USS Argonaut (SS-475)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Argonaut and HMCS Rainbow.

USS Argonaut off the United States East Coast on 22 July 1963.
History
United States
NameUSS Argonaut
BuilderPortsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine[1]
Laid down28 June 1944[1]
Launched1 October 1944[1]
Commissioned15 January 1945[1]
Decommissioned2 December 1968[1]
Stricken2 December 1968[2]
IdentificationSS-475
FateTransferred to Canada, 2 December 1968[1]
HMCS Rainbow
Canada
NameHMCS Rainbow
Acquired1968
Commissioned2 December 1968
Decommissioned31 December 1974
IdentificationSS 75
FateScrapped in 1977
BadgeArgent, a rainbow trout proper issuant from waves of water[3]
General characteristics
Class and typeTench-class diesel-electric submarine[2]
Displacement1,570 tons (1,595 t) surfaced,[2] 2,414 tons (2,453 t) submerged[2]
Length311 ft 8 in (95.00 m)[2]
Beam27 ft 4 in (8.33 m)[2]
Draft17 ft 0 in (5.18 m) maximum[2]
Propulsion
Speed20.25 knots (38 km/h) surfaced,[4] 8.75 knots (16 km/h) submerged[4]
Range11,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) surfaced at 10 kn (19 km/h)[4]
Endurance48 hours at 2 knots (3.7 km/h) submerged,[4] 75 days on patrol
Test depth400 ft (120 m)[4]
Complement10 officers, 71 enlisted[4]
Armament

USS Argonaut (SS-475) was a Tench-class submarine operated by the United States Navy (USN). Constructed at Portsmouth Navy Yard during the second half of 1944, Argonaut was commissioned into the USN in 1945 and operated against Japan during the final year of World War II, although her only contact with the Japanese was when she sank a junk in August. During the 1950s, the submarine was modified for greater underwater endurance, and to guide the Regulus I missile. From 1963 to 1965, Argonaut operated in the Mediterranean Sea.

The submarine was sold to Canada in 1968, commissioned into Maritime Command as HMCS Rainbow (SS 75), and operated until the end of 1974. The submarine was returned to the United States, and scrapped in 1977.

  1. ^ a b c d e f Friedman, Norman (1995). U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute. pp. 285–304. ISBN 1-55750-263-3.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Bauer, K. Jack; Roberts, Stephen S. (1991). Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775–1990: Major Combatants. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 280–282. ISBN 0-313-26202-0.
  3. ^ Arbuckle, p. 100
  4. ^ a b c d e f U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311
  5. ^ a b c d e Bauer, K. Jack; Roberts, Stephen S. (1991). Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775–1990: Major Combatants. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 275–282. ISBN 978-0-313-26202-9.
  6. ^ U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 261–263
  7. ^ a b c U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311