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USS Queenfish (SS-393)
Encyclopedia
USS Queenfish (SS/AGSS-393), a Balao-class
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 the first 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...
to be named for the queenfish
Queenfish
Queenfish are a species of croaker occurring from Uncle Sam Bank, Baja California, to Yaquina Bay, Oregon; they are the only species in the genus Seriphus. They are common during summer in shallow water around pier pilings on sandy bottoms. They are found at depths up to 180 feet; however, occur...
, a small food fish found off the Pacific coast of North America.
The first Queenfish was laid down by the 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...
, 27 July 1943; launched
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
30 November 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Robert A. Theobald; and commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
11 March 1944, Lieutenant Commander Charles E. Loughlin in command.
First patrol: August – October 1944
After shakedown off the east coast and further training in HawaiiHawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
an waters, Queenfish set out on her first patrol 4 August 1944, in Luzon Strait
Luzon Strait
The Luzon Strait is the strait between the island country of Taiwan and Luzon island of the Philippines. The strait thereby connects the Philippine Sea to the South China Sea in the western Pacific Ocean....
. She joined "Ed's Eradicators", a wolf pack which also included and . The wolfpack was under the command of E.R. Swinburne who rode aboard Eugene B. Fluckey
Eugene B. Fluckey
Rear Admiral Eugene Bennett Fluckey , nicknamed "Lucky Fluckey", was a United States Navy submarine commander who received the Medal of Honor during World War II.-Early life and career:...
's "Barb"
Tunny had to withdraw after being damaged by air attack, but on 31 August, Queenfish made her first kill, 4,700-ton tanker
Tanker (ship)
A tanker is a ship designed to transport liquids in bulk. Major types of tankship include the oil tanker, the chemical tanker, and the liquefied natural gas carrier.-Background:...
Chiyoda Maru. On 9 September she scored twice more, on 7,097-ton passenger-cargo ship Toyooka Maru and 3,054-ton transport Manshu Maru.
ComSubPac ordered the Eradicators to assist another wolf pack in rescuing Allied POWs who had been on transports in another convoy. The Japanese had picked up their own survivors from the wreckage, but they made no attempt to save any survivors from among the 2,100 British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and 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...
n POWs embarked in the transports. The submarines managed to get 127 out of the water. An approaching typhoon terminated the hunt and the patrol. Queenfish put into Majuro
Majuro
Majuro , is a large coral atoll of 64 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. The atoll itself has a land area of and encloses a lagoon of...
for refit 3 October.
Second and third patrols: October 1944 – January 1945
Queenfish’s second war patrol was conducted in the northern part of the East China SeaEast China Sea
The East China Sea is a marginal sea east of China. It is a part of the Pacific Ocean and covers an area of 1,249,000 km² or 750,000 square miles.-Geography:...
. This time Cdr. Loughlin had pack command as well as ship command. "Loughlin's Loopers" included Barb and . On 8 November Queenfish sank 1,051-ton Keijo Maru and the 1,948-ton Hakko Maru. On 9 November, she sent 2,131-ton Chojusan Maru, a former gunboat, to the bottom. Alerted by ComSubPac to the approach of a large convoy from Manchuria
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
carrying reinforcements for the Philippines
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...
, the "Loopers" and another wolfpack, the "Urchins", combined to attack. Queenfish struck first on 15 November, sinking the 9,186-ton aircraft ferry Akitsu Maru
Japanese aircraft carrier Akitsu Maru
Akitsu Maru was a Japanese escort aircraft carrier operated by the Imperial Japanese Army. In some sources Akitsu Maru and her sister ship Nigitsu Maru are also considered to be the first amphibious assault ships.-Design features:...
. Over the next two days the subs destroyed eight ships of the convoy, including the 21,000-ton carrier and the largest of the troop transports. The attacks cost the Japanese army defending the Philippines the bulk of a division.
Having received the Presidential Unit Citation for her first two patrols, Queenfish spent her third war patrol, 29 December to 29 January 1945, in the Formosa Straits and waters adjacent to the China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
coast without sinking any ships.
Fourth patrol: February – April 1945
Queenfish returned to the same area for her fourth war patrol, 24 February to 14 April, as a member of another wolf pack. Cdr. William S. Post, Jr., the senior commanding officer in , also had in his wolf pack, "Post's Panzers", the second of that name. After Spot expended all her torpedoes, she left to reload; pack command devolved on Cmdr. Loughlin.On 1 April Queenfish sank 11,600-ton passenger-cargo ship Awa Maru
Awa Maru (1943)
The was a Japanese ocean liner owned by Nippon Yusen Kaisha. The ship was built in 1941-1943 by Mitsubishi Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. at Nagasaki, Japan...
