USS Tullibee (SS-284)
Mare Island, California .
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History | |
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United States | |
Name | USS Tullibee |
Builder | Mare Island Naval Shipyard[1] |
Laid down | 1 April 1942[1] |
Launched | 11 November 1942[1] |
Sponsored by | Mrs. Kenneth C. Hurd |
Commissioned | 15 February 1943[1] |
Stricken | 29 July 1944 |
Fate | Sunk by own torpedo north of Palau, 26 March 1944[2] |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | |
Displacement | |
Length | 311 ft 9 in (95.02 m)[2] |
Beam | 27 ft 3 in (8.31 m)[2] |
Draft | 17 ft 0 in (5.18 m) maximum[2] |
Propulsion |
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Speed | |
Range | 11,000 nmi (13,000 mi; 20,000 km) surfaced at 10 kn (12 mph; 19 km/h)[3] |
Endurance |
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Test depth | 300 ft (91 m)[3] |
Complement | 6 officers, 54 enlisted[3] |
Armament |
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USS Tullibee (SS-284), a
Tullibee held shakedown training from 8–30 April 1943 and departed for Hawaii on 8 May. She arrived at Pearl Harbor on 15 May and held further training exercises in Hawaiian waters. Numerous air fitting leaks developed, and she was docked for repairs twice. When this proved ineffective, the submarine entered the navy yard until 11 July.
Tullibee started her first war patrol on 19 July 1943. She was sunk by one of her own torpedoes on 26 March 1944 while on her fourth patrol. One crew member survived the sinking of Tullibee.
First war patrol
On 19 July, Tullibee got under way for the Western
On 14 August, Tullibee sighted a convoy of three freighters with an escort and began an end-around run to get into good attack position. She launched a torpedo from a range of 3,000 yards (2,700 m) and went deep. It missed, and she returned to periscope depth to fire three torpedoes at the last ship. It apparently saw their wakes as it turned and combed them. The submarine again went deep. When she surfaced, the targets had escaped. On 22 August, Tullibee sighted a convoy of five ships escorted by two destroyers; closed to 2,000 yards (1,800 m); and launched three torpedoes at the nearest freighter. Two minutes later, she fired three more at another ship. As she went deep to avoid a
Second war patrol
On 28 September, Tullibee began her second war patrol. Her assigned area was in the
Third war patrol
Tullibee's third patrol was in a "wolfpack" with sister ships Halibut and Haddock. The trio sortied from Pearl Harbor on 14 December 1943 for the Mariana Islands to intercept enemy shipping plying between Truk and Japan. On 2 January 1944, Tullibee sighted a Japanese I-class submarine on the surface and launched four torpedoes at a range of 3,000 yards (2,700 m). The enemy saw the wakes and combed the four of them as Tullibee was forced deep by an enemy floatplane that dropped six bombs.
On 19 January, Haddock reported that she had damaged the Japanese escort carrier Unyō, which limped to Saipan. Tullibee sighted the carrier there on 25 January, close ashore and well protected by escorts and aircraft. The submarine remained on station for several days awaiting an opportunity to sink the aircraft carrier. However, when she surfaced on 28 January, she learned that the carrier had slipped away. Three days later, the submarine made radar contact with two targets. She launched three torpedoes at what appeared to be a freighter and swung left to fire one at the escort. The first target, net tender Hiro Maru, took two hits and disintegrated in about one minute. The torpedo fired at the escort missed, and the submarine went deep to evade. Tullibee cleared the area the following day and returned to Pearl Harbor on 10 February.
Fourth war patrol and loss
On 5 March, Tullibee stood out of Pearl Harbor to begin her fourth war patrol. Nine days later, she called at Midway Island to top off her fuel and then proceeded to her patrol area in the Palau Islands. She was scheduled to support aircraft carrier strikes against those islands on 30–31 March. On 25 March, Tullibee arrived on station and began patrolling. The next day, off the Palau Islands she made radar contact on a convoy consisting of a large passenger-cargo ship, two medium-sized freighters, a destroyer, and two other escorts. The submarine made several surface runs on the transport but kept losing her in rain squalls. Tullibee finally closed to 3,000 yards (2,700 m) and launched two torpedoes from her bow tubes at the target. About two minutes later, the submarine was rocked by a violent explosion. It was only learned after the war that Tullibee's torpedo had run a circular course and she had sunk herself.
Tullibee received three battle stars for World War II service.
Tullibee was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 29 July 1944.
References
- ^ ISBN 1-55750-263-3.
- ^ ISBN 0-313-26202-0.
- ^ ISBN 1-55750-263-3.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-313-26202-9.
- ^ U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 261–263
- ^ U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
External links
- "On Eternal Patrol: USS Tullibee". Retrieved 17 October 2011.
- Photo gallery of USS Tullibee (SS-284) at NavSource Naval History