USS Cavalla
The USS Cavalla is a submarine from World War II that sits in Seawolf Park in Galveston on the Texas coast. Visitors can walk through the entire interior of the boat, including the control room, sleeping bunks, torpedo tubes, and engine rooms, all preserved in their original condition.
The boat was built in 1943 and joined combat in the Pacific starting in 1944. It sank a Japanese aircraft carrier that took part in the attack on Pearl Harbor and received a presidential award for that action.
The name comes from a fish found in tropical waters and was chosen by the crew as a symbol of speed. Today visitors can explore the boat from bow to stern and see how tight the spaces were where sailors slept and ate.
The boat sits at the end of Seawolf Park beside a second vessel, a destroyer from the same era. Access is via a gangway, and most areas are suitable for visitors without mobility issues, as ladders and narrow passages are part of the tour.
After the war the boat was rebuilt and used during the Cold War to test new sonar technology. The crew called it the Lucky Lady, a nickname that stuck because of several close calls during combat missions.
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