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U.S.S. TUNNY
(SS-282)ILLEGITIMI NON CARBORUNDUM
Click to view crew list
USS TUNNY (SS-282) - a Gato-class submarine
In Commission 1942 to 1946SS-282 Deployments - Major Events
Add a SS-282 Shellback Initiation | Add a SS-282 Deployment - Major Event | ||||
Month | Year | to | Month | Year | Deployment / Event |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
NOV | 1941 | - | Keel Date: 10 NOV 1941 at Mare Island Naval Shipyard Vallejo CA | ||
JUN | 1942 | - | Launch Date: 30 JUN 1942 | ||
SEP | 1942 | - | Commissioned: 1 SEP 1942 | ||
JAN | 1961 | - | Shellback Initiation - 22 JAN 1961 - Pacific Ocean | ||
SEP | 1962 | - | NOV | 1962 | Cuban missile crisis ops off Russia |
JUN | 1969 | - | Decommissioned: 28 JUN 1969 |
SS-282 General Specifications
Class: Gato-class submarine
Complement: 6 Officers and 54 Enlisted
Displacement: 1525 tons
Length: 311 feet 9 inches
Beam: 27 feet 3 inches
Draft: 17 feet 0 in
Range: 11 000 Nautical Miles
Final Disposition: Sunk as a target 19 June 1970
USS TUNNY (SS-282)
The first Tunny (SS-282)
was laid down on 10 November 1941 at
Vallejo, Calif., by the Mare Island Navy
Yard; launched on 30 June 1942; sponsored by Mrs. Frederick G. Crisp; and commissioned on 1 September 1942, Lt. Comdr. Elton Watters Grenfell in command.
Following shakedown
training out of California ports, Tunny
arrived in the Hawaiian Islands
on 12 December 1942. After an
additional week of training and two weeks
of availability, she got underway from Submarine Base, Pearl Harbor, on 12 January 1943 for her first war patrol. For nearly a week, rough seas
hampered the progress of the
submarine. Then, as she approached the Ryukyus, sea traffic increased. Sightings of sampans became frequent, and Tunny often
dove to avoid detection by suspicious
looking trawlers.
At 0530 on the 26th, Tunny
sighted masts and a stack over the
horizon indicating a possible target. During the day, she lessened the
distance between herself and her quarry;
and, near dusk, she closed a 400-ton trawler. Finding the prey not worth
a torpedo, the submarine surfaced and
opened fire with her deck gun. Soon darkness forced her to discontinue the
attack, and she continued on her way.
On the 29th, she began
patrolling off Formosa. An hour and
one-half before midnight on 31 January, her periscope at last disclosed a worthwhile target, a freighter approaching Takao Ko. Tunny fired
two "fish" from her bow
tubes, but the freighter made a radical change of course which enabled her to evade the lethal torpedoes. When
her target counterattacked and dropped two
depth charges, Tunny broke off the attack and submerged.
On the first day of
February, Tunny set her course for
the China coast, running on the surface. As darkness fell on the 2d, she was only hours from Hong Kong, expecting
to make landfall on Tamkan Island by daybreak.
At 2130, she made radar contact; and, through the night, drew closer to her as yet unseen quarry.
A light rain was falling
and visibility was poor when, half an
hour before morning twilight, Tunny began a radar approach.
Rapidly shoaling water less than 20 fathoms
deep and land masses on two sides of the submarine limited her maneuverability. At 2,200 yards, the extreme
phosphorescence of the water illuminated her
wake and betrayed her presence to the enemy ship, which began signalling the unidentified intruder
with a blinker light. Despite her detection, Tunny continued the
approach until she was only 1,000 yards from the target and then fired three torpedoes. The Japanese ship, now discernible as a loaded tanker, began to maneuver radically and opened fire on the
submarine. Undeterred, Tunny submerged
and continued the attack, firing a
second volley from her stern tubes. One of these torpedoes hit the side of the tanker with a thud, but without explosion, and a small column of water
erupted just forward of the tanker's bridge. Duds and prematures were a
problem for American submarines early in
1943, and verification that this torpedo had indeed hit the tanker, but
failed to detonate, was forthcoming when
members of the tanker's crew dashed to the
spot in question and began examining the impact area with flashlights.
Despite continuous fire from the ship and the
proximity of land, Tunny managed to stay within firing range of her target by travelling at full speed. After the tanker successfully evaded Tunny's
third salvo, the submarine fired a
last torpedo from 1,600 yards as the
intended victim reached the passage into Hong Kong. Following this
disappointing conclusion to her attack, Tunny
dove in anticipation of search
planes which appeared within two hours and continued their surveillance throughout the day.
