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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Builder | Electric Boat Company,Groton, Connecticut[1] |
| Laid down | 2 September 1941[1] |
| Launched | 1 June 1942[1] |
| Sponsored by | Miss Suzanne Slingluff |
| Commissioned | 18 September 1942[1] |
| Decommissioned | 27 November 1945[1] |
| Stricken | 1 May 1961[1] |
| Honors & awards | |
| Fate | Sold for scrap, 29 October 1961[2] |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Gato-classdiesel-electricsubmarine[2] |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 311 ft 9 in (95.02 m)[2] |
| Beam | 27 ft 3 in (8.31 m)[2] |
| Draft | 17 ft 0 in (5.18 m) maximum[2] |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | |
| Range | 11,000 nmi (20,000 km) surfaced at 10 kn (19 km/h)[5] |
| Endurance |
|
| Test depth | 300 ft (90 m)[5] |
| Complement | 6 officers, 54 enlisted[5] |
| Armament |
|
USSGurnard (SS-254), aGato-classsubmarine, was the first ship of theUnited States Navy to be named for thegurnard.
Gurnard′skeel waslaid down by theElectric Boat Company atGroton,Connecticut, on 2 September 1941. She waslaunched on 1 June 1942, sponsored by Miss Suzanne Slingluff, andcommissioned on 18 September 1942.
Followingshakedown fromNew London, Connecticut,Gurnard sailed forRosneath, Scotland, 2 November 1942 and reached that port 13 days later. Her first war patrol, 28 November to 27 December 1942, brought her to theBay of Biscay where she lay off theSpanish coast awaitingGermanblockade runners bound for Spanish ports. The patrol was uneventful; no enemy ships were sighted and subsequentlyGurnard returned to New London 9 February 1943 for repairs and alterations.
After reachingPearl Harbor 26 May, the submarine got underway 12 June for her second war patrol. She patrolled offToagel Mlungui Passage and on 29 June saw action for the first time, damaging twoJapanesemerchantmen and surviving 24depth charges thrown by an enemydestroyer. Varied damage was inflicted on other ships in these waters beforeGurnard made her first kill, sinkingcargo shipTaiko Maru at12°53′N131°49′E / 12.883°N 131.817°E /12.883; 131.817. on 11 June 1943. Having expended all torpedoes, the submarine returned viaMidway Island to Pearl Harbor, arriving 26 July for refit.
On 6 September, she set sail once again, this time heading towards theSouth China Sea for her third war patrol. In the early hours of 7 October, a five-ship convoy came into view, prompting Gurnard to initiate a pursuit. By 01:39 on 8 October, Gurnard had closed in on the convoy and successfully sunk the cargo ship Taian Maru and the passenger-cargo ship Dainichi Maru west ofLuzon. This highly successful patrol concluded on 28 October when Gurnard arrived at Pearl Harbor.
One month later she sailed on her fourth patrol to prowl off the southeast coast ofHonshū and soon found good hunting. A convoy was sighted 24 December and at 07:10Gurnard attacked. Two minutes later cargo shipSeizan Maru No. 2 had broken in two and sunk; she was soon joined by cargo shipTofuku Maru. Japanese destroyers attacked the submarine with over 80 depth charges without success. The crew celebrated by taking a couple of snaps of Mt. Fuji. They then had their Christmas dinner in Tokyo Bay. After damaging another merchantman on 27 December,Gurnard returned to Pearl Harbor 7 January 1944. From there she was sentStateside for overhaul.
Following overhaul atSan FranciscoGurnard departed Pearl Harbor 16 April on her fifth war patrol, bound for the easternCelebes Sea. On this patrol she chalked up one of the highest single-patrol tonnage scores of the Pacific war, attacking theTake Ichi convoy on 6 May and sinking 6,886-ton cargo shipTenshinzan Maru, 6,995-ton passenger-cargo vesselTaijima Maru, and 5,824-ton passenger-cargo shipAden Maru. Nearly a hundred depth charges rained down around her but she eluded the hunters and escaped undamaged. This vital convoy carried 40,000 troops intended to oppose Gen.MacArthur inNew Guinea, and the embarked units suffered losses of nearly 50 percent.Gurnard's next kill occurred 24 May when several torpedoes sent to the bottom the 10,090-ton tankerTatekawa Maru. No further opportunities presented themselves; andGurnard put in atFremantle, 11 June 1944 with the completion of the patrol.
The submarine stood out on her sixth patrol 8 July for theBanda,Molucca, Celebes,Sulu, andMindanao Seas. After topping off atDarwin she patrolled off thePeleng Straits and damaged one merchantman before returning to Fremantle 5 September.
Gurnard's seventh patrol commenced 9 October after refit. While cruising offBorneo, she detected a five-ship enemy convoy. A successful attack was pressed home 3 November at the end of an 18-hour hunt, and two torpedoes demolished cargo shipTaimei Maru.Gurnard returned to her Australian port 17 November after this victory.
The submarine's eighth and ninth patrols (11 December 1944 – 1 February 1945 and 10 March – 9 May 1945) included reconnaissance offCamranh Bay and patrols with submarinesHammerhead andBoarfish, but hunting was poor and no ships were sunk.Gurnard finished her final patrol at Pearl Harbor 9 May and put in atMare Island, California, nine days later for a major overhaul. Following a round-trip voyage thence to Pearl Harbor and Midway, she returned toSan Francisco 11 September 1945 and decommissioned there 27 November 1945.
Gurnard remained in reserve until 1 July 1949 when she reported to theSan Francisco Naval Shipyard for activation as an armory for naval reserve submarine training. Towed to Pearl Harbor 27 November to 9 December 1949, the submarine served there until returning under tow toTacoma, Wash., 18 May 1953 to continue reserve training duties in that port until June 1960. She was then inactivated in preparation for disposal. Her name was stricken from theNavy List 1 May 1961. She was sold for scrapping 26 September 1961 to theNational Metal and Steel Corporation,Terminal Island,Los Angeles, California
Navy Unit Commendation
Gurnard′s war patrols numbers two through seven were designated "successful."
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
