USS Toro
History | |
---|---|
United States | |
Builder | Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine[1] |
Laid down | 27 May 1944[1] |
Launched | 23 August 1944[1] |
Commissioned | 8 December 1944[1] |
Decommissioned | 2 February 1946[1] |
Recommissioned | 13 May 1947[1] |
Decommissioned | 11 March 1963[1] |
Stricken | 1 April 1963[1] |
Fate | Sold for scrap, April 1965[1] |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | |
Displacement | |
Length | 311 ft 8 in (95.00 m)[3] |
Beam | 27 ft 4 in (8.33 m)[3] |
Draft | 17 ft (5.2 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, 71 enlisted[2] |
Armament |
|
USS Toro (SS-422), a
Construction and commissioning
Toro′s
First War Patrol
Following her completion on 26 December 1944, Toro participated in training exercises out of
After arriving in her patrol and lifeguard area south of
As she patrolled
Second War Patrol
Following refit by submarine tender
That morning, she returned to her lifeguard station and, in the afternoon, rescued three British aviators afloat on a raft. She maintained her station for carrier strikes against
She transferred the rescued British fliers to submarine Gabilan (SS-252) on 1 August. On 5 August, while patrolling her lifeguard area for planes returning from bomber raids on the Japanese islands, Toro sighted dense black smoke on the horizon and, receiving reports of a downed pilot in the area, put on all possible speed to investigate the source of the smoke. Less than 20 minutes later, she picked up an Army aviator afloat in his lifeboat impressively marked by a smoke display. Minutes later, a second Army aviator jumped from his plane nearby, and again Toro had a flier on board within seven minutes of the time his parachute opened.
Post-World War II service
At mid-month, Japan capitulated. After destroying a number of
On 4 September, she departed Midway and proceeded via Pearl Harbor and the Panama Canal to east coast ports. She arrived at
Toro was recommissioned on 13 May 1947, and she reported for duty to Submarine Squadron 2, Atlantic Fleet, on 28 May. She conducted hunter/killer exercises, made a simulated war patrol in the
On 28 November 1947, Toro sunk, as a target, the captured German submarine
On 28 January 1950, Toro joined Submarine Development Group 2, and her operations helped to refine submarine tactics, weapons, and equipment. She worked in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea until July 1952, when she reported to Submarine Squadron 2 at New London and assumed new duties training submariners. During the next ten years, she combined these activities with type training and services to ships and aircraft engaged in antisubmarine warfare exercises. She also participated in Operation Springboard and made one Mediterranean cruise. She was redesignated an auxiliary submarine with hull classification symbol AGSS in July 1962 and, on 22 November 1962, as her Navy career drew to its close, she made her 11,000th dive while operating in Long Island Sound.
In February 1963, she was ordered to berth with the Philadelphia Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet, for demilitarization and non-industrial stripping; on 11 March 1963 she was decommissioned, and on 1 April 1963 her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register.
USS Thresher role
She was slated to be sunk near the lost submarine Thresher (SSN-593) in an attempt to understand the currents near the wreck location but the plan was abandoned, and Toro was later sold and scrapped. Her name plate is on display at the Freedom Park.[8][9]
Awards
- American Campaign Medal
- battle stars
- World War II Victory Medal
- Navy Occupation Service Medal
- National Defense Service Medal with star
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 c d Hinman & Campbell, pp. 300–301.
- ^ "Omaha, Nebraska - Freedom Park, MO river view". Mapio.net. Retrieved 2021-05-11.
- ^ Polmar, Norman (April 2023). "What Killed the Thresher?". US Naval Institute. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
Bibliography