After dark on 3 February,
while patrolling Lema Channel, Tunny
made radar contact with a sizeable target.
On this very dark night, visual identification was impossible; but, at 2005, the submarine approached to 900 yards and made a three-torpedo attack. The sound
of the target's screws ceased immediately, and Tunny claimed to have
sunk this unidentified ship which had
been seen only on radar. When the submarine surfaced at daybreak the following day, the submariners discovered
an unexpected visitor on deck-a six-foot black
and yellow striped snake.
On the 4th, Tunny set
her course for Swatow, keeping to the
shoreline in hopes of intercepting shipping. En route, she passed a
large hospital ship well marked and brilliantly lighted. On the 6th and 7th, Tunny
patrolled off Swatow. Numerous junks
plying the Formosa and Swatow banks
at all hours added to the hazards imposed
by shallow water and an inoperable fathometer and made it impossible for Tunny to approach the shore closer than six miles.
Early on the morning of 8
February, she went deep to avoid a
plane revealed by radar. When she surfaced, she discovered a freighter 10,000 yards off her beam. She shadowed the target during the day and, after sunset, made her approach and launched two
torpedoes from a distance of 830
yards. Due to bad runs, neither of
these took effect, but they did alert the freighter, which opend fire on Tunny. The submarine
fired two shots from her bow tubes, but one torpedo missed, and the other circled around to the right. Tunny then
drew ahead for a surface approach and
fired three more torpedoes. Two of
these found the mark; but one put on
an amazing show, veering sharply first to the left and then to the right, before hitting the target.
The Kusayama Ma.ru, a heavily-laden, 5,000-ton cargo ship, sank
by the stern in 20 minutes; and Tunny had scored her first confirmed kill. As she proceeded on toward Takao, a
searchlight suddenly pierced the dark not far ahead,
and Tunny dove to avoid detection.
The next day, Tunny sighted
a large transport. Undetected by two
nearby patrol vessels and a plane, she made
her approach and scored two hits on the transoort with her remaining torpedoes. However, the ship id not sink and later left the area.
On 11 February, Tunny set
her course for Midway. En route, she
used a combination of 20-millimeter and 5-inch gunfire to sink a 100-ton fishing trawler. On the 20th, she made
contact with the harbor escort and proceeded
to moor at Midway, completing her first aggressive and successful patrol. She later continued on to Hawaii, arriving
at Pearl Harbor on 24 February 1943.
After refitting by tender
Sperry (AS-12) and three days
of training, Tunny departed the Hawaiian Islands on 18 March, paused at Midway for replacement of
her periscope, and got underway for
Wake on the 24th. Later, Commander,
Submarine Force, Pacific Fleet, would
describe Tunny's second war patrol as belonging "in that exceptional category of one of the
outstandingly aggressive patrols of the war."
On 27 March 1943, Tunny
arrived off Wake Island and
operated within a 200-mile circle all day, flooding down the decks awash when within 30 miles of the island. Before dawn the next morning, she closed
to within 10 miles of the
Japanese-held island and watched as
its awakening occupants turned on their lights. A motor torpedo boat and two patrol boats passed by
less than 600 yards from the
submarine without detecting her
presence. Trailing these vessels, Tunny came upon a cargo ship;
and all hands scrambled to battle stations. Shortly
after sunrise, the submarine launched her attack, firing two torpedoes from a
range of 700 yards. The first found
its mark and blew the stern off the enemy
ship, but the buoyancy of the lightly loaded vessel kept it afloat. Tunny was maneuvering at periscope depth to avoid depth charges dropped across
her bow at a range of 300 yards when
the first of several aerial bombs fell close aboard. The submarine dove
to 280 feet. When she attempted to surface
an hour later, Tunny was again driven down by an aerial
adversary. Later in the morning, travelling submerged at 150 feet, she set her course for her assigned patrol area.
On 31 March, she entered
he patrol area in the Carolines; and,
on 1 April 1943, she conducted submerged
patrols off North Pass, Truk, and later in the day on the Japanese naval base's western approaches. Failing to find any action in these areas, she
surfaced late in the afternoon on 2
April and set her course for the channel between Puluwat and Pulap
Islands. Later that day, as she patrolled off Alet Island, Tunny made radar contact with a ship dead ahead. Heading in
for a flank attack, she sighted a Momo-class destroyer 1,000 yards astern of her chosen target. Tunny fired
three torpedoes from 960 yards and
noted a hit in the forward hold of the
Japanese cargo ship before diving to
300 feet to avoid the attention of the destroyer. Minutes later, a series of nine depth charges
tumbled down in search of the
submarine, but exploded at too shallow
a depth to achieve their purpose. Some 15 minutes later, as Tunny started
up to take a look, she was jolted by a deep-set depth charge which
caught her at 260 feet, but caused only minor
damage-a small price to pay for the
sinking of Toyo Maru No. 2. Before
midnight, the destroyer gave up the search, and the submarine surfaced and set her course for the Namonuito group to the north.
