Seawolf Park is a memorial to , a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

mistakenly sunk by U.S. Navy forces in 1944 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. It is located on Pelican Island (), just north of

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Ga ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The park has two museum ships, submarine and a

destroyer escort Destroyer escort (DE) was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships. Development of the destroyer escort was promoted by th ...

, along with parts from three other vessels and offshore the remains of a former merchant ship. Other activities at the park include a picnic area and fishing.

History

Following World War II, the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

decreed that each state shall create a memorial park to one of the

submarines lost during the war. Texas chose a site on Pelican Island in

, a former location for immigration in the state. In 1971, the submarine was transferred from the United States Navy and towed to the site of the park. The park was named after the submarine which was lost in the Pacific Ocean during World War II.

Attractions

Seawolf Park is unique in that it has a submarine, the remains of a

merchant ship A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are ...

, and a

designed to conduct

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...

—the hunter, hunted, and the protector—all in one museum area. It is the home of two preserved U.S. Navy ships, the USS ''Cavalla'' and the destroyer escort , and the remains of the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

tanker , the largest

concrete ship Concrete ships are built of steel and ferrocement (reinforced concrete) instead of more traditional materials, such as steel or wood. The advantage of ferrocement construction is that materials are cheap and readily available, while the disadvantag ...

constructed, can be seen northwest of the park's

fishing pier Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century.">England.html" ;"title="Brighton, England">Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th ...

at . Also preserved at the park is the conning tower of the submarine and the sail of the nuclear

attack submarine An attack submarine or hunter-killer submarine is a submarine specifically designed for the purpose of attacking and sinking other submarines, surface combatants and merchant vessels. In the Soviet and Russian navies they were and are called ...

. ''Cavalla'' is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

and ''Stewart'' in listed as a National Historic Landmark. Two bronze, ship propellers formerly attached to USS ''Stewart'' can be seen alongside the ladder going up to ''Stewart''s deck. Each weighs over a ton and were powered by two

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...

s giving the destroyer escort and a maximum speed of . The propellers were removed from the ship so they can be seen by visitors. Behind the propellers are two , 50-caliber memorial guns donated from the battleship . The park has a picnic area, and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

is allowed on the pier for a small fee. There is also pedestrian access to the shoreline on either side of the park where anglers can fish for free. Fish that can be caught in the park area include sand seatrout, speckled trout, gafftopsail catfish, drum, and flounder, among others.

References

External links

Cavalla Historical Foundation

Galveston Naval Museum at Seawolf Park
{{authority control Maritime museums in Texas Culture of Galveston, Texas Museums in Galveston, Texas Naval museums in the United States Parks in Texas Protected areas of Galveston County, Texas

History

Attractions

See also

References

External links