View source for USS Carbonero

{{short description|Submarine of the United States}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[File:USS Carbonero;0833706.jpg|300px|USS Carbonero (SS-337) about to tie up inboard of the Gudgeon (SS-567) at Pearl Harbor, c. 1963.]]
|Ship caption=USS ''Carbonero'' (SS-337) about to tie up inboard of {{USS|Gudgeon|SS-567}} at Pearl Harbor, c. 1963.
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1970}}
|Ship name=
|Ship ordered=10 April 1942
|Ship builder=[[General Dynamics Electric Boat|Electric Boat Company]], [[Groton, Connecticut]]<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates">{{cite book
  | last = Friedman
  | first = Norman
  | authorlink =
  | title = U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History
  | publisher = [[United States Naval Institute]]
  | year = 1995
  | location = [[Annapolis, Maryland]]
  | pages = 285–304
  | url =
  | doi =
  | isbn = 1-55750-263-3 }}</ref>
|Ship laid down=16 December 1943<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship launched=15 October 1944<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=7 February 1945<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship decommissioned=1 December 1970<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=1 December 1970<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship fate=Sunk as a target off Pearl Harbor, 27 April 1975<ref name="Register">{{cite book
  | last = Bauer
  | first = K. Jack
  | authorlink =
  |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
  | url =
  | doi =
  | isbn = 0-313-26202-0 }}</ref>
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|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|m|abbr=on}}<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship beam={{convert|27|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on}}<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship draft={{convert|16|ft|10|in|m|abbr=on}} maximum<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship propulsion={{Fleet-boat-propulsion-late-GM-4-GE}}
|Ship speed=* {{convert|20.25|kn|lk=in}} surfaced<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs">''U.S. Submarines Through 1945'' pp. 305–311</ref>
* {{convert|8.75|kn}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship range={{cvt|11000|nmi|lk=in}} surfaced at {{convert|10|kn}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship endurance=*48 hours at {{cvt|2|kn}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
*75 days on patrol
|Ship test depth={{cvt|400|ft}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship complement=10 officers, 70–71 enlisted<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament={{Fleet-boat-armament-4-inch}}
}}
|}

'''USS ''Carbonero'' (SS/AGSS-337)''' was a {{sclass|Balao|submarine}}, the first ship of the [[United States Navy]] to be named for the [[Bar jack|carbonero]], a salt-water fish found in the West Indies.

==Construction and commissioning==
''Carbonero''′s [[keel]] was [[Keel laying|laid down]] on 16 December 1943 by the [[Electric Boat]] Company of [[Groton, Connecticut]].  She was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 19 October 1944, sponsored by Mrs. S.S. Murray, and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 7 February 1945.

== World War II ==

Sailing from [[New London, Connecticut]], on 21 March 1945, ''Carbonero'' served with the Fleet Sonar School at [[Key West, Florida]], and conducted torpedo exercises at [[Balboa, Canal Zone]], before arriving at [[Pearl Harbor]] on 9 May. Her first war patrol, conducted off [[Taiwan|Formosa]] from 26 May to 8 July, was devoted to lifeguard duty, standing by for possible rescue of aviators downed in [[aircraft carrier]] strikes. After refitting at [[U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay|Subic Bay]], ''Carbonero'' cleared for the [[Gulf of Siam]] on 4 August, and cruising off the east coast of the [[Malay Peninsula]], sank four schooners, two [[sampan]]s, and two junks, some of the small remnants of the Japanese merchant fleet. This second war patrol ended with the cease fire order on 15 August, and ''Carbonero'' put back to [[U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay|Subic Bay]].

== 1945–1962 ==

''Carbonero'' reported at [[Seattle]] on 22 September 1945 for operations on the West Coast. After a simulated war patrol to the Far East early in 1947, she was assigned to the Submarine Guided Missile Program, joining her sister ship {{USS|Cusk|SS-348|2}} as a control vessel operating out of [[San Diego]], and [[Naval Base Ventura County]] in [[Port Hueneme, California]].  Assigned to the [[Regulus missile]] program, ''Carbonero'' was re-designated an auxiliary submarine ('''AGSS-337''') in 1949.

Fitted with the [[Fleet Snorkel]] modification package in 1951, ''Carbonero'' operated off Southern [[California]], and occasionally in the [[Hawaiian Islands]].  In 1953 ''Carbonero'' was fitted with control equipment which enabled her to guide a missile once it passed beyond the range of the firing ship. She performed in various phases of this program including the launching of [[KGW-1 Loon|Loon missiles]] and the evaluation of Regulus missile guidance equipment.