Late on the 4th, Tunny headed
west to intercept traffic reported
north of McLaughlin Bank. On 7 April, while patrolling in that area, the
submarine took advantage of a rain squall to approach within 1,000 yards of a radar-tracked target. She then fired two
torpedoes at the Kosei Maru, an
8,000-ton passenger-cargo ship, scoring
a hit amidships and one aft, and dove immediately to escape the inevitable
wrath of the escorting Hibiki-class
destroyer which had been
patrolling just ahead of the
now-stricken transport. The ensuing depth charge counterattack continued until
the descroyer lost contact with the
submarine in a heavy rain squall. Having added a third cargo ship to her list
of kills, Tunny retired from the scene of the attack.
On the 8th, the submarine
surfaced in a downpour to continue
patrols north of West Fayu Island. Later that day, she set her course to intercept a convoy reported to be southwest of Truk. At 2228 on 9
April, she made radar contact with a
formation less than three miles
distant and went to four engines to maneuver into position for an attack. In a few minutes, the formation changed course, putting Tunny in
position to slow down to two-thirds
speed and head in, flooded down to
decks awash to avoid detection. As the convoy became visible, Tunny's commanding officer, Comdr. James A. Scott, could hardly believe his luck. On
the starboard bow was a large
aircraft carrier; to port, two
auxiliary carriers; and on each bow of the formation, a destroyer. Given this perfect setup, Tunny maneuvered
to swing the bow on twin targets, but her plans
were disrupted when three small boats similar to motor torpedo boats appeared only 300 yards off her port bow. Tunny quickly dove to 40 feet,
turned right, ninety degrees, and fired four torpedoes from her stern tubes at one of the auxiliary carriers from a
distance of 880 yards. A's she turned her attention to other targets, four torpedo explosions sounded through
the night.
Signalling from her new
target gave executive officer Lt.
Comdr. Roger Keithly at the conn a final check on the target's bearing, and Tunny released a salvo of six torpedoes from her bow tubes at the large
carrier. Her surprise attack
completed, Tunny immediately dove amidst the cacophony of depth
charges and churning screws. The depth
charges rocked the submarine but did no damage; and the crackling and
grinding noises heard throughout the ship, as
well as on sonar, led those on board
the submarine to believe that their lethal "fish" had found
their mark. In all this noise and confusion, Tunny
unobtrusively slipped away to the north.
Later, examination of Japanese records -showed that this attack was ruined by prematures and duds, and that damage to the enemy had been minor.
However, the skill and daring with
which the raid was conducted remained
an example of excellence and prompted the Commander, Submarine Force,
Pacific Fleet, to commend Tunny's commander for his actions on this
patrol as "an illustrious example of
professional competence and military aggressiveness."
An hour and one-half after
midnight on 10 April, the submarine
surfaced and set her course to return to
her patrol area. While approaching North Pass about 25 miles out of Truk on 11 April, Tunny dove when a searchlight suddenly broke the night, 500
yards ahead on the starboard bow. No
depth charges followed, and the source of the light-not sizeable enough to be detected on radar-was presumed to be a small boat.
Early on the afternoon of
the 11th, a contact, at first thought
to be a patrol boat, turned out to be a Japanese submarine. The designation symbol of the enemy submarine was
emblazoned on her conning tower, spelling
out 1-9 in large white characters. Boldly taking the offensive, Tunny
fired her three remaining forward "fish"
at the submarine, only to see the vessel turn away and parallel the course of the death-dealing torpedoes. Tunny then began her own evasive
procedures, going deep and away from
the Japanese submersible- and none
too soon. Minutes later, she tracked two torpedoes which passed harmlessly astern. An enemy plane added bombs to Tunny's immediate concerns,
but she rigged for silent running and weathered the attack by remaining submerged until after nightfall.
That same evening, as Tunny
lay on the surface in the bright moonlight, charging her batteries,
she made radar contact with a ship moving at 18 knots. Within minutes, the contact materialized into an enemy
destroyer steaming on the starboard bow. Tunny dove to 44 feet
and began to swing for a stern shot when the belligerent
destroyer increased speed to a thundering 30 knots and headed in from a
distance of less than 1,400 yards. As
the submarine dove for 400 feet, the explosions
of nine depth charges fairly close by pursued her. Silent running and a quick reversal of course eventually shook off the menacing destroyer, and Tunny returned
to the surface after the moon set, noting
only minor damage from the attack.