. Unfortunately her victim was a ship whose safe passage had been guaranteed by the United States government, since she was to carry Red Cross relief supplies to 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 prisoner-of-war camps. The sinking occurred in heavy fog, and Awa Maru was not sounding her fog horn, as required by international treaty. The incident caused considerable controversy. When the one survivor picked up by Queenfish told his story, Queenfish was ordered back to port; Cdr. Loughlin was relieved of command, tried by court-martial and convicted of one of three charges, negligence in obeying orders and received a "Letter of Admonition" from the Secretary of the Navy. Loughlin survived to continue an illustrious career that led to flag rank.
On 12 April Queenfish rescued the 13-man crew of a Navy flying boat
Flying boat
A flying boat is a fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a float plane as it uses a purpose-designed fuselage which can float, granting the aircraft buoyancy. Flying boats may be stabilized by under-wing floats or by wing-like projections from the fuselage...
.
Queenfish spent her fifth patrol under Cdr. Frank N. Shamer on lifeguard duty in the East China Sea
East China Sea
The East China Sea is a marginal sea east of China. It is a part of the Pacific Ocean and covers an area of 1,249,000 km² or 750,000 square miles.-Geography:...
-Yellow Sea
Yellow Sea
The Yellow Sea is the name given to the northern part of the East China Sea, which is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It is located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula. Its name comes from the sand particles from Gobi Desert sand storms that turn the surface of the water golden...
area. She was at 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...
preparing for another patrol when the war ended.
Post-World War II operations, 1945 – 1963
After overhaul at Mare Island Naval ShipyardMare Island Naval Shipyard
The Mare Island Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located 25 miles northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates the peninsula shipyard from the main portion of the...
, Queenfish assumed duties as Flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
, Submarine Force, Pacific Fleet. Homeported 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...
after the war, Queenfish returned to the Far East during March 1946 and in June–July 1949, but spent most of the period to 1950 in training operations in the eastern Pacific. In late 1947 she operated in the Bering Sea
Bering Sea
The Bering Sea is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It comprises a deep water basin, which then rises through a narrow slope into the shallower water above the continental shelves....
.
In February and March 1950 Queenfish took part in combined Operations with units of the U.S. Pacific and British
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
Fleets. She made cruises to Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
n waters in 1951 and 1953. In February 1954 she sailed to her new homeport of San Diego. The next four years were spent operating off the west coast of the United States, with the exception of two weeks in Hawaii in late 1956. On 16 January 1958 she departed for a 6-month deployment to WestPac, returning to San Diego 27 July to resume operations off the west coast of the United States.
Queenfish was used for the opening and closing scenes and some exterior shots in the 1959 movie Operation Petticoat
Operation Petticoat
Operation Petticoat is a 1959 comedy film directed by Blake Edwards, and starring Cary Grant and Tony Curtis. It was the basis for a television series in 1977 starring John Astin in Grant's role...
.
Queenfish was reclassified AGSS-393 1 July 1960. She decommissioned and was struck from the Navy List
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...
1 March 1963. Slated for scrapping, she was instead sunk as target by the nuclear-powered submarine on 14 August 1963.
Honors and awards
Queenfish was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation, and received six battle stars for 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.
8 Japanese ships
| Date | Type | Name | Tonnage | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 August 1944 | Tanker | Chiyoda Maru | 4,700 tons | 21°21′N 121°06′E |
| 9 September 1944 | Passenger/Cargo | Toyooka Maru | 7,097 tons | 19°45′N 120°56′E |
| 9 September 1944 | Transport | Manshu Maru | 3,054 tons | 19°45′N 120°56′E |
| 8 November 1944 | Cargo | Keijo Maru | 1,051 tons | 31°9′N 129°38′E |
| 8 November 1944 | Cargo | Hakko Maru | 1,948 tons | 31°09′N 129°38′E |
| 9 November 1944 | Ex-Gunboat | Chojusan Maru | 2,131 tons | 31°17′N 129°10′E |
| 15 November 1944 | Aircraft Ferry | Akitsu Maru | 9,186 tons | 33°15′N 128°10′E |
| 1 April 1945 | Passenger/Cargo/Relief | Awa Maru Awa Maru (1943) The was a Japanese ocean liner owned by Nippon Yusen Kaisha. The ship was built in 1941-1943 by Mitsubishi Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. at Nagasaki, Japan... |
11,600 tons | 25°25′N 120°7′E |
| Total | 40,767 tons |