USS Barb (SS-220)

USS Barb "The Submarine that sank the greatest tonnage by Japanese Records"
History
United States
NameUSS Barb
NamesakeBarbus
BuilderGeneral Dynamics Electric Boat, Groton, Connecticut[1]
Laid down7 June 1941[1]
Launched2 April 1942[1]
Sponsored byMrs. Charles A. Dunn
Commissioned8 July 1942[1]
Decommissioned12 February 1947[1]
IdentificationSS-220
Recommissioned3 December 1951[1]
Decommissioned5 February 1954[1]
Recommissioned3 August 1954[1]
Decommissioned13 December 1954[1]
Stricken15 October 1972[2]
FateTransferred to Italy on 13 December 1954[2]
Italy
NameEnrico Tazzoli
Acquired13 December 1954
IdentificationS 511
FateSold for scrap in 1972
General characteristics
Class and typeGato-class diesel-electric submarine[2]
Displacement1,525 long tons (1,549 t) surfaced,[2] 2,424 long tons (2,463 t) submerged[2]
Length311 ft 9 in (95.02 m)[2]
Beam27 ft 3 in (8.31 m)[2]
Draft17 ft (5.2 m) maximum[2]
Propulsion
Speed21 kn (39 km/h) surfaced,[3] 9 kn (17 km/h) submerged[3]
Range11,000 nmi (20,000 km) surfaced @ 10 kn (19 km/h)[3]
Endurance48 hours @ 2 kn (3.7 km/h) submerged,[3] 75 days on patrol
Test depth300 ft (91 m)[3]
Complement6 officers, 54 enlisted[3]
Armament

USS Barb (SS-220), a Gato-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the Barbus, a genus of ray-finned fish. She compiled one of the most outstanding records of any U.S. submarine in World War II. During her twelve war patrols, Barb is officially credited with sinking 17 enemy vessels totaling 96,628 tons, including the Japanese aircraft carrier Un'yō. In recognition of one outstanding patrol, Barb received the Presidential Unit Citation. On her twelfth and final patrol of the war, she landed a party of carefully selected crew members who blew up a train, the only ground combat operation in the Japanese (four main) home islands.

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 h Bauer, K. Jack; Roberts, Stephen S. (1991). Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775–1990: Major Combatants. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 271–273. ISBN 0-313-26202-0.
  3. ^ a b c d e f U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305-311
  4. ^ 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. 270–280. ISBN 978-0-313-26202-9. OCLC 24010356.
  5. ^ U.S. Submarines Through 1945 p. 261
  6. ^ a b c U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311