USS Sea Cat

History
United States
Builder	Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine[1]
Laid down	30 October 1943[1]
Launched	21 February 1944[1]
Commissioned	16 May 1944[1]
Decommissioned	2 December 1968[1]
Stricken	2 December 1968[1]
Fate	Sold for scrap, 18 May 1973[1]
General characteristics
Class and type	diesel-electric submarine[3]
Displacement	1,526 tons (1,550 t) surfaced[3] 2,391 tons (2,429 t) submerged[3]
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	4 × electrical generators[4][5] 2 × 126- batteries[6] 4 × high-speed Elliott electric motors with reduction gears[4] two propellers [4] 5,400 shp (4.0 MW) surfaced[4] 2,740 shp (2.0 MW) submerged[4]
Speed	20.25 knots (38 km/h) surfaced[2] 8.75 knots (16 km/h) submerged[2]
Range	11,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) surfaced at 10 knots (19 km/h)[2]
Endurance	48 hours at 2 knots (3.7 km/h) submerged[2] 75 days on patrol
Test depth	400 ft (120 m)[2]
Complement	10 officers, 70–71 enlisted[2]
Armament	10 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes 6 forward, 4 aft 24 torpedoes[6] 1 × 5-inch (127 mm) / 25 caliber deck gun[6] Bofors 40 mm and Oerlikon 20 mm cannon

USS Sea Cat (SS/AGSS-399), a

service.

After two and one-half years of exercises out of Balboa, her home port was changed to

waters and the Caribbean until she was decommissioned on 2 December 1968 and struck from the Navy list on the same day. She was sold for scrapping, 18 May 1973.

World War II service

Sea Cat was laid down on 30 October 1943 by the

in command.

After shakedown and trials off the

.

During the war patrol, Sea Cat fired torpedoes at two Japanese merchantmen which, together, displaced about 15,000 tons. Her commanding officer thought that they had both been sunk, but a postwar study of Japanese records did not confirm either sinking. After 61 days at sea, including 37 days in her patrol area, Sea Cat arrived at Guam for refit.

The submarine got underway again on 1 February 1945 for her second war patrol which she conducted in the

, she damaged a 300-ton cargo ship by gunfire and attacked a 2,000-ton ship with torpedoes. Although she reported sinking the latter, Japanese records do not seem to support the claim. Sea Cat completed the patrol upon arriving at Midway on 24 March.

On 27 April, the submarine sailed for the Yellow Sea where she and six other submarines preyed upon Japanese shipping. Sea Cat accounted for 400 tons of enemy vessels by gunfire, and she picked up two survivors of the sunken enemy ships for questioning before returning to Pearl Harbor on 25 June.

She headed toward the

service.

She then sailed for the Marianas and reached Guam on 7 September. Following a brief stay at Apra Harbor, the submarine headed home. Following operations in the San Diego area into the spring of 1946, the ship proceeded to San Francisco Bay and arrived at Mare Island on 15 April 1946 for overhaul.

Post War duties in Atlantic

Yard work completed on 26 July, Sea Cat sailed back to San Diego, whence she departed on 12 August for her first simulated war patrol. On this cruise she visited Hawaii;

.

Then, transferred to the

Fleet Snorkel

submarine and redesignated SS-399.

Overhaul and conversion completed. Sea Cat departed Philadelphia on 26 June 1952 and returned to Key West. She operated from that base for the remainder of her career, spending most of her time in the

.

Upon returning to Key West on 30 October, the submarine resumed her former routine and operated in Florida waters and the Caribbean until she was decommissioned on 2 December 1968 and struck from the Navy list on the same day. She was sold for scrapping, 18 May 1973.

References

External links

• Photo gallery of Sea Cat at NavSource Naval History