USS Halibut (SS-232)
dressed overall .
| |
History | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Name | Halibut |
Builder | Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine[1] |
Laid down | 16 May 1941[1] |
Launched | 3 December 1941[1] |
Sponsored by | Mrs. P. T. Blackburn |
Commissioned | 10 April 1942[1] |
Decommissioned | 18 July 1945[1] |
Stricken | 8 May 1946[1] |
Fate | Sold for scrap, 9 December 1946[1] |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | |
Displacement | |
Length | 311 ft 9 in (95.02 m)[3] |
Beam | 27 ft 3 in (8.31 m)[3] |
Draft | 17 ft (5.2 m) maximum[3] |
Propulsion |
|
Speed | |
Range | 11,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) surfaced at 10 kn (19 km/h)[2] |
Endurance |
|
Test depth | 300 ft (90 m)[2] |
Complement | 6 officers, 54 enlisted[2] |
Armament |
|
USS Halibut (SS-232), a Gato-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the halibut, a large species of flatfish.
Construction and commissioning
Halibut′s keel was laid down by the
War patrols
First and second patrols
Halibut completed her outfitting and shakedown cruise 23 June 1942 and departed for the Pacific, arriving
Her second patrol was also off the Aleutians. She departed Dutch Harbor on 2 October 1942 and surfaced for a torpedo attack on what appeared to be a large freighter on 11 October. The ship, a decoy (Q-ship) equipped with concealed guns and torpedo tubes, attacked Halibut with high-explosive shells and a torpedo as the submarine took radical evasive action to escape the trap. After eluding her assailant she returned to Dutch Harbor on 23 October and Pearl Harbor on 31 October 1942.
Third and fourth patrols
Halibut departed Pearl Harbor 22 November 1942 for her third war patrol, off the northeast coast of Japan. She began stalking a convoy the night of 9 December and early the next morning closed for the attack. A hit amidships damaged the Japanese troop transport Uyo Maru (6,376 tons); Halibut put two torpedoes squarely into the cargo ship Gyokusan Maru (1,970 tons), sinking her on 12 December. On 16 December Halibut made two more attacks sinking the cargo ship Shingo Maru (4,740 tons) and running the cargo ship Genzan Maru (5,708 tons) aground, wrecking her and forcing her abandonment. Each ship was fully laden with war materials destined for Japan. She returned to Pearl Harbor on 15 January 1943.
The submarine sailed from Pearl Harbor again on 8 February 1943 on her fourth war patrol. Heading for the Japan-
Fifth patrol
Halibut began her fifth war patrol 10 June and made for the waters around Truk. She made her first attack 23 June. No hits were scored and the submarine was forced to wait out a severe
Sixth patrol
After some days of poor weather, Halibut entered the approaches to the Tsugaru Strait. Firing on a freighter found by radar in foggy conditions, she expended six torpedoes with no results. Returning to the coast between Erimo Saki and Muroran, she closed on a radar contact around dawn on 6 September. The contact, the heavily loaded freighter Shogen Maru (3,362 tons), was sighted and sunk with four torpedoes. That night Halibut made radar contact with a vessel identified as a destroyer but later found to be the light cruiser Nachi, firing the submarine's remaining aft torpedoes in a rough sea for no hits. (One torpedo actually hit but was a dud.) With only one torpedo remaining, she began her return trip to Midway on 7 September after eleven days in enemy waters. That night she traced radio transmissions to a small sampan she sank with her deck guns. Halibut stopped briefly at Midway for fuel and food before sailing to a full refit at Pearl Harbor, arriving on 16 September.
During her time refitting, Halibut was used for torpedo testing, firing torpedoes from her stern tubes into the cliffs at
Seventh patrol
Halibut sailed from Pearl Harbor on her seventh war patrol on 10 October 1943, headed for the approaches to the
On the morning of 2 November Halibut caught up with two straggling freighters from the convoy. She launched three torpedoes at Ehime Maru (4,653 tons) at 28-18N, 134-48E. Two torpedoes hit, but the sinking vessel bravely turned towards the submarine, forcing her to evade and lose range on the second freighter. (She would later sink taking her entire crew of 84 souls with her.) Halibut launched three torpedoes at long range but made no hits. She surfaced to increase her speed, but the freighter revealed she was armed with some accurate firing, forcing Halibut back under. The submarine shadowed the freighter and positioned herself for an attack using her stern tubes, firing six torpedoes in rough seas for no hits.