In the days that followed,
Tunny patrolled off East Fayu
Island and north of Mogami Bank before setting her course for Saipan on the 15th. Her surveillance of Magicienne Harbor disclosed that it was not in
use. Seeking targets, the submarine passed through Saipan Channel and
later discovered two cargo ships in Garapan
Harbor. Prevented from attacking by the presence of intervening reefs, Tunny departed the area and moored in the lagoon at Midway on 23 April for a welcome
rest. So aggressive had been her handling on this
eventful patrol that not one of her firing ranges exceeded 1,000 yards. She was awarded the
Presidential Unit Citation for this
outstanding patrol.
After refitting at Midway,
Tunny continue on to Hawaii
for additional repairs. She departed Pearl Harbor on 25 May 1943 and, after fueling at Johnston Island, got underway on
the 27th for Eniwetok. Her first contact
with the enemy on this third war patrol came early in the afternoon on 31 May when she dove to avoid a
radar contact whose speed identified it as a plane.
As Tunny passed 300 feet, a bomb exploded over her after torpedo room breaking lights and thermometers,
flooding the after torpedo tubes, and causing miscellaneous other damage. An
unsatisfactory makeshift repair of the
broken bridge speaker prompted a note
in the war patrol report that "the only dependable communication system was the open hatch and
a powerful set of lungs." Other repairs were completed before
nightfall, and Tunny continued on her way. She patrolled off Eniwetok
for two days; then moved on to her assigned
area, arriving at Truk on 6 June.
As this patrol progressed, Tunny discovered that antisubmarine action by the Japanese at Truk had shifted
to aerial detection. On 7 June, her first day of patrol, she was harassed by a single float biplane and an ineffectual Japanese destroyer. Tunny found
the enemy biplanes a great nuisance,
since her radar detected them late or
not at all. Soon she came to regard the
aircraft as an arch-enemy which thwarted attacks on convoys by hovering overhead and guiding possible targets around the submarine, out of firing range.
On 14 June, as Tunny cruised on the surface following a submerged patrol east of Murilo Island in
the Hall group, one of her lookouts sighted a convoy bearing 090 degrees. Made up of two small freighters
and a large transport and accompanied
by two destroyers, the convoy was a
tempting target. As Tunny made her approach, an unoberved escort
vessel suddenly challenged her with a
searchlight and several rounds of 4-inch
fire which fell astern. The submarine dove to 300 feet but continued her approach. She then surfaced and
fired four torpedoes at the transport from a range
of 3,400 yards. Three explosions and a tremendous cloud of smoke and water over the target indicated that Tunny had damaged the enemy vessel.
The submarine dove to avoid the
escorts, but no depth charging ensued.
Shortly after midnight, as she ran on the surface attempting to intercept the convoy, an undetected vessel fired shots which splashed astern; and Tunny
dove again.
As June wore on, Tunny continued patrols as far as Saipan without success. On the 26th, she conducted
routine and photographic
reconnaissance of Saipan Harbor and
Tinian Channel and, later that day, surfaced to patrol the Truk-Empire
shipping lanes east of Rota Island.
Patrolling off Harnum Point and Rota harbor
on 28 June, Tunny sighted a converted gunboat zigzagging madly, went to battle stations, and dispatched the enemy vessel with a salvo of three torpedoes from 1,500 yards. Sighting an armed trawler
bearing down on her, the submarine
dove. Those on board felt the
concussion of three sharp explosions close aboard, perhaps from aerial bombs, as Tunny went deep and rigged for silent running, maneuvering to avoid
the trawler. Seconds later, two heavy
explosions marked the death throes of Tunny's, most recent
victim. Tunny was chased down again
by the trawler when she attempted to
surface an hour later. Returning to periscope depth some three hours
after the attack, her commanding officer at
the periscope was relieved to find no sign of the trawler, but his
relief quickly turned to alarm when the
periscope revealed a close-up of the bomb
bay of a Mitsubishi 97 at 300 feet, directly overhead. This time Tunny waited four hours before surfacing again 13 miles from Guam.
She patrolled off Guam
until 4 July when she received
orders to leave the area. Early the next day, she set\her course for Johnston Island. Japanese
aircraft continued to badger the
submarine for two days as she proceeded toward Hawaii. After taking on
fuel and provisions at Johnston Island on
the 11th, she completed her third
patrol at Pearl Harbor on the 14th.
