USS Escolar (SS-294)

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USS Escolar (SS-294)
USS Escolar (SS-294)
Overview
Keel laying June 10, 1942
Launch April 18, 1943
1. Period of service flag
period of service

June 2, 1944 – October 1944

Whereabouts lost; last contact October 17, 1944; probably ran into a mine and sank, 82 dead.
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 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 × 12.7 cm (5 in) gun
1 × 40 mm Bofors gun
2 × 12.7 mm Browning machine guns

The USS Escolar (SS-294) was a submarine of the Balao-class submarine . It was used by the US Navy by the Pacific Fleet in the Pacific against Japan during World War II in 1944 . The submarine has been missing since October 1944 and it is believed that it ran into a sea ​​mine in the Yellow Sea and sank.

The boat was the only ship in the US Navy that bore this name. The submarine was named after the Escolar , a fish from the mackerel family .

Technology and armament

The Escolar 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 Escolar 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 surface speed was a maximum of 20.25 knots , submerged the Escolar 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 mounted behind the turret . A 20 mm Oerlikon automatic cannon and a 40 mm anti - aircraft gun were housed in the winter garden . For locating enemy ships, the USS possessed Escolar 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 had 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 Escolar was laid down on April 28, 1942 at the William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company in Philadelphia . It was launched on April 18, 1943 and was christened Escolar . Godmother was Mrs. J Bilisoly Hudgins. The Escolar was then transferred to the Boston Navy Yard for further work and finally to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard for completion and equipment .

The Escolar entered service on June 2, 1944. Commander WJ Millican received command of the submarine . Under his command, the boat moved through the Panama Canal to the Pacific in the summer of 1944 . Before Pearl Harbor , the Escolar conducted training drives .

On September 18, 1944, the Escolar ran out on her first patrol. She refueled on Midway and went with two other submarines, Croaker and Perch , on a coordinated mission in the Yellow Sea . On September 30, the Escolar reported her first contact with the enemy over the radio to the other two boats. She reported an overwater battle with a small enemy vehicle. Even one remained undamaged. No information was given about the opponent. The Perch's last radio contact with the Escolar was on October 17, 1944. Since then, the Escolar has been missing. How the boat was lost could not be definitively determined even after the war. Most likely, the submarine fell victim to a Japanese mine. All 82 crew members were killed.

Commemoration

In 1973, a memorial to the USS Escolar (SS-294) was dedicated in Charlevoix, Michigan .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ 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
  2. ↑ The Balao class at FleetSubmarine.com
  3. ↑ USS Escolar (SS-294) in DANFS .
  4. ↑ List of losses by the US Navy submarine forces .
  5. ^ List of soldiers who went down with the USS Cisco .

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