USS Balao

Balao off the Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, California on 25 October 1944
History
United States
BuilderPortsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine[1]
Laid down26 June 1942[1]
Launched27 October 1942[1]
Commissioned4 February 1943[1]
Decommissioned20 August 1946[1]
Recommissioned4 March 1952[1]
Decommissioned11 July 1963[1]
Stricken1 August 1963[1]
Honors and
awards
9 battle stars for World War II
Fate
General characteristics
Class and typeBalao-class diesel-electric submarine[2]
Displacement
  • 1,526 long tons (1,550 t) surfaced,[2]
  • 2,414 long tons (2,453 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
Speed20.25 kn (23.3 mph; 37.5 km/h) surfaced, 8.75 kn (10.1 mph; 16.2 km/h) submerged[3]
Range11,000 nmi (13,000 mi; 20,000 km) surfaced @ 10 kn (12 mph; 19 km/h)[3]
Endurance48 hours @ 2 kn (2.3 mph; 3.7 km/h) submerged;[3] 75 days on patrol
Test depth400 ft (120 m)[3]
Complement10 officers, 70–71 enlisted[3]
Armament

USS Balao (SS/AGSS-285) was the lead ship of the United States Navy's Balao-class submarines during World War II and named for the balao, a small schooling marine fish.

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Friedman, Norman (1995). U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute Press. 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 U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp.305–311.
  4. ^ Lenton, H. T. American Submarines (Doubleday, 1973), p.79.