After refitting and three
days of training, Tunny departed
Hawaii on 5 August for Midway. She arrived at Midway on the 9th and was
again underway on the 10th. On the 18th, she
sighted Pagan and Alamagan Islands;
and, on 22 August, she entered her assigned area in the Palaus and began patrols. Early in the morning of the 24th, she sighted a six-ship convoy
as it emerged from Toagel Mlungui
Pass. Tunny trailed the
convoy until she could obtain a good firing position; and, at moonrise
on the 25th, she submerged to 40 feet and began her approach. At 0140, she
fired three torpedoes and then another two
in rapid succession. She then ducked
her periscope and dove to avoid being rammed
by the first target. The convoy passed overhead as Tunny dove deep in expectation of depth charges. She heard her torpedoes explode at the
end of their run, but the absence of depth charges was both welcome and unexpected. Near dawn, Tunny made
another attack, launching six
torpedoes at ships of the convoy
without success. Meanwhile, a destroyer escort had joined the convoy. Alerted to Tunny's presence, she now bore down on the submarine. Tunny dove;
and, for the next two hours, the
enemy ship remained overhead pinging
and tracking. The destroyer escort dropped
two patterns of six depth charges close by the submarine but finally gave up the search. At noon, Tunny came
to periscope depth and, finding no sign of the
convoy, set her course for Toagel Mlungui, securing from battle stations after an exhausting 15 hours.
At midmorning on the
26th, she spotted two vessels with a
submarine chaser escort approaching Toagel Mlungui Pass and launched a
five-torpedo attack. As Tunny dove, the screws of the first ship were
heard to stop; and, shortly thereafter, two
depth charges exploded overhead. Two
minutes later, another pattern of
depth charges exploded all around the submarine. A small fire broke out in the maneuvering room,
causing main power to be lost
momentarily. In order to check the
fire, the main motors were stopped for one minute; then started again. Although
the fire was small, dense smoke from burning insulating varnish made it
difficult at first to assess the damage. Meanwhile, Tunny's bow planes
jammed and the submarine climbed to 200 feet, then went into a steep glide which took her down to 380 feet before control was regained. Within five
minutes, cpoly efficient damage
control parties had restored operating
conditions to nearly normal; and the submarine began her retirement to the southwest. Once again the sound of screws caused tense moments for
those on board Tunny, but this time no depth charges fell.
Early that evening, Tunny
surfaced and headed away from the heavily-travelled lanes she had been
patrolling in order to assess her damages and effect repairs. Inspection
disclosed considerable damage to the bow, ripped-up plating aft of the torpedo
room, and sheared-off rivets and
bolts. The torpedo room pressure hull was badly dished in between frames; and this damage in turn immobolized the bow plane tilting gears. The explosions had jammed the gyro spindles in the
stern torpedo tubes, impaired the
usefulness of sound and radar gear,
and caused other damage visible throughout the ship. Sailors inspecting
topside found fragments of the destructive
depth charges scattered over the deck.
For two days, her crew
labored to restore her to order and
make the necessary repairs. Having done everything within his means to
restore Tunny to normal operating
condition, her commanding officer found her still short of combat readiness. Her bow planes, despite all efforts, were still inoperative; her bow
bouyancy tank unuseable; and various
other problems, which could not be remedied at sea, remained. Thus, on
29 August 1943, she departed her patrol
area leaving these hunting grounds to
other submarines in better condition.
The war-scarred submarine moored at Pearl Harbor on 8 September.
After a preliminary
assessment of battle damage, Tunny departed Pearl Harbor on 11 September 1943. She arrived at Hunters Point on 17 September for overhaul and repairs and remained there until 2
February 1944. Then, repairs and
tests completed, she departed the
west coast. Tunny returned to Hawaii a week later, underwent
voyage repairs and training, and departed Pearl Harbor for her fifth war patrol
on 27 February.
She stopped at Midway on
2 March, got underway the next day
for the Palaus, and entered her patrol area
on the 15th. On the 20th, a persistent observation plane kept Tunny down
for three hours off the entrance to Toagel
Mlungui and dropped eight light bombs without damaging the submarine. In the following days, the submarine patrolled the northern and western approaches to the islands.
On 22 March, Tunny's radar
picked up what proved to be a large
convoy. Day was breaking, and Tunny was maneuvering for a position ahead
when an escorting destroyer appeared
on the radar at 14,000 yards. The enemy soon sighted the submarine and
challenged her with a blinker. Tunny took advantage of a nearby rain squall for concealment and continued to close the
convoy, keeping a watchful eye on the
destroyer. Despite bad visibility
and the pinging of the escort, Tunny continued her approach and soon
found herself in the midst of a group
of tankers and cargo ships. Choosing two heavily loaded cargo ships for
her targets, she launched a six-torpedo
attack and heard or observed hits on both. Immediately, attention on board Tunny was diverted when a small tanker nearly collided with the
submarine. Tunny now obtained a setup on a destroyer moving at high
speed across her stern, fired four Mark 18 torpedoes, then dove quickly even as depth charges from a nearby trawler exploded on the port quarter.
