USS Capelin (SS-289)

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USS Capelin (SS-289)
USS Capelin (SS-289)
Overview
Keel laying September 14, 1942
Launch January 20, 1943
1. Period of service flag
Whereabouts missing after December 2, 1943
Technical specifications
displacement

1526  ts surfaced
2424 ts surfaced

length

95.0 meters

width

8.3 meters

Draft

5.1 meters (maximum)

Diving depth 120 meters
crew

10 officers ,
70 NCOs and
men
(at the end of November 1943 there were 76 (78) men on board.

drive

4 × 1350 PS diesel engines
(total 5400 PS)
4 × electric motors
(total 2740 PS)

speed

Surfaced 20.25 knots surfaced
8.75 knots

Range

11,000  nautical miles at 10 knots

Armament

10 × 53.3 cm torpedo tubes
(6 in the bow; 4 in the stern)
1 × 10.2 cm (4 inch) gun
1 × 4.0 cm Bofors FlaK
1 × 20 mm  Oerlikon MK

The USS Capelin (SS-289) was a Balao-class submarine and was used by the United States Navy in the Pacific theater during World War II .

Technology and armament

The Capelin was a Balao-class diesel-electric patrol submarine. The Balao class was only slightly improved compared to the Gato class and, like those, was designed for long offensive patrols in the Pacific . In particular, the diving depth has been increased and the interior has been improved based on experiences during the war against Japan . Outwardly and in their dimensions, the boats of both classes were largely the same.

technology

The Capelin was 95 meters long and 8.3 meters wide, the maximum draft was 5.1 meters. When surfaced it displaced 1526 ts , and when submerged it displaced  2424 ts. It was propelled by four 16-cylinder diesel engines from General Motors , model 16-278A, each with an output of 1000 kW. Under water, the submarine was powered by four electric motors with a total of 2740 hp, which obtained their energy from two 126-cell accumulators . The motors gave their power via a gearbox on two shafts with one screw each. The maximum surfaced speed was 20.25 knots , submerged the Bowfin still managed 8.75 knots. The possible diving time was 48 hours, the maximum construction diving depth was 120 meters. 440 cubic meters of diesel fuel could be stored in the fuel tanks , giving the boat a range of 11,000 nautical miles at 10 knots.

Armament

The main armament consisted of ten 533 mm torpedo tubes , six in the bow, four aft, for which 24 torpedoes were on board. A four-inch deck gun was installed in front of the turret . Two 12.7 mm machine guns and one 40 mm anti - aircraft gun were housed in the winter garden . For locating enemy ships, the disposal Capelin a JK / QC - and a QB - sonar under the bow, on deck were JP - hydrophones installed. On extendable electronics mast was a SD - radar with 20 mile range reconnaissance to locate enemy aircraft attached, in addition the submarine possessed a SJ -Oberflächensuchradar with about twelve nautical miles range. When submerged, enemy ships could also be located using the ST radar attached to the periscope with a range of eight nautical miles.

history

The submarine was laid down at the Portsmouth Navy Yard on September 14, 1942 . Baptized Capelin by Mrs. I. C Bogard , the English name for the capelin (also Kapelan ), the submarine was launched on January 20, 1943 and, after completion and the first test drives, was put into service on June 4, 1943 posed. Lieutenant Commander EE Marshall received command of the Capelin .

After commissioning, the Capelin moved from the east coast of the United States to the South Pacific in the summer of 1943, where it entered Brisbane on the east coast of Australia on September 3 . There she was incorporated into the submarine forces in the Southwest Pacific and soon started her first patrol into Japanese-controlled waters of Southeast Asia. Her first mission took the Capelin to the Molucca Sea , from there to the Floressee and on to the Banda Sea . On this patrol trip, the submarine was able to torpedo and sink the Japanese cargo ship Kunitama Maru on November 11, 1943 near the Moluccan island of Ambon . This remained the only confirmed success of the Capelin .

After returning to Darwin on November 15th due to technical problems , all repairs were completed in just 48 hours. The Capelin set sail again on November 17th . Her second patrol would be her last. From the day of her departure one never heard from the boat again, although one even called it by name, breaking the radio silence. Exactly when and where the boat sank and under what circumstances it was lost could not be clearly clarified after the war, despite the help of Japanese sources, so that the ship is counted among the units of the US Navy that were lost for unknown reasons. Possibly fell Capelin a Japanese destroyer attack on November 23, 1943 near the island of Halmahera victim after the freighter from her Kizan Maru was sunk. The attacker had thrown depth charges at a suspected American submarine and then observed oil-stained water, wood splinters, cork and other indications of a possibly destroyed submarine. The submarine could have been the Capelin . There were also Japanese minefields in the operational area, which could also be the cause of their loss.

With the Capelin her entire crew of 76 (78) went down.

The Capelin received a Battle Star for her first patrol .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. On Eternal Patrol: USS Capelin - When sinking 76 crew members are proven, two more likely, but not sufficiently documented.)
  2. ^ Friedman, Norman (1995). US Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute. Pp. 285-304. ISBN 1-55750-263-3 .
    Bauer, K. Jack; Roberts, Stephen S. (1991). Register of Ships of the US Navy, 1775-1990: Major Combatants. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. Pp. 275-280. ISBN 0-313-26202-0
  3. The Balao Class on fleetsubmarine.com
  4. ^ Sinking of the USS Capelin
  5. ^ USS Capelin in the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
  6. On Eternal Patrol: USS Capelin