_off_the_northwest_coast_of_Greenland_on_20_July_1946_(80-G-636420).jpg) | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USSAtule (SS-403) |
| Builder | Portsmouth Naval Shipyard,Kittery, Maine[1] |
| Laid down | 2 December 1943[1] |
| Launched | 6 March 1944[1] |
| Commissioned | 21 June 1944[1] |
| Decommissioned | 8 September 1947[1] |
| Recommissioned | 8 March 1951[1] |
| Decommissioned | 6 April 1970[1] |
| Stricken | 15 August 1973[1] |
| Fate | Transferred toPeru on 31 July 1974[2] |
 Peru | |
| Name | BAPPacocha (SS-48) |
| Acquired | 31 July 1974 |
| Fate | Rammed and sunk by afishing trawler on 26 August 1988 |
| General characteristics (World War II) | |
| Class & type | Balao-classdiesel-electricsubmarine[2] |
| Displacement | 1,526tons (1,550t) surfaced,[2] 2,391 tons (2,429 t) submerged[2] |
| Length | 311 ft (3,730 in)[2] |
| Beam | 27 ft 3 in (8.31 m)[2] |
| Draft | 16 ft 10 in (5.13 m) maximum[2] |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 20.25 kn (37.50 km/h) surfaced,[6] 8.75 kn (16.21 km/h) submerged[6] |
| Range | 11,000 nmi (20,000 km) @ 10 kn (19 km/h) surfaced[6] |
| Endurance | 48 hours @ 2 kn (3.7 km/h) submerged,[6] 75 days on patrol |
| Test depth | 400 ft (120 m)[6] |
| Complement | 10 officers, 70–71 enlisted[6] |
| Armament |
|
| General characteristics (Guppy IA) | |
| Class & type | none |
| Displacement | 1,830 tons (1,859 t) surfaced,[7] 2,440 tons (2,479 t) submerged[7] |
| Length | 307 ft 7 in (93.75 m)[8] |
| Beam | 27 ft 4 in (8.33 m)[8] |
| Draft | 17 ft (5.2 m)[8] |
| Propulsion | Submarine snorkel added,[7] Batteries upgraded toSargo standard II[7] |
| Speed |
|
| Range | 17,000 nmi (31,000 km) @ 11 kn (20 km/h) surfaced[8] |
| Endurance | 36 hours @ 3 kn (5.6 km/h) submerged[8] |
| Complement | 10 officers, 5 petty officers, 64–69 enlisted men |
| Armament | 10 ×21 inch (533 mm)torpedo tubes (six forward, four aft),[8] all guns removed[7] |
USSAtule (SS/AGSS-403), aBalao-classsubmarine, was the only ship of theUnited States Navy to be named for theatule.
Atule′skeel waslaid down on 25 November 1943 by thePortsmouth Naval Shipyard inKittery, Maine.Atule waslaunched on 6 March 1944 sponsored by Miss Elizabeth Louise Kauffman, the daughter ofRear AdmiralJames L. Kauffman, andcommissioned on 21 June 1944.
Following a month of shakedown training along the east coast, the submarine departedNew London, Connecticut, and headed south to join the action in thePacific. During a 15-day stopover at theFleet Sound School inKey West, Florida, she sharpened her diving skills and fighting techniques. After transiting thePanama Canal,Atule steamed toPearl Harbor withJallao, training intensively en route to reach a peak of combat readiness. Upon her arrival at Pearl Harbor,Atule underwent voyage repairs and torpedo training into October.
On 9 October,Atule departedPearl Harbor on her first war patrol in company withPintado andJallao. Under the command of CommanderBernard Clarey inPintado, the three boats formed awolf pack known as "Clarey's Crushers".Atule trained withJallao andPintado as they traveled westward. On 11 October,Atule picked up tworadar contacts, tracked them, and maneuvered around them before identifying the contacts asPlaice andThresher. The pack arrived atTanapag Harbor,Saipan, on 21 October, refueled, made minor repairs, and departed early the next day. On 25 October, the wolf pack made its first score whenJallao hitlight cruiserTama and sent her to the bottom. That Japanese warship already had been damaged in theBattle off Cape Engaño and was part of the broken Japanese carrier-centered fleet retiring to the north. The wolf pack then spent two more days vainly searching for enemy vessels crippled during theBattle of Leyte Gulf. The boats then set course for their patrol sectors inLuzon Strait and theSouth China Sea.
