The USS Cobia is back in Manitowoc.
The historic WWII submarine was brought back down from Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay to the Clipper City via tugboat once again after it was dry-docked, or taken out of the water, for about five weeks.
Work included scrubbing the hull, or bottom, of the sub to get rid of zebra and quagga muscles as well as a new coat of paint and fixing a break in one of the ballast tanks.
While Cobia was away, she was missed by staff at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum.
Communications Coordinator Alexandria Bollie explained to Seehafernews.com, saying it was weird to not have the submarine outside the museum windows.
Yes, we have a fantastic museum, but, it’s really hard to beat a World War II submarine,” she admitted. “Especially one that you can walk through. One that is kept to such a high quality. We have great veterans that are helping us with putting props in there to make it look as historically accurate as possible.”
It’s also hard not to see the veterans as often as before.
Our veterans that either volunteer to do sub tours or our veterans that volunteer to do just maintenance, none of them have been around because of that,” she explained. “So, I want Cobia back so we can get our friends back. We’re going to have the guys that were very fortunate to have, and their families as well, just starting them have come back to the museum and seeing them again.”
At the same time, Bollie calls the return surreal since getting Cobia drydocked has been planned for the better part of a decade. She also says while Submarine Curator Karen Duvalle was working on the actual drydocking, it’s amazing to think it only took a month to get it done. Executive Director Kevin Cullen was on the Tugboat Nickelena seeing Cobia return to Manitowoc saying he had a very full day.
The executive director described it as, “smooth sailing.”
He continued saying, “We came out of Sturgeon Bay with crowds on both sides of the bridges as they were all going up. It was just really a once in a lifetime opportunity and an experience for me and for all the crew that were on board.”
He said although the WWII submarine was missed while in dry dock, the identity of the museum is back.
“To see the numbers on there, the new paint scheme and to know that it’s preserved for generations to come,” he noted. “This is what we live for as museum professionals and those that support all things related to the Wisconsin Maritime Museum’s mission.”
While Cobia has returned, the public won’t be allowed to tour her for a little while. Cullen says it will take a couple of days to make sure she’s prepared before people will be allowed to see what’s been done to keep her around for many years to come.
Cobia was first brought to Manitowoc in 1970 and incorporated as part of the Maritime Museum.
It’s also recognized as a historic landmark.
The Wisconsin Maritime Museum raised about $1.5 million for the drydocking project.
Some of the money was fundraised while some it was also provided in the 2025-2027 Wisconsin State budget.
