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USS Devilfish (SS-292)
Encyclopedia
USS Devilfish (SS/AGSS-292), a Balao-class
submarine
, was a ship of the United States Navy
named for the devil fish
, any of several gigantic, viviparous rays
found in warm seas, the octopus
or other large cephalopod
s.
Devilfish was launched on 30 May 1943 by Cramp Shipbuilding Co., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
; sponsored by Mrs. F. W. Fenno, Jr.; and commissioned on 1 September 1944, Commander
Edward Clark Stephen in command.
from 18 October-2 November 1944. She reached Pearl Harbor
on 2 December. On the last day of the year, she sailed on her first war patrol, putting into Saipan
to refuel from 12–15 January 1945.
Devilfish patrolled the dangerous waters of Kii Suido and Bungo Suido off the island of Shikoku
, and served as lifeguard for Army pilots making bombing raids on Japan
. She refitted at Guam from 13 February-15 March, called at Saipan, and sailed on 16 March for her second war patrol.
Assigned to the area between Sagami Wan and the northern Nanpō Islands, Devilfish was attacked by a kamikaze
plane on 20 March before she entered her patrol area. The plane crashed into her as the submarine was submerging, destroying the mast structure and causing serious leakage. Devilfish returned to Saipan and Pearl Harbor for repairs, departing Pearl Harbor on 20 May on her third patrol.
She sought targets in Bungo Suido and off northern Honshū
, and on 16 June, in heavy seas, attacked an enemy submarine carrying a midget submarine on its deck. On 26 June, she attacked an escort ship, but in both cases the targets escaped. During this patrol she acted as lifeguard for strikes accompanying the Okinawa operation
, and several times rendezvoused with other submarines to take off medical cases and previously rescued aviators.
The USS Devilfish pulled in to Guam
to refit from 7 July-2 August, then sailed to the Nanpō Islands for her fourth war patrol, during which her primary mission was lifeguard duty for the 3rd Fleet raids on Japan. On 10 August, she bombarded Tori Shima
, and on 16 August, after the end of hostilities, departed for Midway
and San Francisco.
There she was placed in commission in reserve on 18 April 1946, and out of commission in reserve on 30 September 1946. Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, Devilfish was redesignated AGSS-292. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register
on 1 March 1967.
Devilfish was sunk by the submarine USS Wahoo (SS-565)
off San Francisco, California
on 14 August 1968, as part of a MK 16 MOD 8 torpedo test at 37°5′N 124°8′W in 2000 fathom
s (12,000 feet or 3,700 meters) of water.
She was also in Herman Wouk's book The Winds of War, as the submarine that Byron Henry serves on, for most of the duration of the novel. Near the end, Byron becomes a submariner, and the Devilfish disappears.
service; her second war patrol was designated as "successful".
Balao class submarine
The Balao class was a successful design of United States Navy submarine used during World War II, and with 122 units built, the largest class of submarines in the United States Navy. An improvement on the earlier Gato class, the boats had slight internal differences...
submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
, was a ship of the United States Navy
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 devil fish
Devil fish
The devil fish or giant devil ray is a species of eagle ray, family Myliobatidae. They are most common in the Mediterranean Sea and can be found elsewhere in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean, off the southwest coast of Ireland and south of Portugal.It is larger than the lesser devil ray, growing to a...
, any of several gigantic, viviparous rays
Batoidea
Batoidea is a superorder of cartilaginous fish commonly known as rays and skates, containing more than 500 described species in thirteen families...
found in warm seas, the octopus
Octopus
The octopus is a cephalopod mollusc of the order Octopoda. Octopuses have two eyes and four pairs of arms, and like other cephalopods they are bilaterally symmetric. An octopus has a hard beak, with its mouth at the center point of the arms...
or other large cephalopod
Cephalopod
A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan class Cephalopoda . These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral body symmetry, a prominent head, and a set of arms or tentacles modified from the primitive molluscan foot...
s.
Devilfish was launched on 30 May 1943 by Cramp Shipbuilding Co., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
; sponsored by Mrs. F. W. Fenno, Jr.; and commissioned on 1 September 1944, Commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
Edward Clark Stephen in command.
Service history
Devilfish aided the training program of the Fleet Sonar School at Key WestKey West
Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida on the North American continent at the southernmost tip of the Florida Keys. Key West is home to the southernmost point in the Continental United States; the island is about from Cuba....
from 18 October-2 November 1944. She reached 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...
on 2 December. On the last day of the year, she sailed on her first war patrol, putting into Saipan
Saipan
Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...
to refuel from 12–15 January 1945.
Devilfish patrolled the dangerous waters of Kii Suido and Bungo Suido off the island of Shikoku
Shikoku
is the smallest and least populous of the four main islands of Japan, located south of Honshū and east of the island of Kyūshū. Its ancient names include Iyo-no-futana-shima , Iyo-shima , and Futana-shima...
, and served as lifeguard for Army pilots making bombing raids on 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...
. She refitted at Guam from 13 February-15 March, called at Saipan, and sailed on 16 March for her second war patrol.
Assigned to the area between Sagami Wan and the northern Nanpō Islands, Devilfish was attacked by a kamikaze
Kamikaze
The were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy as many warships as possible....
plane on 20 March before she entered her patrol area. The plane crashed into her as the submarine was submerging, destroying the mast structure and causing serious leakage. Devilfish returned to Saipan and Pearl Harbor for repairs, departing Pearl Harbor on 20 May on her third patrol.
She sought targets in Bungo Suido and off northern Honshū
Honshu
is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
, and on 16 June, in heavy seas, attacked an enemy submarine carrying a midget submarine on its deck. On 26 June, she attacked an escort ship, but in both cases the targets escaped. During this patrol she acted as lifeguard for strikes accompanying the Okinawa operation
Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945...
, and several times rendezvoused with other submarines to take off medical cases and previously rescued aviators.
The USS Devilfish pulled in to Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
to refit from 7 July-2 August, then sailed to the Nanpō Islands for her fourth war patrol, during which her primary mission was lifeguard duty for the 3rd Fleet raids on Japan. On 10 August, she bombarded Tori Shima
Torishima (Izu Islands)
, literally meaning "Bird Island", is an uninhabited volcanic island at the south end of the Izu Islands in the Pacific Ocean, administered by Japan.-Geography:...
, and on 16 August, after the end of hostilities, departed for Midway
Midway Atoll
Midway Atoll is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, near the northwestern end of the Hawaiian archipelago, about one-third of the way between Honolulu, Hawaii, and Tokyo, Japan. Unique among the Hawaiian islands, Midway observes UTC-11 , eleven hours behind Coordinated Universal Time and one hour...
and San Francisco.
Naval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
on 1 March 1967.
Devilfish was sunk by the submarine USS Wahoo (SS-565)
USS Wahoo (SS-565)
USS Wahoo , a , was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the wahoo, a dark blue food fish of Florida and the West Indies. The contract to build her was awarded to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, and her keel was laid down on 24 October 1949. She was launched...
off San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
on 14 August 1968, as part of a MK 16 MOD 8 torpedo test at 37°5′N 124°8′W in 2000 fathom
Fathom
A fathom is a unit of length in the imperial and the U.S. customary systems, used especially for measuring the depth of water.There are 2 yards in an imperial or U.S. fathom...
s (12,000 feet or 3,700 meters) of water.
She was also in Herman Wouk's book The Winds of War, as the submarine that Byron Henry serves on, for most of the duration of the novel. Near the end, Byron becomes a submariner, and the Devilfish disappears.
Awards
Devilfish received three battle stars for her World War IIWorld 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; her second war patrol was designated as "successful".