%3b0837310.jpg) Ex-Lizardfish, ItalianEvangelista Torricelli, c. 1960. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USSLizardfish (SS-373) |
| Builder | Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company,Manitowoc, Wisconsin[1] |
| Laid down | 14 March 1944[1] |
| Launched | 16 July 1944[1] |
| Commissioned | 30 December 1944[1] |
| Decommissioned | 24 June 1946[1] |
| Recommissioned | 9 September 1959[1] |
| Decommissioned | 9 January 1960[1] |
| Stricken | 15 July 1978[2] |
| Fate | Transferred toItaly, 9 January 1960,[2] sold to Italy 15 July 1979[1] |
 Italy | |
| Name | Evangelista Torricelli (S 512) |
| Acquired | 9 January 1960 |
| Out of service | 1976 |
| Fate | Sold for scrap, 1976 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Balao classdiesel-electricsubmarine[2] |
| Displacement | |
| 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 |
|
| Speed | |
| Range | 11,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) surfaced at 10 knots (19 km/h)[3] |
| Endurance |
|
| Test depth | 400 ft (120 m)[3] |
| Complement | 10 officers, 70–71 enlisted[3] |
| Armament |
|
USSLizardfish (SS-373), aBalao-classsubmarine, was a boat of theUnited States Navy named for thelizardfish, a slender marine fish having a scaly, lizard-like head and large mouth.
Lizardfish waslaid down on 14 March 1944 by theManitowoc Shipbuilding Company atManitowoc,Wisconsin;launched on 16 July 1944, sponsored by Mrs.Lansdale G. Sasscer; wife ofCongressman Sasscer ofMaryland; andcommissioned on 30 December 1944.
Lizardfish departed theManitowoc River 20 January 1945 forLockport, IL, where she was loaded on afloating drydock and towed down theMississippi River. She arrived atAlgiers, La., 1 February and put to sea 5 days later for thePanama Canal andPearl Harbor, arriving 23 March.
Lizardfish left Pearl Harbor on her first war patrol 9 April 1945. Topping off with fuel atSaipan on the 21st, she set course for theSouth China Sea. The submarine maintained a thorough close-in patrol ofIndochina between 30 April and 18 May, but contacted no enemy traffic. From 23 to 28 May, a similar painstaking patrol in theJava Sea produced no enemy contacts. Completing this arduous patrol,Lizardfish arrivedFremantle,Australia, on 2 June.
Lizardfish got underway 28 June 1945 on her second patrol in the Java and South China Seas. Throughout this patrol, the submarine sought out targets and carried destruction to the enemy in confined harbors, straits, and anchorages. After careful submerged reconnaissance, she made two daring daylight gun attacks within range of shore batteries.
On 5 July, she entered thecoral-fringed bay of Chelukan Bawang,Bali, discovering four landing barges, a 250-ton sea truck, and a 100-ton submarine chaser, all heavily camouflaged. She made a submerged run and sankNo.1-class submarine chaserCha-37, then battle-surfaced and opened her deck guns. Her 5-inch (130 mm) salvos started a gasoline fire which destroyed a nest of four landing barges. She then demolished a boat shed and ripped apart the bow of a sea truck inside. Leaving this target in a flaming mass, she headed out to sea.
On 19 July nearSunda Strait, she was patrolling southward along the western shore when her crew sighted a convoy of sea trucks. The submarine surfaced and commenced firing at the closest target, started a brisk fire, and shifted targets. Meanwhile, a shore battery opened up and was lobbing shells close by. When ammunition was expended,Lizardfish submerged, leaving behind three ships burning fiercely. She surfaced that night and headed for lifeguard station offSingapore in support of ArmyB-24 Liberator bomber strikes. The submarine arrivedSubic Bay,Philippines, on 6 August and was there when Japan capitulated nine days later.
Lizardfish received onebattle star forWorld War II service.
Lizardfish cleared Subic Bay on 31 August and set course for the West Coast, touched Pearl Harbor, and arrivedSan Francisco on 22 September. AtEureka, CA, 24 October forNavy Day celebrations,Lizardfish five days later tied up atTiburon, CA, remaining there until 2 January 1946, when she got underway to act as schoolship for the Sonar School atSan Diego. She completed her training services on 5 March and reported for inactivation at San Francisco. After operations off the California coast, she was decommissioned, and entered thePacific Reserve Fleet,Mare Island Navy Yard, on 24 June 1946.
Lizardfish remained in reserve until 16 March 1959, when she departed forPearl Harbor Naval Shipyard forFleet Snorkel conversion and fitting out. She was transferred to the Government of Italy on 9 January 1960 and served theItalian Navy under the nameEvangelista Torricelli (S 512). She was stripped of usable parts and the hull scrapped by the Italian Navy in 1976.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entries can be foundhere andhere.
