USS Albacore (SS-218)

The Albacore in May 1942
Overview
Keel laying	April 21, 1941
Launch	February 17, 1942
1. Period of service
Commissioning	June 1, 1942
Whereabouts	sunk on November 7, 1944 south of Hokkaido (85 dead)
Technical specifications
displacement	Surface: 1,525 ts. Submerged: 2,424 ts
length	95.33 m
width	8.30 m
Draft	4.65 m
Diving depth	90 m test depth 140 m maximum depth
crew	85 man (1944)
drive	4 × 990 kW Fairbanks Morse -9- cylinder - Diesel engine 4 × 500 kW GE -electric 2 waves
speed	Surface: 20.25 kn. Submerged: 8.75 kn
Range	11,000 nm at 10 kn 75 days patrol duration Maximum dive time: 48 hours (at 2 kn)
Armament	6 × 53.3 cm torpedo tubes front 4 × 53.3 cm torpedo tubes rear 24 torpedoes 1 × 7.62 cm deck gun (L / 50 Mark 18) 2 × 20 mm flak 2 × 7.62 -mm machine guns

The USS Albacore (SS-218) was a United States Navy submarine that was used in the Pacific theater during World War II and was sunk in 1944. The submarine belonged to the Gato class and was following the white tuna (English: albacore ) named. The submarine was on 21 April 1941 as the seventh boat of its class on the yard of the Electric Boat Corporation in Groton in the US state of Connecticut paid to Kiel and ran on 17 February 1942 by the stack. The Albacore finally entered service on June 1, 1942 under the command of Lieutenant Commander Richard Cross Lake.

Operations in World War II

After the enslavement and the completion of the tests, which moved to the US Pacific Fleet abkommandierte Albacore early August 1942, the Panama Canal and arrived in on 25 August 1942 Pearl Harbor one.

First patrol

On August 28, 1942, the Albacore left Pearl Harbor with the assignment to patrol the sea area around the Truk Atoll . The submarine was apparently not successful, although Lieutenant Commander Lake reported the torpedoing of three ships with a total of around 18,000 GRT. However, these sinkings were not confirmed and also not recognized after the war. The first patrol in Midway ended on October 20, 1942 .

Second patrol

From Midway the Albacore ran out on November 11, 1942 for her second patrol. The company's main objective was the sea area between the Truk Atoll and the northeast coast of Papua New Guinea . During this patrol, Lieutenant Commander Lake achieved a success:

• December 18, 1942: The Japanese light cruiser Tenryū (3,948 ts) was torpedoed and sunk about 15 nautical miles east of Madang . The ship, secured by four destroyers and two auxiliary ships, was hit by two torpedoes in the evening hours and sank within about two hours. 23 seafarers were killed in the sinking. In return, the Albacore was pursued by two destroyers for almost four hours and suffered considerable damage from depth charges.

The commander then broke off the operation and ran to Brisbane , Australia , where the second patrol ended on December 30, 1942.

Third patrol

After a three-week overhaul of the shipyard, the Albacore set out on January 20, 1943 from Brisbane on her third patrol. The submarine was again ordered to the area east of Papua New Guinea. During this patrol a success was achieved:

• February 20, 1943: Torpedoing and sinking of the Japanese destroyer Ōshio (2,370 ts), traveling in a convoy, about 70 nautical miles northwest of Manus . After the torpedoing, the ship could initially be towed by the destroyer Arashio , but a few hours later it broke apart in heavy swell and sank. Eight sailors were killed.

On March 11, 1943, the third patrol ended in Brisbane.

Fourth patrol

The fourth patrol, lasting from April 6 to May 26, 1943, took the Albacore into the sea area of ​​the Bismarck Archipelago and into the northern foothills of the Solomon Islands . No sinking occurs here. After returning to Brisbane, Lieutenant Commander Lake was replaced on June 12, 1943 by Lieutenant Commander Oscar E. Hagberg.

Fifth patrol

Under the command of Hagberg, the Albacore ran out on June 16, 1943 on its fifth patrol. Once again ordered to the area of ​​the Bismarck Archipelago and the northern Solomon Islands, no successes were achieved. The reported torpedoing of a ship estimated at 6,400 GRT on July 19, 1943 was later not recognized. As a result , the Albacore returned to Brisbane on July 29, 1943 .