During the next four hours, the Japanese ships dropped 87 depth charges in an effort to finish off the
submarine but without effect. Late in
the day, Tunny surfaced and began
a futile search for stragglers and cripples from the morning's attack. She found only debris and an oil slick.
At 2119 on the 23d, while
patrolling off Angaur Island, Tunny
picked up a radar contact which she identified by sight as a large I-class
submarine. For nearly an hour and
one-half, Tunny and the enemy submarine
maneuvered for position, each attempting to prevent the other from obtaining a
shot. Then, at 2324, Tunny fired
four torpedoes from a range of 1,900 yards,
swung hard to starboard to prevent a collision, and dove to avoid a possible return attack. Before the hatch was closed, two hits were heard and felt and
a flash was seen inside Tunny's conning
tower. For one terrible moment, observers
on board Tunny feared that their
own submarine had been hit. As Tunny dove to 150 feet and began
circling the area, the screws of the enemy
submarine stopped, and a crackling racket began and continued for an hour. When the noise ceased, Tunny surfaced
and cleared the area, but Japanese submarine
1-42 had met her end.
Tunny returned to waters off Toagel Mlungui and resumed patrols. On the morning of 29 March, she
observed a large number of small
vessels leaving Malakal Harbor, none
worth an attack. Apparently the enemy had somehow received word of the
5th Fleet's impending bombing attack on
Japanese installations in the Carolines
and made a desperate attempt to clear the area. Late in the afternoon, a larger formation appeared: the 63,000-ton Japanese battleship Musashi,
one light cruiser, and three
destroyers, also fleeing the expected aerial bombardment. After a daring
approach, Tunny fired six torpedoes at the battleship from her bow tubes. The torpedoes passed directly under an
alert detroyer of the screen which
immediately hoisted flags to warn the
battleship, swung parallel to the torpedo tracks, and made a run on the
submarine. Tunny went deep and
ran for the southwest while the destroyer dropped 38 depth charges in a
short, but concentrated counterattack.
Toward sunset, the submarine lost contact
with the formation. Later that night, she encountered what she thought to be the same force and was held down for
two hours by one of the escorting ships. Hits
by two of Tunny's torpedoes had damaged but failed to slow the powerful battleship.
At 0200 on 30 March, Tunny
arrived on station to begin lifeguard duties for the 5th Fleet's air attack
on the Palaus. At 0700, a series of explosions followed by the appearance of heavy smoke from the vicinity
of the harbor indicated that American
planes were finding their mark.
During the morning, more than 100 planes passed over the submarine on their return from the strike. Then, as Tunny circled on station
shortly after noon, two American
torpedo bombers approached. One sheared
off for a strafing attack which was not completed; the other went into a steep glide and released a bomb from an
altitude of 300 feet. Incredulous watchers
on the submarine saw the bomb cross over the deck gun on the bow, pass the bridge at what appeared to be no more than arm's length, and
strike the water with a tremendous
impact, only 10 yards to starboard of the forward engine room. The entire ship lifted with a snap as if it had collided with an
underwater object, and an explosion followed some seconds later, throwing personnel and gear in all
directions in the maneuvering and after torpedo rooms. Damage to the
main control cubicle and to Tunny's remaining torpedoes resulted. Tunny completed repairs during the night, and the next morning manned her lifeguard station as before, only a little more wary of
"friendly" aircraft.
Tunny departed the Palaus on 2 April, stopped at Milne Bay on the 7th, and arrived in Australia on
11 April. She received the
Presidential Unit Citation for this
patrol.
Following refit, the
submarine departed Brisbane on 29
April and set her course for New Guinea. She underwent voyage repairs at Milne Bay; then proceeded
via Langemak Bay to her patrol area in the Marianas. She arrived in the patrol area on 11 May and, in the
days that followed, encountered many
enemy planes as she patrolled off
Saipan and Guam.
On 17 May, she received
a report from Sand Lance (SS-381)
of a convoy in the area and set out to intercept it. Late in the afternoon, she sighted the smoke of her quarry; and, just after sunset, the masts came
into view. The convoy consisted of
three cargo ships escorted by a like
number of destroyers. Racing against fading twilight, Tunny made her approach; launched a spread of three torpedoes at the second ship of the
column; then rapidly fired three more
at the last cargo ship. Before the
converging escorts forced her down, Tunny observed that a hit had
left the last ship of the column down by the
stern, emitting clouds of dense black smoke.
Although the escorting vessels dropped 81 depth charges, none fell
close; and Tunny withdrew to the southeast,
having scored her sixth kill of the war, a 4,900-ton cargo ship, the Nichiwa Mo.ru. Shortly after midnight, Tunny surfaced and saw an
ill-fated cargo ship, the victim of Sand Lance, ablaze from stem to stern. Frequent minor explosions punctuated the
night as the ship went down in the
darkness.
