USS Darter (SS-227)
Darter (SS-227), "Down the Ways," 6 June 1943.
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History | |
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United States | |
Name | USS Darter |
Builder | Electric Boat Company, Groton, Connecticut[1] |
Laid down | 20 October 1942[1] |
Launched | 6 June 1943[1] |
Sponsored by | Mrs. E. B. Wheeler |
Commissioned | 7 September 1943[1] |
Fate | Grounded in the Palawan Passage and scuttled on 24 October 1944[2] |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | |
Displacement | 1,525 long tons (1,549 t) surfaced,[2] 2,424 long tons (2,463 t) submerged[2] |
Length | 311 ft 9 in (95.02 m)[2] |
Beam | 27 ft 3 in (8.31 m)[2] |
Draft | 17 ft (5.2 m) maximum[2] |
Propulsion |
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Speed | 21 kn (24 mph; 39 km/h) surfaced,[3] 9 kn (10 mph; 17 km/h) submerged[3] |
Range | 11,000 nmi (13,000 mi; 20,000 km) surfaced @ 10 kn (12 mph; 19 km/h) [3] |
Endurance | 48 hours @ 2 kn (2.3 mph; 3.7 km/h) submerged,[3] 75 days on patrol |
Test depth | 300 ft (91 m) [3] |
Complement | 6 officers, 54 enlisted[3] |
Armament |
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USS Darter (SS-227), a Gato-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the darter.
Construction and commissioning
Darter′s
World War II
Darter put out from New London, Connecticut on 31 October 1943 for Pearl Harbor, arriving on 26 November.
First patrol
On 21 December 1943, she cleared harbor on her first war patrol, bound for the heavily traveled shipping lanes south and west of
Second patrol
On her way to her second war patrol north of Western New Guinea and south of Davao, Darter topped off fuel at Milne Bay on 21–22 March 1944. On 30 March, she sank a ship, then patrolled off New Guinea during Allied landings on its coast. She put into Darwin to refuel on 29–30 April, then returned to her patrol area until 23 May, when she arrived at Manus Island.
Third patrol
Refitted, she put out for action waters once more on 21 June on her third war patrol off Halmahera and Mindanao. She sank the IJN minelayer Tsugaru off Morotai on 29 June 1944, and again endured a heavy depth charge barrage as a result of her attack.
Fourth patrol
Returning to
In an outstanding performance of duty, which was to award both submarines the
As efforts to get the submarine off the shoal began, the
Dace reached
Postwar
In January 1952 a salvage party from the US Navy arrived at the wreck to dispose of the six torpedoes left on board in the forward torpedo room. Charges were placed around the torpedoes, and the resulting detonation blew off the entire bow. As of 1998 her badly deteriorated remains protrude above the surface on the reef.[10]
Awards
In addition to the Navy Unit Commendation, Darter received four battle stars earned during her four war patrols, the last three of which were designated as "successful". She is credited with having sunk a total of 19429 tons of Japanese shipping.
References
- ^ ISBN 1-55750-263-3.
- ^ ISBN 0-313-26202-0.
- ^ 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
- ^ Eternal Patrol
- ^ "Obituary - Captain David H. McClintock USN/Ret".
- ^ Bates, Richard W. (1958). The Battle for Leyte Gulf October 1944. Strategical and Tactical Analysis. Vol. V. Battle of Surigao Strait October 24th-25th (PDF). Newport, Rhode Island: Naval War College. p. 174.
- ^ After The Battle No. 106, 1999, pp. 46-53.
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.