USS Corvina

Last updated
USS Corvina SS-226.jpg
History
US flag 48 stars.svgUnited States
Builder Electric Boat Company, Groton, Connecticut [1]
Laid downSeptember 21, 1942 [1]
LaunchedMay 9, 1943 [1]
Sponsored byMrs. R. W. Christie
CommissionedAugust 6, 1943 [1]
FateSunk by Japanese submarine I-176 south of Truk Lagoon, November 16, 1943 [2]
General characteristics
Class and type Gato-class diesel-electric submarine [2]
Displacement
  • 1,525 long tons (1,549 t) surfaced [2]
  • 2,424 long tons (2,463 t) submerged [2]
Length311 ft 9 in (95.02 m) [2]
Beam27 ft 3 in (8.31 m) [2]
Draft17 ft (5.2 m) maximum [2]
Propulsion
Speed
  • 21 knots (39 km/h) surfaced [6]
  • 9 kn (17 km/h) submerged [6]
Range11,000 nmi (20,000 km) surfaced at 10 kn (19 km/h) [6]
Endurance
  • 48 hours at 2 kn (3.7 km/h) submerged [6]
  • 75 days on patrol
Test depth300 ft (90 m) [6]
Complement6 officers, 54 men [6]
Armament

USS Corvina (SS-226), a Gato-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the corvina. [7]

Contents

Construction and commissioning

Corvina′s keel was laid down by the Electric Boat Company of Groton, Connecticut, on September 21, 1942. She was launched on May 9, 1943, sponsored by Mrs. LaRene P. Christie, wife of Rear Admiral Ralph. W. Christie, commander of submarine operations in Fremantle, Australia, and commissioned on August 6, 1943.

Service record

Clearing New London, Connecticut, on September 18, 1943, Corvina arrived at Pearl Harbor on October 14. She put out from Pearl Harbor on her maiden war patrol November 4, topped up her fuel tanks at Johnston Island two days later, and was never heard from again. Her commanding officer was Roderick S. Rooney.

Her assignment had been a dangerous one: to patrol as closely as possible to the heavily guarded stronghold of Truk and to intercept any Japanese sortie endangering the forthcoming American invasion of the Gilbert Islands. Japanese records report that Japanese submarine I-176 launched three torpedoes at an enemy submarine south of Truk on November 16, claiming two hits which resulted in the explosion of the target. [8] Her loss with her crew of 82 was announced March 14, 1944, making Corvina the only American submarine to have been sunk by a Japanese submarine in the entire war. [9]

The 1951 John Wayne film Operation Pacific makes reference to the loss of Corvina. In the film, the fictitious Gato-class submarine USS Thunderfish makes an impromptu rendezvous with Corvina after Corvina reported problems with her Number 4 diesel engine. The submarines exchange engine parts and the commanding officers also exchange films, Lieutenant Commander Duke E. Gifford (played by Wayne) offering George Washington Slept Here and Corvina′s captain offering "a submarine picture," later revealed to be the 1943 film Destination Tokyo . Later, while the crew of Thunderfish is watching Destination Tokyo, Gifford tries to figure out the source of torpedo explosions reported by Thunderfish′s sonar operator. The following day, Thunderfish comes across wreckage, and discovers the case containing George Washington Slept Here, revealing that Corvina had been sunk. Thunderfish′s radar then reports a single contact, and the submarine submerges. Gifford discovers "one I-type Jap submarine" while looking through the periscope. Thunderfish then engages, torpedoes, and sinks the Japanese submarine, avenging the loss of Corvina.

See also

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Gato</i> (SS-212) United States Navy lead ship Gato-class submarine

USS Gato (SS-212) was the lead ship of her class of submarine in the United States Navy. She was the first Navy ship named for the common name used for a number of species of catshark. She was commissioned only days after the declaration of war and made thirteen combat patrols during World War II. She survived the war and spent the post-war period as a training ship before being sold for scrapping in 1960.

USS <i>Skate</i> (SS-305) Submarine of the United States

USS Skate (SS-305) was a Balao-class submarine in service with the United States Navy from 1943 to 1946. She was used as a target ship in the 1946 atomic bomb tests and finally sunk as a target ship in October 1948.

