USN · SS
AfloatGato-class submarine, SS-242. Electric Boat at Groton. Laid down 17 December 1942, launched 8 August 1943, commissioned at New London 11 November 1943, Lieutenant Commander Eric L. Barr, Jr., in command. On her first patrol she fired six torpedoes at Yubari. The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships says two struck. Yubari's record counts one torpedo, after she had landed troops at Sonsorol, and she sank the next morning. The destroyer Samidare charged, and four stern torpedoes missed. A Navy Unit Commendation for that patrol. Decommissioned in reserve at Mare Island on 1 March 1946. Recommissioned on 3 May 1951. Out of commission on 7 July 1952 for a hunter-killer conversion, and recommissioned on 2 May 1953.
| Class | Gato class |
|---|---|
| Type | Submarine (SS) |
| Hull | SS-242 |
| Builder | Electric Boat, Groton |
| Launched | 1943-08-08 |
| Commissioned | 1943-11-11 |
| Fate | Afloat. Survived the war. On 27 April 1944 she torpedoed the light cruiser Yubari. The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships says two of six torpedoes hit. Yubari's record counts one torpedo, and she sank the next morning. Decommissioned in reserve at Mare Island on 1 March 1946. |
| Armament (class) | Fleet submarine. A deck gun forward of the conning tower. |
| Command |
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Laid down, displacement, length, beam, draft, speed, and complement are not stored for each hull, so this table leaves them out.
The armament line is the class drawing, not a measurement of this hull.
USS Bluegill (SSK-242) underway in the 1950s, after her hunter-killer conversion. Hull number 242 is on the sail. This is not her 1944 appearance. U.S. Navy photograph NH 78979. Public domain.
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