USS Perch (SS-176)

Coordinates: 6°30′S 113°50′E / 6.500°S 113.833°E / -6.500; 113.833
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other ships with the same name, see USS Perch.

USS Perch (SS-176)
USS Perch (SS-176)
History
United States
BuilderGeneral Dynamics Electric Boat, Groton, Connecticut[1]
Laid down25 February 1935[1]
Launched9 May 1936[1]
Sponsored byMrs. Thomas Withers
Commissioned19 November 1936[1]
Stricken24 June 1942
FateScuttled in the Java Sea on 3 March 1942 after being damaged by Japanese destroyers;[2] wreck illegally scrapped.
General characteristics
Class and type
diesel-electric submarine[2]
Displacement1,350 long tons (1,372 t) standard, surfaced,[3] 1,997 long tons (2,029 t) submerged[3]
Length298 ft (91 m) (waterline),[9] 300 ft 6 in (91.59 m) (overall)[10]
Beam26 ft (7.9 m)[3]
Draft15 ft (4.6 m)[3]
Propulsion4 ×
batteries,[8] 8 × General Electric electric motors, 538 hp (401 kW) each,[8] 2 × General Motors six-cylinder four-cycle 6-241 auxiliary diesels[6]
Speed19.25 kn (35.65 km/h) surfaced,[3] 8.75 kn (16.21 km/h) submerged[3]
Range11,000 nmi (20,000 km) @ 10 kn (19 km/h),[3] (bunkerage 92,801 US gal (351,290 L))[4]
Endurance10 hours @ 5 kn (9.3 km/h), 36 hours @ minimum speed submerged[3]
Test depth250 ft (76 m)[3]
Complement
  • As Built: 5 officers, 45 enlisted[3]
  • 1945: 8 officers, 65 enlisted[4]
Armament6 ×
4 in (100 mm)/50 caliber deck gun,[10] 4 × 0.3 cal (7.62 mm) machineguns (2x2)[10]

USS Perch (SS-176) - a Porpoise-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the perch.

Construction and commissioning

Perch′s

Thomas Withers, Jr., then assigned to Naval Submarine Base New London at Groton, She was commissioned
on 19 November 1936.

Service history

Inter-war period

After

United States East Coast
.

In October 1939, Perch departed San Diego, California, for

transports off Shanghai and escorted the 4th Marine Regiment
from China to the Philippines.

World War II

At the outbreak of hostilities on 8 December 1941 (which was 7 December 1941 on the other side of the

Cavite Navy Yard. She took part in the rush to clear the navy yard on 10 December and watched, at close range, the destruction of Cavite by Japanese bombers. That night, Perch slipped through the Corregidor minefields and scouted between Luzon and Formosa (now Taiwan) in search of targets. Failing to detect any, she shifted to an area off Hong Kong, and on the evening of 25 December 1941 launched four torpedoes at a large merchant ship, all missing. A few days later, she torpedoed a merchant ship, probably Nojima Maru
. Japanese escorts prevented Perch from observing the kill.

Perch proceeded south to Darwin, Australia, to repair damage, making several unsuccessful attacks en route. She next made a patrol to Kendari, Celebes (now Sulawesi), where she scouted the harbor and made several attempts to get through the narrow entrance to an attack position.

After a week of close contact with the Japanese while obtaining information, Perch headed south, searching for targets. In a night attack on a large merchant ship off the eastern coast of Celebes, Perch was hit in the superstructure, forward of the

high-explosive round which blew away the bridge deck, punctured the antenna trunk and temporarily put her radio out of commission. Her crew made repairs on deck at night in waters heavily patrolled by the Japanese, and Perch headed for the Java Sea
.

On the evening of 1 March 1942, Perch surfaced 30

Java, and started in for an attack on a Japanese convoy landing troops to the west of Surabaya. Two Japanese destroyers, Amatsukaze and Hatsukaze, attacked and drove her down with a string of depth charges which caused her to bottom at 135 feet (41 m). Several more depth-charge attacks caused extensive damage, putting the starboard motors out of commission and causing extensive flooding throughout the boat. After repairs, Perch surfaced at 02:00 on 2 March, only to be again driven down by destroyers. Her loss of oil, as well as air from her damaged ballast tanks
, convinced the Japanese that Perch was breaking up and they went on to look for other kills, allowing her to escape.

With Perch′s decks awash and only one diesel engine in commission, the crew made all possible repairs. During the early morning of 3 March, Perch made a test dive with almost fatal results. Expert handling and good luck enabled her to surface, and she began making further repairs. Then two Imperial Japanese Navy cruisers and three destroyers hove into view and began firing at Perch.[11] As shells straddled Perch, her commanding officer ordered "Abandon ship, scuttle the boat." With all hull openings open, Perch made her last dive. She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 24 June 1942.

The Japanese destroyer

V-J Day
in August 1945.

Wreck

On 23 November 2006,

Bawean Island in the Java Sea.[12][13] The expedition had hoped to locate and photograph the wreck of Exeter, sunk in the same area on 1 March 1942.[14] The wreck of Perch was illegally salvaged sometime between 2006 and 2016 and no longer exists.[15] Unlike the Dutch and British ships near her, which also were scavenged illegally, Perch was not a war grave
, as she had been abandoned by her crew without fatalities.

Awards

code books, materials, and equipment.[16]

In media

Perch is the subject of an episode of the

syndicated television anthology series
The Silent Service, which aired in the United States during the 1957–1958 television season.

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 1-55750-263-3
    .
  2. ^
    ISBN 0-313-26202-0
    .
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311
  4. ^ a b Alden, p.62.
  5. ^ Alden, John D., Commander, USN (retired). The Fleet Submarine in the U.S. Navy (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1979), p.210.
  6. ^ a b Alden, p.210.
  7. ^ U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp.261–263
  8. ^ a b Alden, p.211.
  9. ^ Lenton, H. T. American Submarines (New York: Doubleday, 1973), p.45.
  10. ^ a b c Lenton, p.45.
  11. ^ Blair, Clay, Jr. Silent Victory (New York: Bantam, 1976; reprints Lippincott 1975 edition), p.188.
  12. ^ "Kevin Denlay - Shipwreck Discoveries and SCUBA Diver".
  13. ^ "On Eternal Patrol • the Unexpected Discovery of the USS Perch SS-176 • ADVANCED DIVER MAGAZINE • by Kevin Denlay".
  14. ^ Kakesako, Gregg K. (21 January 2007). "Sunken WWII sub found by accident near Java". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved 28 June 2007.
  15. ^ "Java Sea Shipwrecks of World War 2: One of the men who found them reflects on their loss | All About History". 23 November 2016.
  16. ^ "Kenneth George Schacht". Military Times. Archived from the original on 24 October 2014. Retrieved 24 October 2014.

Further reading

External links

6°30′S 113°50′E / 6.500°S 113.833°E / -6.500; 113.833

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