Did you know the first submarine to be launched sideways (instead of nose first) was built by the Wisconsin company, Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company?
On April 30, 1942, the submarine Peto was launched sideways into the Manitowoc River. This was the first submarine built by Wisconsin’s Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company. At 11:45 a.m. the wife of the 9th Naval district’s chief of staff christened the vessel with champagne. The 1,500 ton sub shot down the launch skids and hit the river.
The Peto was 311 feet long and built to carry 85 men and 24 torpedoes.
It was commissioned on Nov. 21, 1942. Late in Dec. 1942 “Peto” decommissioned, was loaded on a barge, and departed Manitowoc for New Orleans, the first submarine to traverse the mid-western waterways to reach New Orleans and the sea from the building yards. The ship recommissioned, completed fitting out and shakedown, sailed for the Panama Canal and arrived Brisbane, Australia 14 March 1943.
Prior to WWII, the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company manufactured car ferries, tankers, and river boats. The Peto was one of 28 submarines they produced during wartime.
Source: Milwaukee Journal S
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