USS Piranha
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Builder | Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine[1] |
| Laid down | 21 June 1943[1] |
| Launched | 27 October 1943[1] |
| Commissioned | 5 February 1944[1] |
| Decommissioned | 31 May 1946[1] |
| Stricken | 1 March 1967[1] |
| Fate | Sold for scrap, 11 August 1970[1] |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 311 ft 6 in (94.95 m)[3] |
| Beam | 27 ft 3 in (8.31 m)[3] |
| Draft | 16 ft 10 in (5.13 m) maximum[3] |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | |
| Range | 11,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) surfaced at 10 knots (19 km/h)[2] |
| Endurance |
|
| Test depth | 400 ft (120 m)[2] |
| Complement | 10 officers, 70–71 enlisted[2] |
| Armament |
|
USS Piranha (SS-389/AGSS-389), a
Construction and commissioning
Piranha was laid down 21 June 1943 by
World War II
After East Coast training, Piranha departed
For the first part of her second patrol, Piranha joined 9 other submarines in offensive reconnaissance covering the
During her third war patrol, again with an attack group, besides seeking worthwhile targets in the
Refitted at Guam, Piranha sailed 11 February for her fourth war patrol, a classic exhibition of submarine versatility. With her attack group she sought targets on the convoy lanes from Luzon to Formosa and Hong Kong. She spent 17 days on lifeguard during airstrikes on Formosa, on 27 February sinking a junk presumably serving as aircraft spotter.
Piranha was foiled by a large fleet of fishing junks from making a rapid approach on a convoy reported leaving Hong Kong 5 March. Daringly resorting to an ancient ruse of naval warfare, she improvised an Imperial Japanese Navy naval ensign and ran it up. The deception was successful, and she threaded her way through the fishermen at flank speed, but was unable to locate the convoy.
On 9 March 1945, an unidentified plane attacked Piranha, dropping a flare and two bombs.[7] On 11 March, a U.S. Navy PBM Mariner flying boat attacked her, dropping four bombs as she took evasive action and headed for deeper water on the surface.[7] On 20 March, an Allied aircraft which Piranha′s crew thought was most likely a United States Army Air Forces B-24 Liberator bomber bombed Piranha as she maneuvered evasively and submerged.[8] Piranha sustained no damage in any of the attacks.[8]
Piranha bombarded
With the decimated Japanese merchant marine hugging its own coast, Piranha was frequently frustrated by shallow water and omnipresent escorts in her attacks. Hair-raising encounters with submarine chasers and aircraft were rendered infinitely more dangerous by being fought so close offshore, where she had little water depth for maneuver. Her persistence and courage paid off; she heavily damaged a freighter 14 June, sank a coastal
End of war and fate
Her sixth and last war patrol lasted 14 hours; she had sailed from Pearl Harbor 14 August and was ordered back when hostilities ended the next day. Returning to
Honors and awards
Piranha received 5
References
Citations
- ^ 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
- ^ a b c U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311
- ^ a b Hinman & Campbell, p. 138.
- ^ a b Hinman & Campbell, pp. 138–139.
- ^ Hackett, Bob; Cundall, Peter; Kingsepp, Sander; Casse, Gilbert; Higuchi, Tatsuhiro (2012). "Kakyakusen: IJN Escort CD-196: Tabular Record of Movement". combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entries can be found here and 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
- Photo gallery of Piranha at NavSource Naval History
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in March 1945 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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