Over the next few days,Atule made but lost several ship contacts. Shortly after midnight on 1 November, she established surfaceradar contact on a fast-moving escorted transport and moved in for the kill. Despite rain squalls and heavy seas,Atule was able to close the transport and fire six torpedoes. The first hit caused a terrific explosion which threw flaming material high in the air. When one of the transport's escorts began to close the submarine, she began acrash dive but still managed to hear a second explosion as she submerged. Ninedepth charges exploded in the vicinity, but none was close enough to damageAtule. The crew in the submarine heard loud breaking up noises and upon surfacing, found a large oil slick and much debris.Atule was later credited with sinking theAsama Maru.
Atule continued her patrol, covering theHong Kong-Manila traffic lane in theSouth China Sea and occasionally breaking off to investigate a contact report or to take special scouting dispositions by order of the pack commander. On 3 November,Jallao reported a five-ship force heading south, and the wolf pack moved to intercept. The contacts were moving at 20 kn (37 km/h), andAtule was never able to come within range for attack. HoweverPintado had better luck. That submarine's target was thought to be a large escorted oiler (actually the aircraft carrierJun'yō), but before her torpedoes could strike the oilerAkikaze crossed their path and disintegrated in a tremendous explosion which was seen and heard on boardAtule. Thesmoke screen provided by the ensuing fires protected the target, andPintado was forced to withdraw.
During the next ten days, the wolf pack occasionally sighted ships or aircraft, but was unable to attack. On 13 November,Jallao reported an enemy ship.Pintado andAtule altered course to intercept the contact, and at 0850,Atule sighted what appeared to be the foretop of abattleship. At 1000, the enemy contact was established as anaircraft carrier, a heavycruiser, and onedestroyer.Atule maneuvered to approach the force as closely as possible, hoping that the enemy ships would initiate a "zig-zag" course which would bring them within range of her torpedoes. The Japanese force indeed did begin to "zig-zag", but, instead of making them vulnerable, the maneuver took the force out of range. At 1115, contact was lost.
Later that day and throughout the next, the submarine played a game of hide and seek with Japanese planes equipped withradar and magnetic detection devices. During this hunt, the Japanese covered all of the wolf pack's radio frequencies and intruded in Japanese as well as English, asking the Americans to "come in, please" in their best imitations of American aviators.Atule was forced to dive, zigzag, and run to evade these planes which dropped 14depth charges. None came close toAtule, butHalibut was severely damaged. After a circuitous route to avoid Japanese planes,Atule began patrolling her assigned scouting station west ofFormosa.
There, until after midnight on 20 November, she made only aircraft contacts. The submarine then sighted a slow moving surface vessel and moved in to attack. The night was dark, and the sky, clear. The enemy, identified later asMinesweeper Number 88, was protected by a squall during the early phase ofAtule's approach, but was perfectly silhouetted against a clear horizon when the submarine fired four torpedoes. The third torpedo hit at the forward stack with a terrific explosion. The target was down by the bow, and, less than three minutes after the hit its stern reared up as the ship slid under,depth charges exploding as she went down.
On 24 November,Atule sighted by periscope one transport with three escorts heading northeast towardSabtang Island. The submarine surfaced at dark and set course to intercept the transport shortly after midnight. As she set her sights on the target, one of the escorts also moved into view.Atule fired six bow tubes and two stern tubes at the overlapping targets, scoring two hits on each. The escort, later identified asPatrol Boat Number 88, was claimed destroyed but survived the attack;[9] and the transport, a 7,266-ton cargo ship namedSantos Maru, went dead in the water.Atule moved out of range of the other two escorts which were wildly searching the area. The transport disappeared from view and fromradar and the submarine returned to patrol.
On 27 November, a radar contact and subsequent visual sighting of a ship at anchor betweenDequey Island andIbuhos Island gaveAtule another chance for action. Approaching from the north of Dequey Island,Atule closed the transport to 2,000 yd (1,800 m) and fired four torpedoes. The four hits spread the length of the ship; and, in the ensuing fire, the port side was seen to be blown almost completely away. The ship was racked by violent oil and ammunition explosions, and the flames were visible 15 miles away. One hour and eight minutes after the first hit, the ship blew apart. However,Atule was never officially credited with this sinking, because a postwar study of Japanese records did not substantiate the loss.
