Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum — Attraction in Arkansas

For the casual observer, you will see an historic Tug and and a US Navy Submarine pictured here. And now, the rest of the story. US Navy Yard Tug, YT-146 named Hoga is one of two vessels that was at Pearl Harbor on the morning of 7 December, 1941 that is still afloat. You can find little Hoga in pictures of Battleship Row rescuing sailors, fighting fires and assisting the damaged USS Nevada to beach Herself on the sand of Hospital Point to avoid blocking the Pearl Harbor channel. An unassuming little workhorse, Hoga and the Coast Guard Cutter Roger B. Taney are the two Pearl Harbor attack survivors left today for visitors to tread their storied decks. The Taney is NOT at Little Rock. Just so you don't get confused!

USS Razorback is in Her Guppy IIa configuration. She began her naval career as a Balao class WWII fleet submarine. She served 26 years, from World War II through Vietnam and was transferred to the Turkish Navy in 1971. If you remember seeing the old movie "Ice Station Zebra" you may have seen Her sister, USS Ronquil play the role of USS Tigerfish in the that film. Wikipedia says scenes for the movie "Noon Sunday" were filmed aboard USS Razorback. Pretty cool! (no, USS Razorback doesn't smell like turkey. Silly!) If they could talk, imagine the stories these two vessels might tell. Perhaps they do speak. Pick a spot to stand. Listen carefully. Submarines know...

If you enjoy a walk through history, this is a must see museum. They actually have the USS Hoga here, one of the rescue boats that actively served in the battle of Pearl Harbor. They are in the process of restoring the ship, but you can walk on the deck and through the main cabins and imagine what it would have been like teeming with action. A small museum accompanies this with memorabilia and diagrams from the battle, which is definitely worth a look. The USS Razorback submarine is also being restored on site as well, and if you are comfortable with tight spaces they offer a guided tour through the cabins. I chose not to take this option, but still had a great time taking in the history. I also really enjoyed the souvenirs they sold, including the customizable dog tags they printed in shop on an actual machine they used to print soldiers tags back during WWII, that only cost about $10. This is a great place to bring older kids to let them touch and see the history of our country - be careful with little ones, as the whole museum is set on a dock surrounded by water and although there are safety barricades, it is not designed for little ones to wander freely. I intend to return in a few years with my young child and hope to see more of the restoration completed and teach my son about the day that...

I've toured a few museum subs and this one just might be my favorite.

This sub tour is guided, so you have someone handy to tell you some of the history of the sub/class and what everything is that you're looking at inside. They can also tell you or make an educated guess on what's "original" or what is a Turkish change that was made when it was in their service. I recommend getting there early. I lucked into a private tour due to no other customers showing up in time for the first tour.

This is the only sub I've toured that uses the sub's ladders for entry and exit instead of cutting a hole in the side or deck for stairs. Getting a chance to feel what it would have been like for my great uncle to board his sub, the USS Sculpin, meant a lot on top of it being a unique experience. The down side to this ladder entry and exit is that getting onboard isn't physically possible for some.

The tugboat that was at Pearl Harbor was also pretty neat to see. It's unguided but there is plenty of info on it in the indoor museum.

I enjoyed the experience enough that I'll probably make a trip back this way at some point in time to see everything again and would recommend it to others...