2806:2FB:A001:79E:19A:D869:31C9:D867: /* Service history */

2024-11-20T00:33:48Z

Service history

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{{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 Devilfish;0829203.jpg|300px|''Devilfish'' (SS-292) entering port, c. 1945.]]
|Ship caption=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header =
| Ship country = United States
| Ship flag = {{USN flag|1946}}
| Ship name = ''Devilfish''
| Ship ordered =
| Ship builder = [[Cramp Shipbuilding Co.]], [[Philadelphia]]<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 yard number = 547
| Ship laid down = 31 March 1942<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
| Ship launched = 30 May 1943<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
| Ship acquired =
| Ship commissioned = 1 September 1944<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
| Ship decommissioned = 30 September 1946<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
| Ship in service =
| Ship out of service =
| Ship struck = 1 March 1967<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
| Ship reinstated =
| Ship fate = Sunk as a target off [[San Francisco, California]] on 14 August 1968<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
| Hide header =
| Header caption =
| Ship class = {{sclass|Balao|submarine|4}} [[diesel-electric]] [[submarine]]<ref name="Register"/>
| Ship displacement = {{convert|1,526|long ton|t}} surfaced,<ref name="Register"/> 2,424 tons (2,463 t) submerged<ref name="Register"/>
| Ship length = {{convert|311|ft|8|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-early-FM-4-E}}
| Ship speed = {{convert|20.25|kn|km/h|abbr=on|lk=in}} surfaced,<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs">''U.S. Submarines Through 1945'' pp. 305-311</ref> {{convert|8.75|kn|km/h|abbr=on}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
| Ship range = {{convert|11000|nmi|km|abbr=on}} @ {{convert|10|kn|km/h|abbr=on}} surfaced<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
| Ship endurance = 48 hours @ {{convert|2|kn|km/h|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 ''Devilfish'' (SS/AGSS-292)''', a [[Balao class submarine|''Balao''-class]] [[submarine]], was a ship of the [[United States Navy]] named for the [[devil fish]].

==Construction and commissioning==
''Devilfish'' was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 30 May 1943 by [[Cramp Shipbuilding Company]], [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], sponsored by Mrs. [[Frank W. Fenno Jr.]], and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 1 September 1944.

==Service history==
''Devilfish'' aided the training program of the [[Fleet Sonar School]] at [[Key West]] from 18 October-2 November 1944. She reached [[Pearl Harbor]] on 2 December. On the last day of the year, she sailed on her first war patrol, putting into [[Saipan]] to refuel from 12 to 15 January 1945.

''Devilfish'' patrolled the dangerous waters of [[Kii Suido]] and [[Bungo Suido]] off the island of [[Shikoku]], and served as [[Lifeguard League|lifeguard]] for Army pilots making bombing japan
on [[Japan]]. She refitted at Guam from 13 February-15 March, called at Saipan, and sailed on 16 March for her second war patrol.

Assigned to the area between [[Sagami Wan]] and the northern [[Nanpō Islands]], ''Devilfish'' was attacked by a ''[[kamikaze]]'' plane on 20 March before she entered her patrol area.<ref name="Smith">{{cite book|last1=Smith|first1=Peter C|title=Kamikaze To Die For The Emperor|date=2014|publisher=Pen & Sword Books Ltd|location=Barnsley, UK|isbn=9781781593134|pages=37–39}}</ref> The plane crashed into her as the submarine was submerging, destroying the mast structure and causing serious leakage.<ref name="Smith" /> ''Devilfish'' returned to Saipan and Pearl Harbor for repairs, departing Pearl Harbor on 20 May on her third patrol.

She sought targets in Bungo Suido and off northern [[Honshū]], and on 16 June, in heavy seas, attacked an enemy submarine carrying a midget submarine on its deck. On 26 June, she attacked an escort ship, but in both cases the targets escaped. During this patrol she acted as lifeguard for strikes accompanying the [[Battle of Okinawa|Okinawa operation]], and several times rendezvoused with other submarines to take off medical cases and previously rescued aviators.

''Devilfish'' called at to [[Guam]] to refit from 7 July-2 August, then sailed to the Nanpō Islands for her fourth war patrol, during which her primary mission was lifeguard duty for the [[United States Third Fleet|3rd Fleet]] raids on Japan. On 10 August, she bombarded [[Torishima (Izu Islands)|Tori Shima]], and on 16 August, after the end of hostilities, departed for [[Midway Atoll|Midway]] and [[San Francisco]].

[[File:USS Devilfish sunk as target 1968.jpg|thumb|left|''Devilfish'', being sunk as a target by {{USS|Wahoo|SS-565|2}}, 1968.]]

There she was placed in commission in reserve on 18 April 1946, and out of commission in reserve on 30 September 1946. Laid up in the [[Pacific Reserve Fleet]], ''Devilfish'' was redesignated '''AGSS-292'''. She was struck from the [[Naval Vessel Register]] on 1 March 1967.

''Devilfish'' was sunk by the submarine [[USS Wahoo (SS-565)|USS ''Wahoo'' (SS-565)]] off [[San Francisco, California]] on 14 August 1968, as part of a [[Mark 16 torpedo|MK 16 MOD 8 torpedo]] test at {{coord|37|5|N|124|8|W}} in {{convert|2000|fathom|ft m|lk=in}} of water.

==Awards==
''Devilfish'' received three [[battle star]]s for her [[World War II]] service; her second war patrol was designated as "successful".

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{refbegin}}
*{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/d4/devilfish.htm|http://hazegray.org/danfs/submar/ss292.htm}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|USS Devilfish (SS-292)}}
*{{navsource|08/08292|Devilfish}}

{{Balao class submarine}}
{{1968 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Devilfish (Ss-292)}}
[[Category:Balao-class submarines]]
[[Category:World War II submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Cold War submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships built by William Cramp & Sons]]
[[Category:1943 ships]]
[[Category:Ships sunk as targets]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1968]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the California coast]]

USS Devilfish - Revision history

2806:2FB:A001:79E:19A:D869:31C9:D867: /* Service history */