View source for USS Barbel (SS-316)

{{short description|Submarine of the United States}}
{{other ships|USS Barbel}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}

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{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1945}}
|Ship name=''Barbel''
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[General Dynamics Electric Boat]], [[Groton, Connecticut]]<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates">{{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History|publisher=[[United States Naval Institute]]|year=1995|location=[[Annapolis, Maryland]]|pages=285–304|isbn=1-55750-263-3}}</ref>
|Ship laid down=11 March 1943<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship launched=14 November 1943<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=3 April 1944<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship fate=Sunk by Japanese aircraft off [[Palawan]] on 4 February 1945<ref name="Register">{{cite book|last=Bauer|first=K. Jack|author2=Roberts, Stephen S. |title=Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775–1990: Major Combatants|publisher=Greenwood Press|year=1991|location=[[Westport, Connecticut]]|pages=275–280|isbn=0-313-26202-0}}</ref>
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass|Balao|submarine|0}} [[diesel-electric]] [[submarine]]<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship displacement=* {{cvt|1526|LT|t|lk=on}} surfaced<ref name="Register"/> 
* {{cvt|2424|LT|t}} submerged<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship length={{convert|311|ft|9|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship beam={{convert|27|ft|3|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship draft={{convert|16|ft|10|in|abbr=on}} maximum<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship propulsion={{Fleet-boat-propulsion-late-GM-4-GE}}
|Ship speed=* {{convert|20.25|kn|abbr=on}} surfaced<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs">''U.S. Submarines Through 1945'' pp. 305–311</ref> 
* {{convert|8.75|kn|abbr=on}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship range={{convert|11000|nmi|abbr=on}} at {{convert|10|kn|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship endurance=48 hours at {{convert|2|kn|abbr=on}} submerged,<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/> 75 days on patrol
|Ship test depth={{convert|400|ft|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship complement=10 officers, 70–71 enlisted<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament={{Fleet-boat-armament-5-inch}}
}}
|}

'''USS ''Barbel'' (SS-316)''', a {{sclass|Balao|submarine}}, was the first ship of the [[United States Navy]] to be named for the [[Barbus barbus|barbel]], a fish commonly called a [[Leuciscinae|minnow]] or [[carp]].

==Construction and commissioning==
''Barbel''{{'}}s [[keel]] was [[Keel-laying|laid down]] by the [[Electric Boat Company]] of [[Groton, Connecticut]].  She was [[ship naming and launching|launched]] on 14 November 1943 [[Ship sponsor|sponsored]] by Mrs. Harold A. Allen, and [[ship commissioning|commissioned]] 3 April 1944.

==Service history==
''Barbel'' arrived at [[Pearl Harbor]] on 21 June 1944 and commenced preparation for her first war patrol. From 15 July 1944 to 4 February 1945, she carried out four war patrols and is officially credited with sinking six Japanese ships totaling 15,263 tons.

''Barbel'' departed [[Fremantle submarine base]], [[Western Australia]], on 5 January 1945 for the [[South China Sea]] on her fourth patrol. Late in January she was ordered to form a "[[Wolfpack (naval tactic)|wolfpack]]" with {{USS|Perch|SS-313|2}} and {{USS|Gabilan|SS-252|2}} and patrol the western approaches to [[Balabac Strait]] and the southern entrance to the [[Palawan Passage]]. On 3 February, ''Barbel'' sent a message reporting that she had been attacked three times by enemy aircraft dropping [[depth charge]]s and would transmit further information on the following night.

''Barbel'' was never heard from again. Japanese aviators reported an attack on a submarine off southwest [[Palawan]] on 4 February. Two bombs were dropped and one landed on the submarine near the bridge. The sub plunged, under a cloud of fire and spray. This was very likely the last engagement of ''Barbel''. She was officially reported lost on 16 February 1945.

==Awards==
* {{ribbon devices|number=3|type=service-star|ribbon=Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} [[Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal]] with three [[battle star]]s for [[World War II]] service

==Memorials==
''Barbel'' has a [[war memorial]] in the Oregon Trail Veterans Cemetery in [[Casper, Wyoming]].

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}
{{refbegin}}
*{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/b2/barbel-i.htm}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
*[http://www.oneternalpatrol.com/uss-barbel-316.htm On Eternal Patrol: USS ''Barbel'']
*[http://pigboats.com/ww2/barbel.html Kill record: USS ''Barbel'']{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* [https://warmonument.blogspot.com/2011/09/uss-barbel-ss316-submarine-memorial.html USS Barbel Memorial]

{{Balao class submarine}}
{{February 1945 shipwrecks}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Barbel (Ss-316)}}
[[Category:Balao-class submarines]]
[[Category:World War II submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Lost submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:World War II shipwrecks in the South China Sea]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the Philippines]]
[[Category:Ships built in Groton, Connecticut]]
[[Category:1943 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in February 1945]]
[[Category:Submarines sunk by aircraft]]
[[Category:Ships sunk by Japanese aircraft]]