USS Gudgeon / TCG Hızırreis, Museum submarine in Izmit, Turkey
TCG Hızırreis is a decommissioned Tang-class submarine now permanently moored at the Kocaeli Museum Ships Command in Turkey for public visits. Inside, the vessel shows its engine room, torpedo tubes, and crew bunks exactly as they appeared during active duty.
Commissioned in July 1952, the vessel sailed under the American flag until its transfer to the Turkish Navy in 1983. During its time in American waters, it completed a full circumnavigation of the globe between July 1957 and February 1958.
The vessel was renamed TCG Hızırreis when transferred to Turkey in 1983, honoring the Ottoman Admiral Kurtoğlu Hızır Reis who led naval campaigns.
The museum sits at Salim Dervişoğlu Caddesi 56 in Kozluk district and is accessible by car or public transport. Visitors walk through the control room, torpedo compartments, and crew quarters, where the passages are narrow and the ceilings are low.
In August 1957, Soviet naval forces compelled the vessel to surface near Vladivostok, marking the first such incident during the Cold War. The event created diplomatic tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and drew international attention.
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