USS Dentuda (SS-335)

Career (United States)
Builder:	General Dynamics Electric Boat, Groton, Connecticut[1]
Laid down:	18 November 1943[1]
Launched:	10 September 1944[1]
Commissioned:	30 December 1944[1]
Decommissioned:	11 December 1946[1]
Struck:	30 June 1967[1]
Fate:	Sold for scrap, 12 February 1969[1]
General characteristics
Class and type:	Balao-class diesel-electric submarine[2]
Displacement:	1,526 tons (1,550 t) surfaced,[2] 2,424 tons (2,460 t) submerged[2]
Length:	311 ft 9 in (95.02 m) [2]
Beam:	27 ft 3 in (8.31 m) [2]
Draft:	16 ft 10 in (5.13 m) maximum[2]
Propulsion:	4 × General Motors Model 16-278A V16 diesel engines driving electrical generators[2][3] 2 × 126-cell Sargo batteries [4] 4 × high-speed General Electric electric motors with reduction gears [2] two propellers [2] 5,400 shp (4.0 MW) surfaced[2] 2,740 shp (2.0 MW) submerged[2]
Speed:	20.25 kn (37.50 km/h) surfaced,[4] 8.75 kn (16.21 km/h) submerged[4]
Range:	11,000 nmi (20,000 km) @ 10 kn (19 km/h) surfaced[4]
Endurance:	48 hours @ 2 kn (3.7 km/h) submerged,[4] 75 days on patrol
Test depth:	400 ft (120 m)[4]
Complement:	10 officers, 70–71 enlisted[4]
Armament:	10 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes  (six forward, four aft)  24 torpedoes [4] 1 × 5-inch (127 mm) / 25 caliber deck gun [4] Bofors 40 mm and Oerlikon 20 mm cannon

USS Dentuda (SS-335), originally named Capidoli, was renamed Dentuda on 24 September 1942, launched on 10 September 1944 by Electric Boat Company, Groton, Connecticut; sponsored by Mrs. T. W. Hogan, wife of Commander Hogan; and commissioned on 30 December 1944, Commander John S. McCain, Jr., in command. A dentuda is a large shark found in temperate and subtropical waters.

Service history

Her shakedown was extended by two months of experimental duty for the Submarine Force, Atlantic Fleet. She sailed on 5 April 1945 for the Pacific, arriving at Pearl Harbor on 10 May. From 29 May-29 July, she conducted her first war patrol in the East China Sea and the Taiwan Straits, damaging a large freighter, and on 18 June 1945 sinking two patrol craft: Reiko Maru and Heiwa Maru. See [1]. Dentuda remained at Pearl Harbor until 3 January 1946, when she sailed for the west coast. She arrived at San Francisco, California 5 days later.

Assigned to JTF 1 as a test vessel for Operation Crossroads, Dentuda returned to Pearl Harbor on 14 February, and on 22 May sailed for Bikini Atoll. She underwent both atomic weapons tests with her crew safely away from their submarine, and returned to Pearl Harbor on 5 September. On 7 October, she got underway for Mare Island Naval Shipyard, arriving 14 October. She was decommissioned on 11 December 1946 and stationed in the 12th Naval District for the training of members of the Naval Reserve.

Awards

Dentuda's single war patrol was designated as "successful"; and she received one battle star for her contribution to the success of the Okinawa operation.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Friedman, Norman (1995). U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute. pp. 285–304. ISBN 1-55750-263-3. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k} Bauer, K. Jack; Roberts, Stephen S. (1991). Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775-1990: Major Combatants. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 275–280. ISBN 0-313-26202-0. 
3. ^ U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 261
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i} U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305-311

• This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

Coordinates: 31°55′N 126°48′E / 31.917°N 126.8°E / 31.917; 126.8