USS Gurnard (SS-254)

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For other ships with the same name, see USS Gurnard.
USS Gurnard (SS-254) in 1944 after an overhaul at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California
History
United States
BuilderElectric Boat Company, Groton, Connecticut[1]
Laid down2 September 1941[1]
Launched1 June 1942[1]
Sponsored byMiss Suzanne Slingluff
Commissioned18 September 1942[1]
Decommissioned27 November 1945[1]
Stricken1 May 1961[1]
Honors and
awards
FateSold for scrap, 29 October 1961[2]
General characteristics
Class and type
diesel-electric submarine[2]
Displacement
  • 1,525 long tons (1,549 t) surfaced[2]
  • 2,424 long tons (2,463 t) submerged[2]
Length311 ft 9 in (95.02 m)[2]
Beam27 ft 3 in (8.31 m)[2]
Draft17 ft 0 in (5.18 m) maximum[2]
Propulsion
Speed
  • 21 kn (39 km/h) surfaced[3]
  • 9 kn (17 km/h) submerged[3]
Range11,000 nmi (20,000 km) surfaced at 10 kn (19 km/h)[3]
Endurance
  • 48 hours at 2 kn (4 km/h) submerged[3]
  • 75 days on patrol
Test depth300 ft (90 m)[3]
Complement6 officers, 54 enlisted[3]
Armament

USS Gurnard (SS-254), a

gurnard
.

Construction and commissioning

Gurnard′s

Electric Boat Company at Groton, Connecticut, on 2 September 1941. She was launched on 1 June 1942, sponsored by Miss Suzanne Slingluff, and commissioned
on 18 September 1942.

Atlantic Patrol

Following

Rosneath, Scotland, 2 November 1942 and reached that port 13 days later. Her first war patrol, 28 November to 27 December 1942, brought her to the Bay of Biscay where she lay off the Spanish coast awaiting German blockade runners
bound for Spanish ports. The patrol was uneventful; no enemy ships were sighted and subsequently Gurnard returned to New London 9 February 1943 for repairs and alterations.

Pacific Patrols

Second, third, and fourth war patrols, May 1943 – January 1944

After reaching

Midway Island
to Pearl Harbor, arriving 26 July for refit.

On 6 September, she set sail once again, this time heading towards the South China Sea for her third war patrol. In the early hours of 7 October, a five-ship convoy came into view, prompting Gurnard to initiate a pursuit. By 01:39 on 8 October, Gurnard had closed in on the convoy and successfully sunk the cargo ship Taian Maru and the passenger-cargo ship Dainichi Maru west of Luzon. This highly successful patrol concluded on 28 October when Gurnard arrived at Pearl Harbor.

One month later she sailed on her fourth patrol to prowl off the southeast coast of

Honshū and soon found good hunting. A convoy was sighted 24 December and at 07:10 Gurnard attacked. Two minutes later cargo ship Seizan Maru No. 2 had broken in two and sunk; she was soon joined by cargo ship Tofuku Maru. Japanese destroyers attacked the submarine with over 80 depth charges without success. After damaging another merchantman on 27 December, Gurnard returned to Pearl Harbor 7 January 1944. From there she was sent Stateside
for overhaul.

Fifth, sixth, and seventh war patrols, April – November 1944

Fremantle
, 11 June 1944 with the completion of the patrol.

The submarine stood out on her sixth patrol 8 July for the

Mindanao Seas. After topping off at Darwin she patrolled off the Peleng Straits
and damaged one merchantman before returning to Fremantle 5 September.

Gurnard's seventh patrol commenced 9 October after refit. While cruising off Borneo, she detected a five-ship enemy convoy. A successful attack was pressed home 3 November at the end of an 18-hour hunt, and two torpedoes demolished cargo ship Taimei Maru. Gurnard returned to her Australian port 17 November after this victory.

Eighth and ninth war patrols, December 1944 – May 1945

The submarine's eighth and ninth patrols (11 December 1944 – 1 February 1945 and 10 March – 9 May 1945) included reconnaissance off

Camranh Bay and patrols with submarines Hammerhead and Boarfish, but hunting was poor and no ships were sunk. Gurnard finished her final patrol at Pearl Harbor 9 May and put in at Mare Island, California, nine days later for a major overhaul. Following a round-trip voyage thence to Pearl Harbor and Midway, she returned to San Francisco
11 September 1945 and decommissioned there 27 November 1945.

Gurnard remained in reserve until 1 July 1949 when she reported to the

Los Angeles, California

Awards

Gurnard′s war patrols numbers two through seven were designated "successful."

Notes

  1. ^
    ISBN 1-55750-263-3
    .
  2. ^
    ISBN 0-313-26202-0
    .
  3. ^ a b c d e f U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305-311
  4. ^
    ISBN 978-0-313-26202-9
    .
  5. ^ a b c U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311

References

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