U.S. Submarine - Resources and Discussion

[HogHammer]

T6 Cachalot	T8 Salmon	T10 Balao	T10 Gato
T10 Archerfish

American submarines came into their own during World War II.  Submarines not only attacked enemy ships, but also rescued downed pilots, and played other roles. American submarines had the largest impact on the Imperial Japanese Navy and merchant ships, destroying their supply lines and extensive naval fleet. American submarines were primarily used in the Pacific Ocean, with minimal action in the Atlantic Ocean.

In all, U.S. submarines destroyed 1,314 enemy warships in the Pacific, representing 55% of all Axis power warships lost and a total of 5.3 million tons of shipping.  The success came at a cost, though. In World War II, 52 US submarines were lost, with a total of 3,506 officers and enlisted men killed. The US Navy Submarine Service had the highest casualty percentage of any American forces in the War at about 20 percent.

A great comprehensive guide (with current patch updates) to submarines is the below video by Yuro.

Tier 6 Cachalot

Spoiler

The Cachalot-class submarine project was influenced by the restrictions of the London Naval Treaty and the characteristics of the German U-135 submarine. Subsequently, the Cachalot class was used as the basis for all American submarine designs of World War II. It was for the first time in the history of the U.S. Navy that welding was so widely used in submarine construction. USS Cachalot caught the start of World War II in Pearl Harbor. The submarine carried out three combat missions, having damaged a Japanese tanker.

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Tier 8 Salmon

Spoiler

The Salmon-class submarines were designed to be fast enough to participate in joint operations with battleships and have a sufficiently long range to operate in the inland waters of Japan. When Pearl Harbor was attacked, USS Salmon was conducting a patrol mission along the coast of Luzon. During World War II, the submarine carried out eleven combat missions, sank five enemy ships, and earned nine battle stars.

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Tier 10 Balao

Spoiler

The most abundant American submarines of World War II. They contributed substantially to the success of the U.S. Navy in the Pacific War. The primary objective of the new type of submarine, which was also capable of long-distance independent voyages, was fully realized in the design: these vessels were crew-comfortable and carried ample supplies of fuel and torpedoes. USS Balao completed ten combat missions during World War II, earning nine battle stars.

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Tier 10 Gato

Spoiler

The U.S. Navy High Command conceived that "fleet submarines" were to complement the sluggish conventional battleships. With a high surface speed, heavy armament, and long operational range, they were supposed to conduct reconnaissance and finish off enemy ships once artillery duels between battleships ceased. However, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, their strategy changed, and a new type—Gato—was geared for extended patrols. Comfortable for their crews, these submarines carried a large fuel supply and torpedoes. USS Gato was laid down in October 1940 and commissioned in December 1941. The submarine conducted thirteen combat missions, earning the same number of battle stars and the Presidential Unit Citation.

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Tier 10 Archerfish

Spoiler

One of the Balao-class submarines, a large series of U.S. Navy submarines that played a prominent role in the Allied victory in the Pacific. USS Archerfish was commissioned in September 1943 and made seven patrols during the next two years, charging to her account Japanese aircraft carrier Shinano, the largest warship ever sunk by a submarine.

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[Wolfswetpaws]

🤔

[Arcus_Aesopi]

The phrase "crew-comfortable" just makes me smile.

Just the stories from the old diesel boats would make you cringe...  Even now, after a long patrol some navy wives make their boys strip down and hose off outside before they're allowed into the house...

Good thing those old silent service movies didn't have smell-o-vision!

[Snargfargle]

Back when San Francisco was still a decent place to visit, I toured a Balao-class submarine there. You can take a virtual tour here:

Click and drag each image for a 360-degrees look-around.

https://maritime.org/tour/

 

Edited December 29, 2024 by Snargfargle

[Snargfargle]

Taking the virtual tour of the Pampanito reveals a lot of things I missed on my physical tour. One of the reasons was that it was so dark in the submarine back in the 80s, even though they were using modern 60-watt light bulbs. Now, it looks like they have installed even brighter LED bulbs into sockets. The 3-D digital imaging camera has the ability to pull in all available light in to delve into all of the nooks and crannies of the ship too. It was much "spookier" on the actual tour, especially if you forgot that you were wearing your sunglasses and they were prescription so you couldn't just take them off.

The original bulbs were GE Mazda 50-Watt bulbs. If the bulbs shattered in a depth charge attack, they could be removed using the rubber ring so the sailors didn't cut or burn their fingers. Like many items of the past that didn't become "historical" until long after most of them had been scrapped, there are only two of these bulbs now known to exist. This one on the USS Cod and one on the USS Pampanito.

I know a thing or two about creating museum dioramas and whoever mounted this priceless bulb like that should be keel-hauled.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazda_(light_bulb)