View source for USS Gunnel

{{short description|Submarine of the United States}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=USS Gunnel (SS-253).jpg
|Ship caption=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1946}}
|Ship name=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[General Dynamics Electric Boat|Electric Boat Company]], [[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=21 July 1941<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship launched=17 May 1942<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship sponsor=Mrs. Ben Morell
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=20 August 1942<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship decommissioned=18 May 1946<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=1 September 1958<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship fate=Sold for scrap, December 1959<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class=[[Gato class submarine|''Gato''-class]] [[diesel-electric]] [[submarine]]<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 = 271–273
  | isbn = 0-313-26202-0 }}</ref>
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|1525|LT|t|abbr=on}} surfaced<ref name="Register"/>
*{{convert|2424|LT|t|abbr=on}} 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|17|ft|0|in|abbr=on}} maximum<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship propulsion={{Fleet-boat-propulsion-HOR-4-GE}}
|Ship speed=*{{convert|21|kn|km/h|lk=in|abbr=on}} surfaced<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs">''U.S. Submarines Through 1945'' pp. 305–311</ref>
*{{convert|9|kn|km/h|abbr=on}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship range={{convert|11000|nmi|km|lk=in|abbr=on}} surfaced at {{convert|10|kn|km/h|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship endurance=*48 hours at {{convert|2|kn|km/h|0|abbr=on}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
*75 days on patrol
|Ship test depth={{convert|300|ft|m|-1|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship complement=6 officers, 54 enlisted<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament={{Fleet-boat-armament-3-inch}}
}}
|}

'''USS ''Gunnel'' (SS-253)''', a [[Gato class submarine|''Gato''-class submarine]], was the only ship of the [[United States Navy]] to be named for the [[gunnel (fish)|gunnel]].

==Construction and commissioning==
''Gunnel''′s [[keel]] was [[Keel-laying|laid down]] by the [[Electric Boat Company]], [[Groton, Connecticut|Groton]], [[Connecticut]]. She was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 17 May 1942, sponsored by Mrs. Ben Morell, wife of the Chief of the [[Bureau of Yards and Docks]], and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 20 August 1942, with [[Lieutenant Commander (United States)|Lieutenant Commander]] [[John S. McCain, Jr.|John S. "Jack" McCain, Jr.]] <!-- ([[United States Naval Academy]] Class of 19xx) --> in command.

==Atlantic patrol==
''Gunnel''s first war patrol (19 October – 7 December 1942) covered a passage from the United States to the United Kingdom, during which she participated in [[Operation Torch]], the [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] invasion of [[French North Africa]]. One of six submarines assigned to [[Admiral]] [[Henry Kent Hewitt|Henry K. Hewitt]]'s Western Naval Task Force, ''Gunnel'' did reconnaissance off [[Fedhala]], [[French Morocco]], on 6 November 1942, two days before the invasion, and on D-day, 8 November 1942, made [[infrared]] signals to guide the approaching fleet to the beachheads. She was off [[Casablanca]], French Morocco, on the morning of 8 November when a [[United States Army Air Forces]] [[Curtiss P-40 Warhawk|P-40 Warhawk]] [[Fighter aircraft|fighter]] mistakenly [[Strafing|strafed]] her, forcing her to [[Crash dive|crash-dive]].<ref name=hinmanpp9596>Hinman & Campbell, pp. 95–96.</ref> At 12:03, an aircraft ''Gunnel''′s crew identified as an American [[bomber]] began an attack run against her, forcing her to crash-dive again.<ref name=hinmanpp9596/> Her crew heard an explosion as she passed through a depth of {{convert|150|ft|0}}.<ref name=hinmanpp9596/> ''Gunnel'' suffered no damage or casualties in either attack.<ref name=hinmanpp9596/>

With her missions accomplished, ''Gunnel'' departed the waters off French North Africafor [[Rosneath]], [[Scotland]], on 7 December 1942 to terminate her first patrol. ''En route'' home, the drive gears of her HOR engines failed, forcing her to complete the final {{convert|1000|nmi|sigfig=2}} on her auxiliary [[diesel engine]], leading to a major overhaul at [[Portsmouth Naval Shipyard]] in [[Kittery, Maine|Kittery]], [[Maine]].

==Pacific patrols==

===Second and third patrols===
Subsequently, assigned to the [[United States Pacific Fleet]], ''Gunnel'' proceeded to [[Pearl Harbor]], [[Hawaii]], then to her second war patrol (28 May – 3 July 1943) in waters west of [[Kyūshū]] in the [[East China Sea]]. Success crowned her efforts when she sank the [[cargo ship]] ''Kayo Maru'' (6,300&nbsp;[[gross register ton]]s) on 15 June 1943, giving ''Gunnel'' her first kill, and four days later when another cargo ship, ''Tokiwa Maru'' (7,000&nbsp;gross register tons), was sent under. Both sinkings were confirmed by [[Joint Army–Navy Assessment Committee]] (JANAC) postwar.

