USS Tunny (SS-282)

The USS Tunny in November 1942. The 7.62 cm deck gun is clearly visible aft of the tower.
Overview
Keel laying	November 10, 1941
Launch	June 30, 1942
1. Period of service
Commissioning	September 1, 1942
Whereabouts	Retired on June 28, 1969; sunk on June 19, 1970 as a target ship.
Technical specifications
displacement	Surface: 1,525 ts. Submerged: 2,424 ts
length	95.33 m
width	8.30 m
Draft	4.65 m
Diving depth	90 m test depth 140 m maximum depth
crew	62 men (1942) 84 men (1953)
drive	4 × 990 kW Fairbanks Morse -9- cylinder - Diesel engine 4 × 500 kW GE -electric 2 waves
speed	Surface: 20.25 kn. Submerged: 8.75 kn
Range	11,000 nm at 10 kn 75 days patrol duration Maximum dive time: 48 hours (at 2 kn)
Armament	6 × 53.3 cm torpedo tubes in the front 4 × 53.3 cm torpedo tubes in the rear 24 torpedoes up to 40 sea mines (optional) 1 × 7.62 cm deck gun (L / 50 Mark 18) 2 × 12.7 -mm machine guns 2 × 7.62-mm machine guns

The USS Tunny (SS-282 / SSG-282 / APSS-282 / LPSS-282) was a United States Navy submarine that was used in the Pacific theater of war during World War II . The 1,942 put into service submarine saw a comparatively long period of service, survived the war and was rebuilt several times after 1945 and reclassified so the boat in 1952 as part of the was Regulus program of the US Navy temporarily for cruise missile carrier (SSG 282) and converted into a troop transport for amphibious landing companies (APSS-282 / LPSS-282) in the 1960s. It was not until 1969 that it was finally decommissioned. The tunnies , named after a subspecies of the tuna related mackerel genus Euthynnus (Engl .: little tunny ) belonged to the Gato class and was completed as a unit 64 of this type. The Tunny was laid down on November 10, 1941 at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard (US state California ), launched on June 30, 1942 and was finally put into service on September 1, 1942. The first in command of the submarine was Commander Elton Watters Grenfell, who only commanded the boat during the training period.

period of service

After completing the test drives in California waters, the Tunny moved to Pearl Harbor in December 1942 to Submarine Squadron (Subron) 4 of the US Pacific Fleet . There Lieutenant Commander John Addison Scott took over command of the submarine on December 14th .

First patrol

The first patrol voyage, which lasted from January 12 to February 24, 1943, took the submarine into the waters around Formosa and into the south- east China Sea . Three successes are achieved here:

• February 3, 1943: Torpedoing and damage to the Japanese freighter Shinto Maru No. 1 (1,933 GRT) about ten nautical miles southeast of Hong Kong . The ship was able to escape due to torpedo failures.
• February 5, 1943: The Japanese army transport Tatsuwa Maru (6,345 GRT) was torpedoed and damaged about 35 nautical miles southeast of Hong Kong. The ship was hit by a torpedo, but it did not explode and only struck a small leak in the hull.
• February 8, 1943: Torpedoing and sinking of the Japanese army transporter Kusuyama Maru (5,306 GRT) about 30 nautical miles west-southwest of Tainan . The entire crew of 47 crew members went down with the ship.

On February 24, 1943, the Tunny's first patrol trip ended again in Pearl Harbor .

Second patrol

The second patrol run, which lasted from March 18 to April 23, 1943, took the submarine into the sea area of ​​the Carolines and the Northern Mariana Islands . In the course of this operation, the Tunny again achieved three successes:

• March 28, 1943: Torpedoing of the Japanese troop carrier Suwa Maru (10,672 GRT), which was traveling alone, about ten nautical miles southwest of Wake . The transporter, which had over 1,000 construction soldiers and crew members on board, lost its stern from two torpedo hits, but was still aground on the nearby coast, which meant that almost all passengers on board were able to save themselves. A total of 15 people were killed by the torpedo hits. The wreck of the Suwa Maru was later declared a total constructive loss and lay in front of Wake.
  

  The attached wreck of the Suwa Maru off Wake Island (photo from 1954).
• April 2, 1943: Torpedoing and sinking of the Japanese army transport Toyo Maru No. 2 (4,162 GRT) about five nautical miles west of the Puluwat Atoll . The ship, on whose route the Tunny became aware of a Magic message from the US radio observation, sank within eight minutes, killing 51 sailors. Only one survivor was rescued by a nearby escort vehicle. The same (presumably an older Momi- class patrol ship ) subsequently dropped nine depth charges at the Tunny , which suffered minor damage but was able to continue on patrol.
• April 7, 1943: Torpedoing and sinking of the Japanese fresh water and food transporter Kosei Maru (8,237 GRT) about 250 nautical miles northwest of Truk . This sinking may also be associated with a Magic message (?).

