USS Drum (SS-228)
History | |
---|---|
United States | |
Namesake | Drum, Fish |
Ordered | 12 June 1940 |
Builder | Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine[1] |
Laid down | 11 September 1940[1] |
Launched | 12 May 1941[1] |
Sponsored by | Mrs. Thomas Holcomb |
Commissioned | 1 November 1941[1] |
Decommissioned | 16 February 1946[1] |
Stricken | 30 June 1968[1] |
Fate | Museum ship 14 April 1969 |
Status | Museum ship at Mobile, Alabama[2] |
Badge | |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | |
Displacement |
|
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 |
|
Speed | |
Range | 11,000 nmi (20,000 km; 13,000 mi) surfaced at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)[3] |
Endurance | 48 hours at 2 knots (3.7 km/h; 2.3 mph) submerged,[3] 75 days on patrol |
Test depth | 300 ft (91 m)[3] |
Complement | 8 officers, 75 enlisted[3] |
Armament |
|
USS Drum (submarine) | |
Location | Mobile, Alabama |
Coordinates | 30°40′52″N 88°1′0″W / 30.68111°N 88.01667°W |
Built | 1941 |
Architect | Portsmouth Naval Shipyard |
NRHP reference No. | 86000086 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | 14 January 1986[7] |
Designated NHL | 14 January 1986[8] |
USS Drum (SS-228) is a Gato-class submarine of the United States Navy, the first Navy ship named after the drum, a type of fish. Drum is a museum ship in Mobile, Alabama, at Battleship Memorial Park.
Drum was the twelfth of the Gato class but was the first completed and the first to enter combat in World War II. She is the oldest of her class still in existence.
Construction and commissioning
Drum was
Service history
November 1941–April 1942
After
Drum arrived at Naval Station Pearl Harbor at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on 1 April 1942. She departed Pearl Harbor on 14 April 1942 and proceeded to Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
First war patrol
Drum departed Midway Atoll to begin her first war patrol. Cruising off the coast of Japan, she sank the Japanese seaplane tender Mizuho on 2 May and afterwards endured a 16-hour depth charge attack consisting of 31 depth charges. Later that month she sank three cargo ships (first unidentified, second: Shonan Maru (5000 BRT) third Kitakata Maru (2300 BRT) ) before returning to Pearl Harbor on 12 June to refit. For her efforts, the crew were awarded the Submarine Combat Patrol insignia.[10]
Second war patrol
Drum's second war patrol, which she made in the waters between Truk and Kavieng from 10 July – 2 September, found her efforts frustrated by poor torpedo performance, but she damaged one freighter before returning to Midway to refit.
Third war patrol
The submarine sailed from Midway on 23 September on her third war patrol, bound for the eastern coast of
Fourth war patrol
On her fourth patrol, 29 November 1942 – 24 January 1943, Drum carried out the demanding task of planting mines in heavily traveled
Fifth and sixth war patrols
After a thorough overhaul at Pearl Harbor, Drum made her fifth war patrol, 24 March – 13 May, searching waters south of Truk after she had completed a photographic reconnaissance of Nauru. She sank the cargo vessel Yuzan (Oyama) Maru of 3809 tons on 9 April, and on 18 April she sank the 6380 ton cargo ship Nisshun Maru, carrying a cargo of ammunition, then refitted at Brisbane, Australia. Her sixth war patrol, 7 June – 26 July, found her north of the Bismarck Archipelago, where on 17 June she found a 3 ship convoy consisting of 2 cargo ships under escort by a destroyer and sank the 5086 ton cargo-passenger ship Myoko Maru.
Seventh war patrol
She returned to Brisbane to replenish, and on 16 August sailed on her seventh war patrol. She damaged the 6439 ton cargo ship Yamagiri Maru, carrying a load of raw materials for the war effort, with two torpedoes on 28 August. Adding to her impressive list of sinkings, she sank the 1334 ton cargo ship Hakutetsu Maru 13 on 8 September, as well and patrolled off New Georgia during the landings there. She put into Tulagi from 29 September – 2 October to repair her gyrocompass, then sailed on to Brisbane.
