USS Clamagore

Last updated

USS Clamagore;0834309.jpg
USS Clamagore (SS-343), some time after her GUPPY conversion
History
Flag of the United States.svgUnited States
NameClamagore
Namesake Clamagore
Builder Electric Boat Company, Groton, Connecticut [1]
Laid down16 March 1944 [1]
Launched25 February 1945 [1]
Sponsored byMiss M. J. Jacobs
Commissioned28 June 1945 [1]
Decommissioned12 June 1975 [1]
Stricken27 June 1975 [2]
FateScrapped, 2022
Badge Ss343 patch.jpg
General characteristics (World War II)
Class and type Balao-class diesel-electric submarine [2]
Displacement
  • 1,526  tons (1,550  t) surfaced [2]
  • 2,424 tons (2,460 t) submerged [2]
Length311 ft 9 in (95.0 m) [2]
Beam27 ft 3 in (8.3 m) [2]
Draft16 ft 10 in (5.1 m) maximum [2]
Propulsion
Speed
  • 20.25  kn (37.50 km/h; 23.30 mph) surfaced [3]
  • 8.75 kn (16.21 km/h; 10.07 mph) submerged [3]
Range11,000 nmi (20,000 km; 13,000 mi) surfaced at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph) [3]
Endurance
  • 48 hours at 2 kn (3.7 km/h; 2.3 mph) submerged [3]
  • 75 days on patrol
Test depth400 ft (122 m) [3]
Complement10 officers, 70–71 enlisted [3]
Armament
General characteristics (Guppy II)
Displacement
  • 1,870 tons (1,900 t) surfaced [5]
  • 2,440 tons (2,480 t) submerged [5]
Length307 ft (93.6 m) [6]
Beam27 ft 4 in (8.3 m) [6]
Draft17 ft (5.2 m) [6]
Propulsion
  • Snorkel added [5]
  • Batteries upgraded to GUPPY type, capacity expanded to 504 cells (1 × 184 cell, 1 × 68 cell, and 2 × 126 cell batteries) [5]
  • 4 × high-speed electric motors replaced with 2 × low-speed direct drive electric motors [5]
Speed
  • Surfaced:
  • 18.0 kn (33.3 km/h; 20.7 mph) maximum
  • 13.5 kn (25.0 km/h; 15.5 mph) cruising
  • Submerged:
  • 16.0 kn (29.6 km/h; 18.4 mph) for 1⁄2 hour
  • 9.0 kn (16.7 km/h; 10.4 mph) snorkeling
  • 3.5 kn (6.5 km/h; 4.0 mph) cruising [5]
Range15,000 nmi (28,000 km; 17,000 mi) surfaced at 11 kn (20 km/h; 13 mph) [6]
Endurance48 hours at 4 kn (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged [6]
Complement
  • 9–10 officers
  • 5 petty officers
  • 70 enlisted men [6]
Sensors and
processing systems
  • WFA active sonar
  • JT passive sonar
  • Mk 106 torpedo fire control system [6]
Armament
General characteristics (Guppy III)
Displacement
  • 1,975 tons (2,007 t) surfaced [5]
  • 2,450 tons (2,489 t) submerged [5]
Length321 ft (98 m) [6]
Speed
  • Surfaced:
  • 17.2 kn (31.9 km/h; 19.8 mph) maximum
  • 12.2 kn (22.6 km/h; 14.0 mph) cruising
  • Submerged:
  • 14.5 kn (26.9 km/h; 16.7 mph) for 1⁄2 hour
  • 6.2 kn (11.5 km/h; 7.1 mph) snorkeling
  • 3.7 kn (6.9 km/h; 4.3 mph) cruising [5]
Range15,900 nmi (29,400 km; 18,300 mi) surfaced at 8.5 kn (15.7 km/h; 9.8 mph) [6]
Endurance36 hours at 3 kn (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph) submerged [6]
Complement
  • 8–10 officers
  • 5 petty officers
  • 70-80 enlisted men [6]
Sensors and
processing systems
  • BQS-4 active search sonar
  • BQR-2B passive search sonar
  • BQG-4 passive attack sonar [6]
USS Clamagore (Submarine)
USA South Carolina location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
LocationPatriot's Point, Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina
Coordinates 32°47′19″N79°54′31″W / 32.78861°N 79.90861°W / 32.78861; -79.90861
Built1963
ArchitectElectric Boat Works
NRHP reference No. 89001229
Significant dates
Added to NRHP29 June 1989 [7]
Designated NHL29 June 1989 [8]
Delisted NHLSeptember 2, 2024

