USS Barb (SS-220)
“The Submarine that sank the most tonnage by Japanese Records” |
|
| Career (United States) | |
|---|---|
| Name: | USS Barb (SS-220) |
| Builder: | General Dynamics Electric Boat, Groton, Connecticut |
| Laid down: | 7 June 1941 |
| Launched: | 2 April 1942 |
| Sponsored by: | Mrs. Charles A. Dunn |
| Commissioned: | 8 July 1942 |
| Decommissioned: | 12 February 1947 |
| Recommissioned: | 3 December 1951 |
| Decommissioned: | 5 February 1954 |
| Recommissioned: | 3 August 1954 |
| Decommissioned: | 13 December 1954 |
| Struck: | 15 October 1972 |
| Fate: | Transferred to Italy on 13 December 1954 |
| Career (Italy) | |
| Name: | Enrico Tazzoli (S-511) |
| Acquired: | 13 December 1954 |
| Fate: | Sold for scrap in 1972 |
| 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 kn (39 km/h) surfaced, 9 kn (17 km/h) submerged |
| Range: | 11,000 nmi (20,000 km) surfaced @ 10 kn (19 km/h) |
| Endurance: | 48 hours @ 2 kn (3.7 km/h) submerged, 75 days on patrol |
| Test depth: | 300 ft (91 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 Barb (SS-220), a Gato-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the barbus. The craft compiled one of the outstanding submarine records of World War II. During the seven war patrols she conducted in the Pacific between March 1944-August 1945, Barb is officially credited with sinking 17 enemy vessels totaling 96,628 tons, including the Japanese aircraft carrier Unyo. In recognition of one outstanding patrol, Commander Fluckey was awarded the Medal of Honor and Barb received the Presidential Unit Citation. On the sub's 12th and final patrol of the war, Barb landed a party of carefully selected crew members who blew up a railroad train. This is notable as the only ground combat operation that took place on the Japanese home islands.
Read more about USS Barb (SS-220): Awards