USS Bluefish (SS-222)
Bluefish slides down the ways at Groton, 21 February 1943.
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History | |
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United States | |
Builder | Electric Boat Company, Groton, Connecticut[2] |
Laid down | 5 June 1942[2] |
Launched | 21 February 1943[1] |
Sponsored by | Mrs. Robert Y. Menzie |
Commissioned | 24 May 1943[2] |
Decommissioned | 12 February 1947[2] |
Recommissioned | 7 January 1952[2] |
Decommissioned | 20 November 1953[2] |
Stricken | 1 September 1958[2] |
Fate | Sold for scrap, 8 June 1960[1] |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | |
Displacement | |
Length | 311 ft 9 in (95.02 m)[1] |
Beam | 27 ft 3 in (8.31 m)[1] |
Draft | 17 ft (5.2 m) maximum[1] |
Propulsion |
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Speed | |
Range | 11,000 nautical miles (13,000 mi; 20,000 km) surfaced at 10 kn (12 mph; 19 km/h)[3] |
Endurance |
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Test depth | 300 ft (90 m)[3] |
Complement | 6 officers, 54 enlisted[3] (peacetime) |
Armament |
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Construction and training
Bluefish was laid down 5 June 1942 by
- On 8 September 1943, a Melville Island.[8]
First war patrol
Bluefish departed Brisbane on 9 September 1943 to patrol the South China Sea for 25 days.[9] On 25 September Bluefish torpedoed the Japanese merchantman Akashi Maru (3228 GRT) south-east of Celebes, Netherlands East Indies, in the Flores Sea. While following the damaged Akashi Maru, Bluefish torpedoed and sank the Japanese torpedo boat Kasasagi (595 tons) on 27 September about 25 nmi (46 km; 29 mi) south of Celebes. On 29 September Bluefish found and sank the damaged Akashi Maru north of Wetar.[10]
Second war patrol
Bluefish departed
Third war patrol
Bluefish departed Fremantle in December 1943 for a 27-day patrol of the South China Sea.[9] On 30 December, she sank the Japanese oiler Ichiyu Maru (5061 GRT) in the Java Sea. After laying mines off the eastern Malayan coast on 3 January 1944, Bluefish attacked a Japanese convoy off Indo-China together with Rasher. Bluefish torpedoed and sank the Japanese tanker Hakko Maru (6046 GRT) on 4 January.[10]
Fourth war patrol
Bluefish departed Fremantle in February 1944 under the command of Charles M. Henderson for a 58-day patrol of the South China Sea.[11] on 4 March Bluefish torpedoed and sank the Japanese oiler Ominesan Maru (10536 GRT) in the South China Sea about 300 nmi (560 km; 350 mi) west of Miri, Sarawak.[10]
Fifth war patrol
Bluefish departed Fremantle in May 1944 for a 53-day patrol of the Celebes Sea.[12] On 16 June, she sank the Japanese merchant Nanshin Maru (1422 GRT) in the Celebes Sea south-west of Tarakan, Borneo. On 21 June, she sank the Japanese transport Kanan Maru (3280 GRT) off the southern approaches to Makassar Strait.[10]
Sixth war patrol
Bluefish departed Fremantle in July 1944 for a 54-day patrol to Pearl Harbor.
Seventh war patrol
Bluefish departed Pearl Harbor in February 1945 for an unproductive 42-day patrol of Japanese coastal waters.[14]
Eighth war patrol
Bluefish departed Pearl Harbor in April 1945 under the command of George W. Forbes for an unproductive 38-day patrol to Fremantle.[15]
Ninth war patrol
Bluefish departed Fremantle in June 1945 for a 33-day patrol of the South China Sea.
Post-war operations
With the cessation of hostilities, Bluefish returned to the United States, arriving at
Bluefish was recommissioned 7 January 1952 at the Submarine Base, New London, and reported to
On 7 June 1953 Bluefish arrived at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine. Following pre-inactivation overhaul at the shipyard, she was placed out of commission in reserve at New London 20 November 1953.
Honors and awards
- Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with 10 battle stars for World War IIservice
References
Citations
- ^ ISBN 0-313-26202-0.
- ^ ISBN 1-55750-263-3.
- ^ a b c d e f U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305-311
- ^ OCLC 24010356.
- ^ U.S. Submarines Through 1945 p. 261
- ^ a b c U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311
- ^ Blair
- ^ Hinman & Campbell, p. 26.
- ^ a b c Blair, pp.910 & 911
- ^ a b c d e f g "Bluefish (SS-222)". uboat.net. Guðmundur Helgason. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
- ^ Blair, p.920
- ^ Blair, p.922
- ^ Blair, p.930
- ^ Blair, p.942
- ^ Blair, p.950
- ^ Blair, p.948
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
Bibliography
- ISBN 9780397007530.
- Hinman, Charles R., and Douglas E. Campbell. The Submarine Has No Friends: Friendly Fire Incidents Involving U.S. Submarines During World War II. Syneca Research Group, Inc., 2019. ISBN 978-0-359-76906-3.
External links
- ^