She went on to patrol the approaches to Van Diemen Strait just south of Kagoshima, before returning north when she received an Ultra message indicating a Japanese task force, including an aircraft carrier, near the Bungo Suido. A high-speed race put Halibut into position on the morning of 5 November, and she fired six torpedoes at the carrier (identified at the time as Shōkaku so as to conceal the source of the information; later properly identified as Jun'yō). A single torpedo hit near the ship's rudders, leaving the carrier unable to manoeuvre. When Halibut tried to fire her single remaining stern torpedo, it activated but failed to leave the tube. Halibut dove to more than 350 feet (110 m) to avoid attacks from three destroyer escorts; in the event, only thirteen depth charges were dropped. The submarine resurfaced after dark and set course for home, running seven days to Midway and then reaching Pearl Harbor on 17 November after thirty-eight days on patrol, a round trip of 8,327 miles (13,401 km), of which only 1,957 miles (3,149 km) were actually 'on station'.
Eighth patrol
On her eighth war patrol (beginning at Pearl Harbor on 14 December) Halibut formed a coordinated attack group, or "wolf pack", with Haddock and Tullibee. All three commanders were intensively trained for the patrol at 'Convoy College' at Pearl Harbor. The very first USN wolf pack had left Midway on 1 October 1943 – Cero, Shad, and Grayback claimed five ships sunk and eight damaged (post-war analysis indicated only three sinkings). Halibut was part of the third wolf pack.
The group's journey to the patrol area around the Mariana Islands was marked by very rough seas and gale force winds. On 26 December Halibut was attacked by an aircraft; three bombs were dropped but the submarine took no damage. The group reached its target area on 29 December, but over the following weeks made only fleeting, poor contacts with enemy vessels, including a missed contact with the battleship Yamato on 11 January (the battleship detected the search radars of the submarines and completely outmaneuvered them as daylight ended). A few days later they failed to sink an Asashio-class destroyer and were subjected to twenty-two depth charges. On 17 January Halibut broke from the wolf pack to return to Midway as her fuel reserves were depleted (both the other vessels were using their #4 ballast tank to store fuel and had begun the patrol with an extra 24,000 gallons).
Operating independently, Halibut patrolled
Ninth patrol
Halibut departed on her ninth war patrol 21 March 1944, her patrol area was off
Finally, on 26 April, the submarine found some action. She passed between Iheya Retto and Okinawa Jima in the very early morning of 26 April and detected three freighters with escorts. She closed the range over several hours and fired six torpedoes from 3,000 yards (2,700 m), three each at two freighters. Two hit and the convoy was scattered. Halibut eluded the escorts and returned to the attack around dawn. Closing in on a ship separated from the group, she sank Genbu Maru with two torpedoes. Very soon afterwards she detected a small vessel using sonar and fired from 900 yards (820 m) to sink the coastal minelayer Kanome. The submarine was then forced into evasive action as a bomber arrived overhead; the aircraft and two patrol boats dropped some ninety depth charges without ever endangering Halibut. Later, off the northeastern shore of Kume Shima on 29 April, she fired fifty shells from her 4-inch deck gun at two warehouses and other buildings.
On 1 May she spotted a compact group of eighteen 250-ton sampans while east of Okinawa and trailed them southwards; after dusk she surfaced and closed the range to attack with her deck armaments from 1,000 yards (910 m). Two sampans exploded violently but return fire and flying debris injured three of Halibut's crew – one seriously. With concerns for the injured man, the sub left her patrol zone a day early to return to Midway. She rendezvoused with Perch after six days travel, and a fully qualified doctor from Midway aboard the second sub was transferred to Halibut by boat.
