USS Besugo

USS Besugo (SS-321) underway, circa 1950. She has a 5 in (127 mm)/25 caliber deck gun fore and aft her conning tower. Water can be seen draining from her limber holes.
History
United States
NameUSS Besugo (SS-321)
NamesakeBesugo
BuilderElectric Boat Company, Groton, Connecticut[1]
Laid down27 May 1943[1]
Launched27 February 1944[1]
Commissioned19 June 1944[1]
Decommissioned21 March 1958[1]
Recommissioned15 June 1965
Decommissioned31 March 1966
Stricken15 November 1975[2]
Fate
  • Transferred to Italy 31 March 1966
  • Returned 15 November 1975
  • Sold for scrap 16 April 1976 or 20 June 1977[1]
History
Italy
NameFrancesco Morosini (S 508)
NamesakeFrancesco Morosini (1619–1694), Doge of Venice (1688–1694)
Acquired31 March 1966
Decommissioned30 November 1973
Stricken15 November 1975
FateReturned to United States 15 November 1975
General characteristics
Class and typeBalao class diesel-electric submarine[2]
Displacement
  • 1,526 tons (1,550 t) surfaced[2]
  • 2,424 tons (2,463 t) submerged[2]
Length311 ft 9 in (95.02 m)[2]
Beam27 ft 3 in (8.31 m)[2]
Draft16 ft 10 in (5.13 m) maximum[2]
Propulsion
Speed
  • 20.25 knots (38 km/h) surfaced[3]
  • 8.75 knots (16 km/h) submerged[3]
Range11,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) surfaced at 10 knots (19 km/h)[3]
Endurance
  • 48 hours at 2 knots (3.7 km/h) submerged[3]
  • 75 days on patrol
Test depth400 ft (120 m)[3]
Complement10 officers, 70–71 enlisted[3]
Armament

USS Besugo (SS-321, later AGSS-321), a Balao-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy in commission from 1944 to 1958. She was named for the besugo.

During World War II, Besugo made five war patrols between 26 September 1944 and 25 July 1945, operating in the Bungo Channel, Makassar Strait, Java Sea, and South China Sea. During these patrols, Besugo sank the German submarine U-183, becoming one of a very few U.S. submarines to sink a German naval vessel during the war. She also sank the 10,020-gross register ton tanker Nichei Maru, one landing ship, one frigate, and a minesweeper.

After post-World War II Korean War and Cold War U.S. Navy service, Besugo was decommissioned. She was loaned to the Italian Navy in 1966, in which she served until 1973 as Francesco Morosini (S 508).

  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. 275–280. ISBN 0-313-26202-0.
  3. ^ a b c d e f U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305-311
  4. ^ a b U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311