Sixth patrol

After more than three weeks of lay in the shipyard, the Albacore set out on her sixth patrol on 23 August 1943. This enterprise also took the submarine into the area of ​​the Bismarck Archipelago. During this patrol, the boat achieved two successes:

• September 4, 1943: The Japanese auxiliary cannon boat Heijo Maru (2,677 GRT) is torpedoed and sunk southwest of Ponape .
• September 5, 1943: Torpedoing and damage to the Japanese cargo ship Hokusho Maru (4,211 GRT) southwest of Ponape. The transporter could not be sunk due to torpedo failures and escaped.

On September 26, 1943, the Albacore ended its sixth patrol in Brisbane.

Seventh patrol

On October 12, 1943, the Albacore ran out on her seventh patrol, which led the submarine into the sea area between New Ireland and the Caroline Islands . The submarine did not succeed in sinking at first, but the Albacore was mistakenly attacked by a US aircraft on November 8, 1943 off New Ireland and pushed under water. Only four days later another friendly fire incident occurred southwest of the Caroline Islands , which almost caused the loss of the submarine; a Douglas A-20 of the Fifth Air Force dropped a 227-kilogram bomb on the albacore that was just missed. However, the close-up impact caused considerable damage to the on-board power supply and damaged the periscope . Since the submarine was in the alarm diving phase , it initially sank to a depth of 130 m before it could be stabilized again with great effort. The crew was only able to bring the Albacore back to the surface after two hours .

Despite the damage suffered, Lieutenant Commander Hagberg decided to stay in the patrol area for the time being and on the same day attempted to intercept the Japanese light cruiser Agano , which had been torpedoed and damaged by the US submarine Scamp, off Neu Hannover . However, the project failed due to the strong security and the Albacore had to endure a four-hour depth charge pursuit. Since these attacks caused damage again, Lieutenant Commander Hagberg decided to march back to Brisbane. Another success was achieved:

• November 25, 1943: Torpedoing and sinking of the single Japanese transporter Kenzan Maru (4,704 GRT) northeast of Manus .

On December 5, 1943, the Albacore ended its seventh patrol in Brisbane. After a three-week overhaul of the shipyard, a new commander came on board on December 26, 1943, Lieutenant Commander James W. Blanchard.

Eighth patrol

Having left for the eighth patrol at the end of December 1943 , the Albacore, which operates in the area between Micronesia and Papua New Guinea, achieved two successes:

• January 12, 1944: Torpedoing and sinking of the Japanese auxiliary gunboat Choko Maru No. 2 (2,629 GRT) about 350 nautical miles southwest of Truk . In addition, the Choko Maru No. 2 towed small motorboat Hayabusa-Tei No. 4 (25 GRT).
• January 14, 1944: The Japanese destroyer Sazanami (2,050 ts), traveling from Palau to Truk, is torpedoed and sunk about 300 nautical miles southeast of Yap . The ship, hit by two torpedoes, broke apart within three minutes and sank. 153 crew members were killed. 89 survivors were picked up by the Japanese destroyer Akebono .

After the eighth patrol ended in Pearl Harbor in February 1944 , the Albacore moved to the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in California , where it underwent a major overhaul that lasted until May 1944. On May 13, 1944, the submarine returned to Pearl Harbor.

Ninth patrol

Leaving Pearl Harbor on May 29, 1944 for the ninth patrol, the Albacore was included as an outpost submarine in the incoming US offensive against the Marianas ( Operation Forager ) and took part in the resulting battle in the Philippine Sea in June 1944 part. Lieutenant Commander Blanchard was sunk two times, including the Albacore's greatest success :

• June 19, 1944: Torpedoing and sinking of the Japanese aircraft carrier Taihō (28,287 ts) about 180 nautical miles north-northwest of Yap . The Japanese aircraft carrier, most modern at the time, was hit by a torpedo (from a fan of six torpedoes fired from about 8,000 m away ) in the morning hours and exploded about seven hours later because highly explosive gasoline vapors had accumulated inside. The ship sank at 4:32 p.m., killing 660 crew members.
• July 3, 1944: Sinking of the small Japanese freighter Taiei Maru (136 GRT), which was traveling alone, by fire with the deck gun about 50 nautical miles south-southwest of Yap. After the sinking, the Albacore rescued five survivors, but other Japanese seamen (14?) Refused to rescue and drowned.

