Which U.S. Navy submarine was known as the “Pearl Harbor Avenger”?

USS Bowfin is known as the “Pearl Harbor Avenger.”

The Balao-class submarine entered service in 1943, about two years after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Its nickname reflected the boat’s wartime mission against Japanese forces in the Pacific rather than a single revenge operation.

Bowfin completed nine war patrols and was credited with sinking numerous Japanese vessels. It survived the war and was later preserved as a museum ship at Pearl Harbor, where visitors can tour its compartments and see its weapons, machinery and crew spaces.

Bowfin is sometimes confused with USS Arizona, the battleship memorialized at Pearl Harbor. Arizona was sunk during the 1941 attack, while Bowfin is a later submarine that became part of the harbor’s historical attractions.