USS Albacore (SS-218)
USS Albacore in Measure 9 camouflage (dull black) off Groton, 9 May 1942 |
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| Career (United States) | |
|---|---|
| Builder: | General Dynamics Electric Boat, Groton, Connecticut |
| Laid down: | 21 April 1941 |
| Launched: | 17 February 1942 |
| Sponsored by: | Mrs. Elwin F. Cutts |
| Commissioned: | 1 June 1942 |
| Fate: | Probably mined off of northern Hokkaidō, 7 November 1944 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type: | Gato-class diesel-electric submarine |
| Displacement: | 1,525 long tons (1,549 t) surfaced, 2,424 long tons (2,463 t) submerged |
| Length: | 311 ft 9 in (95.02 m) |
| Beam: | 27 ft 3 in (8.31 m) |
| Draft: | 17 ft (5.2 m) maximum |
| Propulsion: |
4 × General Motors Model 16-248 V16 diesel engines driving electrical generators |
| Speed: | 21 knots (39 km/h) surfaced; 9 kn (17 km/h) submerged |
| Range: | 11,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) surfaced @ 10 kn (19 km/h) |
| Endurance: | 48 hours at 2 kn (4 km/h) submerged, 75 days on patrol |
| Test depth: | 300 ft (90 m) |
| Complement: | 6 officers, 54 enlisted |
| Armament: | 10 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes (six forward, four aft) 24 torpedoes 1 × 3-inch (76 mm) / 50 caliber deck gun Bofors 40 mm and Oerlikon 20 mm cannon |
USS Albacore (SS-218) was a Gato-class submarine which served in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II, winning four Presidential Unit Citations and nine battle stars for her service. During the war, she was credited with sinking 13 Japanese ships (including two destroyers, a light cruiser, and the aircraft carrier Taihō) and damaging another five; not all of these credits were confirmed by postwar JANAC accounting. She also holds the distinction of sinking the most warship tonnage of any U.S. submarine.
Albacore was the second vessel of the United States Navy to be named for the albacore. Her keel was laid on 21 April 1941 by the Electric Boat Company in Groton, Connecticut. She was launched on 17 February 1942 (sponsored by Mrs. Elwin F. Cutts, the wife of Captain Cutts), and commissioned on 1 June 1942, Lieutenant Commander Richard C. Lake (Class of 1929) in command.
Read more about USS Albacore (SS-218): Awards