On 28 November, the submarine left her patrol station and headed forMajuro Atoll for refit alongsideBushnell. Arriving on 11 December,Atule ended a highly productive first patrol in which she accounted for almost 27,000 tons of enemy shipping destroyed.
Atule spent December in upkeep and training, including a six-day coordinated convoy exercise withSpadefish,Pompon, andJallao. On 6 January 1945, she departedMajuro in company with these same ships, Commander Gordon W. Underwood inSpadefish as group commander. En route toSaipan, "Underwood's Urchins" conducted training dives, emergency drills, and radar tracking exercises.
After a brief stop inTanapag Harbor alongsideFulton,Atule headed for her patrol area in theYellow Sea. SincePompon andJallao were delayed she sailed in company withSpadefish,Bang, andDevilfish. Prior to her arrival in the patrol area,Atule took part in a fruitless search for downed aviators. Reports of sightings of the survivors were not in agreement, and the approximate location could not be determined. The search was abandoned on 17 January.Pompon joined the pack on 20 January, and, the next day, they entered theYellow Sea.
While on patrol,Atule sighted manysampans and fishing boats, but could not strike a blow at the Japanese fleet until 24 January. On that afternoon, she commenced tracking a merchant ship. At periscope depth, the target was lost in a snow squall, soAtule came toradar depth to regain contact, closed for a stern shot, and fired four torpedoes. Two hit their marks, one abreast the stack, the second near the aftermast. The ship settled rapidly by the stern. The crew hastily abandoned the ship in time to see the stern break off and disappear. The forward section of the ship bobbed like a cork, soAtule surfaced to finish off the freighter with gunfire. The freighter returned fire, and the submarine fired another torpedo which missed the target.Atule retired to await nightfall, when she again failed to sink the hulk with gunfire. She loosed another torpedo, which hit amidships, and the freighter began settling by the bow.Atule left the empty hulk in a vertical position with the midship section high in the air. After the war her victim was identified asTaiman Maru Number 1.
Atule was assigned to patrol in the northern part of theYellow Sea. The seas were heavy, and the snow and wind combined to create blizzard conditions. After four days, she shifted to the southwest corner of the sea betweenKorea andChina. On 27 January,Pompon reported a convoy contact and, together withSpadefish, attacked.Atule was too distant to join in, but heard several explosions. Early the next day, she gained contact on a medium transport trying to escape the area of the attack of the previous day, and she gave chase until shoal water and the presence of an enemy escort forced her to veer off.
Floatingnaval mines becameAtule's new targets. During the rest of her patrol, she sighted 29 mines, 23 of which she sank by gunfire, and one which bounced harmlessly down the submarine's side.Atule patrolled the Chinese and Korean coastlines and traffic lanes until 22 February, when she headed forSaipan where she once again moored alongsideFulton. On 28 February she leftTanapag Harbor bound forMidway Island, where she moored on 7 March.
After refit alongsidePelias,Atule conducted extensive drills in multiple fire torpedo attacks, gunfire, sound training and evasion exercises. On 2 April, she departed Midway, bound forGuam. After one day alongsideHolland inApra Harbor, the submarine departed on 12 April for her patrol area offBungo Suido.Gato covered the east entrance andAtule the west. The patrol consisted almost entirely of lifeguard duty and mine destruction. On 4 May, she sighted an enemy submarine but it escaped beforeAtule could close for attack. On 5 May,Atule and aB-29 Superfortress "Dumbo" plane—which carried anairborne lifeboat forair-sea rescue operations—conducted a coordinated attack on two Japanese planes.Atule acted as "fighter" director and vectored the Superfortress to the Japanese planes. She then submerged and watched as one plane fled and one was shot down in a very unusual dogfight.Atule rescued one badly burned Japanese flier from the wreckage. The war patrol ended on 30 May whenAtule arrived at Pearl Harbor for a three-week refit byEuryale.
