. Climb in a bunk in the crew's quarters. During a 45-minute guided tour aboard the Blueback, you'll learn how a submarine works and get a glimpse into how a crew of 85 lived and worked within the Blueback's hull for months at a time. Tours are for ages 3 and above.

Tickets ($5.75) are available at the OMSI Ticket Desk and online. 

Tours leave regularly from 9:50 a.m.—5:10 p.m. (Tour duration is approximately 45 minutes.)

Tech Tours

Take a special two-hour tour guided by an actual submarine veteran to learn more about the technical workings of the Blueback. The maximum tour size is 6 people. Tech Tours are for ages 12 and up. (We recommended that a regular tour be taken prior to a Tech Tour.) 

Tickets ($15) available at OMSI Ticket Desk and online.

Tours are offered the second Sunday of each month starting at 10:00 a.m. (Tour duration is approximately two hours.)  

Submarine Camp-Ins

The USS Blueback is open for sleepovers!

For more information or to register, visit www.omsi.edu/camp-ins or call 503.797.4661.

History of the USS Blueback

Explore about the life of the USS Blueback from its construction at Ingalls Shipyard to its active military duty to its Hollywood stardom to its final port call at OMSI.

Online Activities

Take a virtual tour of the Blueback, or learn how submarines dive.