.gif)
USS Cabrilla (SS-288)
Encyclopedia
USS Cabrilla (SS/AGSS-288), a , was a ship of the United States Navy
named for the cabrilla
, an edible fish inhabiting the Mediterranean Sea
and waters off the coast of California
.
Cabrilla (SS-288) was launched 24 December 1942 by Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine
; sponsored by Mrs. L. B. Combs; commissioned 24 May 1943, Commander Douglas Thompson Hammond in command; and reported to the Pacific Fleet.
Cabrilla arrived at Pearl Harbor
30 August 1943, and on 12 September cleared on the first of eight war patrols. After a daring exploit in which four Filipino
guerrillas
were taken off Negros Island, Cabrilla completed her patrol at Fremantle
, Australia
, her base for the next five patrols.
During her second patrol, Cabrilla laid mines
in the Gulf of Siam, and sank her first Japan
ese merchantman, then returned to Fremantle to prepare for her third patrol, a reconnaissance of Sunda Strait
. Her fourth and fifth patrols, off Makassar
, and in the Celebes
and Sulu Sea
s, found her again striking with telling results against Japanese merchant shipping.
Most successful of her patrols was the sixth, in the South China Sea
and off Luzon
from 13 September to 25 October 1944. During this period, she sank a total of 24,557 tons of shipping, including a 10,059-ton tanker. Cabrilla made her seventh war patrol in vicious weather in the Kurile Islands of northern Japan, and her last patrol found her on lifeguard duty for aviators downed at sea while carrying out attacks on Japan.
Homeward-bound after 2 arduous years, Cabrilla cleared Fremantle 31 August 1945 for the States. Following overhaul at Philadelphia
, she sailed for the Canal Zone
for exercises (19 February – 17 March 1946), then underwent preinactivation overhaul at Philadelphia. Cabrilla was placed out of commission in reserve 7 August 1946 at the Naval Submarine Base New London
, CT
, and laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.
Cabrilla was recommissioned and redesignated Auxiliary Submarine AGSS-288, in 1962. She was decommissioned on 30 June 1968 and simultaneously struck from the Naval Register. Cabrilla was subsequently designated to be a museum ship
and temporarily opened as such at Galveston Texas
. However, delays in preparing a permanent berth and the poor material condition of the sub compelled the memorial organizers to exchange Cabrilla for the . In January 1971 Cabrilla was returned to the Navy, which sold her for scrapping in April 1972.
Cabrilla received six battle stars for World War II
service. Of her eight patrols, six were designated as "Successful War Patrols". She is credited with having sunk a total of 38,767 tons of shipping.
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
named for the cabrilla
Comber (fish)
Comber , is a species of fish in the family Serranidae.It lives in the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea and the Atlantic coast from the British Isles to the Cape of Good Hope, including the Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands. The habitat are rocky or sandy sounding-deeps at depths of...
, an edible fish inhabiting the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
and waters off the coast of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Cabrilla (SS-288) was launched 24 December 1942 by Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine
Kittery, Maine
Kittery is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 9,543 at the 2000 census. Home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery includes Badger's Island, the seaside district of Kittery Point, and part of the Isles of Shoals...
; sponsored by Mrs. L. B. Combs; commissioned 24 May 1943, Commander Douglas Thompson Hammond in command; and reported to the Pacific Fleet.
Cabrilla arrived at Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
30 August 1943, and on 12 September cleared on the first of eight war patrols. After a daring exploit in which four Filipino
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
guerrillas
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
were taken off Negros Island, Cabrilla completed her patrol at Fremantle
Fremantle, Western Australia
Fremantle is a city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, her base for the next five patrols.
During her second patrol, Cabrilla laid mines
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
in the Gulf of Siam, and sank her first Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese merchantman, then returned to Fremantle to prepare for her third patrol, a reconnaissance of Sunda Strait
Sunda Strait
The Sunda Strait is the strait between the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra. It connects the Java Sea to the Indian Ocean...
. Her fourth and fifth patrols, off Makassar
Makassar
Makassar, is the provincial capital of South Sulawesi, Indonesia, and the largest city on Sulawesi Island. From 1971 to 1999, the city was named Ujung Pandang, after a precolonial fort in the city, and the two names are often used interchangeably...
, and in the Celebes
Celebes Sea
The Celebes Sea of the western Pacific Ocean is bordered on the north by the Sulu Archipelago and Sulu Sea and Mindanao Island of the Philippines, on the east by the Sangihe Islands chain, on the south by Sulawesi, and on the west by Kalimantan in Indonesia...
and Sulu Sea
Sulu Sea
The Sulu Sea is a body of water in the southwestern area of the Philippines, separated from the South China Sea in the northwest by Palawan and from the Celebes Sea in the southeast by the Sulu Archipelago. Borneo is found to the southwest and Visayas to the northeast.Sulu Sea contains a number of...
s, found her again striking with telling results against Japanese merchant shipping.
Most successful of her patrols was the sixth, in the South China Sea
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
and off Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
from 13 September to 25 October 1944. During this period, she sank a total of 24,557 tons of shipping, including a 10,059-ton tanker. Cabrilla made her seventh war patrol in vicious weather in the Kurile Islands of northern Japan, and her last patrol found her on lifeguard duty for aviators downed at sea while carrying out attacks on Japan.
Homeward-bound after 2 arduous years, Cabrilla cleared Fremantle 31 August 1945 for the States. Following overhaul at Philadelphia
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
The Philadelphia Naval Business Center, formerly known as the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and Philadelphia Navy Yard, was the first naval shipyard of the United States. The U.S. Navy reduced its activities there in the 1990s, and ended most of them on September 30, 1995...
, she sailed for the Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
for exercises (19 February – 17 March 1946), then underwent preinactivation overhaul at Philadelphia. Cabrilla was placed out of commission in reserve 7 August 1946 at the Naval Submarine Base New London
Naval Submarine Base New London
Naval Submarine Base New London is the United States Navy's primary submarine base, the "Home of the Submarine Force", and "the Submarine Capital of the World".-History:...
, CT
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, and laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.
Cabrilla was recommissioned and redesignated Auxiliary Submarine AGSS-288, in 1962. She was decommissioned on 30 June 1968 and simultaneously struck from the Naval Register. Cabrilla was subsequently designated to be a museum ship
Museum ship
A museum ship, or sometimes memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public, for educational or memorial purposes...
and temporarily opened as such at Galveston Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. However, delays in preparing a permanent berth and the poor material condition of the sub compelled the memorial organizers to exchange Cabrilla for the . In January 1971 Cabrilla was returned to the Navy, which sold her for scrapping in April 1972.
Cabrilla received six battle stars for World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
service. Of her eight patrols, six were designated as "Successful War Patrols". She is credited with having sunk a total of 38,767 tons of shipping.