When Halibut reached Midway on 11 May, it was decided to leave the injured man aboard and carry on to Pearl Harbor, which she reached on 15 May 1944. Again it was decided to leave the injured man aboard rather than risk moving him, and the submarine was refueled and restored before heading on to a major overhaul at the ship repair basin of
Tenth patrol
On her tenth war patrol Halibut again joined a coordinated attack group, this time with Haddock and
The group reached the
The submarine returned to the Luzon Strait, where she found the variable currents in the two main channels (Bashi Channel and Balintang Channel) made keeping trim very tricky. On 28 October she was attacked with no effect (beyond a little fright for her lookouts) by an anti-submarine aircraft. For the next two weeks, in constantly poor weather, Halibut found no enemy shipping except the hospital ship Hikawa Maru, which could not be attacked.
On 13 November Halibut noticed increasing air anti-submarine activity. In the early morning of 14 November she entered the Bashi Channel and around noon she detected a northbound convoy of four freighters with escorts. The submarine launched four torpedoes from 3,100 yards (2,800 m). As Halibut submerged and turned away, the crew heard a "loud, fast buzzing noise" which was quickly followed by five explosions (apparently jikitanchiki-equipped Mitsubishi G3M aircraft). The submarine went down to 325 feet (99 m) as she detected the sonar of two escorts when a sudden near explosion severely damaged the conning tower, which had been abandoned. The escort was CD-6, which was alerted by the aircraft of the sub's location.[11] This blast was followed by another series of very close explosions which damaged equipment in the control room and yet another series of blasts over the forward battery compartment that damaged the torpedo room, forward battery room, and the main air bank, "one of the most devastating [attacks] of the war".[12] The attacks drove Halibut down to 420 feet (130 m); as air pressure rose to 52 psi (360 kPa) the crew were forced to seal off the afflicted section and slowly release the pressure into the rest of the ship.
No further attacks occurred and Halibut was able to move sluggishly up to around 300 feet (91 m), her nominal test depth. The crew toiled with repairs, and when night came she resurfaced and headed towards her sister ships. The radar was repaired, although Halibut was without depth gauges, main compasses, gyros, radio, and a number of other systems. Most of the damage was actually to the hull and its fittings. At around 21:30 she encountered Pintado of the wolf pack that was working to the north of Halibut. After transferring a message to COMSUBPAC Pintado was ordered to escort Halibut the entire 1,500 miles (2,400 km) to Saipan. Halibut made a single brief dive during the journey; this was the last time she was ever submerged. At noon on 19 November she entered Tanapag Harbor.
The gallant submarine received the Navy Unit Commendation for her performance on this patrol. However, as a result of this action, damages incurred on her meant that she could no longer patrol for the rest of the war.
Fate
Halibut arrived at Pearl Harbor on 1 December. It was quickly determined that her damage was too extensive to justify repair and thus was a
She sailed 16 February 1945 for Portsmouth, New Hampshire. She was decommissioned 18 July 1945 and was sold for $23,123 (currently $315,520) as scrap on 10 January 1947 to Quaker Shipyard and Machinery Company of Camden, New Jersey.
Halibut received seven
Legacy
The battle flag of Halibut, along with photos of her crew and other artifacts, can be seen at the
References
- ^ ISBN 1-55750-263-3.
- ^ a b c d e f U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305-311
- ^ ISBN 0-313-26202-0.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-313-26202-9.
- ^ U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 261–263
- ^ U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311
- OCLC 821363.
- ^ Blair, Silent Victory, p. 931.
- ^ "U.S. Torpedo Troubles During World War II". 12 June 2006.
- ^ http://mapcarta.com/27812344 Map of Garapan Vessel Anchorage, Saipan
- ^ "Japanese Escorts".
- ^ Blair, Silent Victory, p. 771.
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
- Galantin, I. J. Take Her Deep! (Pocket Books, 1987) ISBN 0-671-66126-4
External links
- Photo gallery of Halibut at NavSource Naval History
- hazegray.org: USS Halibut
- The USS Bowfin Museum and Park
- Halibut chronology at uboat.net