USS Ronquil (SS-396)
Encyclopedia
USS Ronquil (SS-396), a Balao-class
submarine
, was the only ship of the United States Navy
named for the ronquil
, a spiny-finned fish found along the northwest coast of North America. It has a single dorsal fin and a large mouth and resembles the tropical jawfish.
Ronquil was laid down 9 September 1943 at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, in Kittery, Maine
; launched
27 January 1944, sponsored by Mrs. C. M. Elder; and commissioned
22 April 1944, Lieutenant Commander Henry S. Monroe in command.
coast, Ronquil sailed for Hawaii
. She arrived at Pearl Harbor
on 8 July 1944; and, after preparatory training, sailed on her first war patrol (31 July – 8 September 1944) in the northeastern Formosa
-Sakishima Gunto area. On 24 August the submarine sank two attack cargo ships: Yoshida Maru No. 3 (4,646 tons) and Fukurei Maru (5,969 tons). Ronquil’s second war patrol, from 30 September to 28 November 1944, was carried out in two phases. She first operated with a coordinated submarine attack group in the Bungo Suido area, and then joined six other submarines to carry out an antipatrol ship sweep off the Bonin Islands.
On her third war patrol, from 1 January to 14 February 1945, Ronquil patrolled the Bonins and did lifeguard duty in that area for Army bombers hitting the Japan
ese home islands. Her fourth war patrol from 11 March to 23 April 1945, brought her no worthwhile enemy targets but resulted in the rescue of 10 Army aviators from a B-29 bomber downed between the Bonins and Japan. The submarine's fifth and last patrol from 19 May to 26 July 1945, took her into the East China Sea
and the Yellow Sea
.
The end of the war in the Pacific
found Ronquil off Pearl Harbor, training for another war patrol. She returned to San Diego in the fall of 1945 and engaged in training exercises off the California
coast.
, the Carolines
, the Marianas
, Japan, and the Yellow Sea. On her return to San Diego, she resumed local operations before beginning a 3-year period of intensive training in offensive and antisubmarine warfare, embodying lessons learned during World War II as well as new postwar developments.
Ronquil entered Mare Island Naval Shipyard
in May 1952 for decommissioning and "Guppy IIA" modernization: Her hull and sail were streamlined for greater submerged speed. She received new, increased-capacity batteries for underwater endurance, and a snorkel
which enabled her to use her diesels at periscope
depth. New electronics, including improved sonar and fire-control systems, were installed.
Ronquil was recommissioned on 16 January 1953, and on 12 June departed for Japan. She arrived at Yokosuka before sailing on to Tokyo
on 19 July to take part in the "Black Ship Festival" commemorating Commodore Matthew Perry
's opening of Japan in 1852. Throughout August and September, Ronquil participated in antisubmarine and other operations in the waters near Japan; this was to set the pattern for most of her later deployments.
On 11 December 1953 Ronquil returned to San Diego for a year of overhaul, refresher training, Naval Reserve training, and fleet exercises. She sailed for a second western Pacific tour on 21 March 1955, returning late in September. The next 2 years were devoted to operations off the west coast of the United States; on 31 July 1957, the submarine again deployed to the Far East for 7 months.
From 3 July to 7 July 1958, Ronquil took part, with other ships of the fleet, in an observance of the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the "Great White Fleet
" at San Francisco
. She resumed normal operations, then sailed from San Diego on 6 April 1959 for a 5-month "WestPac" deployment. During July and August of 1960, she participated in extensive antisubmarine exercises in the eastern Pacific with United States and Canadian forces.
In the early fall of 1961 Ronquil again sailed for the Far East, returning in March 1962. After taking part in a demonstration of antisubmarine operations for the national radio and television networks, she began a period of overhaul and local operations. The submarine departed San Diego in November 1963 for duty with the 7th Fleet; on her return to California, she again resumed operations off the west coast. Late in 1964 Ronquil began preparations for deployment to the Vietnam
area. In February 1965 she sailed for Southeast Asia
and a five-month deployment.
In mid-1966, Ronquil rejoined the 7th Fleet, returning to San Diego in February 1967 for further work off the coast of California. This was interrupted in August, when Ronquil played the part of the fictional USS Tigerfish (SSN-509) in the motion picture Ice Station Zebra
.
On 26 December the submarine was again underway for Japan. During this deployment, she took part in exercises with United States, British
, Japanese
, Australian
, and Canadian
forces. On 2 July 1968 Ronquil returned to the west coast. Ronquil departed for the Far East 4 July 1969, returning to San Diego on Christmas Eve
.
