- USS Torsk (SS-423)
The USS "Torsk" (SS-423) is docked at the
Baltimore Maritime Museum and is one of two Tench Class submarines still located inside theUnited States . Nicknamed the "Galloping Ghost of the Japanese Coast," the vessel is the only ship of theUnited States Navy to be named for thetorsk , a food fish of the North Atlantic.ervice History
1944-1945
Her keel was laid down on
7 June 1944 at thePortsmouth Navy Yard . She was launched on6 September 1944 sponsored by Mrs. Allen B. Reed, and commissioned on16 December 1944 with Commander Bafford E. Lewellen in command.Completed on the last day of 1944, "Torsk" trained out of
Portsmouth, New Hampshire ,Newport, Rhode Island , andNew London, Connecticut , until11 February 1945 , when she headed forFlorida . On16 February , the submarine arrived atPort Everglades, Florida , where she provided services for antisubmarine research. She departed that Florida port on20 February , transited thePanama Canal , and reachedHawaii on23 March .After a repair and training period, she got underway from
Pearl Harbor for her first war patrol. "Torsk" paused briefly atGuam en route to an area offKii Suido which she reached on11 May and began lifeguard duty. Air contacts were few in this period, and the submarine found no opportunity to conduct rescue operations. Toward midnight on11 May , she set course for her patrol area off the northeastern coast ofHonshū . She arrived there on13 May and, for two days, attempted to contact other members of the wolf pack, "Lewellen's Looters." On16 May , she made rendezvous with submarinesUSS|Sand Lance|SS-381|3 and USS|Cero|SS-225|3. For more than a fortnight, their careful coverage of the east coast ofHonshū turned up nothing more interesting thannaval mine s.On
2 June , while patrolling betweenHonshū andHokkaidō , "Torsk" came upon a small coastal minelayer. The submarine fired six torpedoes—which the small vessel avoided by maneuvering—and then dove and rigged fordepth charge s which did not materialize. "Torsk" had another disappointing encounter on4 June when, while patrolling offKobe Saki , she fired four torpedoes at a 700-ton freighter without scoring. The following day, she set her course homeward, stopped atMidway Island on11 June , and returned to Pearl Harbor on16 June .After refitting and the installation of new equipment, the submarine got underway for her second war patrol on
17 July . She spent the first two days of August atGuam and set her course for theSea of Japan .She passed through the minefields of
Tsushima Strait on10 August and, on the morning of11 August , rescued seven Japanese merchant seamen who had survived the sinking of the "Koue Maru" some four days before. Early that afternoon, the submarine entered her patrol area and, on the following morning offDogo Island , "Torsk" made a submerged periscope attack which sank a small coastal freighter.On
13 August , she patrolled offAndo Saki and, after sighting a number of fishing boats during the morning, sighted another small freighter which she promptly sank. Later the same day, she made an unsuccessful attack on a cargo ship as it enteredWakasa Wan ; then dodged through a 75-boat fishing fleet, and outdistanced the maru's escort.Off
Amarubi Saki on the morning of14 August , "Torsk" sighted a medium cargo ship and took up the chase. A 745-ton "Kaibokan"-class patrol escort vessel accompanied the freighter to seaward, presenting the submarine with a tempting target. At 1035, as the freighter and her escort approachedKasumi Ko , "Torsk" launched one of the new experimental Mark 28 torpedoes at the escorting ship. Minutes later, the "fish" found its mark; an explosion bent the stern of the frigate up to a 30 degree angle, and shortly thereafter the target sank. As the freighter entered the harbor half an hour later, "Torsk" attempted to sink her but was unsuccessful, possibly because the torpedoes struck undetected reefs near the mouth of the harbor.Around noon, another frigate appeared, apparently a reinforcement which had been called in. Continuing her aggressive action, "Torsk" fired a Mark 28 torpedo at the frigate which had already detected the submarine's presence. Commander Lewellen then initiated deep submergence procedures and ordered the crew to rig for silent running. After a tense five minutes, she reached convert|400|ft|m|-1 and there she launched another torpedo, this time the new acoustic Mark 27. Almost immediately, a loud explosion announced that the first torpedo had found its mark, and a minute later a second explosion sounded, followed by strong breaking up noises. The secret new torpedoes had proven their worth in battle and "Torsk" was credited, not only with two enemy warships, but also with sinking the last Japanese warship sunk in
World War II . Held down by enemy planes and patrol vessels, the submarine remained submerged more than seven hours. Then, she surfaced and headed for the Noto peninsula.On
15 August , following four highly successful days of aggressive patrolling, "Torsk" received word of the cessation of hostilities. She continued her patrol in theSea of Japan , conducting visual and photo surveillance and destroying floating mines. On31 August , what was thought to be a torpedo wake was sighted, an indicator that not everyone had heard the news of the war's ending.The submarine set her course for the
Mariana Islands on1 September , passed throughTsushima Straits on3 September , and arrived atGuam on9 September , successfully completing her second war patrol.1946-1968
She departed the Marianas on the next day, proceeded via Pearl Harbor and the Canal Zone, and arrived at New London in mid-October. For the next seven years, she operated out of that port serving as a training ship, participating in exercises and tests, and occasionally making naval reserve training cruises. In June 1949, she was assigned to Submarine Squadron 2; and; in the summer of 1950, she was deployed to the
Mediterranean Sea . The ship returned to New London in the fall for fleet exercises and, the following year, extended her operations into theCaribbean Sea .Early in 1952, she completed her conversion to a
Fleet Snorkel submarine and was deployed again to the Mediterranean that summer. Returning on27 November , she continued operations out of New London ranging from Halifax, Nova Scotia, toHavana, Cuba , as she trained prospective submarine personnel and laid exercise mine fields. In 1955, she was reassigned to Submarine Squadron 6 atNorfolk, Virginia . There, her duties included services to aircraft and surface ships to help them hone their skills in antisubmarine warfare. She made frequent Caribbean voyages and participated in Operation "Springboard." In June 1959, she proceeded via theSaint Lawrence Seaway to theGreat Lakes , visited various ports onLake Ontario andLake Michigan , then returned to the Norfolk operating area in mid-August.In the early 1960s, she made Mediterranean deployments; joined Commonwealth countries in Exercise "New Broom X", and continued her duties in training antisubmarine forces in the Atlantic. During the
Cuban Missile Crisis in the fall of 1962, she patrolled in support of the blockade of that Caribbean island.1968-1972 & legacy
On
4 March 1968 the veteran submarine was decommissioned and, following modifications at theBoston Navy Yard , was assigned to theWashington Navy Yard for use in training reserves. "Torsk" operated out of Washington until 1971 and, on15 December of that year, was struck from theNaval Vessel Register . On26 September 1972 , she was turned over to the state ofMaryland to be used as amuseum ship in theInner Harbor atBaltimore, Maryland . It is currently part of theBaltimore Maritime Museum ."Torsk" received two
battle star s forWorld War II service and theNavy Commendation Medal for her service during theCuban Missile Crisis . She set the all-time record of career dives, at 11,884. She is also the only submarine converted in the Fleet Snorkel program that has the original snorkel.External links
* [http://www.usstorsk.org "Torsk" Volunteer Association]
* [http://www.hnsa.org/ships/torsk.htm HNSA Ship Page: USS "Torsk"]References
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