View source for USS Runner (SS-476)

{{short description|Submarine of the United States}}
{{Other ships|USS Runner}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=SS-476.jpg
|Ship caption=USS Runner (SS-476)
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1970}}
|Ship name=USS ''Runner'' (SS-476)
|Ship ordered=[[Runner (fish)|Runner]]
|Ship builder=[[Portsmouth Naval Shipyard]], [[Kittery, Maine|Kittery]],&nbsp;[[Maine]]<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]]
  | date = 1995
  | location = [[Annapolis, Maryland]]
  | pages = 285–304
    | isbn = 1-55750-263-3 }}</ref>
|Ship laid down=10 July 1944<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship launched=17 October 1944<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship sponsor=Mrs. R.&nbsp;H. Bass
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=6 February 1945<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship decommissioned=29 June 1970<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=15 December 1971<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship fate=Sold for scrap, 19 June 1973<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class=[[Tench class submarine|''Tench''-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
  | date = 1991
  | location = [[Westport, Connecticut]]
  | pages = 280–282
    | isbn = 0-313-26202-0 }}</ref>
|Ship displacement=*1,570&nbsp;[[long ton|ton]]s (1,595&nbsp;[[tonne|t]]) surfaced <ref name="Register"/>
*2,414&nbsp;tons (2,453&nbsp;t) submerged <ref name="Register"/>
|Ship length={{convert|311|ft|8|in|abbr=on}} <ref name="Register"/>
|Ship beam={{convert|27|ft|4|in|abbr=on}} <ref name="Register"/>
|Ship draft={{convert|17|ft|0|in|abbr=on}} maximum <ref name="Register"/>
|Ship propulsion={{Fleet-boat-propulsion-late-FM-2-E}}
|Ship speed=*{{convert|20.25|kn|km/h|0|lk=in}} surfaced <ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs">''U.S. Submarines Through 1945'' pp. 305–311</ref>
*{{convert|8.75|kn|km/h|0}} submerged <ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship range={{convert|11000|nmi|km}} surfaced at 10 knots (19 km/h) <ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship endurance=*48 hours at {{convert|2|kn|km/h}} submerged <ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
*75 days on patrol
|Ship test depth={{convert|400|ft|m|-1|abbr=on}} <ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship complement=10 officers, 71 enlisted <ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament={{Fleet-boat-armament-5-inch-28-torps}}
}}
|}

'''USS ''Runner'' (SS/AGSS-476)''', a [[Tench class submarine|''Tench''-class submarine]], was the second ship of the [[United States Navy]] to be named for the [[Runner (fish)|runner]], an [[amberfish]] inhabiting [[Subtropics|subtropical]] waters.

==Construction and commissioning==
''Runner''′ s [[keel]] was [[Keel-laying|laid down]] on 10 July 1944 by the [[Portsmouth Naval Shipyard]] at [[Kittery, Maine|Kittery]], [[Maine]]. She was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 17 October 1944, sponsored by Mrs. R.&nbsp;H. Bass, the wife of the prospective [[commanding officer]], and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 6 February 1945.

==Service history==
===World War II===

After [[shakedown cruise|shakedown]] and preliminary training off the [[United States East Coast]], ''Runner'' departed [[New London, Connecticut|New London]], Connecticut, on 5 April 1945, conducted intensive training at [[Key West, Florida|Key West]], [[Florida]], and [[Balboa, Panama|Balboa]], [[Panama Canal Zone]], and arrived at [[Pearl Harbor]], [[Hawaii]], on 21 May 1945. Her first war patrol of [[World War II]] was off the east coast of [[Honshū]], [[Japan]], where her primary mission was to scout for the presence of defensive [[Naval mine|minefields]] guarding the [[Japanese archipelago|Japanese Home Islands]]. On 10 July 1945, while on patrol in the [[Sea of Japan]], she intercepted two worthwhile Japanese targets, a [[Tanker (ship)|tanker]] and a [[minesweeper (ship)|minesweeper]]. The tanker and her two escorts escaped the spread of [[torpedo]]es ''Runner'' fired at them, but three of ''Runner'''s torpedoes splintered the minesweeper ''[[Japanese minesweeper W-27|W-27]]''. Before departing station, ''Runner'' took aboard 16 downed aviators from the submarines {{USS|Gabilan|SS-252}} and {{USS|Aspro|SS-309}} for transfer to [[Guam]], where ''Runner'' concluded her patrol with her arrival on 24 July 1945.

