imported>RIDH-1: /* Third war patrol, June – July 1945 */

2025-11-14T12:44:43Z

Third war patrol, June – July 1945

New page

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

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=USS Charr (SS-328) underway 1964.jpg
|Ship caption=USS ''Charr'' (SS-328) in 1964
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1969}}
|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
| 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=26 August 1943<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship launched=28 May 1944<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=23 September 1944<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship decommissioned=28 June 1969<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=20 December 1971<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship fate=Sold for scrap, 17 August 1972<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass|Balao|submarine|4}} [[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 = 275–280
| isbn = 0-313-26202-0 }}</ref>
|Ship displacement=*1,526 [[long ton|ton]]s (1,550 [[tonne|t]]) surfaced<ref name="Register"/>
*2,424 tons (2,463 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|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, 70–71 enlisted<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament={{Fleet-boat-armament-5-inch}}
}}
|}
'''USS ''Charr'' (SS/AGSS-328)''', a [[Balao class submarine|''Balao''-class]] [[submarine]], was a ship of the [[United States Navy]] named for the [[Salvelinus|charr]].

==Construction and commissioning==
Originally named ''Bocaccio'', SS-328 was renamed ''Charr'' on 24 September 1942 and [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] 28 May 1944 by [[Electric Boat]] Company, [[Groton, Connecticut]], sponsored by Mrs. W. F. Orkney; and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] 23 September 1944.

==First war patrol, December 1944 – March 1945==

Pacific-bound, ''Charr'' cleared [[Naval Submarine Base New London|New London]] 5 November 1944, and reached [[Pearl Harbor]] 9 December. On 30 December, she was bound for action waters, as she sailed on her first war patrol off the northeast coast of [[Indo-China]]. On 29 January 1945, daring to lie at anchor in broad daylight for 4 hours one mile (1.6 km) off the coast, ''Charr'' sent two men ashore in a rubber boat to rescue a downed aviator. A second rescue mission came at the close of her patrol, when she escorted the badly damaged [[Netherlands|Dutch]] submarine [[Royal Netherlands Navy|HNLMS]] [[HNLMS Zwaardvisch (P322)|''Zwaardvisch'']] through the [[Java Sea]] and [[Lombok Strait]]s to [[Fremantle, Western Australia|Fremantle]], Australia, where the two submarines arrived 3 March.

==Second war patrol, March – May 1945==

After refit, ''Charr'' cleared on her second war patrol, cruising in the [[Flores Sea|Flores]], [[Java Sea|Java]], and [[South China Sea]]s, and along the southern coast of [[Taiwan]]. She sailed for part of the patrol in coordination with {{USS|Gabilan|SS-252|3}} and {{USS|Besugo|SS-321|3}}, and with them conducted an epic 4-day chase of the [[Japan]]ese [[cruiser]] [[Japanese cruiser Isuzu|''Isuzu'']] and her three escorts. Finally, early in the morning of 7 April 1945, ''Charr'' maneuvered into firing position to find ''Isuzu'' down by the stern and listing, evidence of successful attack by ''Gabilan''. ''Charr'' fired a spread of torpedoes, scoring three hits to send the cruiser to the bottom.

Three days later, 10 April 1945, ''Charr'' made contact with another target, a coastal freighter, which she sank on the surface by gunfire. The submarine then headed on for a dangerous assignment, calling for intricate maneuvering, when she laid a [[Naval mine|minefield]] off [[Pulo Island]] on 14 April and 15 April. She put in at [[Subic Bay]] from 20 to 24 April to reload torpedoes, then sailed on to patrol off Formosa on lifeguard duty, during which she rescued one downed pilot.

==Third war patrol, June – July 1945==

After refitting at Subic Bay from 21 May to 14 June 1945, ''Charr'' put out on her third war patrol, cruising in the [[Gulf of Siam]] with three other submarines. At this late date in the war, targets were few, for ''Charr'''s sister submarines, as well as air and surface forces, had broken the back of Japan's navy and merchant fleet. The [[wolf pack (submarines)|wolf pack]] however, did find a target in the [[Japanese submarine I-351|''I-351'']] on 15 July. After ''Charr'' and the other wolfpack members had aided in cornering the Japanese submarine, {{USS|Bluefish|SS-222|3}} sent her to the bottom.

==Post-war service==

''Charr'' remained at Fremantle from 26 July to 29 August 1945, then sailed for repairs at Pearl Harbor and training at [[Guam]] until 30 January 1946 when she reached [[San Diego]], her newly assigned home port. From this port, she made simulated war patrols to the Far East in 1947 and 1948, operating along the West Coast at other times. On several occasions, she carried members of the Naval Reserve on 2-week cruises, and assisted with training for briefer periods from 1949 through July 1951 when she entered [[Mare Island Naval Shipyard]] for a "[[Greater Underwater Propulsion Power Program#Fleet Snorkel Program|Fleet Snorkel]]" conversion which streamlined her appearance and equipped her with a [[Submarine snorkel|snorkel]], thus enhancing her underwater cruising range.

With her conversion completed 19 November 1951, she prepared for overseas deployment, and on 26 March 1952, she sailed to support [[United Nations]] forces in [[Korea]], conducting patrols throughout the Far East. She returned to San Diego 2 October 1952 for local operations, which continued to include occasional training cruises for the Naval Reserve.

''Charr'' again cruised in the Far East from 11 June to 7 December 1954, training air and surface forces in antisubmarine warfare, and conducting patrols. On 9 November, she played hostess to [[Chiang Kai-shek]] on his first cruise in a submarine. Upon her return to the west coast, she resumed her normal operating schedule, and did not return to the western Pacific again until 22 March 1957 to 14 October 1957. A highlight of her next period of service was an exercise with ships of the [[Canadian Forces Maritime Command|Canadian Navy]] in the fall of 1958, which was followed by preparations for her 1959 Far Eastern cruise, completed between 6 May and 28 October. Through 1960, she continued operations from San Diego.

On 26 September 1961, a broken coupling allowed sea water to flood the engine room of the ''Charr'' while submerged to 100 feet 150 miles off the coast of California. Heroic crewmen sealed themselves in the engine room and maintained power to rapidly bring the ''Charr'' to the surface. That incident made the news and headlines of the day and the two crewmen received Navy Commendations.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ussnautilus.org/blog/charrs-troubles/|title = CHARR's Troubles|date = 19 August 2014}}</ref>

''Charr'' was reclassified an Auxiliary Submarine ('''AGSS-328''') in 1966. She was decommissioned, 28 June 1969, stricken from the [[Naval Register]], 20 December 1971, and sold for scrap, 17 August 1972.

==Honors and awards==
Of ''Charr'''s three war patrols, the second was designated a "successful war patrol", for which she received one [[battle star]].

==References==
<references/>
{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/c6/charr.htm|http://hazegray.org/danfs/submar/ss328.htm}}

==External links==
*{{navsource|08/08328|Charr}}

{{Balao class submarine}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charr (Ss-328)}}
[[Category:Balao-class submarines]]
[[Category:World War II submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Cold War submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Korean War submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships built in Groton, Connecticut]]
[[Category:1944 ships]]

USS Charr - Revision history

imported>RIDH-1: /* Third war patrol, June – July 1945 */