After a week of drills,Atule departed Pearl Harbor on 3 July bound for a lifeguard station in theNanpō Islands. After nine days with little action, the submarine proceeded to her patrol area in Empire waters east ofHonshū as part of an attack group which also includedGato andArcher-Fish. On 12 August,Atule gained contact on two ships, later identified asCoast Defense Vessel Number 6 andCoast Defense Vessel Number 16, steaming along the coast. Shallow waters and poor visibility causedAtule to set a course to intercept in the vicinity ofUrakawa Ko rather than to attack the contacts under such adverse conditions. With the targets overlapping,Atule fired six torpedoes. The closer of the two ships –Coast Defense Vessel Number 6 – exploded with an orange flame and much flying debris. The second target disappeared fromradar, but it is not known whether she sank or escaped.[10] On 15 August,Atule heard the news of the Japanese capitulation and headed for Pearl Harbor, where she arrived on 25 August. On 30 August, she departed Pearl Harbor via thePanama Canal, bound forNew London, Connecticut.
While in New London,Atule was assigned toSubmarine Squadron 2 (SubRon 2) and engaged in training operations for the Submarine School and the Prospective Commanding Officer's School located there. FollowingNavy Day ceremonies inWashington, D.C., she proceeded to thePortsmouth Naval Shipyard inMaine for an overhaul which was completed on 3 February 1946.
On 4 July 1946,Atule headed for the frozen north as a member ofOperation Nanook. The purpose of this mission was to assist in the establishment of advanced weather stations in the Arctic regions and to aid in the planning and execution of more extensive naval operations in polar and sub-polar regions. In company withNorton Sound,Whitewood,Alcona,Beltrami, andNorthwind,Atule was to transport supplies and passengers, conduct reconnaissance of proposed weather station sites, train personnel, and collect data on Arctic conditions.
Atule rendezvoused withNorthwind andWhitewood off the southwestern coast ofGreenland on 11 July 1946 and put intoMelville Bight,Baffin Bay, on 20 July, while aPBY Catalina reconnoiteredThule Harbor and the approaches to the harbor. Following engine trouble, the Catalina made an emergency landing, andAtule was dispatched to recover the plane, becoming the first ship of the operation to enter the harbor.Atule then conducted tests and exercises inSmith South-Kane Basin withWhitewood. During one such exercise, she reached latitude 79 degrees 11 minutes north in theKane Basin, at the time a record for theUnited States Navy.Atule had been equipped with the first upward-beamed fathometer for measuring ice thickness overhead.[11] On 29 July,Atule departed Thule, having completed all of her scheduled projects, stopped atHalifax, Nova Scotia and reached New London late in August to resume her former duties.
On 27 February 1947,Atule arrived atPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, for overhaul and inactivation. On 8 September 1947, she was placed out of commission, in reserve, with the New London Group of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. After three years in "mothballs,"Atule was towed to thePortsmouth Naval Shipyard inKittery, Maine, for reactivation and conversion to aGUPPY IA type submarine. Outfitted with a snorkel to permit use of her engines while submerged and a smooth streamlined superstructure for added speed,Atule rejoined the fleet a stronger, more versatile warship. On 8 March 1951, the submarine was recommissioned.
Assigned toSubRon 8 in New London,Atule conducted a shakedown cruise in theCaribbean Sea and then participated in Fleet andNATO training exercises in the Atlantic and the Caribbean. On 9 February 1952, she departed New London for a tour of duty in the Mediterranean and participation in NATOExercise Grand Slam. During the deployment, she visitedGibraltar, Malta, andMarseille, before arriving back in theUnited States on 29 March.
After several months of extensive training and preparationsAtule participated in LANTSUBEX I from 15 September-11 October. During this operation, she found herself battling the high seas and 100 kn (190 km/h) winds ofHurricane Charlie which at one point rolled her more than 60 degrees to port, washing the officer of the deck and the lookout off the bridge. With safety belts attaching them to the bridge, they were able to climb safely back on board.
On 19 November,Atule entered the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard for an overhaul. After the yard work had been completed she got underway on 4 April 1953 to resume normal operations. During LANTSUBEX II in October, she suffered a serious fire and lost propulsion for approximately six hours in very heavy seas. The submarine arrived in New London on 27 October for repairs, leave and upkeep. She recommenced operations late in January 1954, by sailing toSaint Thomas, United States Virgin Islands, for the annual Operation Springboard exercise. Late in FebruaryAtule departed St. Thomas for the return trip.
