This World War II Submarine Noted for Sinking Enemy Ships Just Journeyed Across Lake Michigan for a Multimillion-Dollar Makeover

The USS ‘Silversides’ earned a dozen battle stars for its work patrolling the Pacific Ocean. The Gato-class sub is now the star of a museum in Michigan

Sarah Kuta | Daily Correspondent

August 6, 2026 10:48 a.m.

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Eight decades ago, the USS Silversides prowled the Pacific Ocean in search of enemy vessels, sinking at least 23 of them. Since the 1980s, it has floated peacefully in Muskegon, Michigan, where it serves as the centerpiece of the USS Silversides Submarine Museum.

Now, the 312-foot-long Gato-class sub is getting a long-overdue makeover. Last month, the vessel made the 16-hour crossing to Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, where the experts at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding are now sprucing it up.

Submarines typically undergo “dry dock” repairs, in which they are lifted out of the water for structural inspections and major maintenance work, every 25 to 30 years, per Wisconsin Public Radio’s Sarah Lehr. The USS Silversides, however, hadn’t been dry docked in more than 50 years and it was starting to show its age, per Mlive.com’s Joel Bissell.

Two tugboats, the Nickelena and the Erika Kobasic, helped the USS Silversides make the 113-mile journey across Lake Michigan. The submarine’s propellers were removed decades ago, rendering it unable to travel under its own power.

Crews will give the USS Silversides a thorough once-over, inspecting and repairing its steel hull, removing invasive zebra mussels, applying protective coatings and tackling other maintenance needs.

“The entire submarine is going to be sandblasted and then painted from literally top down,” Scott Hardin, the museum’s vessel curator, tells WXMI’s Olivia Yatooma.

It’s meaningful work for the Fincantieri team, including repair project manager Casey Lautenbach.

“There aren’t too many 85-year-old submarines that come rolling through,” Lautenbach tells WGBA-TV’s Mihir Sinhasan. “It means a lot to be able to put hands on a vessel like this and preserve it for years to come.”

The $3.5 million project is being funded with private donations and a National Park Service grant. The museum is fundraising the rest of the money.

The USS Silversides was commissioned on December 15, 1941, right after the attack on Pearl Harbor. With Lieutenant Commander Creed C. Burlingame in charge, the vessel headed to Hawaii, then on to Japan, where she embarked on its first of 14 successful war patrols. The USS Silversides was awarded 12 battle stars and the Presidential Unit Citation for its contributions during the war.

“It is actually one of the top three decorated submarines of World War II,” Veronica Campbell, executive director of the USS Silversides Submarine Museum, tells WGBA-TV. “She is the only one remaining of those three.”

After being decommissioned in April 1946, the submarine served as a stationary training ship. Later, it became a museum ship—first in Chicago, then in Muskegon.

Once the dry dock work is complete in October, the ship will return to Muskegon, where the public will once again be able to step aboard and explore its interior.

“It’s a rare gem to be able to explore a World War II submarine, and [to] be able to go in and experience it in person is a whole new world,” Campbell tells WOOD-TV’s Duncan MacLean. “Being able to have that experience and share it with future generations continues to tell that story of World War II and the importance of that time period.”

Sarah Kuta is a writer and editor based in Longmont, Colorado. She covers history, science, travel, food and beverage, sustainability, economics and other topics.