''Runner''′s second war patrol began a week prior to the Japanese capitulation on 15 August 1945, and by the time she arrived on station off the east coast of Honshū, peace had come. ''Runner'', with ten other U.S. Navy submarines, entered [[Tokyo Bay]] on 31 August 1945 and represented the U.S. Navy submarine service at the [[Surrender of Japan|formal surrender ceremonies]] on 2 September 1945.

===Post-World War II===
''Runner'' and the other submarines in Tokyo Bay departed Japan on 3 September 1945, arriving at Pearl Harbor on 12 September. She continued east until reaching New London on 6 October 1945 . A few weeks later, in company with other vessels of Submarine [[Squadron (naval)|Squadron]] 6, ''Runner'' proceeded south, arriving for duty at Balboa, Panama Canal Zone, on 14 February 1946. For the next three years, she was based at the Panama Canal Zone and participated in annual fleet exercises in the [[Caribbean Sea]].

In June 1949, ''Runner'' was reassigned to [[Norfolk, Virginia|Norfolk]], [[Virginia]], her base for the next seven years. In the autumn of 1957, she participated in [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] (NATO) exercises in the North [[Atlantic Ocean]], visiting ports in [[France]] and [[England]]. [[Home port|Home-ported]] in [[San Juan, Puerto Rico|San Juan]], [[Puerto Rico]], from July 1958 to July 1959, she operated in the Caribbean Sea as a [[Regulus missile]] guidance submarine.
[[File:USS Runner (SS-476).jpg|left|thumb|Runner (SS-476), underway, port-side view, as a Regulus missile guidance submarine, circa 1961.]]

Returning to Norfolk in July 1959, ''Runner'' operated with the fleet along the U.S. East Coast for the next three years. She deployed to the [[Mediterranean Sea]] from January to early May 1962, operating with [[United States]] and NATO units. She spent the remainder of 1962 on local [[antisubmarine warfare]] exercises and overhaul.

Throughout 1963 and 1964, ''Runner'' engaged in various antisubmarine warfare exercises in the western Atlantic. She spent the summer of 1964 in the [[Great Lakes]], training [[United States Naval Reserve]] personnel. After operating with the fleet in the spring of 1965, she entered [[Norfolk Naval Shipyard]] at [[Portsmouth, Virginia|Portsmouth]], Virginia, for overhaul. In 1966, her operations included services for antisubmarine warfare exercises, type training, and participation in Exercise Springboard in the early spring. ''Runner'' deployed to the Mediterranean Sea with the [[United States Sixth Fleet]] from 8 July to 28 October 1966. She spent most of 1967 on school services for future submariners.

''Runner'' began 1968 by providing services for the [[Underwater Demolition Team]] school at [[Little Creek, Virginia|Little Creek]], Virginia, and antisubmarine warfare  training off the U.S. East Coast. On 4 April 1968, she departed on her last Mediterranean Sea deployment. She returned to Norfolk on 31 July 1968 having visited ports in [[Spain]] and [[Portugal]], and participating in the NATO exercise Dawn Patrol.

==Decommissioning and disposal==
On 25 January 1969, ''Runner'' was decommissioned at the [[Boston Naval Shipyard]] in [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]], and towed to the [[Great Lakes Naval Training Station]] in [[Lake County, Illinois|Lake County]], [[Illinois]], where she was reclassified as an "auxiliary submarine," redesignated '''AGSS-476''', and served as a Naval Reserve [[Training ship|Training vessel]] until stricken from the [[Naval Vessel Register]] on 15 December 1971. She was sold for scrap on 19 June 1973.

==Honors and awards==
''Runner'' received one [[battle star]] for World War II service.

== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/r/runner-ii.html}}

{{Tench_class_submarine}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Runner (SS-476)}}
[[Category:Tench-class submarines]]
[[Category:World War II submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Cold War submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships built in Kittery, Maine]]
[[Category:1944 ships]]