 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USSSea Poacher |
| Builder | Portsmouth Naval Shipyard,Kittery, Maine[1] |
| Laid down | 23 February 1944[1] |
| Launched | 20 May 1944[1] |
| Commissioned | 31 July 1944[1] |
| Decommissioned | 15 November 1969[1] |
| Stricken | 15 August 1973[1] |
| Identification | SS-406 |
| Fate | Transferred toPeru, 1 July 1974[1] |
 Peru | |
| Name | Initially BAPPabellón de Pica, changed a few weeks later toLa Pedrera |
| Acquired | 1 July 1974 |
| Decommissioned | 1995 |
| Identification | S49 |
| 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 |
|
| General characteristics (Guppy IA) | |
| Class & type | none |
| Displacement | |
| 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 | |
| Speed |
|
| Range | 17,000 nautical miles (31,000 km) surfaced at 11 knots (20 km/h)[8] |
| Endurance | 36 hours at 3 knots (6 km/h) submerged[8] |
| Complement |
|
| Armament |
|
USSSea Poacher (SS/AGSS-406), aBalao-classsubmarine, was a vessel of theUnited States Navy named for the sea poacher, a slender, mailed fish of the North Atlantic.
Sea Poacher (SS-406) was built by thePortsmouth Navy Yard inKittery, Maine; launched on 20 May 1944; sponsored by Mrs. J. H. Spiller, wife of Commander Spiller, hull superintendent at the Navy Yard; and commissioned on 31 July 1944.
Following underway trials, training, and shakedown in thePortsmouth, New Hampshire, andNew London, Connecticut, areas,Sea Poacher transited thePanama Canal and arrived atPearl Harbor on 25 October 1944. Although her first two war patrols were unproductive, during the third, conducted in theKuril Islands area,Sea Poacher torpedoed and sank aJapanesetrawler and, four days later, sent two fishing boats to the bottom in a surface attack. During the latter action, three crewmen were injured when the 20 millimeter gun exploded. Due to the seriousness of their injuries, the patrol was terminated ahead of schedule, and the submarine returned toMidway.
After conducting her fourth war patrol off the eastern coast ofHonshū andHokkaidō,Sea Poacher was undergoing refitting at Pearl Harbor when the war ended on 15 August 1945.
From 1946 to 1949,Sea Poacher was based atBalboa,Canal Zone, as a unit of Submarine Squadron 6 (SubRon 6) engaging in fleet exercises and antisubmarine training, and, on 1 June 1949, was transferred toKey West,Florida, as a unit ofSubRon 4. In 1951, the submarine became the firstGUPPY IA conversion performed at theCharleston Naval Shipyard.
For the remainder of her 25-year career,Sea Poacher operated for the most part in the Key West andCaribbean areas, providing services to various units of theAtlantic Fleet with time out for tours of duty with the6th Fleet in theMediterranean and various exercises withNATO forces. On 10 July 1952, while operating in the Key West area, the submarine had the unique experience of rescuing ablimp which had suffered an engine casualty and was floating helplessly in the water. The submarine promptly came to the aid of the strickenairship and proceeded to tow it the 40 miles (64 km) back to its base atNaval Air Station, Boca Chica, Florida.
In July 1959,Sea Poacher was transferred toSubRon 12, also based at Key West, and continued to serve as a unit of this squadron for the remainder of her active service. In the fall of 1962,Sea Poacher was deployed with other Atlantic Fleet units maintaining the quarantine imposed onCuba during themissile crisis.
In 1969,Sea Poacher concluded her service with a3+1⁄2-month deployment to the eastern and northernAtlantic areas to participate in antisubmarine training exercises with units of theSpanish andPortuguese navies. Upon returning to Key West, the submarine operated locally and in the Caribbean until 20 October when she set sail forPhiladelphia and in-activation.Sea Poacher was reclassified an Auxiliary SubmarineAGSS-406 on 1 November, decommissioned on 15 November 1969, and was assigned to theAtlantic Reserve Fleet atPhiladelphia. On 30 June 1971, she reassumed the designation of a fleet submarine (SS). On 15 August 1973, her name was struck from theNavy List, and the submarine was sold toPeru in July 1974.
Sea Poacher was transferred (sold) under terms of the Security Assistance Program, toPeru, 1 July 1974. She was commissioned into thePeruvian Navy, initially as BAPPabellón de Pica (S-49), but her name was changed a few weeks later toLa Pedrera. She was taken out of service in 1995, and relegated to pierside training.
AsSea Poacher, she received fourbattle stars forWorld War II service.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entries can be foundhere andhere.