As Tunny continued
patrols in the Marianas, she sighted
numerous aircraft and noted explosions and burning ships-apparently the work of Silversides (SS-236). At this time, however, planes attached
to enemy convoys seemed effective in
detecting Tunny and routing
convoys around her, out of range of her torpedoes.
On 8 June, she
rendezvoused with Pilotfish (SS-386) and Pintado (SS-387) to form a coordinated attack group, the "Blair Blasters." The three
submarines formed a scouting line for a patrol across the western Pacific to the South China Sea. Tunny passed
through Balintang Channel on 14 June
and sighted Luzon the next morning.
While returning through Balintang Channel
on 16 June, she made a surface approach on a small sampan and sank it with gunfire. She conducted patrols in the Philippine Sea until 22
June when she parted company with the attack group. On the 29th, she fueled at Midway; then proceeded to Oahu,
having travelled over 14,500 miles on
her sixth war patrol.
After refitting, she
departed Pearl Harbor on 4 August 1944 as a member of a coordinated attack
group called "Ed's Eradicators." With wolf pack members Barb (SS-220) and Queenfish (SS-393),
she set her course, via Midway, for
the South China Sea. She arrived in
her patrol area on 25 August. Her first action came hours after midnight
on the 31st when the wolf pack attacked a
convoy. Queenfish was the first to score a hit, and Tunny witnessed the explosion of a tanker,
the victim of her sister submarine. As Tunny maneuvered in the bright moonlight, she was suddenly startled by
gunfire, which seemed to those on board to come from all directions. She dove and avoided damage from the depth charges which soon followed. Later
on the same day, a hit by Barb alerted
the convoy's air escort to Tunny's
presence; and she was forced down again
without opportunity to launch her torpedoes. Time after time, the submarine surfaced only to be forced down by escorting planes as the attack on
the convoy continued into the evening.
A second disappointing
day came on the heels of the first. Tunny patrolled submerged for
most of 1 September in order to avoid enemy
aircraft. Late in the afternoon, she
was advancing westward on a scouting line formed by the wolf pack, when she sighted a plane dead ahead and about
six miles distant. She immediately
began to dive, but 90 seconds later, as she passed 110 feet, two bombs hit close aboard aft, sending
the ship upward at an eight degree
angle and causing extensive damage.
As the third and fourth bomb exploded,
Tunny was already heading for 300 feet to assess her damages.
Inspection disclosed
that the bombs had dished in the hull
plating in the vicinity of the after torpedo room and the maneuvering room,
causing a leak in a vent riser. Less
than 10 minutes after the Japanese plane had been sighted, the commanding officer decided to discontinue the patrol. Throughout the ship,
sheared off valves and bolts, damaged meters, clocks, and gauges attested to
the force of the bomb's explosion. In
addition, all three radio antennae were down, a leak in her pressure hull had been aggravated, and Tunny's
rudder action indicated possible damage. She set her course for Balintang Channel and surfaced late in
the day on 2 September. Tunny continued
to sight Japanese airplanes as she made her way to Hawaii. She completed
this patrol on 17 September at Pearl Harbor.
Tunny departed Oahu for California on 20 September; and, on the 26th, she arrived at Hunter's
Point for battle damage repairs and
an overhaul. She returned to Hawaii in January 1945 and, after a
training period, departed Pearl Harbor on 3
February for her 8th war patrol.
On St. Valentine's Day, she entered Tanapag harbor and moored to Fulton (AS-11) for repairs
to her main engine. Later in the
month, she conducted sonar tests put
of that port. On 5 March, she departed Saipan and, in the days that followed, was slowed by heavy
seas as she proceeded to her patrol
area in the Ryukyus.
On 13 and 14 March, she
conducted a special reconnaissance
mission off the Nansei Shoto in preparation for landings planned for Okinawa on
1 April. On the 14th, Tunny plotted
over 230 mines which she detected on sonar as she travelled through the
hazardous waters at 150 feet. On the 15th,
all hands breathed a sigh of relief as Tunny got underway for her patrol
area, her special mission safely and
successfully completed.
Her pursuit of a distant
convoy ended in disappointment on
the 18th, when a change of course allowed the cargo ships and their
escort to slip away from Tunny around
sunset. For two days, the submarine patrolled off Amami O Shima; then, on the 23d, she took up a lifeguard
station. Days later, as Tunny searched for a downed flier, a twin-float enemy plane took her by surprise and dropped
two bombs. One fell quite close but
caused only minor damage to the submarine. As the month drew to its close, Tunny rescued two
fliers from Intrepid (CV-11) and one from Bennington (CV-20) as those ships took part in the assault on
Okinawa.