After all the torpedoes had been fired and since the submarine also needed an overhaul, the Tunny returned from the patrol on April 23, which, however, did not end in Pearl Harbor, but on the Midway Islands .

Third patrol

The third patrol, it lasted from May 25 to July 14, 1943, led the submarine again into the sea area of ​​the Carolines and the Northern Mariana Islands . The focus was primarily on reconnaissance tasks and not primarily attacks against Japanese supplies. Among other things, the boat cleared the coastlines of Rota , Eniwetok and Saipan . Since the mission lasted around seven weeks, the Tunny ran into Johnston Atoll twice during this time to take over fuel and fresh water. During this venture a success was achieved:

• June 28, 1943: Torpedoing and sinking of the armed Japanese freighter Shotoku Maru (1,964 GRT) used as a patrol ship immediately off the west coast of Rota. 38 Japanese sailors died in the sinking.

The submarine was then ordered back and returned to Pearl Harbor on July 14, 1943 .

Fourth patrol

As part of the fourth patrol, which began on August 5, 1943 in Pearl Harbor, the Tunny should have operated mainly in the sea area around the Palau Islands . However, the venture had to be terminated prematurely or no successes could be achieved, as the submarine was badly damaged on August 26, 1943 about six nautical miles west of Babeldaob in an attempt to attack a small Japanese convoy. The convoy running from Balikpapan to Babeldaob, consisting of the transporter Amagisan Maru and the fleet tanker Tsurumi as well as the submarine fighter Ch-4 , was initially attacked unsuccessfully with five torpedoes. During the counterattack by the Japanese submarine hunter, however , the Tunny suffered considerable damage from depth charges . Among other things, the pressure hull in the front part of the fuselage had been dented , the elevator bent and a fuel tank torn open. Lieutenant Commander Scott then decided to abort the mission and on September 8, 1943, the Tunny returned to Pearl Harbor.

The damage was so significant that the submarine had to be relocated to the US west coast for final repairs and a general overhaul . On September 17, 1943, the boat arrived at the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard in San Francisco . Repair and overhaul took more than four months to complete. It was not until February 2, 1944 that the Tunny left the shipyard and moved back to Pearl Harbor.

Fifth patrol

The fifth venture began on February 27, 1944 from Pearl Harbor and lasted until April 11, 1944. The submarine again operated mainly in the sea area around the Palau Islands . (The mission was also in the context of the preparations for Operation Desecrate One .) During the patrol trip, the Tunny achieved three successes:

• March 22, 1944: The large Japanese fleet tanker Iro (14,450 GRT) is torpedoed and damaged about 120 nautical miles west of Koror . The tanker belonging to convoy O-507 was, together with six other transporters and tankers, on the way from Balikpapan to Palau and was damaged by a torpedo hit in the bow area. The strong security (three destroyers and five submarine fighters) could then thwart further attack attempts, whereby the Tunny had to survive a four-hour depth charge pursuit.
• March 23, 1944: The Japanese U-cruiser I 42 (2,624 ts) was torpedoed and sunk around six nautical miles southwest of Angaur . The large submarine, on a supply trip from Koror to Rabaul , left Palau on the afternoon of March 23, 1944 and was spotted by the Tunny using radar during the night, around 9:20 p.m. But the very vigilant Japanese tower lookouts also noticed the US submarine. As a result, an almost two-hour duel ensued in the dark, in which both boats tried to get into a suitable firing position. Finally, the somewhat smaller and more agile Tunny won the duel and scored two torpedo hits on I 42 at 23:24 . When the Japanese submarine went down, the entire crew of 102 men were killed.
• March 29, 1944: The Japanese super battleship Musashi (65,000 ts) was torpedoed and damaged about eight nautical miles from Koror. The big ship, accompanied by three heavy cruisers and eight destroyers, had left Koror to move to the Philippines . The Tunny attacked the formation shortly after leaving the port with a fan of six torpedoes. Five torpedoes missed or underwent the battleship, the sixth hit the giant ship at 17:44 in the bow area. This destroyed the front hydrophone room and tore a hole about six meters in diameter in the hull, and around 3,000 tons of water broke into the ship. 18 sailors aboard the Musashi were killed. The strong security then pushed the submarine away so that no further attacks were possible. The battleship then moved to Kure and was repaired there until the end of April 1944.

