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U.S.S. SCABBARDFISH
(SS-397)Click to view crew list
USS SCABBARDFISH (SS-397) - a Balao class submarine
In Commission 1944 to 1948SS-397 Deployments - Major Events
Add a SS-397 Shellback Initiation | Add a SS-397 Deployment - Major Event | ||||
Month | Year | to | Month | Year | Deployment / Event |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SEP | 1943 | - | Keel Date: 27 SEP 1943 at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Kittery ME | ||
JAN | 1944 | - | Launch Date: 27 JAN 1944 | ||
APR | 1944 | - | Commissioned: 29 APR 1944 | ||
FEB | 1965 | - | Decommissioned: 26 FEB 1965 |
SS-397 General Specifications
Class: Balao class submarine
Complement: 10 Officers and 70 Enlisted
Displacement: 1526 tons
Length: 311 feet 6 inches
Beam: 27 feet 3 inches
Draft: 16 feet 10 in
Range: 11 000 Nautical Miles
Final Disposition: Transferred to Greece 26 February 1965
USS SCABBARDFISH (SS-397)
Scabbardfish (SS-397) was laid down on 27
September 1943 by the Portsmouth Navy Yard, Portsmouth, N.H.;
launched on 27 January 1944; sponsored by Ensign Nancy J. Schetky; and
commissioned on 29 April 1944, Lt. Comdr. F. A. Gunn in command.
After completing initial training at Portsmouth, N.H.,
and torpedo trials at Newport, R.I., Scabbardfish reported to the Commander,
Submarine Force Atlantic, New London, Conn., for advance training and final outfitting. Upon completion thereof, she sailed
to Key West, Fla., for ASW duties
which began on 21 June 1944. On 1
July, she departed for Panama, Canal Zone. Four days later, she transited the canal en route to the west coast and
Pearl Harbor.
Scabbardfish,
as a unit
of Submarine Force, Pacific Fleet, arrived
at Pearl Harbor on 24 July. After completing
voyage repairs and final training, she departed for Midway Island on 17 August. After refueling there, she departed on
her first war patrol in the Ryukyu
Islands area.
On 31 August, she sighted her first enemy ships, an inter-island
steamer with two escorts. Scabbardfish fired two spreads of
three torpedoes but all missed. After a light depth charge
attack, she surfaced and continued steaming west.
On 19 September, west of Okinawa, she damaged a 5,500-ton
Jingei-classsubmarine tender with two hits. She also fired a
spread "down the throat" of a Chidori-class escort but missed. As
a consequence, she underwent a depth charge
attack for three hours but suffered
no damage. The remainder of her patrol proved fruitless, and the submarine returned to Midway Island, on 12 October, for refitting. Two weeks
later, she sailed to Saipan, Mariana
Islands, for further orders.
Scabbardfish departed Saipan on 12 November
to patrol in the seas southeast of Honshu. She arrived at her
designated patrol area on the 16th and sank a 2,100-ton inter-island
steamer that day. Six days later, she sank the 875-ton Kisaragi Maru and
damaged a 4,000-ton freighter. On 28
November, she sank the Japanese submarine 1-365, picking up one lone
survivor named Sasaki.
SS-397
completed
her patrol at Guam on 20 December 1944;
remained there until 16 January 1945; and, then, sailed to Saipan. Upon arrival there, she underwent intensive training in wolfpack tactics. Her
third war patrol began on 23 January
when she began patrolling the sea
lanes between the Philippine and Ryukyu
islands. In late February, she engaged 12 luggers and a trawler with her deck gun but was forced to submerge by an enemy plane. She was bombed but suffered no damage. She returned to Saipan on 6 March and was ordered to return to Pearl Harbor for refitting.
Scabbardfish
returned to
Guam in late April and underwent voyage
repairs by Holland (AS-3). On the 29th, she departed for the East
China Sea. A change of orders assigned her to
the Life Guard League; and, on 4 May,
she rescued five crewmen from a ditched B-29. They were transferred to Picuda (SS-382) two days later, and SS-397 continued to the Yellow
Sea area. On 17 May, Scabbardfish fired a spread of torpedoes at a small freighter which was accompanied by two escorts. This proved to be a hunter-killer group;
and, when the torpedoes missed, they subjected the submarine to a grueling four-hour depth charge attack.
The submarine sustained no serious
damage and returned to Guam on 11
June to be refitted by Apollo (AS-25).
Scabbardfish began her fifth, and last, war
patrol on 1 July with another assignment to the Life Guard League.
During the period 25 July-10 August, she rescued seven pilots. When she
returned to Saipan on 15 August, the cease fire had gone into effect, and Scabbardfish sailed to Pearl Harbor. She sailed from there on 6 September under orders which sent her to Eniwetok for
ASW training duties. She remained there for
a month; sailed to Guam for a month; and, on 14 November, stood out of Apra Harbor en route to San Francisco,
via Midway Island. On 29 November 1945, the
submarine arrived at Mare Island for her first overhaul, which was not completed until mid-March 1946.
Scabbardfish operated along the west coast
until 17 March 1947 when she entered the San Francisco Naval Shipyard
for her second major overhaul. The submarine departed directly from
drydock, on 8 August, for San Diego. One month later, she called at Pearl
Harbor for a few days and then continued sailing west on a
simulated war patrol. After visiting the Palau Islands, Hong Kong,
Shanghai, Tsingtao, and Okinawa, she returned to San Diego on 11
December 1947.
On 3 January 1948, she was underway for Mare Island and,
two days later, reported to the Pacific Reserve Fleet for inactivation.
In February 1948, she was placed in reserve, out of commission, and
berthed at Mare Island. Scabbardfish remained there until October
1964 when she was again placed in commission, preparatory to
transferring her to the government of Greece. She was officially transferred to
the Royal
Hellenic Navy, on 26 February 1965, and serves as Triana (S-86).
Scabbardfish received five battle stars for
World War II service.
[Note: The above USS SCABBARDFISH (SS-397) history may, or may not, contain text provided by crew members of the USS SCABBARDFISH (SS-397), or by other non-crew members, and text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships]