This footage shows the conning tower of USS Parche (SS-384), which visitors can enter here at the Pacific Fleet Submarine Museum. Bowfin’s conning tower sits directly above her control room, but because of its tight dimensions and steep vertical ladder, it isn’t accessible to the public. However, Parche was also a Balao class diesel-electric submarine, launched only about six months after Bowfin, so they are very similar. The conning tower served as a submarine’s attack and navigation center. In