USS Croaker (SS-246)
Croaker (SS-246), underway, c. 1944–45. |
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| Career | |
|---|---|
| Builder: | General Dynamics Electric Boat, Groton, Connecticut |
| Laid down: | 1 April 1943 |
| Launched: | 19 December 1943 |
| Commissioned: | 21 April 1944 |
| Decommissioned: | 15 June 1946 |
| Recommissioned: | 7 May 1951 |
| Decommissioned: | 18 March 1953 |
| Recommissioned: | 11 December 1953 |
| Decommissioned: | 2 April 1968 |
| Struck: | 20 December 1971 |
| Fate: | Made into Museum ship at Groton, Connecticut on 27 June 1976, then to Buffalo, New York. |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type: | Gato-class diesel-electric submarine |
| Displacement: | 1,525 tons (1,549 t) surfaced, 2,424 tons (2,460 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 Croaker | |
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
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| Location: | Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park, Buffalo, New York |
| Coordinates: | 42°52′42″N 78°52′54″W / 42.8782°N 78.8817°W / 42.8782; -78.8817Coordinates: 42°52′42″N 78°52′54″W / 42.8782°N 78.8817°W / 42.8782; -78.8817 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 08000863 |
| Added to NRHP: | 12 September 2008 |
USS Croaker (SS/SSK/AGSS/IXSS-246), a Gato-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the croaker, any of various fishes which make throbbing or drumming noises.
Her keel was laid down on 1 April 1943 by Electric Boat Company in Groton, Connecticut. She was launched on 19 December 1943 (sponsored by the wife of Admiral William H. P. Blandy), and commissioned on 21 April 1944, with Commander John E. Lee in command.
Read more about USS Croaker (SS-246): Awards