USS Dragonet (SS-293)

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USS Dragonet (SS-293)
USS Dragonet (SS-293)
Overview
Keel laying April 28, 1942
Launch April 18, 1943
1. Period of service flag
Whereabouts Sunk as a target ship in Chesapeake Bay during demolition tests on September 17, 1961.
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 × 12.7 cm on-board gun
1 × 4.0 cm Bofors FlaK
1 × 20 mm Oerlikon MK

The USS Dragonet (SS / AGSS-293) was a submarine of the Balao-class submarine . It was used by the US Navy during World War II from late 1944 onwards by the Pacific Fleet in operations against Japan . During the Cold War , the submarine was held in reserve until April 1, 1961. His last function was that of a test ship for demolition tests.

Technology and armament

The Dragonet 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 Dragonet 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 of 1,000 kW had. 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 Dragonet 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 Dragonet a JK / QC and - 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 Dragonet was laid down on April 28, 1942 at the William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company in Philadelphia . She was launched on April 18, 1943 and was christened by Mrs. JE Gingrich. Like all sister ships, the submarine SS-292 was named after a fish. The English name dragonet refers to the lyre fish family . The submarine was commissioned on March 6, 1944. Jack Hayden Lewis was in command of the boat.

Second World War

During the Second World War, the Dragonet only made three patrols, two of which were rated as successful.

  • 1. patrol (1 November 1944 to 20 December 1944.): The Dragonet reached on Oct. 9, 1944 Pearl Harbor . From there she started her operations against Japan with the departure for the first war operation on November 1st. The area of ​​operation was the Sea of ​​Okhotsk north of the main Japanese islands. On the approach, the boat ran aground near the Kuril Islands during a dive in an unmapped shoal and was severely damaged. Water ingress occurred in the area of ​​the bow torpedo room. The ship had to abort the operation and on the march back it was also caught in a violent storm that almost capsized the boat due to the existing damage. On December 20, the boat reached Midway , where makeshift repairs were made before a thorough repair could take place at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in California .
Dragonet (far left) with other boats of the reserve fleet in the roadstead in the Naval Shipyard
  • 2nd patrol (April 19, 1945– July 8, 1944): After the boat had returned to Pearl Harbor on April 2, 1945, it ran out on April 19 for the second patrol. After a stay in Guam to supplement fuel and provisions (May 1st - 3rd), the boat served as a rescue ship for American aircraft crews who had crashed or were shot down. She was able to save four USAAF soldiers and bring them to Guam. In Guam, the boat finished the mission on June 10th.
  • 3. Patrol (July 8th – August 17th): The third and last war mission of the Dragonet , which in turn envisaged the use as a rescue ship for airmen, took them near the Japanese island of Okino Shima. There the pilot of a US Navy aircraft was rescued . Until the end of the war, the boat, operating near the Japanese coast, could no longer launch any attacks on Japanese shipping, nor could it achieve any success. The commanding officer during the third patrol was Gerald G. Hinman.

Both the second and the third patrol were rated as successful . The ship received a Battle Star for each .

post war period

After the surrender of Japan, the submarine was decommissioned on April 16, 1946. Like many other US Navy submarines, the Dragonet was transferred to the reserve fleet after the Second World War and was mothballed in the Mare Island Naval Shipyard , California, alongside other submarines from the Second World War. Unlike other boats in the class, it was not reactivated during the Korean War or for use as a training submarine or for other tasks, but remained with the reserve fleet until it was removed from the fleet register. There was also no modernization ( GUPPY ).

Whereabouts

On September 17, 1961, the USS Dragonet was sunk in Chesapeake Bay as a test ship for explosive tests.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Annotated photo gallery of the USS Dragonet
  2. ^ A b 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 .
  3. ^ A b Friedman, Norman (1995). US Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute. Pp. 306-311. ISBN 1-55750-263-3 .
  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. ↑ USS Dragonet in DANFS.
  7. ↑ USS Dragonet on ww2db.com (incl. Photos)
  8. ↑ Submarine SS-293 on fleetsubmarine.com
  9. ↑ Devilfish as part of the reserve fleet in Mare Island