On March 30, 1944 - at this point the attacks by Task Force 58 as part of Operation Desecrate One against the Palau Islands began - the Tunny was used while the submarine was southwest of Babeldaob and as a rescue unit for downed US pilots was supposed to act, mistakenly attacked by two Grumman Avenger torpedo bombers from the aircraft carrier Yorktown and only escaped destruction by great luck. A dropped 227-kilogram bomb ricocheted off the surface of the water next to the submarine, hurled between the tower and the deck gun over the deck and finally exploded on the starboard side of the Tunny in the sea. The pressure hull was torn open by the nearby explosion, and the sonar and radar continued to fail due to the vibration . The damage from this friendly fire incident was so considerable that the submarine had to break off the patrol. The Tunny initially headed for Milne Bay as a port of refuge, where the first makeshift repairs were made. On April 11, the boat finally reached Brisbane , Australia , where the fifth patrol ended.

Sixth patrol

After a three-week repair and overhaul in Brisbane, the Tunny set out on April 29, 1944 on her sixth patrol operation. This lasted until July 2, 1944, led the submarine into the sea area of ​​the Marianas and temporarily into the Luzon Strait . A success was achieved here:

• May 17, 1944: The Japanese army transporter Nichiwa Maru (4,955 GRT) is torpedoed and sunk about 130 nautical miles northwest of Guam . The ship belonged to from Saipan to Yap current four-ship convoy No. 3503, which was attacked jointly by the Tunny and the US submarine Sand Lance . (The Sand Lance was sunk twice in this attack.)

Subsequently, the Tunny operated in the Luzon Strait (north of Luzon ) as a reconnaissance unit, whereby the boat managed to sink an unidentified Japanese fishing sampan (about 100 GRT) about 25 nautical miles southwest of Sabtang on June 16, 1944 by gunfire . On July 2, the submarine completed its sixth patrol in Pearl Harbor.

Seventh patrol

After a one-month overhaul, during which time a new commander came on board, Commander George Ellis Pierce, the Tunny set off from Pearl Harbor on August 4, 1944 for the seventh patrol. The submarine was intended to operate primarily in the South China Sea . Before any success could be achieved, however, the Tunny was attacked on September 1, 1944, about 60 nautical miles southwest of Kaohsiung , by a low-flying Japanese Ki-49 bomber , which had not been detected by radar, and was seriously attacked by four bombs damaged. Here, the flaps of the aft torpedo tubes and the depth rudder were bent and two ballast tanks were torn open; In addition, the stuffing boxes of the shaft tunnels leaked . Since this damage made a stay in the shipyard necessary, Commander Pierce broke off the mission and the Tunny returned to Pearl Harbor on September 17, 1944.

There, however, the damage turned out to be so serious that three days later the order was issued that the boat should be relocated to the US west coast for final repairs. On September 26, 1944, the boat finally arrived at the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard in San Francisco . The repairs take a total of almost three and a half months. It wasn't until January 29, 1945 that the Tunny returned to Pearl Harbor.

Eighth patrol

The eighth patrol lasted from February 3 to April 14, 1945. The Tunny operated here mainly in the sea area east of the Ryūkyū Islands . The focus was not on targeted operations against Japanese trade, but on rescue missions for US pilots who were thrown into the water (so-called lifeguard missions). In the course of the venture, the submarine managed to recover three downed US pilots from the sea, including two pilots from the aircraft carrier Intrepid (on March 27, 1945) and another pilot from the carrier Bennington (on March 28, 1945). During the march back, the boat had another success against a smaller ship. It should be the last sinking of the Tunny .

• April 4, 1945: Bombardment and sinking of a small Japanese cargo ship (200 GRT) about 200 nautical miles northeast of Ogasawara-guntō . 44 rounds were fired from the 12.7 cm deck gun. Survivors could not be found, although the place where the sailor sank was searched.

On April 14, 1945, the eighth patrol ended again in Pearl Harbor.

Ninth patrol

The ninth patrol mission of the Tunny , which lasted from May 28 to July 6, 1945, was largely uneventful, and there were hardly any sightings of Japanese air and naval forces or cargo traffic. The submarine operated temporarily in conjunction with two other boats ( submarine pack "Hydeman's Hellcats"), but there were no successes. The focus of operation was the Sea of ​​Japan , with the Tunny once again mainly acting as a rescue unit for pilots who had been thrown into the water. However, no rescues were recorded. The crew also observed Japanese minefields in the Korea Strait . As part of this dangerous task, over 80 sea mines were discovered and recorded in maps.

The boat returned to Pearl Harbor on July 6th. A new patrol did not take place because the Second World War ended in mid-August 1945 (see surrender of Japan ). The Tunny subsequently moved to the US west coast in September and was (for the time being) decommissioned on December 13, 1945 at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard .

Achievements and Awards

Below is a tabular overview of the Japanese ships attacked by the Tunny . Sunk ships are highlighted in bold in the results column . The names of the two very small ships sunk last are not known and are subsequently recorded as (unknown).

date	Surname	Ship type	Measurement / tonnage	Result (weapon type)	annotation
February 3, 1943	Shinto Maru No. 1	Army transporter	1,933 GRT	damaged (torpedo)
February 4, 1943	Tatsuwa Maru	Army transporter	6,345 GRT	damaged (torpedo)
February 8, 1943	Kusuyama Maru	Cargo ship	5,306 GRT	sunk (torpedo)	Death of the entire crew (47 seamen).
March 28, 1943	Suwa Maru	Troop transport	10,672 GRT	sunk (torpedo)	The ship could indeed be placed near the shore, but later had to be written off as a total constructive loss.
April 2, 1943	Toyo Maru No. 2	Army transporter	4,162 GRT	sunk (torpedo)	Only one survivor, 51 fatalities.
April 7, 1943	Kosei Maru	Cargo ship	8,237 GRT	sunk (torpedo)	Supply ship.
June 28, 1943	Shotoku Maru	Patrol ship	1,964 GRT	sunk (torpedo)	Armed patrol ship, 38 fatalities.
March 22, 1944	Iro	Fleet tanker	14,450 GRT	damaged (torpedo)	Largest cargo or tanker torpedoed by the Tunny .
March 23, 1944	I 42	Submarine	2,624 ts	sunk (torpedo)	The entire crew (102 sailors) was killed.
March 29, 1944	Musashi	Battleship	65,000 ts	damaged (torpedo)	Largest warship torpedoed by the Tunny .
May 17, 1944	Nichiwa Maru	Army transporter	4,955 GRT	sunk (torpedo)
June 16, 1944	(unknown)	Fishing trawler	100 GRT	sunk (deck gun)
April 4, 1945	(unknown)	Freighter	200 GRT	sunk (deck gun)

In total, the Tunny had sunk eight cargo ships, troop carriers and smaller ships (with a total of 35,596 GRT) and damaged another three ships (with a total of 22,728 GRT) on nine patrols. There was also a sunk submarine (2,624 ts) and the damage to the super battleship Musashi .

For its missions in World War II , the Tunny was awarded a total of nine Battle Stars . In addition, the submarine was twice awarded a Presidential Unit Citation (for the second and fifth patrol). The boat also received the World War II Victory Medal and the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal . For later missions during the Vietnam War (see below), the submarine also received five more Battle Stars and the Vietnam Service Medal .

Use in the post-war period

The submarine, which was temporarily decommissioned in 1945 and transferred to the reserve fleet , was briefly put back into service between February and April 1952 to be used in the context of the Korean War. However, this project was quickly rejected, as there was no worthwhile range of tasks here, and the submarine was again transferred to the fleet reserve. In July 1952, the order was finally issued to convert the Tunny into a test weapon carrier for the Regulus cruise missiles introduced into the United States Navy in 1951 .

Experimental submarine for the Regulus program

Between July 1952 and March 1953, the Tunny was converted into a test weapon carrier for Regulus cruise missiles on the Mare Island Naval Shipyard . All guns were dismantled here, a diesel engine and an electric motor were removed and the command tower was slightly raised. The maximum speed (surfaced) thereby fell to around 17 kn (approx. 31.5 km / h). A pressure-tight transport container (for two missiles) and two launch rails (RGM-6) for launching the Regulus cruise missiles were housed aft of the tower. As a result of the renovation work, the maximum water displacement sank slightly to around 2,370 ts .

Launch sequence of a Regulus cruise missile aboard the Tunny (around 1956).

On March 6, 1953, the Tunny was put back into service. The official identification of the submarine was now SSG-282 ( Ship Submersible Guided Missile ). The submarine had to surface for the missile to be fired. The first test shot from aboard the Tunny - and thus also the first ever launch of a cruise missile from a submarine - took place on July 15, 1953. The missiles had a range of around 500 nautical miles and could be equipped with nuclear warheads of up to two megatons of explosive force. Until 1964 the Tunny drove as a test submarine and fired 32 cruise missiles for maneuvering purposes during this time. In the same year, with the commissioning of the then new Polaris rockets, the Regulus program ended.

