USS Sealion (SS-315)

Sealion (APSS-315), converted to an amphibious transport submarine (May 1956)
History
United States
BuilderGeneral Dynamics Electric Boat, Groton, Connecticut[1]
Laid down25 February 1943[1]
Launched31 October 1943[1]
Commissioned8 March 1944[1]
Decommissioned16 February 1946[1]
Recommissioned2 November 1948[1]
Decommissioned30 June 1960[1]
Recommissioned20 October 1961[1]
Decommissioned20 February 1970[1]
Stricken15 March 1977[1]
FateSunk as a target off Newport on 8 July 1978[1][2]
General characteristics
Class and typeBalao-class diesel-electric submarine[2]
Displacement1,526 long tons (1,550 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]
Draft16 ft 10 in (5.13 m) maximum[2]
Propulsion
Speed20.25 knots (37.50 km/h; 23.30 mph) surfaced,[3] 8.75 knots (16.21 km/h) submerged[3]
Range11,000 nmi (20,000 km; 13,000 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced[3]
Endurance48 hours at 2 kn (3.7 km/h; 2.3 mph) submerged,[3] 75 days on patrol
Test depth400 ft (120 m)[3]
Complement10 officers, 70–71 enlisted[3]
Armament

USS Sealion (SS/SSP/ASSP/APSS/LPSS-315), a Balao-class submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the sea lion, any of several large, eared seals native to the Pacific. She is sometimes referred to as Sealion II, because her first skipper, Lieutenant Commander Eli Thomas Reich, was a veteran of the first Sealion (SS-195), serving on her when she was lost at the beginning of World War II. Sealion was the only US and Allied submarine responsible for the sinking of an enemy battleship during the Second World War.[5]

Her keel was laid down on 25 February 1943 by the Electric Boat Company of Groton, Connecticut. She was launched on 31 October 1943 sponsored by Mrs. Emory S. Land, and commissioned on 8 March 1944.

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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
  5. ^ Howland, Chace V. "USS Sealion: the Only American Submarine to Sink an Enemy Battleship". Warfare History Network.