At the end of January 1970 Ronquil began a period of repair and overhaul, followed by training and fleet exercises in the eastern Pacific. August 1970 brought another 7th Fleet deployment, returning to her homeport of San Diego on 5 March 1971. The Vietnam Service Medal
was awarded for this deployment.
, under the Mutual Security Assistance Act. The submarine was commissioned into the Spanish Navy
as Isaac Peral (S-32), named after Spanish submarine pioneer Isaac Peral
. Under her new commander Lt. Cmdr. Pedro Soler Yolif, she sailed from San Diego to her new homeport of Cartagena, Spain
, arriving 22 August.
Isaac Peral faced retirement in 1982, but her service was extended until the commissioning of the new Siroco (S-72). The Spanish Navy decommissioned Isaac Peral on 3 April 1984.
service.
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 only 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 ronquil
Ronquil
Ronquils are perciform marine fish of the small family Bathymasteridae. Found only in Arctic and North Pacific waters, the ronquil family contains just seven species in three genera. The larger species are important to commercial fisheries as food fish...
, a spiny-finned fish found along the northwest coast of North America. It has a single dorsal fin and a large mouth and resembles the tropical jawfish.
Ronquil was laid down 9 September 1943 at 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...
; 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...
27 January 1944, sponsored by Mrs. C. M. Elder; 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...
22 April 1944, Lieutenant Commander Henry S. Monroe in command.
World War II
After shakedown off the New EnglandNew England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
coast, Ronquil sailed for Hawaii
Hawaii
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...
. She 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...
on 8 July 1944; and, after preparatory training, sailed on her first war patrol (31 July – 8 September 1944) in the northeastern Formosa
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
-Sakishima Gunto area. On 24 August the submarine sank two attack cargo ships: Yoshida Maru No. 3 (4,646 tons) and Fukurei Maru (5,969 tons). Ronquil’s second war patrol, from 30 September to 28 November 1944, was carried out in two phases. She first operated with a coordinated submarine attack group in the Bungo Suido area, and then joined six other submarines to carry out an antipatrol ship sweep off the Bonin Islands.
On her third war patrol, from 1 January to 14 February 1945, Ronquil patrolled the Bonins and did lifeguard duty in that area for Army bombers hitting the 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 home islands. Her fourth war patrol from 11 March to 23 April 1945, brought her no worthwhile enemy targets but resulted in the rescue of 10 Army aviators from a B-29 bomber downed between the Bonins and Japan. The submarine's fifth and last patrol from 19 May to 26 July 1945, took her into 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:...
and the 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...
.
The end of the war in the Pacific
Pacific Theater of Operations
The Pacific Theater of Operations was the World War II area of military activity in the Pacific Ocean and the countries bordering it, a geographic scope that reflected the operational and administrative command structures of the American forces during that period...
found Ronquil off Pearl Harbor, training for another war patrol. She returned to San Diego in the fall of 1945 and engaged in training exercises off the 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...
coast.
Post-war service
In January 1947, Ronquil departed San Diego for her first peacetime western Pacific deployment. This patrol lasted 114 days and took the submarine to TahitiTahiti
Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
, the Carolines
Caroline Islands
The Caroline Islands are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia in the eastern part of the group, and Palau at the extreme western end...
, the Marianas
Mariana Islands
The Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...
, Japan, and the Yellow Sea. On her return to San Diego, she resumed local operations before beginning a 3-year period of intensive training in offensive and antisubmarine warfare, embodying lessons learned during World War II as well as new postwar developments.
Ronquil entered Mare Island Naval Shipyard
Mare 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...
in May 1952 for decommissioning and "Guppy IIA" modernization: Her hull and sail were streamlined for greater submerged speed. She received new, increased-capacity batteries for underwater endurance, and a snorkel
Submarine snorkel
A submarine snorkel is a device which allows a submarine to operate submerged while still taking in air from above the surface. Navy personnel often refer to it as the snort.-History:...
which enabled her to use her diesels at periscope
Periscope
A periscope is an instrument for observation from a concealed position. In its simplest form it consists of a tube with mirrors at each end set parallel to each other at a 45-degree angle....
depth. New electronics, including improved sonar and fire-control systems, were installed.
Ronquil was recommissioned on 16 January 1953, and on 12 June departed for Japan. She arrived at Yokosuka before sailing on to Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
on 19 July to take part in the "Black Ship Festival" commemorating Commodore Matthew Perry
Matthew Perry (naval officer)
Matthew Calbraith Perry was the Commodore of the U.S. Navy and served commanding a number of US naval ships. He served several wars, most notably in the Mexican-American War and the War of 1812. He played a leading role in the opening of Japan to the West with the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854...