Operations in the context of the Vietnam War

After the Regulus missiles were decommissioned , the Tunny was converted into a landing ship for amphibious operations by special forces in 1965/66 and was temporarily given the new identifier APSS-282 ( Amphibious Assault Submarine ). Instead of the previous missile shelter, the boat was now given a correspondingly converted dry deck shelter . The submarine could now carry up to 18 elite soldiers from the United States Navy SEALs, as well as water sleds , inflatables and two or three SDVs .

After various test and maneuver missions, the Tunny finally moved off the coast of Vietnam at the end of 1966 to carry out covert operations against communist Viet Cong guerrillas in the context of the Vietnam War . In this regard, the submarine carried out at least five COIN missions. The starting point for these companies was usually the Subic Bay naval base . Even if not all the details have become known - or are in part still subject to confidentiality - the Tunny took part in Operation Deckhouse VI in February 1967 and landed SEALs and parts of a command of the 1st Battalion of the 4th US Marine Regiment southeast of the provincial capital Quảng Ngãi . The operation was subsequently rated as a success.

The operations off the coast of Vietnam lasted until the end of 1967. In January 1968, the Tunny received the new identification LPSS-282 ( Amphibious Transport Submarine ), but from this point on it was very likely not to take part in any further operations. Since there was obviously no further need for the outdated submarine, it was moved back to the US west coast in mid-1968 and finally decommissioned there on June 28, 1969.

Whereabouts

After the Tunny from on June 30, 1969 Naval Vessel Register was canceled, the boat was for almost a year placed in the Mare Iceland Naval Shipyard . As part of a SINKEX , the submarine was finally sunk on June 19, 1970 off the coast of California by the US submarine Volador by a torpedo shot.

Maintenance of tradition

With the nuclear-powered Tunny (SSN-682) , a Sturgeon- class hunting submarine , a second submarine with this name was in service with the US Navy from 1974 to 1998.

literature

• Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships , Volume VII (V - T), 1981.
• Donald A. Bertke, Don Kindell, Gordon Smith: World War II - Sea War: Anzio, Kwajalein, Eniwetok and the Admiralty Islands . Vol. 12. Bertke Publications. Dayton (OH) 2018.
• Donald A. Bertke, Don Kindell, Gordon Smith: World War II - Sea War: New Guinea, Normandy and Saipan . Vol. 13. Bertke Publications. Dayton (OH) 2018.
• Douglas E. Campbell: Save Our Souls. Rescues Made by US Submarines During World War II . Lulu Press. Raleigh (NC) 2016.
• Karl E. Heden: Sunken Ships. World War II US Naval Chronology, Including Submarine Losses of the United States, England, Germany, Japan, Italy . Branden Publishing Company. Wellesley (MA) 2006.
• Theodore Roscoe, Richard G. Voge: United States Submarine Operations in World War II . United States Naval Institute Press. Annapolis (MD) 1950.
• Paul H. Silverstone: The Navy of World War II . Routledge / Taylor & Francis Group. New York (NY) 2008.

Web links

• USS Tunny at uboat.net (English).
• USS Tunny in the Submarine Photo Archive from NavSource Online.
• USS Tunny at Naval History and Heritage Command (English).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Note: This armament corresponds to the condition when it was commissioned in 1942, later there were numerous changes. The 12.7 mm machine guns were dismantled in 1943 and replaced by two 20 mm Oerlikon cannons . In 1944, the 7.62 cm deck gun L / 50 Mark 18 was replaced by a 12.7 cm L / 25 Mark 17 gun. As part of the Regulus program, all guns were dismantled from 1953 onwards.
2. ↑ http://www.combinedfleet.com/Tatsuwa_t.htm .
3. ↑ http://www.combinedfleet.com/Suwa_t.htm (including a picture of the stranded ship)
4. ↑ http://www.wlb-stuttgart.de/seekrieg/43-04.htm
5. ↑ https://diverota.com/photos/shotokumaru05.htm
6. ↑ Donald A. Bertke, Don Kindell, Gordon Smith: World War II - Sea War: Anzio, Kwajalein, Eniwetok and the Admiralty Islands . Vol. 12. Bertke Publications. Dayton (OH) 2018, p. 382.
7. ↑ http://www.combinedfleet.com/I-42.htm
8. ^ Donald A. Bertke: World War II - Sea War . Vol. 12, p. 384.
9. ^ Donald A. Bertke, Don Kindell, Gordon Smith: World War II - Sea War: New Guinea, Normandy and Saipan . Vol. 13. Bertke Publications. Dayton (OH) 2018, p. 255.
10. ^ Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships , Volume VII (V - T), 1981, p. 341.
11. ↑ https://de.scribd.com/document/175808835/SS-282-Tunny-Part1
12. ↑ Cargo ships, tankers and transporters are listed in BRT, warships in ts.