.gif) | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Builder | Portsmouth Naval Shipyard,Kittery, Maine[1] |
| Laid down | 15 March 1944[1] |
| Launched | 26 June 1944[1] |
| Commissioned | 23 August 1944[1] |
| Decommissioned | 16 June 1967[1] |
| Stricken | 1 July 1970[1] |
| Fate | Sold for scrap, June 1971[1] |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Balao classdiesel-electricsubmarine[2] |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 311 ft 8 in (95.00 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)[6] |
| Endurance |
|
| Test depth | 400 ft (120 m)[6] |
| Complement | 10 officers, 70–71 enlisted[6] |
| Armament |
|
USSPiper (SS/AGSS-409), aBalao-classsubmarine, was a ship of theUnited States Navy named after thepiper. Although built late inWorld War II,Piper completed three successful war patrols before the cessation of hostilities, operating as a life guard for plane strikes and as an advance picket for fastcarrier task forces.
Piper (originally namedAwa)[7][page needed] was laid down 15 March 1944 by thePortsmouth Navy Yard, inKittery, Maine;launched 26 June 1944; sponsored by Mrs.Charles W. Wilkins;commissioned 23 August 1944.
Piper began her war career on 25 January 1945, when she slipped out ofPearl Harbor as the leader of a five-shipwolfpack. Piper was joined in the wolfpack byPomfret (SS-391),Bowfin (SS-287),Trepang (SS-412), andSterlet (SS-392), known as "MAC's MOPS." The mission was an anti-picket boat sweep in preparation for carrier strikes onHonshū. After a short stop atSaipan, the pack arrived in the assigned area south ofIwo Jima 10 February. Three sweeps from 10 February to 13 February revealed no picket boats.
Piper spent the period from 15 February to 24 March off the south and southeast coasts of Honshū serving alternately on independent patrol and lifeguard duty for the then intensiveB-29 and carrier strikes againstJapan. On the night of 25 February,Piper found her first target. In a night surface attack, she sank an unidentified 2,000-ton vessel. The last four days before departure were spent guarding the approaches toBungo Suido against a possible Japanese sortie against the badly damaged carrierFranklin (CV-13).
Piper arrived atMidway 30 March 1945 for refit and training, and departed 26 April for her second war patrol in another wolf pack. The ships arrived in the patrol area, theSea of Okhotsk, 3 May 1945, and from 14 May to 25 May made concentrated surface sweeps of the area.
The remainder of the period was spent on independent war patrol, rotating stations. On 27 MayPiper got her first chance on this patrol when she sighted two small merchantmen with two escorts inBoussole Channel. Working her way through a heavy fog, she launched a surface torpedo attack, sinking one 4,000-ton merchantman. The escorts dropped a fewdepth charges, but none were close to the mark.
Piper departed the area 4 June 1945, arriving at Pearl Harbor on 13 June. Lieutenant CommanderEdward L. Beach Jr. assumed command on 25 June. On 19 July 1945 she departed on her third war patrol, stopping en route atGuam for advanced training from 1 August to 4 August. On 11 August,Piper accounted for two five-ton fishing vessels inKoshiki Kaikyo, and on 13 August she entered theSea of Japan. There she rescued sixprisoners of war; Japan capitulated the next day.
On 3 September she headed for Pearl Harbor and onward routing to the United States.Piper arrived 15 October 1945 at the U.S.Naval Submarine Base, New London, Conn. During the next five years,Piper remained in the New London area with the exception of cruises toNassau,New Brunswick andNova Scotia, and overhauls in Portsmouth andPhiladelphia Naval Shipyards.
On 2 May 1950Piper got under way for a tour of duty with theU.S. 6th Fleet in theMediterranean. Upon her return to the States she made a six-week cruise toGuantanamo Bay,Cuba, for special exercises.
In June 1951Piper went to theCharleston Naval Shipyard forFleet Snorkel conversion which gave her the streamlined "new look" andsnorkel gear. For the next few years the submarine operated out of New London along the east coast of the United States and in theCaribbean.
In July 1955Piper got under way for her second tour of duty with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean. January 1956 found her operating in the Caribbean again. From March to September she underwent an extensive overhaul in the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
On 1 July 1957, Rear AdmiralCharles W. Wilkins, Commander Submarine Force,Atlantic Fleet selectedPiper as hisflagship. His wife had christenedPiper at her launching in 1944. In SeptemberPiper sailed for an eight-weekNATO exercise in the North Atlantic. In 1958, after completing almost a full year as Flagship of the Submarine Force, Atlantic Fleet,Piper was relieved bySeawolf (SSN-575).
On 6 November 1959Piper departed New London for a three-month deployment with the 6th Fleet. Throughout 1960 she remained in the New London area. On 20 February 1961 the submarine got underway for exercises in the Caribbean. On this cruise she became the first snorkel submarine to make her 10,000th dive.
In the fall of 1962Piper was deployed in the Caribbean area during theCuban Missile Crisis.Piper commenced another Mediterranean deployment 8 October 1963. She transited theSuez Canal toKarachi,Pakistan to participate with the Navies of theCENTO nations in exercise Midlink VI and returned to the Mediterranean early in December for operations with the 6th Fleet before returning to New London 1 February 1964.
During 1964, in conjunction with Atlantic Fleet exercises,Piper together withUSS Sea Robin (SS-407) visitedPortsmouth,England andRotterdam,Netherlands. After an overhaul in the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard during the first six months of 1965,Piper sailed for the first of two Caribbean deployments 15 October, returning from the second 10 April 1966. For the remainder of that year she operated out of Submarine School, New London.
On 22 March 1967,Piper's main storage battery had deteriorated to the extent that the ship was restricted to surface operations. At this timePiper had made 13,724 dives, a record for commissioned submarines. On 10 MayPiper entered theNorfolk Naval Shipyard for deactivation. On 15 JunePiper was reclassified asAGSS-409 and the next day she was placed "out of commission, special", and replacedCero (SS-225) as theDetroit, Mich., Naval Reserve Training submarine.
Piper was struck from theNaval Vessel Register on 1 July 1970. She was sold for scrapping in June 1971.
Piper received fourbattle stars for service inWorld War II.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entries can be foundhere andhere.