After overhaul at [[Mare Island]], [[California]], the submarine accomplished a third war patrol (17 November 1943 – 7 January 1944) in Japanese home waters off [[Honshū]]. This, too, was successful; on 4 December 1943 ''Gunnel'' sent [[Cargo liner|passenger-cargo ship]] ''Hiyoshi Maru'' to the bottom.

===Fourth, fifth, sixth patrols===
The fourth war patrol (5 February – 6 April 1944) took ''Gunnel'' from [[Midway Atoll]] to [[Fremantle, Western Australia|Fremantle]], [[Australia]], and in the [[South China Sea|South China]], [[Sulu Sea|Sulu]], and [[Celebes Sea]]s. Bad luck dogged ''Gunnel'' and she was forced to return to port having made no further kills. On 29 March 1944, during her return voyage, a [[United States Army Air Forces]] [[Fifth Air Force]] [[Consolidated B-24 Liberator|B-24 Liberator]] mistakenly attacked her off Australia, dropping a [[Aerial bomb|bomb]] as she crash-dived.<ref name=hinmanpp9597>Hinman & Campbell, pp. 95–97.</ref> She suffered no damage or casualties. After an overnight stop at [[Darwin, Australia|Darwin]], Australia,<ref name=hinmanpp9597/> she proceeded to Fremantle, where she concluded her patrol on 6 April 1944.

''Gunnel''′s fifth and sixth patrols, 3 May – 4 July 1944 and 29 July – 22 September 1944, found her again in the southern approaches of the [[Sunda Strait]] and cruising in the Sulu Sea-[[Manila]] area but failed to add to her score.

===Seventh and eighth patrols===
During her seventh patrol (21 October – 28 December 1944) in the South China and Sulu Seas, she sank the Torpedo Boat ''Sagi'' (600&nbsp;tons) between 4–8 November;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.combinedfleet.com/sagi_t.htm |title=long Lancers |publisher=Combinedfleet.com |access-date=25 July 2018}}</ref> passenger-cargo ship ''Shunten Maru'' (5,600&nbsp;tons); and Torpedo Boat ''Hiyodori'' (600&nbsp;tons) between 10 and 17 November.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.combinedfleet.com/hiyodo_t.htm |title=long Lancers |publisher=Combinedfleet.com |access-date=25 July 2018}}</ref> On this same patrol ''Gunnel'' evacuated 11 naval aviators at [[Palawan]] 1 to 2 December after the fliers had been protected by friendly guerrilla forces for some 2 months.<ref name="Moore">{{cite book |last1=Moore |first1=Stephen |title=As Good As Dead: The Daring Escape of American POWs From A Japanese Death Camp |date=2016 |publisher=Caliber |location=New York |isbn=9780399583551 |pages=143–144}}</ref>

She conducted her eighth patrol (13 June – 24 July 1945) in the [[Bungo Suido]] area. She attacked an unescorted Japanese submarine 9 July. The great range and speed of the enemy, however, caused ''Gunnel'''s torpedoes to miss. She returned from the patrol after duty as a lifeguard ship for [[B-29]]s flying toward Japan on bombing missions.

==Postwar==
''Gunnel'' was refitting at Pearl Harbor at war's end in August 1945. She was ordered to [[New London, Connecticut|New London]], [[Connecticut]], where she [[Ship decommissioning|decommissioned]] 18 May 1946. Her name was struck from the [[Navy List]] 1 September 1958 and she was sold for scrapping in August 1959.

==Honors and awards==
* {{ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign ribbon.svg|width=106}} [[European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal]] with one [[battle star]]
* {{ribbon devices|number=4|type=service-star|ribbon=Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} [[Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal]] with four battle stars

''Gunnel''′s first, second, third, and seventh war patrols were designated "successful." In the <!-- (unreliable) --> [[Joint Army-Navy Assessment Committee]] (JANAC) accounting postwar, she was credited with six ships sunk totaling 24,624&nbsp;[[gross register ton]]s.<ref>valoratsea.com</ref>

==References==
===Citations===
{{reflist}}
*{{DANFS|https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/g/gunnel.html}}

===Bibliography===
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=hkupDwAAQBAJ&dq=LApon+raton&pg=PA181 Hinman, Charles R., and Douglas E. Campbell. ''The Submarine Has No Friends: Friendly Fire Incidents Involving U.S. Submarines During World War II''. Syneca Research Group, Inc., 2019.] {{ISBN|978-0-359-76906-3}}.
*{{cite journal |last1=Wright |first1=C. C. |title=Question 17/03: Replacement of US Submarine Diesel Engines |journal=Warship International |date=2005 |volume=XLII |issue=4 |pages=431–434 |issn=0043-0374}}

==External links==
* [http://www.jmlavelle.com/gunnel/ Gunnel tribute website]
* {{navsource|08/08253}}

{{Gato_class_submarine}}
{{November 1942 shipwrecks}}
{{March 1944 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunnel (SS-253)}}
[[Category:Gato-class submarines]]
[[Category:World War II submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships built in Groton, Connecticut]]
[[Category:1942 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in November 1942]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in March 1944]]
[[Category:Friendly fire incidents of World War II]]
[[Category:Naval ships of Operation Torch]]