Eighth war patrol
Drum sailed on 2 November for her eighth war patrol, coordinated with the landings at Cape Torokina. Patrolling between the Carolines and New Ireland, she sank the submarine tender Hie Maru (11,621 tons) on 17 November, and on 22 November attacked a convoy of four freighters. The convoy's escorts delivered three depth charge attacks. Drum was heavily damaged and ordered to Pearl Harbor. She arrived there on 5 December; inspection revealed that the conning tower needed to be replaced, which required that she sail to the West Coast.
Ninth war patrol
Returning to Pearl Harbor on 29 March 1944, Drum sailed 11 days later on her ninth war patrol, during which she patrolled the waters around
Tenth and eleventh war patrols
The submarine refitted at
Twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth patrols
Drum replenished and made repairs at Majuro from 8 November – 7 December, then sailed for the
Post-World War II
Drum was decommissioned on 16 February 1946 and on 18 March 1947, began service at Washington, D.C., to members of the Naval Reserve in the Potomac River Naval Command, which continued through 1967. She was in the inactive Fleet at Norfolk, Virginia from 1967 to 1969.
Awards
Drum received a total of 12
Museum ship and landmark
Drum was donated to the USS Alabama Battleship Commission on 14 April 1969. She was towed to Battleship Alabama Memorial Park in Mobile, Alabama arriving on 18 May 1969. Drum was dedicated and opened to the public on 4 July 1969.
The submarine was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1986.[8][12]
Drum was moored in the waters behind Alabama, until she was substantially damaged by the storm surge of Hurricane Georges in 1998. As a result, she is now on display on shore. Alabama and Drum also sustained damage when Hurricane Katrina came ashore on 29 August 2005. Tours on board Drum resumed 9 January 2006. Most funding to maintain the submarine comes from a community of American Submarine Vets.
As of 2015[update], the Drum's restoration has progressed, including the complete rebuilding of part of the bow and stern sections and the installation of new I-beams inside the ballast tanks to support the submarine's overall weight.[13]
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Drum in 1983, prior to her relocation
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Drum Topside
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Bell
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Exterior with Mobile skyline in background
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Interior
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Drum Forward Torpedo room
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Periscope
See also
- List of most successful American submarines in World War II
- List of National Historic Landmarks in Alabama
References
Citations
- ^ a b c d e f
Friedman, Norman (1995). U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History. ISBN 1-55750-263-3.
- ^ a b c d e f
ISBN 0-313-26202-0.
- ^ a b c d e f U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311
- ^ ISBN 978-0-313-26202-9.
- ^ U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 261–263
- ^ a b c U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 23 January 2007.
- ^ a b "USS Drum (Submarine)". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on 11 January 2008. Retrieved 27 October 2007.
- ^ Hinman & Campbell, p. 46.
- ^ "USS Drum History" (PDF). USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
- ^ "HyperWar: Japanese Naval and Merchant Shipping Losses [Chapter 6]".
- ^
Butowsky, Harry A. (May 1985). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: USS Drum (SS-228)". National Park Service. Retrieved 22 June 2009. and
"Accompanying 4 photos, 1 exterior and 3 interior, from 1985". Retrieved 29 August 2012. - ^ "USS Drum (SS-228) Restoration".
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
Bibliography
- 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
- Battleship Memorial Park
- Drum228.org: USS Drum WWII war patrol reports, WWII crew list, historical information, restoration
- Kill record: USS Drum Archived 25 September 2019 at the Wayback Machine
- The Untold Story USS Drum (SS-228) documentary
- USS Drum (SS-228) at Historic Naval Ships Association
- Photo gallery of USS Drum at NavSource Naval History
- hazegray.org: USS Drum