USS Batfish (SS-310)

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

USS Batfish (SS-310) at Muskogee, Oklahoma.
History
United States
NameBatfish
NamesakeBatfish
Ordered21 April 1942
BuilderPortsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine[1]
Laid down27 December 1942[1]
Launched5 May 1943[1]
Sponsored byMrs. Nellie W. Fortier
Commissioned21 August 1943[1]
Decommissioned6 April 1946[1]
Recommissioned7 March 1952[1]
Decommissioned1 November 1969[1]
Stricken1 November 1969[1]
Honors and
awards		Presidential Unit Citation and 6 battle stars for World War II
StatusMuseum ship in Muskogee, Oklahoma, 18 February 1972[2]
Badge
General characteristics
Class and typeBalao class diesel-electric submarine[2]
Displacement
  • 1,470 long tons (1,490 t) surfaced[2]
  • 2,040 long tons (2,070 t) submerged[2]
Length311 ft 6 in (94.95 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[6]
  • 8.75 knots (16 km/h) submerged[6]
Range11,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) surfaced at 10 knots (19 km/h)[6]
Endurance
  • 48 hours at 2 knots (3.7 km/h) submerged[6]
  • 75 days on patrol
Test depth400 ft (120 m)[6]
Complement10 officers, 68 enlisted[6]
Armament

The first USS Batfish (SS/AGSS-310) is a Balao-class submarine, known primarily for sinking three Imperial Japanese Navy submarines in a 76-hour period, in February 1945.[7] USS Batfish is the first vessel of the United States Navy to be named for the batfish, a type of anglerfish that crawls about on the sea floor.

Batfish served during World War II. Her war operations spanned a period from 11 December 1943 to 26 August 1945, during which she completed seven war patrols. She is credited with having sunk nine Japanese ships totaling 10,658 tons while operating east of Japan and in the Philippine Sea, Luzon Strait, and South China Sea. Batfish received the Presidential Unit Citation for her sixth war patrol during which she sank three Japanese submarines in the South China Sea in four days.

  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. 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. ^ Don Keith, In the Course of Duty, p262, New American Library, ISBN 0-451-21659-8