's opening of Japan in 1852. Throughout August and September, Ronquil participated in antisubmarine and other operations in the waters near Japan; this was to set the pattern for most of her later deployments.
On 11 December 1953 Ronquil returned to San Diego for a year of overhaul, refresher training, Naval Reserve training, and fleet exercises. She sailed for a second western Pacific tour on 21 March 1955, returning late in September. The next 2 years were devoted to operations off the west coast of the United States; on 31 July 1957, the submarine again deployed to the Far East for 7 months.
From 3 July to 7 July 1958, Ronquil took part, with other ships of the fleet, in an observance of the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the "Great White Fleet
Great White Fleet
The Great White Fleet was the popular nickname for the United States Navy battle fleet that completed a circumnavigation of the globe from 16 December 1907 to 22 February 1909 by order of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. It consisted of 16 battleships divided into two squadrons, along with...
" at San Francisco
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...
. She resumed normal operations, then sailed from San Diego on 6 April 1959 for a 5-month "WestPac" deployment. During July and August of 1960, she participated in extensive antisubmarine exercises in the eastern Pacific with United States and Canadian forces.
In the early fall of 1961 Ronquil again sailed for the Far East, returning in March 1962. After taking part in a demonstration of antisubmarine operations for the national radio and television networks, she began a period of overhaul and local operations. The submarine departed San Diego in November 1963 for duty with the 7th Fleet; on her return to California, she again resumed operations off the west coast. Late in 1964 Ronquil began preparations for deployment to the Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
area. In February 1965 she sailed for Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
and a five-month deployment.
In mid-1966, Ronquil rejoined the 7th Fleet, returning to San Diego in February 1967 for further work off the coast of California. This was interrupted in August, when Ronquil played the part of the fictional USS Tigerfish (SSN-509) in the motion picture Ice Station Zebra
Ice Station Zebra (film)
Ice Station Zebra is a 1968 action film directed by John Sturges, starring Rock Hudson, Patrick McGoohan, Ernest Borgnine, and Jim Brown. The screenplay by Alistair MacLean, Douglas Heyes, Harry Julian Fink, and W.R. Burnett is loosely based upon MacLean's 1963 novel of the same name. Both have...
.
On 26 December the submarine was again underway for Japan. During this deployment, she took part in exercises with United States, 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...
, Japanese
Japan Self-Defense Forces
The , or JSDF, occasionally referred to as JSF or SDF, are the unified military forces of Japan that were established after the end of the post–World War II Allied occupation of Japan. For most of the post-war period the JSDF was confined to the islands of Japan and not permitted to be deployed...
, Australian
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
, and Canadian
Canadian Forces
The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...
forces. On 2 July 1968 Ronquil returned to the west coast. Ronquil departed for the Far East 4 July 1969, returning to San Diego on Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
.
At the end of January 1970 Ronquil began a period of repair and overhaul, followed by training and fleet exercises in the eastern Pacific. August 1970 brought another 7th Fleet deployment, returning to her homeport of San Diego on 5 March 1971. The Vietnam Service Medal
Vietnam Service Medal
The Vietnam Service Medal is a military award which was created in 1965 by order of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The distinctive design was the creation of sculptor Thomas Hudson Jones, a former employee of the Army Institute of Heraldry. The medal is issued to recognize military service during...
was awarded for this deployment.
SPS Isaac Peral (S-32)
On 1 July 1971, Ronquil was decommissioned, struck from the Naval Register, and transferred to SpainSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, under the Mutual Security Assistance Act. The submarine was commissioned into the Spanish Navy
Spanish Navy
The Spanish Navy is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces, one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Armada is responsible for notable achievements in world history such as the discovery of Americas, the first world circumnavigation, and the discovery of a maritime path...
as Isaac Peral (S-32), named after Spanish submarine pioneer Isaac Peral
Isaac Peral
Isaac Peral y Caballero , was a Spanish engineer, sailor and designer of the Peral Submarine .-Career:...
. Under her new commander Lt. Cmdr. Pedro Soler Yolif, she sailed from San Diego to her new homeport of Cartagena, Spain
Cartagena, Spain
Cartagena is a Spanish city and a major naval station located in the Region of Murcia, by the Mediterranean coast, south-eastern Spain. As of January 2011, it has a population of 218,210 inhabitants being the Region’s second largest municipality and the country’s 6th non-Province capital...
, arriving 22 August.
Isaac Peral faced retirement in 1982, but her service was extended until the commissioning of the new Siroco (S-72). The Spanish Navy decommissioned Isaac Peral on 3 April 1984.
Honors and awards
Ronquil earned 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.