On July 15, 1944, the Albacore ended its ninth patrol in Majuro .

Tenth patrol

On August 8, 1944, the submarine ran out of Majuro on its tenth patrol. The Albacore was supposed to operate primarily in the area between the Bungo Canal and the Kii Canal . In the course of this patrol, the Albacore was able to achieve three successes, albeit only against smaller vehicles:

• September 5, 1944: The Japanese freighter Shingetsu Maru (880 GRT) was torpedoed and sunk near Muroto .
• September 6, 1944: Torpedoing and sinking of the small Japanese auxiliary minesweeper Eguchi Maru No. 3 (198 GRT) in front of the Kii Canal.
• September 11, 1944: The Japanese auxiliary submarine hunter Ch-165 (130 ts) was torpedoed and sunk near the Kii Canal.

These were also the last successes of the Albacore . On September 25, 1944, the submarine returned to Pearl Harbor. There, on October 3, 1944, Lieutenant Commander Hugh R. Rimmer came on board as a new commander.

Downfall of the Albacore

After the Albacore set out on October 24, 1944 from Pearl Harbor and under the command of Lieutenant Commander Rimmer on her eleventh patrol, which should have led the submarine to the sea area southeast of Hokkaidō , she operated in the following two weeks off the east coast of Japan.

On November 7, 1944, the submerged Albacore near Esan Zaki , off the north coast of Honshūs , got into a Japanese minefield consisting of over 700 sea ​​mines . The armed Japanese coastal freighter Fukuei Maru No. used as a patrol ship . 7 was able to detect a violent underwater explosion and a ten-meter-high water column in the minefield on the morning of November 7th, around 9:30 a.m. Only a short time later, debris, cork , parts of a depth rudder and a film of oil floated up. It is now considered certain that the Albacore got into that minefield and sank after one or two mine hits (?).

Lieutenant Commander Rimmer and all 84 crew members went down with the Albacore ; there were no survivors. The wreck of the submarine is today at a depth of about 260 m. As part of the Lost 52 Project, the wreck is being searched for. After the Albacore had not returned from her patrol, she was deleted from the ship register on March 30, 1945.

Awards and Achievements

For missions in World War II, the Albacore was awarded a total of nine Battle Stars . In addition, the submarine was given a Presidential Unit Citation on the occasion of the second, third, eighth and ninth patrol. In total, the Albacore was able to sink five warships (an aircraft carrier , a light cruiser , two destroyers and a submarine fighter) with a total of 36,785 ts and seven cargo and auxiliary ships with a total of 11,249 GRT on ten patrols. In addition, a 4,211 GRT cargo ship was damaged.

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} Albacore (SS-218) of the US Navy - American Submarine of the Gato class - Allied Warships of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved March 21, 2020 . 
2. ↑ Long Lancers. Retrieved March 21, 2020 . 
3. ↑ Long Lancers. Retrieved March 21, 2020 . 
4. ↑ Imperial Flattops. Retrieved March 21, 2020 . 
5. ^ Albacore (SS 218). In: United States Submarine Losses World War II. Naval History and Heritage Command, February 2, 2017, accessed March 21, 2020 (American English). 
6. ↑ 52 Submarines. Ocean Outreach Project, accessed March 26, 2020 . 

literature

• Holwitt, Joel I .: Execute against Japan: The US decision to conduct unrestricted submarine warfare . Texas University Press, Austin 1999.
• Kimmett, Larry / Regis, Margaret: US Submarines in World War II. An Illustrated History of the Pacific . Navigator Publishing, 1996.
• Kurowski, Franz: War under water . Dortmund-Oespel 1978, new edition 1999.
• Padfield, Peter: The Submarine War 1939–1945 . Original edition: War beneath the Sea , London 1995.
• Peillard, Léonce : History of the Submarine War 1939–1945 . Original edition: Histoire Generale de la Guerre Sousmarine 1939–1945 . Paris, 1970.
• Roscoe, Theodore / Voge, Richard G .: United States submarine operations in World War II . Naval Institute Press, Annapolis 1950.

Web links

• The Albacore at uboat.net (English).
• Albacore in the Submarine Photo Archive on NavSource Online .
• The Albacore at Eternal Patrol .
• The Albacore at the Wrecksite Database .