On 13 May 1957, her home port shifted to Pearl Harbor. In July 1959, ''Carbonero'' became the [[flagship]] of Submarine Division 12. From that time forward ''Carbonero'' took part in local operations in Hawaiian waters plus deployments to the Western Pacific, trips to the South Pacific and mainland United States. She made an Arctic familiarization cruise in 1957, and in 1958 and 1959–1960, cruised to the Far East. She assisted in the training of forces of the [[Republic of Korea]] and of [[Japan]], and called at ports of Japan and the [[Philippines]] during these deployments.

Early in 1962 the Regulus missile guidance equipment was removed. ''Carbonero'' returned to the standard "Fleet Snorkel" configuration, and was re-designated an attack submarine ('''SS-337''').

==1962–1970==
[[File:Operation Dominic - Frigate Bird nuclear explosion.jpg|thumb|left|Shot Frigate Bird, 600 kilotons of TNT (2,500 TJ), as viewed from the submarine USS ''Carbonero''. Only full-scale US test of a strategic missile system.]]

''Carbonero'' participated in the 1962 nuclear tests in the Central Pacific off [[Christmas Island]] and [[Johnston Island]] entitled [[Operation Dominic I and II|Operation Dominic]]. She was on hand for the detonation of a warhead from a [[Polaris missile]] fired from {{USS|Ethan Allen|SSBN-608|2}} in the "Frigate Bird" [[nuclear weapon test]]. ''Carbonero'' and {{USS|Medregal|SS-480|2}} were about {{convert|30|mi}} from the detonation.

During the [[Vietnam War]] ''Carbonero'' again performed aviator lifeguard duties during trips to the Far East. During the mid 1960s while operating off Kaena Point, [[Oahu]], ''Carbonero'' ran aground at a depth of {{convert|250|ft}}, requiring drydock repair at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard.

''Carbonero'' also participated in the [[Project SHAD]] biological tests 65-6 Big Tom, 66-13 Half Note, and 68-71 Folded Arrow. During these tests, [[Bacillus globigii]] was released from ''Carbonero'' using a submarine-biological-disseminator. Aerosol sampling was done at various land-based stations near Oahu, [[Hawaii]] and [[Kaneohe]] Marine Corps Air Station.<ref>[http://fhp.osd.mil/CBexposures/associatedShips.jsp Ships Associated with SHAD Tests] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120915081848/http://fhp.osd.mil/CBexposures/associatedShips.jsp |date=2012-09-15 }}</ref>

[[File:USS Carbonero;0833712.jpg|thumb|right|Montage of the end of ''Carbonero''; sunk as a target by {{USS|Pogy|SSN-647|6}} firing a Mk 48 torpedo off Pearl Harbor on 27 April 1975]]

''Carbonero'' was decommissioned on 1 December 1970. On 27 April 1975, she was taken to sea for one last time and used as a test target for a [[Mark 48 torpedo]] fired by the submarine {{USS|Pogy|SSN-647|6}} off Hawaii.

== Honors and awards ==

*{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} [[Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal]] with one [[battle star]] for [[World War II]] service
*[[File:World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg|106px]] [[World War II Victory Medal]]
*[[File:National Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|106px]] [[National Defense Service Medal]]
*[[File:China Service Medal ribbon.svg|106px]] [[China Service Medal]]
*{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=Vietnam Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} [[Vietnam Service Medal]] with two [[service star]]s for [[Vietnam War]] service
*[[File:Vietnam gallantry cross unit award-3d.svg|106px]] [[Gallantry Cross (South Vietnam)|Vietnam Cross of Gallantry]] ([[Republic of Vietnam]])
*[[File:Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal ribbon, with 60- clasp.svg|106px]] [[Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal]] (Republic of Vietnam)

One of ''Carbonero''′s two war patrols was designated as "successful."

== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{refbegin}}
*{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/c3/carbonero.htm|http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/submar/ss337.htm}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|USS Carbonero (SS-337)}}
*{{navsource|08/08337|Carbonero}}

{{Balao class submarine}}
{{1975 shipwrecks}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Carbonero (SS-337)}}
[[Category:Balao-class submarines]]
[[Category:World War II submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Cold War submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Vietnam War submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships built in Groton, Connecticut]]
[[Category:1944 ships]]
[[Category:Ships sunk as targets]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1975]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of Hawaii]]