USS Cubera

Last updated

USS Cubera;0834702.jpg
History
Flag of the United States.svgUnited States
NameUSS Cubera
Builder Electric Boat Company, Groton, Connecticut [1]
Laid down11 May 1944 [1]
Launched17 June 1945 [1]
Commissioned19 December 1945 [1]
Decommissioned5 January 1972 [1]
Stricken5 January 1972 [2]
IdentificationSS-347
FateTransferred to Venezuela, 5 January 1972 [1]
Flag of Venezuela (state).svgVenezuela
NameARV Tiburon
Acquired1972
IdentificationS-12
FateScrapped, 1989
General characteristics
Class and type Balao-class diesel-electric submarine [2]
Displacement
  • 1,526  tons (1,550  t) surfaced [2]
  • 2,424 tons (2,463 t) submerged [2]
Length311 ft 9 in (95.02 m) [2]
Beam27 ft 3 in (8.31 m) [2]
Draft16 ft 10 in (5.13 m) maximum [2]
Propulsion
Speed
  • 20.25 knots (38 km/h) surfaced [3]
  • 8.75 knots (16 km/h) submerged [3]
Range11,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) surfaced at 10 knots (19 km/h) [3]
Endurance
  • 48 hours at 2 knots (3.7 km/h) submerged [3]
  • 75 days on patrol
Test depth400 ft (120 m) [3]
Complement10 officers, 70–71 enlisted [3]
Armament
General characteristics (Guppy II)
Class and typenone
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 (7.4 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 knots (20.7 mph; 33.3 km/h) maximum
  • 13.5 knots (15.5 mph; 25.0 km/h) cruising
  • Submerged:
  • 16.0 knots (18.4 mph; 29.6 km/h) for ½ hour
  • 9.0 knots (10.4 mph; 16.7 km/h) snorkeling
  • 3.5 knots (4.0 mph; 6.5 km/h) cruising [5]
Range15,000 nm (28,000 km) surfaced at 11 knots (13 mph; 20 km/h) [6]
Endurance48 hours at 4 knots (5 mph; 7 km/h) 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

USS Cubera (SS-347), a Balao-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the cubera, a large fish of the snapper family found in the West Indies.

Contents

Cubera (SS-347) was launched 17 June 1945 by Electric Boat Co., Groton, Conn.; sponsored by Mrs. J. Taber; commissioned 19 December 1945 and reported to the Atlantic Fleet.

After shakedown training off New London, Cubera arrived at Key West, Fla., 19 March 1946. She tested sonar equipment, provided services to experimental antisubmarine warfare development projects in the Florida Straits, and joined in fleet exercises until 4 July 1947 when she sailed to Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for an extensive GUPPY II modernization.

Returning to Key West 9 March 1948 Cubera continued to operate locally out of this port, as well as taking part in fleet exercises in the Caribbean and Atlantic until 3 July 1952 when she arrived at Norfolk, her new home port.

Cubera appeared in Ray Harryhausen's It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955), playing an "atomic sub" used to dispatch the film's giant octopus.

Through 1957 Cubera conducted local operations, and participated in fleet exercises in the Caribbean, as well as cruising to Sydney, Nova Scotia, in June 1955. During 1959 and 1960, she was assigned to Task Force Alfa, a force conducting constant experiments to improve antisubmarine warfare techniques. With this group she cruised the western Atlantic from Nova Scotia to Bermuda.

ARV Tiburon (S-12)

Cubera was decommissioned and sold under the Security Assistance Program to Venezuela 5 January 1972. The Venezuelan Navy renamed her ARV Tiburon (S-12) ("Tiburon" means shark in Spanish). She was subsequently scrapped by Venezuela in 1989.

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Runner</i> (SS-476) Submarine of the United States

USS Runner (SS/AGSS-476), a Tench-class submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the runner, an amberfish inhabiting subtropical waters.

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

USS Stickleback (SS-415), a Balao-class submarine, was named for the stickleback, a small scaleless fish.

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

USS Dogfish (SS-350), a Balao-class submarine, was the only vessel of the United States Navy to be named for the dogfish.

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

USS Sarda (SS-488), a Tench-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the sarda, a game fish of the central, southwestern, and western Pacific Ocean.

USS <i>Grenadier</i> (SS-525) Submarine of the United States

USS Grenadier (SS-525), a Tench-class submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the grenadier, a soft-finned deep sea fish of the Macrouridae with a long, tapering body and short, pointed tail family, also known as rattails.

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

USS Cutlass (SS-478), is a Tench-class submarine now in the service of the Republic of China Navy. She was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the cutlassfish, a long, thin fish found widely along the coasts of the United States and in the West Indies. Her keel was laid down by the Portsmouth Navy Yard on 10 July 1944. She was launched on 5 November 1944 sponsored by Mrs. R. E. Kintner, and commissioned on 17 March 1945 with Commander Herbert L. Jukes in command.

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>Sirago</i> Submarine of the United States

USS Sirago (SS-485), a Tench-class submarine, was named for the sirago, a small, freshwater tropical fish.

USS <i>Sea Leopard</i> Submarine of the United States

USS Sea Leopard (SS-483), a Tench-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the leopard seal. Her keel was laid down by the Portsmouth Navy Yard on 7 November 1944. She was launched on 2 March 1945 sponsored by Hon. Margaret Chase Smith, United States Congresswoman from Maine, and commissioned on 11 June 1945.

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

USS Irex (SS-482), a Tench-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the irex, one of the oceanic fishes belonging to the family carangidae.

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

USS Trumpetfish (SS-425), a Balao-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for trumpetfish, any of several fishes so-called for their deep, compressed body and long, tubular snout. Her keel was laid down on 23 August 1943 at Philadelphia by the Cramp Shipbuilding Company. She was launched on 13 May 1945 sponsored by Mrs. Oswald S. Colclough, and commissioned on 29 January 1946.

USS <i>Manta</i> (SS-299) Submarine of the United States

USS Manta (SS/ESS/AGSS-299), a Balao-class submarine, was the first submarine and second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the manta.

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>Entemedor</i> Submarine of the United States

USS Entemedor (SS-340), a Balao-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the entemedor, a fish of the electric ray family found in shallow waters from Baja California to Panama.

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>Sea Poacher</i> Submarine of the United States

USS Sea Poacher (SS/AGSS-406), a Balao-class submarine, was a vessel of the United States Navy named for the sea poacher, a slender, mailed fish of the North Atlantic.

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

USS Sablefish (SS/AGSS-303), a Balao-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the sablefish, a large, dark fish found along North America's Pacific coast from California to Alaska.

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>Jallao</i> Submarine of the United States

USS Jallao (SS-368), a Balao-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the jallao, a pearl-white haemulonid food fish of the Gulf of Mexico.

USS <i>Sea Owl</i> Balao class submarine

USS Sea Owl (SS/AGSS-405), a Balao-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the sea owl, a lumpfish of the North Atlantic Ocean.

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 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 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 U.S. Submarines Since 1945 pp. 242