{"nrhp_refnum":"08000477","name":"USS CAVALLA (submarine)","other_names":["Ssk244","Agss244"],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"E.end of Seawolf Park","address_restricted":false,"city":"Galveston","county":"Galveston County","state":"TX","lat":29.335898646000032,"lon":-94.77864298799994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2008-05-27","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Military","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"USS Cavalla is a Gato Class submarine built by Electric Boat Company, with keel laid in 1943 and commissioned in 1944. It is now a museum vessel at the east end of Seawolf Park in Galveston, Texas.","why_significant":"The nomination presents Cavalla as nationally significant for her World War II service, including the sinking of the carrier Shokaku and the destroyer Shimotsuki, and a Presidential Unit Citation. She also had a second life as a converted SSK in Cold War antisubmarine development. Her construction in under a year reflects American shipbuilding capacity during the war.","narrative":"Cavalla is a Gato Class submarine that now serves as a museum at the east end of Seawolf Park in Galveston, Texas. Built by Electric Boat Company, she was laid down on 4 March 1943, launched that November and commissioned on 29 February 1944, a pace of just under a year that reflected wartime shipbuilding capacity. Her welded steel pressure hull held eight watertight compartments, including torpedo rooms, crew quarters, a control room, diesel engine rooms and a maneuvering room. During World War II she made six patrols and earned a Presidential Unit Citation for her role in the Battle of the Philippine Sea, where she torpedoed the carrier Shokaku. She later sank the destroyer Shimotsuki and two merchant ships. After being mothballed in 1946, she was recommissioned in 1951 and converted to a quieter SSK with a new bow sonar to help develop tactics against Soviet submarines during the Cold War.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Electric Boat Company","architectural_style":"Other: Gato Class Submarine","criteria":[],"status_note":"Currently used as a museum (Recreation and Culture: Museum).","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:23.727485-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/66/9720/40972066/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/08000477.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08000477/7ea456fd7d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08000477/7ea456fd7d-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"USN photo courtesy of http://ussubvetsofwwii.org. Photo i.d. courtesy of Chuck Norris ETC(SS), Retired.","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USS_Cavalla;0824408.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">USN photo courtesy of http://ussubvetsofwwii.org. Photo i.d. courtesy of Chuck Norris ETC(SS), Retired.</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USS_Cavalla;0824408.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40972066","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Cavalla_(SS-244)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1398898"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/galveston-county/uss-cavalla-submarine-08000477/"}