National Submarine War Memorial

The National Submarine War Memorial (also known as the National Submarine Memorial, the Submarine War Memorial and the Submariner Memorial) is a memorial to Royal Navy submariners who died in the first and second world wars. It is set against the wall on the Victoria Embankment, near Charing Cross, London, England, and is a Grade II listed building.

It is the focal point of a special memorial walk and laying of wreaths held each year by submariners on the Sunday preceding Remembrance Sunday.

The memorial artist was Frederick Brook Hitch. In the centre of the memorial is a bas-relief showing the interior of a submarine and another with nereids swimming on either side. On the right and left are statues representing Truth and Justice. On either side of the central bronze plaques are 40 bronze wreath hooks in the form of anchors. At the top of the memorial is the inscription "Erected to the memory of the officers and men of the British Navy who lost their lives serving in submarines 1914–1918 and 1939–1945". On the left hand side is a list of the submarines lost in the 1914–1918 conflict and on the right a list of submarines lost from 1939 to 1945. The architect of the memorial was A. H. Ryan-Tenison and the foundry, Parlanti's Ltd, carried out the casting. The memorial was unveiled on 15 December 1922.

Submarine

A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term most commonly refers to a large, crewed, autonomous vessel. It is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely operated vehicles and robots, as well as medium-sized or smaller vessels, such as the midget submarine and the wet sub. Used as an adjective in phrases such as submarine cable, "submarine" means "under the sea". The noun submarine evolved as a shortened form of submarine boat (and is often further shortened to sub). For reasons of naval tradition, submarines are usually referred to as "boats" rather than as "ships", regardless of their size.

Although experimental submarines had been built before, submarine design took off during the 19th century, and they were adopted by several navies. Submarines were first widely used during World War I (1914–1918), and now figure in many navies large and small. Military usage includes attacking enemy surface ships (merchant and military), submarines, aircraft carrier protection, blockade running, ballistic missile submarines as part of a nuclear strike force, reconnaissance, conventional land attack (for example using a cruise missile), and covert insertion of special forces. Civilian uses for submarines include marine science, salvage, exploration and facility inspection/maintenance. Submarines can also be modified to perform more specialized functions such as search-and-rescue missions or undersea cable repair. Submarines are also used in tourism, and for undersea archaeology.

Memorial

A memorial is an object which serves as a focus for memory of something, usually a person (who has died) or an event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or art objects such as sculptures, statues or fountains, and even entire parks.

Types

The most common type of memorial is the gravestone or the memorial plaque. Also common are war memorials commemorating those who have died in wars. Memorials in the form of a cross are called intending crosses.

Online memorials and tributes are becoming increasingly popular especially with the increase in natural burial where the laying of gravestones, or memorial plaques, is often not permitted.

When somebody has died, the family may request that a memorial gift (usually money) be given to a designated charity, or that a tree be planted in memory of the person.

Sometimes, when a high school student has died, the memorials are placed in the form of a scholarship, to be awarded to high-achieving students in future years.

Examples of notable memorials

Pearl Harbor

Coordinates: 21°22′04″N 157°58′38″W / 21.3679°N 157.9771°W / 21.3679; -157.9771

Pearl Harbor is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the United States Pacific Fleet. The U.S. government first obtained exclusive use of the inlet and the right to maintain a repair and coaling station for ships here in 1887. The attack on Pearl Harbor by the Empire of Japan on December 7, 1941 was the immediate cause of the United States' entry into World War II.

History

Pearl Harbor was originally an extensive shallow embayment called Wai Momi (meaning, “Waters of Pearl”) or Puʻuloa (meaning, “long hill”) by the Hawaiians. Puʻuloa was regarded as the home of the shark goddess, Kaʻahupahau, and her brother (or son), Kahiʻuka, in Hawaiian legends. According to tradition, Keaunui, the head of the powerful Ewa chiefs, is credited with cutting a navigable channel near the present Puʻuloa saltworks, by which he made the estuary, known as "Pearl River," accessible to navigation. Making due allowance for legendary amplification, the estuary already had an outlet for its waters where the present gap is; but Keaunui is typically given the credit for widening and deepening it.

USS Bowfin (SS-287)

USS Bowfin (SS/AGSS-287), a Balao-class submarine, was a boat of the United States Navy named for the bowfin fish. Since 1981, she has been open to public tours at the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and Park in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, next to the USS Arizona Memorial Visitor Center.

Bowfin was laid down by the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard at Kittery, Maine, on 23 July 1942, and launched on 7 December 1942 by Mrs. Jane Gawne, wife of Captain James Gawne, and commissioned on 1 May 1943, Commander Joseph H. Willingham in command.

First patrol

Following fitting out, the submarine proceeded via Newport, Rhode Island, to New London, Connecticut, her base for shakedown training. Early in July, she got underway for the Pacific war zone and, after transiting the Panama Canal and crossing the Pacific, reached Australia. After-voyage repair at Brisbane preceded her getting underway on 19 August to move north and west along the Australian coast to Darwin. She topped off her fuel tanks at that port and sailed on the morning of 25 August for her first war patrol.