A History of the Submarines Built at the
Mare Island Naval Shipyard

Exhibit by Steve Shay
Frame 2, Page 12

USS K-3 SSK-3 (Later renamed USS Bonita SS-552)
Killer class (No reported postmarks)
Launched June 21, 1951

Upper: Launch cover, design by Martin Aden, sponsored by Mare Island Naval Shipyard Supervisors Association, shipyard machine postmark.
Lower: Ship's rubber stamp cachet and corner card, Pearl Harbor Submarine Base (Br 17012) machine cancel.

Cover 678: K-3 SSK-3, June 21, 1951

Cover 679: K-3 SSK-3, December 10, 1955

The sonar in this class easily visible as streamlined protrusion above the deck. Crew of 37 compared to crew of 80 in Balao class. Performed experimental and normal submarine duties in the Pacific, including cruise in Alaskan waters 1956. Renamed Bonita December 15, 1955 and decommissioned November 7, 1958. Designation changed to SS-552 while in reserve.

 

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