<p class="ingestion featured-caption">The USS Growler submarine at the Intrepid Museum.John Arehart/Shutterstock</p><ul class="summary-list"><li>The USS Growler is the only nuclear missile submarine in the US that's open to the public.</li><li>Commissioned in 1958, the USS Growler patrolled seas off the coast of Russia during the Cold War.</li></ul><p>The USS Growler was once a top-secret <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/secret-navy-museum-washington-dc-photos-2024-6">US Navy</a> submarine that patrolled the ocean's depths during the Cold War. Armed with nuclear missiles and operated by a crew of 90 men, Growler's firepower acted as a deterrent to keep other nations from using their nuclear weapons in a strategy known as <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/when-nuclear-war-almost-happened-2018-4">mutually assured destruction</a>.</p><p>Today, the USS Growler is on display at the Intrepid Museum in New York City housed on the USS Intrepid, a 900-foot-long World War II-era aircraft carrier. The USS Growler floats alongside it in the Hudson River.</p><p>Visitors don't just get to look at the USS Growler; they can actually climb inside and walk through its narrow confines on a self-guided tour.</p><p>Submarines remain a crucial component of the US Navy's deterrent strategy. In September, the <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-navy-submarine-with-tomahawks-middle-east-sent-deter-iran-2024-9">USS Georgia</a>, a guided-missile submarine, was sent to the Middle East in a show of support for Israel and a show of force to Iran.</p><p>It's a costly endeavor. The <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-navy-submarines-17-billion-over-budget-in-crisis-lawmaker-2024-9">US Navy's Virginia-class submarine program</a> is projected to run $17 billion over budget through 2030 amid delays, House Rep. Ken Calvert, chairman of the House defense appropriations subcommittee, said last month. The Navy has said delays are due to supply-chain issues and "lingering COVID-19 impacts."</p><p>I visited the Intrepid Museum in May to tour the only nuclear missile submarine in the US open to the public. Take a look inside.</p>