USS Hackleback (SS-295)

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USS Hackleback (SS-295)
USS Hackleback (SS-295)
Overview
Keel laying August 15, 1942
Launch May 30, 1943
1. Period of service flag
Whereabouts deleted March 1, 1967;
scrapped from 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 × 12.7 cm on-board gun
(2 × 12.7 cm on-board guns from 1945)
1 × 4.0 cm Bofors FlaK
1 × 20 mm Oerlikon MK

The USS Hackleback (SS / AGSS-295) 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 March 1, 1967. The decommissioned submarine was sold to the demolition company Zidell Explorations to be scrapped in 1968 and scrapped in Portland .

Technology and armament

The Hackleback 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 Hackleback 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 four motors gave their power via two gears on two shafts with one screw each. The surface speed was a maximum of 20.25 knots , submerged the Hackleback still managed 8.75 knots. The maximum 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 12.7 cm deck gun was mounted behind the turret . A 40 mm anti - aircraft gun was initially housed in the winter garden and, according to the original plan, two 12.7 mm machine guns , but their installation has not been proven. In the summer of 1945 the Hackleback carried two 12.7 cm deck guns. This modification increased the combat strength of the submarine in surface battles as well as in attacks on coastal targets.

For locating enemy ships, the USS possessed Hackleback 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 Hackleback was launched on May 30, 1943, and was christened by Mrs. WL Wright. It was finally put into service on November 7, 1944. The commander of the Hackleback was Frederick E. Janney, who at the time of commissioning was in the rank of Lieutenant Commander .

Second World War

After the first training runs, the Hackleback was transferred to Pearl Harbor . She arrived there on January 25, 1945. After further training trips off Pearl Harbor, the boat left for the first patrol on March 6th.

During her total of three patrols (the third was canceled because Japan surrendered), the Hackleback could not sink any enemy merchant or warships.

However, the Hackleback was instrumental in the sinking of the Japanese battleship Yamato , albeit without using its own weapons . On April 7, 1945, the Hackleback was part of a US Navy submarine group patrolling north of Okinawa . Her radar detected a group of fast Japanese ships, which she then chased, but did not get a shot. Repeated radio messages from the Hackleback , with information on the position of the enemy fleet around the Yamato, at that time the last operational Japanese capital ship , led to the sinking of the Yamato. In addition, US Navy carrier aircraft sank a light cruiser and several destroyers.

Apart from two unsuccessful artillery attacks on Japanese light vehicles, the Hackleback had no significant contact with the enemy. During the second patrol they also fired 73 5-inch shells on a Japanese island. In addition, a crashed US Navy pilot was rescued from the sea.

After the war, the Hackleback was assigned to the reserve fleet. She lay with 51 other submarines on the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in California. On November 6, 1962, like many other older submarines, it was reclassified to the auxiliary submarine AGSS-295.

Whereabouts

On March 1, 1967, the Hackleback was deleted from the fleet register and offered for sale. In 1968 it was sold to a scrapping company for scrapping and scrapped in Portland.

Web links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Annotated photo gallery on Hackleback
  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. ↑ cf. here (text) and here (picture) .
  4. ^ 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 . - Another source does not name a 20 mm automatic cannon. See here .
  5. ^ 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
  6. ↑ The Balao Class on fleetsubmarine.com
  7. ↑ USS Hackleback in DANFS .