USS <i>Grampus</i> (SS-207) Submarine of the United States

USS Grampus (SS-207) was the eighth Tambor-class submarine to be commissioned in the United States Navy in the years leading up to the country's December 1941 entry into World War II. She was the sixth ship of the United States Navy to be named for Grampus griseus, also known as Risso's dolphin, a member of the dolphin family Delphinidae. Her World War II service was in the Pacific Ocean. She completed five war patrols in the following 14 months, and is credited with sinking over 45,000 tons of Japanese merchant shipping and warships. She was declared lost with all hands in March 1943; of the twelve Tambor-class submarines, only five survived the war. She received three battle stars for her World War II service.

USS <i>Runner</i> (SS-275) Submarine of the United States

USS Runner (SS-275) was a Gato-class submarine, the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the runner, an amberfish inhabiting subtropical waters, so called for its rapid leaps from the water.

USS <i>Darter</i> (SS-227) United States Navy Gato-class submarine

USS Darter (SS-227), a Gato-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the darter.

USS <i>Tullibee</i> (SS-284) Gato-class submarine

USS Tullibee (SS-284), a Gato-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the tullibee. Her keel was laid down on 1 April 1942 at Mare Island, California, by the Mare Island Navy Yard. She was launched on 11 November 1942 sponsored by Mrs. Kenneth C. Hurd; and commissioned on 15 February 1943, Commander Charles Frederic Brindupke in command.

USS <i>Scamp</i> (SS-277) Submarine of the United States

USS Scamp (SS-277), a Gato-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the scamp grouper, a member of the family Serranidae.

USS <i>Flier</i> Gato-class submarine of the United States Navy

USS Flier (SS-250) was a Gato-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the flier.

USS <i>Greenling</i> (SS-213) United States Navy Gato-class submarine

USS Greenling (SS-213), a Gato-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the greenling.

USS <i>Guardfish</i> (SS-217) Submarine of the United States

USS Guardfish (SS-217), a Gato-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the guardfish.

USS <i>Cero</i> (SS-225) Submarine of the United States

USS Cero (SS-225), a Gato-class submarine, was the first submarine and second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the cero.

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

USS Gabilan (SS-252), a Gato-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the gabilan, an eagle ray of the Gulf of California.

USS <i>Hoe</i> Ship of the United States Navy named for the hoe shark

USS Hoe (SS-258), a Gato-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the hoe, one of various sharks, especially the dogfish.

USS <i>Mingo</i> (SS-261) Submarine of the United States

USS Mingo (SS-261) — a Gato-class submarine — was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the mingo snapper.

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

USS Peto (SS-265), a Gato-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the peto, a sharp-nosed tropical fish of the mackerel family.

USS <i>Pogy</i> (SS-266) Submarine of the United States

USS Pogy (SS-266), a Gato-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the pogy, or menhaden. She was credited with sinking 16 ships totaling 62,633 gross register tons during World War II.

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

USS Steelhead (SS-280), a Gato-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the steelhead, a North American trout found from California to Alaska.

USS <i>Sunfish</i> (SS-281) Submarine of the United States

The first USS Sunfish (SS-281), a Gato-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the ocean sunfish, Mola mola, a plectognath marine fish, having a deep body truncated behind, and high dorsal and anal fins.

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

USS Cabrilla (SS/AGSS-288), a Balao-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the cabrilla, an edible fish inhabiting the Mediterranean Sea and waters off the coast of California.

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

USS Devilfish (SS/AGSS-292), a Balao-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the devil fish.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 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 Bauer, K. Jack; Roberts, Stephen S. (1991). Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775-1990: Major Combatants. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 271–273. ISBN   0-313-26202-0.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Bauer, K. Jack; Roberts, Stephen S. (1991). Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775–1990: Major Combatants. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 270–280. ISBN   978-0-313-26202-9. OCLC   24010356.
  4. ↑ U.S. Submarines Through 1945 p. 261
  5. 1 2 3 U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305-311
  7. ↑ "USS Corvina". Wrecksite. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  8. ↑ "Corvina (SS 226)". Navy Department Library. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
  9. ↑ Boyd, Carl; Yoshida, Akihiko (1995). The Japanese Submarine Force and World War II. Naval Institute Press. p. 236. ISBN   9781557500151 . Retrieved January 21, 2014.

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

5°5′N151°10′E / 5.083°N 151.167°E / 5.083; 151.167

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.