On 1 April, Tunny completed
her lifeguard duties and set her course for Midway. En route, she sank a
200-ton lugger with her deck gun. After stopping at Midway, she arrived at Oahu on 14 April.
Following refitting and a
week of sonar and approach training, Tunny
departed Pearl Harbor on 14 April for
her ninth war patrol. She stopped at Guam for repairs and additional sonar exercises; then got underway on 28 May. Tunney, Skate (SS-305), and Bonefish
(SS-223) formed the second group
of "Hydeman's Hellcats"
known as "Pierce's Polecats." On 2 June, Tunny passed through the Nansei Shoto and, as she approached Kyushu
two days later, encountered increasing
small boat traffic. On 5 June, Tunny passed through Korea Strait,
repeating the hair-raising task of mine detection
by sonar, this time in Nishi Suido. She plotted over 80 mines; then continued on to conduct patrols on the western shore of Honshu.
Operating in the
supposedly inviolable waters of the Sea
of Japan, the wolf pack attacked shipping and made exploratory attempts to enter Japanese harbors. Late on 9 June, Tunny
attacked a cargo vessel. One torpedo
hit the enemy vessel with a thud but failed to explode; and Tunny discontinued the attack. In the harbor-entering phase of the patrol, Tunny closed
the breakwater of Etomo Ko to 8,000
yards shortly before midnight on 12
June. Town and waterfront lights provided
illumination, but no suitable target could be found, and the submarine
cleared the harbor before midnight. A few
minutes later, Tunny approached within
5,000 yards of the harbor mouth at Uppuri Wan but discreetly withdrew when searchlights located and then brilliantly illuminated the intruder.
On 16 June, Tunny sighted
numerous rafts filled with the
Japanese survivors of a successful action by Bone-fish and
later took prisoner a Japanese chief petty officer who had escaped from the sinking ship. On the following day, as Tunny and Bonefish closed
a radar-located target, Tunny suddenly
found herself the object of gunfire, with the closest shot falling only
200 yards off her port beam. She quickly
changed course and eluded both the
gunfire and the depth charges which followed.
On 19 June, shallow coastal water foiled Tunny's attack on a 4,000-ton
cargo ship.
Tunny rendezvoused with Skate on the 23d to
depart the Sea of Japan. She remained off Hokkaido for two days on the chance that she might be able to aid Bone-fish,
missing since her request to make a daylight submerged patrol of Toyama Wan some days earlier. On
the 27th, Tunny discontinued her vigil; proceeded via the Kuril Islands and Midway; and arrived at Pearl
Harbor on 6 July.
The submarine then made
her way back to the west coast. Tunny
was decommissioned on 13 December 1945 and placed in the Mare Island Group, 19th Fleet.
Communist aggression in
Korea placed new demands on the
resources of the Navy and led to Tunny's being placed in commission, in reserve, on 28 February
1952. She saw no service at this time, however, and was decommissioned in April 1952. On 6 March 1953,
she was placed in commission for the
third time. Converted to' carry guided missiles, she was reclassified SSG-282 and served as a Regulus-missile submarine for
nearly 12 years.
For the first four of
those years, she operated out of
Point Mugu, contributing to the development of the Regulus missile system. Except for a short period
of type training, Tunny engaged entirely in the launching and guidance of Regulus missiles for purposes of
missile evaluation in the development
of the system. In 1957, she shifted
her base of operations to Hawaii where
she conducted deterrent patrols and fired exercise missiles.
In May 1965, the Regulus
missile system was phased put, and Tunny
was redesignated SS-282. She remained in the Hawaiian operating area until the end of the year, conducting training exercises and providing
various other services. In 1966, she
was converted to a troop-carrying submarine and redesignated APSS-282. In February 1967, Tunny began missions in
unconventional warfare, operating
off the coast of Vietnam. She conducted
reconnaissance in preparation for amphibious assault operations and gathered navigational and ocean-ographic information. Ideally suited for
transporting small teams for
specialized operations as well as for gathering information, she
participated in Operation "Deckhouse
VI."
On 1 January 1968, the
veteran submarine was re-classified LPSS-282. She was decommissioned on
28 June 1969; and, on 30 June 1969, her name
was struck from the Navy list. She
was designated for disposal as a
mobile target.
Tunny received nine battle stars and two Presidential Unit Citations for her World War II service. She
received five battle stars for her operations during the Vietnam War.
[Note: The above USS TUNNY (SS-282) history may, or may not, contain text provided by crew members of the USS TUNNY (SS-282), or by other non-crew members, and text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships]