 Hoe (SS-258) underway, 16 February 1943 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Builder | Electric Boat Company,Groton, Connecticut[1] |
| Laid down | 2 January 1942[1] |
| Launched | 17 September 1942[1] |
| Sponsored by | Miss Helen Hess |
| Commissioned | 16 December 1942[1] |
| Decommissioned | 7 August 1946[1] |
| Stricken | 1 May 1960[1] |
| Fate | Sold for scrap, 10 September 1960[1] |
| 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 |
|
USSHoe (SS-258), aGato-classsubmarine, was a ship of theUnited States Navy named for thehoe, one of various sharks, especially thedogfish.
Hoe'skeel waslaid down by theElectric Boat Company atGroton,Connecticut, on 2 January 1942. She waslaunched on 17 September 1942, sponsored by Miss Helen Hess, andcommissioned on 16 December 1942.
After shakedown,Hoe sailed 19 April 1943 via thePanama Canal toPearl Harbor, where she arrived 15 May. She departed on her first combat war patrol 27 May, and patrolled theGuam-Palaus area.Hoe damaged two freighters before returning 11 July to Pearl Harbor viaUlithi andMidway Atoll.
Hoe's second patrol, conducted west ofTruk, was marred by considerable engine trouble. The submarine departed 21 August, damaged onetanker, and eluded severaldepth charge attacks before returning to Pearl Harbor 18 October 1943. She also took part in the search for downed aviators offWake Island, 8–9 October.
Following extensive repairs,Hoe set out on her third patrol 26 January 1944. Patrolling betweenMindanao andHalmahera, the submarine made an attack 16 February which damaged one ship. Although shadowed by escort vessels,Hoe detected another convoy 25 February and in two separate attacks sank tankerNissho Maru. She returned toFremantle, Australia, 5 March for refit and training.
Hoe began her fourth war patrol from Fremantle 4 April, and operated in theSouth China Sea, the vitalJapanese sea supply line. She attacked a convoy 8 May, but scored no hits. Two more attacks 17 May and 19 May resulted in several damaged freighters and severe retaliatory depth charge attacks onHoe. She returned to Fremantle 2 June 1944. Her fifth war patrol, in the same area, was conducted between 29 June and 23 August 1944.
The veteran submarine sailed on her sixth patrol 15 September as leader of acoordinated attack group consisting ofHoe,Aspro, andCabrilla. Operating southwest ofLingayen Gulf, the submarines accounted for some 38,000 tons of valuable Japanese shipping in five night surface attacks.Hoe was credited with the sinking of passenger-cargo shipKohoko Maru 8 October, and returned to Fremantle 22 October.
Her seventh patrol, 23 November 1944 to 3 January 1945, resulted in no sinkings. Part of this cruise was conducted in coordination withFlasher andBecuna.
Hoe's final war patrol began 8 February 1945, when she again headed for theSouth China Sea. By this time the vigorous American submarine offensive had taken its toll and little Japanese shipping could be found. The submarine did detect a tanker with an escort 25 February and in a well-conducted submerged attack sank the escort,Shōnan.
Two days before, while patrolling offIndochina, she andFlounder had been involved in one of the most unusual accidents of the war. While steaming at a depth of 60 feet (18 m)Hoe struck an object and broached, sustaining only light damage. Subsequent analysis proved that she had actually collided withFlounder, one of the few submerged collisions on record. Ending her last patrol atPearl Harbor 6 March,Hoe returned to the United States for overhaul and repairs.
She sailed again for the Western Pacific 5 July 1945 and was just enteringApra Harbor,Guam, when the war ended. A few days later she sailed for the East Coast via Pearl Harbor and the Panama Canal, arrivingNew York 29 September 1945.
Hoe decommissioned 7 August 1946 at New London, Conn., and joined theAtlantic Reserve Fleet. In September 1956 she was taken out of reserve to act as a Naval Reserve Training Ship in a noncommissioned status in the3rd Naval District. She was subsequently sold 23 August 1960 to Laneett Inc.,Boston, Massachusetts.
Hoe received sevenbattle stars forWorld War II service. Her first, third, fourth, sixth, and eighth patrols were designated successful.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
