USS Spadefish (SS-411)
Mare Island Navy Yard on 11 May 1944.
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History | |
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United States | |
Builder | Mare Island Naval Shipyard[1] |
Laid down | 27 May 1943[1] |
Launched | 8 January 1944[1] |
Commissioned | 9 March 1944[1] |
Decommissioned | 3 May 1946[1] |
Stricken | 1 April 1967[1] |
Fate | Sold for scrap, 17 October 1969[1] |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | |
Displacement | |
Length | 311 ft 10 in (95.05 m)[3] |
Beam | 27 ft 4 in (8.33 m)[3] |
Draft | 16 ft 10 in (5.13 m) maximum[3] |
Propulsion |
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Speed | |
Range | 11,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) surfaced at 10 knots (19 km/h)[2] |
Endurance |
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Test depth | 400 ft (120 m)[2] |
Complement | 10 officers, 70–71 enlisted[2] |
Armament |
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The first USS Spadefish (SS/AGSS-411), a
Construction and commissioning
Spadefish was
Service history
First war patrol, July – September 1944
Following shakedown training along the coast of California, Spadefish departed San Francisco on 14 June and arrived at
On 19 August, while patrolling in
For several hours into the next day, Spadefish attempted to get around the escort to attack the damaged ship anchored in the cove. The submarine finally let go with four stern torpedoes at the destroyer, but the enemy zigged clear and proceeded to depth charge the entire area. Having only three torpedoes remaining, Spadefish set course for Tanapag Harbor, Saipan, to replenish her supply.
On 8 September, Spadefish was patrolling in waters of
Although she was out of torpedoes, Spadefish continued to trail the remaining ships of the convoy that first took refuge in the harbor of Ishigaki; and then, in company with five escorts, continued their voyage. Spadefish terminated her first war patrol at Pearl Harbor on 24 September, having sunk six enemy ships for a total of over 31,500 tons. With the additional 33,000 tons sunk by her sister submarines, the coordinated attack group accounted for a total of 13 ships and over 64,000 tons of enemy shipping.
Second war patrol, October – December 1944
On 23 October, she got underway from Pearl Harbor for her second war patrol, in a coordinated attack group with Sunfish (SS-281) and Peto (SS-265). While patrolling in the Yellow Sea on 14 November, she torpedoed and sank the Japanese cargo ship Gyokupy Maru.
Three days later, she contacted an enemy convoy headed directly at her. After letting the convoy pass overhead, she surfaced after darkness had set in and commenced an "end around". She first fired six torpedoes at the prime target, the 21,000-ton
Later that same night, Spadefish drove in for another attack, firing four stern torpedoes at Submarine Chaser No. 156. As the enemy disappeared in the resulting explosion, the submarine quickly evaded other escorts and left the vicinity.
Spadefish sank the fourth ship of her second patrol on 29 November by torpedoing the 3,760-ton cargo ship Daiboshi Maru No. 6; and then concluded her patrol at
Third war patrol, January – February 1945
After spending the holidays at Majuro, Spadefish departed on 6 January 1945 for her third war patrol, conducted with Pompon (SS-267), Atule (SS-403), and Jallao (SS-368) in the Yellow Sea. On the day of her departure, two United States Marine Corps SBD Dauntless dive bombers of Marine Scouting Squadron 245 (VMSB-245) mistook her for a Japanese submarine and dropped two depth charges on her after she submerged off Majuro.[7] She suffered only superficial damage and no casualties,[7] and she proceeded to her patrol area.
On 28 January 1945, Spadefish intercepted Japanese convoy and let go with two spreads of torpedoes. The 7,158-ton converted
spouted flames and began to sink slowly. Three Japanese escorts pounced on Spadefish, but she made her escape and continued her patrol.Spadefish added to her score on 4 February by sinking the passenger-cargo ship Tairai Maru. Two days later, only five miles from
Fourth war patrol, March – April 1945
On 15 March 1945, Spadefish departed Guam for her fourth war patrol, conducted in the East China Sea and Yellow Sea. On 21 March, an Allied aircraft mistakenly attacked, dropping a bomb that exploded as she submerged which exploded as she passed a depth of 45 feet (14 m).[8] She sustained no damage or casualties, but her crew found bomb fragments on her deck after she surfaced.[8]
On 23 March 1945, Spadefish sneaked past four escorts and let go with three torpedoes that sank the 2,274-ton cargo ship Doryo Maru. Spadefish patrolled along the coast of
Fifth war patrol, June – July 1945
Equipped with a new mine-detecting device, she began her fifth war patrol, joining eight other United States submarines in penetrating through the minefields of Tsushima Strait into the Sea of Japan. On 10 June, outside the breakwater of Tarukawa Wharf, Spadefish overtook the outbound passenger-cargo ship Daigen Maru No. 2, and blew the enemy ship apart with two torpedo hits. Before the day was over, the submarine had also sunk the passenger-cargo ships Unkai Maru No. 8 and Jintsu Maru.
Before dawn on 12 June 1945, Spadefish sank a motor sampan with 20 mm fire; and, later in the day, sank three trawlers in gunfire attacks. On 13 June she mistakenly sank the Soviet merchant ship SS Transbalt at 45°44′N 140°48′E / 45.733°N 140.800°E in a friendly fire incident.[9][10] On 14 June, she sank the passenger-cargo ship Seizan Maru; and, in a night attack on 17 June, she sank the C.M. minelayer Eijō Maru. She then rejoined the other submarines and exited the Sea of Japan, returning to Pearl Harbor on 4 July 1945.
Spadefish was preparing for another war patrol when hostilities with Japan ended on 15 August 1945 (14 August across the International Date Line in Hawaii.
Post-World War II
Spadefish remained at Pearl Harbor until 2 September 1945 and then set course for Mare Island Naval Shipyard where she was decommissioned on 3 May 1946 and placed in reserve. She was reclassified an auxiliary submarine, AGSS-411, on 6 November 1962, struck from the Navy List on 1 April 1967, towed to New London,CT Submarine Base full of spare parts and later sold for scrap in 1969.
Honors and awards
Spadefish (SS-411) received four
In popular culture
Spadefish is one of several submarines along with the era's USS Tang (SS-306), USS Bowfin (SS-287), USS Growler (SS-215), and USS Seawolf (SS-197) whose war patrols can be re-enacted in the 1985 MicroProse computer game Silent Service and the game's various ports, including Konami's 1989 release for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
In 2008 Spadefish's ship's flag and
See also
- Gordon Waite Underwood, commanding officer for Spadefish's first three war patrols
- List of most successful American submarines in World War II
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, pp. 8, 272
- ^ a b Hinman & Campbell, p. 273.
- ^ Hinman & Campbell, Appendix B, unpaginated.
- ^ Paperno, Alla (27 April 2000). "The Unknown World War II in the North Pacific".
- Antiques Roadshow. PBS. 20 August 2009.
- 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 Spadefish at NavSource Naval History
- "WWII Submarine Flag & Wheel of the U.S.S. Spadefish". Antiques Roadshow. PBS. 20 August 2009.