USS Tang (SS-306)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Tang.

USS Tang (SS-306), off Mare Island Navy Yard, December 1943
USS Tang (SS-306) off Mare Island Navy Yard, December 1943
History
United States
NameUSS Tang
NamesakeTang
Ordered15 December 1941
BuilderMare Island Naval Shipyard[1]
Laid down15 January 1943[1]
Launched17 August 1943[1]
Commissioned15 October 1943[1]
Stricken8 February 1945
FateSunk by own torpedo off China in the Taiwan Strait, 25 October 1944[2]
General characteristics
Class and typeBalao-class diesel-electric submarine[2]
Displacement
  • 1,470 long tons (1,494 t) surfaced[2]
  • 2,040 long tons (2,073 t) submerged[2]
Length311 ft 10 in (95.05 m)[2]
Beam27 ft 4 in (8.33 m)[2]
Draft16 ft 10 in (5.13 m) maximum[2]
Propulsion
Speed
  • 20.25 kn (23.30 mph; 37.50 km/h) surfaced[6]
  • 8.75 kn (10.07 mph; 16.21 km/h) submerged[6]
Range11,000 nmi (13,000 mi; 20,000 km) surfaced at 10 kn (12 mph; 19 km/h)[6]
Endurance
  • 48 hours at 2 kn (2.3 mph; 3.7 km/h) submerged[6]
  • 75 days on patrol
Test depth400 ft (120 m)[6] but dived below 600 ft (180 m)[7]
Complement10 officers, 68 enlisted[6]
Armament

USS Tang (SS-306) was a Balao-class submarine of World War II, the first ship of the United States Navy to bear the name Tang. She was built and launched in 1943, serving until being sunk by her own torpedo off China in the Taiwan Strait on 24 October 1944.

In her short career in the Pacific War, Tang sank 33 ships totalling 116,454 tons.[8] Commander Richard O'Kane received the Medal of Honor for her last two engagements (23 and 24 October 1944).[9]

Tang was sunk during the last engagement by a circular run of her final torpedo,[10] going down in 180 ft (55 m) of water.[11] 78 men were lost, and the 9 survivors were picked up by a Japanese frigate and taken prisoner of war. This was the only known time that a Momsen lung was used to escape a sunken submarine.

  1. ^ a b c d 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 Bauer, K. Jack; Roberts, Stephen S. (1991). Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775–1990: Major Combatants. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 271–280. ISBN 978-0-313-26202-9.
  4. ^ U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 261–263
  5. ^ a b c U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311
  6. ^ a b c d e f U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311
  7. ^ O'Kane 1989, p. 40
  8. ^ O'Kane 1989, p. 458. Her commanding officer Lieutenant Commander Richard O'Kane explain that the Joint Army–Navy Assessment Committee (JANAC) report initially credited Tang with fewer sinkings. In 1980, the relevant JANAC section "was officially replaced by the credits in the patrol reports."
  9. ^ "Richard Hetherington O'Kane". Arlington National Cemetery Web Site. 13 October 2022.
  10. ^ O'Kane 1989, p. 443
  11. ^ O'Kane 1989, p. 444