USS Clamagore (SS-343) was a Balao-class submarine, which operated as a museum ship at the Patriot's Point Naval & Maritime Museum outside Charleston, South Carolina from 1979 to 2022. Built in 1945 for the United States Navy, she was still in training when World War II ended. She was named for the clamagore. [9] A National Historic Landmark, she was the last surviving example of a GUPPY III type submarine. [10] On 15 October 2022, the USS Clamagore, stripped of sail and superstructure was removed from Patriots Point and towed to Norfolk VA to begin final recycling. [11]

Contents

Construction

Clamagore was built by Electric Boat Co. in Groton, Connecticut near the end of World War II. She was launched on 25 February 1945 and sponsored by Miss Mary Jane Jacobs, daughter of Vice Admiral Randall Jacobs and commissioned on 28 June 1945, with Commander S.C. Loomis, Jr., taking command. [12]

Operational history

Clamagore was first assigned to Key West, Florida, and reported there on 5 September 1945. She operated off Key West with various fleet units and with the Fleet Sonar School, voyaging on occasion to Cuba and the Virgin Islands until 5 December 1947, when she entered Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for GUPPY II modernization and installation of a snorkel. [12]

Clamagore returned to Key West 6 August 1948 and assumed local and Caribbean operations for the next eight years, except for a tour of duty in the Mediterranean from 3 February to 16 April 1953. [12]

Clamagore called at New London, Connecticut and Newport, Rhode Island early in 1957, returning to Key West 13 March. Between 23 September and 7 December she took part in NATO exercises in the North Atlantic, calling at Portsmouth, England, and Naval Station Argentia, Newfoundland. On 29 June 1959, she arrived at Charleston, her new home port, and after a period of coastwise operations, sailed 5 April 1960 to join the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean for a tour of duty which continued until July, when the submarine returned to Charleston. For the remainder of 1960, Clamagore operated off the east coast. [12]

In 1962, Clamagore became one of only nine boats to undergo the GUPPY III conversion. [13] She had a 15 ft (4.6 m) hull extension added forward of the control room, a plastic sail and the BQG-4 PUFFS passive ranging sonar, which included the three sharkfin sensors on her deck. [5]

Clamagore finished her GUPPY III conversion in February 1963, and was transferred to Submarine Squadron 2 (SUBRON2) in Groton, Connecticut.[ citation needed ]

Post operational history

Clamagore was decommissioned on 12 June 1975 and stricken on 27 June 1975 after having served in the Navy for thirty years. [1] [2] She was donated as a museum ship on 6 August 1979.[ citation needed ]

Clamagore arrived at Patriot's Point Naval & Maritime Museum, Charleston, South Carolina in May 1981, [14] where she was moored as a museum ship along with aircraft carrier Yorktown and destroyer Laffey.

Clamagore was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark on 29 June 1989. [8] [7] [10]

According to the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, Clamagore "is now the only surviving GUPPY type III submarine in the United States. She represents the continued adaptation and use of war-built diesel submarines by the Navy for the first two decades after the war." [15] The GUPPY conversion submarines constituted the bulk of the nation's submarine force through the mid-1960s.

Due to severe degradation of the hull the Patriot Point museum had, on several occasions, looked for an alternate means to preserve the vessel. [16] On 10 January 2017 the Palm Beach County Commissioners voted unanimously to approve funds for the vessel to be sunk as an artificial reef. [17] On 16 April 2019 a group of retired submariners sued the State of South Carolina to save the Clamagore. [18] In early 2020, the museum formed a plan to sink Clamagore at the Vermilion Reef site before the 2021 hurricane season. [16] The next year, the museum announced plans to scrap the submarine as the cost of preservation was considered unsupportable. [19]

During the summer of 2022, the museum began the process of scrapping the Clamagore. Its National Historic Landmark designation was withdrawn in September 2024.

Awards

See also

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Pampanito</i> US Navy WW II submarine, now a museum ship

USS Pampanito (SS-383/AGSS-383), a Balao-class submarine, is a United States Navy ship, the third named for the pompano fish. She completed six war patrols from 1944 to 1945 and served as a United States Naval Reserve training ship from 1960 to 1971. She is now a National Historic Landmark, preserved as a memorial and museum ship in the San Francisco Maritime National Park Association located at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, California.

