USN · SS
AfloatBalao-class submarine, SS-315, the second ship of the name. Electric Boat at Groton. Laid down 25 February 1943, launched 31 October 1943, commissioned 8 March 1944, Lieutenant Commander Eli Thomas Reich in command. On 12 September 1944 she sank the transport Rakuyo Maru. On 21 November 1944 she sank the battleship Kongo. She is the only American submarine that sank a Japanese battleship. A Presidential Unit Citation for her six war patrols. Decommissioned on 2 February 1946. Recommissioned on 2 November 1948 as a transport submarine, and decommissioned again on 20 February 1970.
| Type | Submarine (SS) |
|---|---|
| Hull | SS-315 |
| Builder | Electric Boat, Groton |
| Launched | 1943-10-31 |
| Commissioned | 1944-03-08 |
| Fate | Afloat. Survived the war. This is the second Sealion. On 21 November 1944 she sank the battleship Kongo. She is the only American submarine that sank a Japanese battleship. Decommissioned on 2 February 1946. Recommissioned on 2 November 1948 as a transport submarine, and decommissioned again on 20 February 1970. |
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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.
USS Sealion (SS-315) underway, about 1945. The hull number is not readable in this view. U.S. Navy photograph USN-233598. Public domain.
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