USS Devilfish (SS-292)

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USS Devilfish (SS-292)
USS Devilfish (SS-292)
Overview
Keel laying March 31, 1942
Launch May 30, 1943
1. Period of service flag
period of service

September 1, 1944-30. September 1946; in reserve: October 1, 1946–31. March 1967

Whereabouts Sunk as a target ship August 14, 1968.
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

drive

4 × 1350 PS-Fairbanks Morse Model 38D8-1/8
9-cylinder diesel -
opposed piston engines (. Ges 5400 PS)
4 × 685-horsepower electric motors
(. Ges 2740 hp)

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
1945 replaced by:
1 × 12.7 cm (5 inch)
1 × 4.0 cm Bofors FlaK
2 × 12.7 mm  Browning M2 MGs
later 1 × 20 mm Oerlikon MK

The USS Devilfish (SS / AGSS-292) was a submarine of the Balao-class submarine . It was used by the US Navy during the Second World War, initially as a training boat in the Caribbean , and from the end of 1944 by the Pacific Fleet in operations against Japan . During the Cold War , the submarine, most recently classified as an auxiliary submarine ( AGSS ), was kept in reserve until March 1, 1967. His last role was as a target ship for the USS Wahoo (SS-565) on August 14, 1968.

Technology and armament

The Devilfish 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 Devilfish 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. The drive was carried out by four nine-cylinder diesel - opposed piston engines of Fairbanks-Morse , Model 38D8-1/8, each having 1,000 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 Devilfish 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 USS possessed Devilfish 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 Devilfish was laid on March 31, 1942 at the William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company in Philadelphia . Launched on May 30, 1943, it was christened by Mrs. FW Fenno, Jr., wife of a Navy Cross bearer . Like all sister ships, the submarine SS-292 was named after a fish. The term devilfish refers to the devil ray . The submarine was put into service on September 1, 1944 under the command of Commander EC Stephen.

Second World War

During the Second World War, the Devilfish only made four patrols, only one of which was rated as successful.

  • 1st patrol: After commissioning, the submarine first completed the usual training program. Between October 18, 1943 and November 2, 1944, the submarine was used from Key West , where it was used there almost exclusively for training purposes, especially sonar training. Only then did it receive the order to march towards Pearl Harbor . On December 2, 1944, the Devilfish arrived there and set out on the first patrol on December 31, 1944 . After a stopover on Saipan to replenish supplies, she ran into the ordered operational area between the Kii Canal and the Bungo Canal, just off the Japanese island of Shikoku . The main task was the rescue of crashed American aircraft crews. The mission ended on February 13 in Guam .
  • 2. Patrol: Before leaving for the next mission, command of the boat changed. The new commander was Lieutenant Commander Stephen Stafford Mann, Jr., who commanded the boat until the end of the war. On March 16, Devilfish set sail again. The first destination should be Okinawa . On the approach, the Devilfish was hit by a Kamikaze aircraft during a Japanese air raid against American naval forces near the Kazan-rettō archipelago (main island is Iwo Jima ) and seriously damaged. Due to the damage, the submarine had to abort the mission and ended the unsuccessful patrol on April 4 in the port of Pearl Harbor, where the damage was subsequently repaired on March 20.
  • 3. Patrol: The boat set out for its third combat mission on May 20, 1945. The mission took the boat into the waters of the main Japanese islands. On June 16, the Devilfish attempted an attack on a Japanese submarine that was carrying a mini-submarine on deck. The attack was unsuccessful. An attack on a Japanese escort ship on June 26 was also unsuccessful. The Devilfish also acted as a rescue ship for aircraft crews on this patrol . She met other submarines several times and took over sick, injured and rescued aircraft crews from them. The trip ended in Guam on July 7th . Once again the Devilfish did not sink.
  • 4. Patrol: The fourth and final mission took the Devilfish again into the waters around the main Japanese islands. On August 10, Devilfish shelled the island of Torishima, south of the main Japanese island . However, there was no further fighting because of the surrender of Japan .

Their missions earned the Devilfish three Battle Stars . She could not achieve any sinking.

Cold War

Like many other submarines, the Devilfish was transferred to the reserve fleet after the Second World War and was mothballed in the Mare Island Naval Shipyard , California, along with other submarines from the Second World War.

Whereabouts

Devilfish is hit by a torpedo as a target ship (1968).

On March 1, 1967, the Devilfish was deleted from the fleet register. She was then prepared as a target ship and sunk on August 14, 1968 by the American submarine Wahoo during an exercise by a Mark 16 torpedo off the coast of California . There the wreck lies at a depth of approx. 3700 meters.

Web links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Annotated photo gallery of the USS Devilfish
  2. ^ A b c Norman Friedman: US Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History . United States Naval Institute, Annapolis MD 1995, pp. 285-304. ISBN 1-55750-263-3 .
  3. ↑ a b c H.T. Lenton: American Submarines. Garden City, Doubleday, New York 1973, p. 79.
  4. ^ 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
  5. ↑ The Balao Class on fleetsubmarine.com
  6. ↑ http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/3038.html
  7. ↑ USS Devilfish in DANFS .
  8. ↑ USS Devilfish at uboat.net
  9. ↑ Devilfish as part of the reserve fleet in Mare Island