USS <i>Nautilus</i> (SSN-571) First nuclear-powered submarine of the US Navy, in service from 1954 to 1980

USS Nautilus (SSN-571) was the world's first operational nuclear-powered submarine and on 3 August 1958 became the first submarine to complete a submerged transit of the North Pole. Her initial commanding officer was Eugene "Dennis" Wilkinson, a widely respected naval officer who set the stage for many of the protocols of today's Nuclear Navy of the US, and who had a storied career during military service and afterwards.

USS <i>Cod</i> Submarine of the United States

USS Cod (SS/AGSS/IXSS-224) is a Gato-class submarine, the only vessel of the United States Navy to be named for the cod, an important and very popular food fish of the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans. She was launched on 21 March 1943, and commissioned on 21 June 1943.

USS <i>Barracuda</i> (SSK-1) Barracuda-class submarine of the US Navy

USS Barracuda (SSK-1/SST-3/SS-550), the lead ship of her class, was a submarine that was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for the barracuda, a voracious, pike-like fish. Her keel was laid down on 1 July 1949 by the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut. She was launched on 2 March 1951 as K-1, sponsored by Mrs. Willis Manning Thomas, and commissioned on 10 November 1951. Notably, future President of the United States Jimmy Carter served as an officer on K-1 as part of its pre-commissioning crew and during its first year of active service until he was reassigned on 16 October 1952.

<i>Balao</i>-class submarine US Navy submarine class of World War II

The Balao class was a design of United States Navy submarine used during World War II, and with 120 boats completed, the largest class of submarines in the United States Navy. An improvement on the earlier Gato class, the boats had slight internal differences. The most significant improvement was the use of thicker, higher yield strength steel in the pressure hull skins and frames, which increased their test depth to 400 feet (120 m). Tang actually achieved a depth of 612 ft (187 m) during a test dive, and exceeded that test depth when taking on water in the forward torpedo room while evading a destroyer.

<i>Tench</i>-class submarine US Navy fleet submarine class

Tench-class submarines were a type of submarine built for the United States Navy (USN) between 1944 and 1951. They were an improvement over the Gato and Balao classes, only about 35 to 40 tons larger, but more strongly built and with a slightly improved internal layout. One of the ballast tanks was converted to carry fuel, increasing range from 11,000 nautical miles to 16,000 nautical miles. This improvement was also made on some boats of the previous two classes. Further improvements were made beginning with SS-435, which are sometimes referred to as the Corsair class. Initial plans called for 80 to be built, but 51 were cancelled in 1944 and 1945 when it became apparent that they would not be needed to defeat Japan. The remaining 29 were commissioned between October 1944 (Tench) and February 1951 (Grenadier). The last submarine of the Tench class, as well as the last submarine which served during World War II, remaining in service with the U.S. Navy was USS Tigrone (AGSS-419) which was decommissioned on 27 June 1975.

USS <i>Pickerel</i> (SS-524) Submarine of the United States

USS Pickerel (SS-524), a Tench-class submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for a young or small pike.

USS <i>Cavalla</i> (SS-244) US Navy Gato-class submarine in service 1943-1946, 1951-1952, 1953-1968

USS Cavalla (SS/SSK/AGSS-244), a Gato-class submarine, is a submarine of the United States Navy named for a salt water fish, best known for sinking the Japanese aircraft carrier Shōkaku.

USS <i>Razorback</i> Submarine of the United States

USS Razorback (SS-394), a Balao-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named after the razorback, a species of whale found in the far southern reaches of the Pacific Ocean. She is arguably the longest-serving combat front-line submarine still existing in the world, having been commissioned by two different countries for 56 years of active duty. She was in Tokyo Bay during the surrender of Japan. In 2004, the state of Arkansas adopted the submarine and she is now a museum ship at the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum.

USS <i>Lionfish</i> Submarine of the United States

USS Lionfish (SS-298), a Balao-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy named for the lionfish, a scorpaenid fish native to the Pacific and an invasive species found around the Caribbean. She was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986, and is now on display at Battleship Cove in Fall River, Massachusetts.