But for a two-week visit to theFort Lauderdale, Florida, area to provide services to the Naval Ordnance Laboratory Test Facility, she remained in New London for five months. Upon her return to New LondonAtule operated in the local area until February 1955, when she entered thePhiladelphia Naval Shipyard for an extensive overhaul which was completed in August. The submarine then resumed training and operations in the New London area. In July 1957,Atule cruised to theMediterranean Sea and operated with the6th Fleet until October. She entered thePhiladelphia Naval Shipyard in January 1958 and departed in July, sailing toKey West, Florida, where she was assigned toSubRon 12.
During the fall of 1958,Atule became familiar with her new operating area by working with the Operational Development Force assisting in the development and evaluation of new submarine techniques and equipment. She also acted as a target in surface and air antisubmarine exercises. After a Christmas leave period,Atule conducted local operations until April 1959, when she participated in an Atlantic Fleet exercise and then resumed local drills.
In July 1960,Atule again cruised to theMediterranean Sea for surface-subsurface training withNATO forces which lasted until October, when she returned to theUnited States and entered theCharleston Naval Shipyard for a six-month overhaul. After completion of the yard work in April 1961,Atule spent 18 months alternating duty atKey West, Florida, with service atGuantanamo Bay supporting training for thedestroyer force in antisubmarine warfare.
In October 1963, the submarine entered theNorfolk Naval Shipyard for an overhaul which ended in February 1964. She returned toKey West, Florida, and operated from herhome port until July when she sailed for theMediterranean Sea to operate with the 6th Fleet. She returned to her home port in November for routine operations.
In August 1965,Atule departedPort of Spain,Trinidad, in company with other United States warships for a goodwill cruise during which she circumnavigated the South American continent. Known as Operation Unitas VI, this operation promoted cooperation between naval forces of the United States and the participating South American countries.Atule drilled with ships of the navies ofVenezuela, Colombia,Ecuador, Peru, andChile as she transited thePanama Canal and headed south along the coast. On 16 October, the submarine entered theStrait of Magellan and arrived atPunta Arenas, Chile, the southernmost city ofSouth America. As she headed north,Atule's crew became ambassadors of good will in port calls toPuerto Belgrano,Mar del Plata,Rio de Janeiro, andSan Salvador before disbanding the UNITAS VI task unit inTrinidad on 1 December. The submarine then sailed for home and arrived there on 6 December for a leave and upkeep period that lasted into 1966. She remained in nearby waters for training and routine operations until 5 July when she moved toCharleston, South Carolina, for another overhaul.
Atule left the shipyard on 26 January 1967 and during the year was assigned to duties at the Prospective Commanding Officers School and Fleet Training Group at Guantanamo Bay as well as continuing local training. In February 1968, she headed for theGulf of Mexico andNew Orleans, Louisiana, to train naval reservists and to celebrateMardi Gras. The submarine returned viaSt. Petersburg, Florida, to her home port, where she continued general operations until 1 October when she got underway for her lastMediterranean Sea deployment. After almost four months of exercises with the 6th Fleet,Atule returned to the United States on 3 February 1969 and resumed her duties in the local area. On 29 August,Atule departed Key West for Philadelphia where she was placed in commission, in reserve, on 15 September. Redesignated with thehull classification symbolAGSS-403 on 1 October,Atule was decommissioned on 6 April 1970 and her name was struck from theNaval Vessel Register on 15 August 1973. She was sold toPeru in July 1974.
RenamedBAPPacocha (SS-48), the submarine served in theMarina de Guerra Peruana (thePeruvian Navy) until 26 August 1988, when she was rammed and sunk by a Japanese fishing trawler. The loss ofPacocha was instrumental in thebeatification ofMarija Petkovic, as one of the survivors (a Peruvian Navy lieutenant) said that he had been praying to her before he performed several impossible display of physical strength to save the lives of himself and several of his companions.[12]
Navy Occupation Service Medal with "EUROPE" clasp
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entries can be foundhere andhere.
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1988 | |
|---|---|
| Shipwrecks |
|
| Other incidents |
|