USS <i>Remora</i> Submarine of the United States

USS Remora (SS-487), a Tench-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the remora, a fish with a suctorial disk on its head enabling it to cling to other fish and to ships.

USS <i>Odax</i> Submarine of the United States

USS Odax (SS-484), a Tench-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for odax, a brilliantly colored, red and green fish belonging to the family Scaridae, the parrot fishes.

USS <i>Becuna</i> United States Navy submarine

USS Becuna (SS/AGSS-319), a Balao-class submarine in commission from 1944 to 1969, was a submarine of the United States Navy named for the becuna, a pike-like fish of Europe. During World War II, she conducted five war patrols between August 23, 1944 and July 27, 1945, operating in the Philippine Islands, South China Sea, and Java Sea. She is credited with sinking two Japanese tankers totaling 3,888 gross register tons.

USS <i>Corporal</i> Submarine of the United States

USS Corporal (SS-346), a Balao-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the corporal, an alternate name for the fallfish, found in streams of the eastern United States.

USS <i>Cobbler</i> Submarine of the United States

USS Cobbler (SS-344), a Balao-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the cobbler, the killifish of New South Wales.

USS <i>Tiru</i> Submarine of the United States

USS Tiru (SS-416), a Balao-class submarine, was a vessel of the United States Navy named for the tiru, a member of the lizardfish family.

<i>Silent Steel</i> 1995 video game

Silent Steel is a 1995 submarine simulator computer game by Tsunami Games. It was created during the influx of interactive movies during the 1990s. The game is composed almost entirely of live-action full motion video, with sparse computer-generated graphics depicting external shots of the boat during torpedo attacks and atmospheric fly-bys. A version playable on DVD players was released in 1999, following from a DVD-ROM version in 1997. The DVD-ROM version was the first video game formatted for DVD.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Friedman, Norman (1995). U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute. pp. 285–304. ISBN   1-55750-263-3.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Bauer, K. Jack; Roberts, Stephen S. (1991). Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775-1990: Major Combatants. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 275–280. ISBN   0-313-26202-0.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305-311
  4. 1 2 U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Friedman, Norman (1994). U.S. Submarines Since 1945: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute. pp. 11–43. ISBN   1-55750-260-9.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 U.S. Submarines Since 1945 pp. 242
  7. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. 23 January 2007.
  8. 1 2 "CLAMAGORE, USS (Submarine)". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on 23 October 2007. Retrieved 23 March 2008.
  9. ↑ "History of USS Clamagore" (PDF). Navsource.org. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  10. 1 2 Delgado, James P. (28 December 1988). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: USS Clamagore (SS-343) / Clamagore". National Park Service . Retrieved 22 June 2009. and
    Delgado, James P. (28 December 1988). "Accompanying two photos, exterior, from 1960 and 1988". National Park Service . Retrieved 22 June 2009.
  11. ↑ Ramsey, John (14 October 2022). "Navy submarine Clamagore towed from Patriots Point to be scrapped". Post and Courier. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  12. 1 2 3 4 "Clamagore". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships . United States Navy. Archived from the original on 21 March 2005. Retrieved 23 March 2008.
  13. ↑ "USS Clamagore (SS-343)". Archived from the original on 5 September 2006. Retrieved 27 August 2006.
  14. ↑ "Ships at Patriots Point – Events and History". Patriots Point Development Authority. Archived from the original on 23 October 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
  15. ↑ "U.S.S. Clamagore, Charleston County (Patriot's Point, Mount Pleasant vicinity)". National Register Properties in South Carolina listing. South Carolina Department of Archives and History. Archived from the original on 11 May 2008. Retrieved 23 March 2008.
  16. 1 2 "WWII submarine to go on 'eternal patrol' off SC coast as part of artificial reef. Clamagore remained docked docked at Patriots Point during 2022". March 2020. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  17. ↑ Kleinberg, Eliot (10 January 2017). "Palm Beach County OKs $1 million for sinking sub as artificial reef". The Palm Beach Post. Archived from the original on 15 January 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  18. ↑ Werner, Ben (19 April 2019). "Submariners are Suing South Carolina to Save Cold War-Era Attack Boat". USNI News. U.S. Naval Institute. Archived from the original on 27 June 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  19. ↑ "Patriots Point to dismantle USS Clagamore". 18 March 2022. Archived from the original on 20 March 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2022.

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships .The entry can be found here.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.