![]() Hawkbill (SS-366), launches sideways into the Manitowoc River, 9 January 1944. | |
History | |
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Name | USS Hawkbill (SS-366) |
Builder | Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, Wisconsin [1] |
Laid down | 7 August 1943 [1] |
Launched | 9 January 1944 [1] |
Commissioned | 17 May 1944 [1] |
Decommissioned | 20 September 1946 [1] |
Recommissioned | 1953 [1] |
Decommissioned | 21 April 1953 [1] |
Fate | Transferred to the Netherlands, 21 April 1953, [2] sold to the Netherlands, 20 February 1970 [1] |
Stricken | 20 February 1970 [2] |
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Name | HNLMS Zeeleeuw (S803) |
Acquired | 21 April 1953 |
Fate | Sold for scrap, 24 November 1970 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Balao class diesel-electric submarine [2] |
Displacement | |
Length | 311 ft 9 in (95.02 m) [2] |
Beam | 27 ft 3 in (8.31 m) [2] |
Draft | 16 ft 10 in (5.13 m) maximum [2] |
Propulsion |
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Speed | |
Range | 11,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) surfaced at 10 knots (19 km/h) [6] |
Endurance |
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Test depth | 400 ft (120 m) [6] |
Complement | 10 officers, 70–71 enlisted [6] |
Armament |
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USS Hawkbill (SS-366), a Balao-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the hawksbill, a large sea turtle (the "-s-" was inadvertently dropped at commissioning.).
Hawkbill (SS-366) was launched by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company in Manitowoc, Wisconsin,on 9 January 1944, sponsored by Mrs. F. W. Scanland, Jr., and commissioned on 17 May 1944.
Following a period of training on the Great Lakes, Hawksbill departed 1 June 1944 from Manitowoc to begin the long journey down the Illinois River and finally by barge down the Mississippi. She arrived New Orleans 10 June and, after combat loading, sailed 16 June for training based at the submarine base at Balboa, Panama Canal Zone. On 18 June 1944, the 5,433-gross register ton Panamamanian merchant ship SS White Clover mistook her for a German U-boat and opened gunfire on her in the Caribbean Sea about 20 nautical miles (37 km; 23 mi) south of Cape San Antonio, Cuba, at 21°31′N085°04′W / 21.517°N 85.067°W , firing six rounds. [7] Hawkbill signaled White Clover to cease firing and suffered no casualties or damage. [7]
After completing her training from Balboa, Hawkbill arrived at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on 28 July 1944 for final preparations before her first war patrol.
Departing 23 August, the submarine steamed via Saipan to her patrol area in the Philippine Islands in company with Baya and Becuna. In October Hawkbill shifted patrol to the South China Sea and, while approaching two carriers 7 October, was forced down by violent depth charging by Japanese destroyers. Two days later she attacked a 12-ship convoy with Becuna, damaging several of the ships. Hawkbill transited heavily patrolled Lombok Strait 14 October, and terminated her first patrol at Fremantle, Australia on 17 October.
In company with Becuna and Flasher (SS-249), the submarine departed for her second patrol 15 November bound for the area north of the Malay Barrier. She encountered a convoy 15 December and sank destroyer Momo with six well-placed torpedoes during a night attack. Finding few contacts—a testament to the effectiveness of the American submarines—Hawkbill headed once more for Lombok Strait. This time she was sighted by a patrol craft, but cleverly maneuvered into a rain squall. The submarine was then fired-upon by shore batteries before passing out of range. Hawkbill returned to Fremantle 5 January 1945.
On her third war patrol beginning 5 February, the submarine returned to Lombok Strait to turn the tables on her former pursuers. Her torpedoes sank two submarine chasers 14 February, and she added some small craft before turning for the South China Sea. Hawkbill detected a convoy 20 February; after engaging one escort with gunfire, she sank 5,400-ton cargo ship Daizen Maru with a spread of torpedoes. The rest of her patrol brought no targets; she arrived Fremantle 6 April 1945.
Departing on her fourth patrol 5 May, Hawkbill served on lifeguard station for a B-24 strike on the Kangean Islands north of Bali. She arrived 16 May on her patrol station off the coast of Malaya, and soon afterward encountered minelayer Hatsutaka heading south along the coast. She attacked and obtained two hits, causing severe damage. The ship was observed next morning being towed to the beach. At a range of almost 5,000 yards (4,600 m), Hawkbill fired three more torpedoes into the shallow waters and broke the ship in half, sinking a familiar enemy of submarines operating on the Malayan coast. After further patrol off Malaya and in the Gulf of Siam, she arrived Subic Bay 18 June 1945.
Hawkbill departed for her fifth and last war patrol 12 July. Returning to the coast of Malaya, she attacked a convoy 18 July. Her first torpedoes missed, and an hour later a depth charge attack of unusual accuracy and intensity began from the destroyer Kamikaze. Hawkbill was blown partially out of the water by a perfectly placed pattern and damaged considerably; but by hugging the bottom with all machinery secured, she eluded the attacking destroyer. After a stay at Subic Bay for repairs, she steamed to Borneo to rendezvous with Australian Army officers for a special mission. Hawkbill destroyed two radio stations with her deck guns, landed commandos at Terampha Town, and destroyed shore installations. After reconnaissance of the Anambas Islands, also in the South China Sea, the versatile submarine returned to Borneo 13 August.
Following the surrender of Japan, Hawkbill sailed to Pearl Harbor, departing 22 September 1945 for San Francisco. She decommissioned at Mare Island 30 September 1946 and joined the Reserve Fleet. Brought out of reserve in 1952, Hawkbill was given a GUPPY IB conversion and loaned to the Netherlands under the Military Assistance Program 21 April 1953.
The submarine was commissioned in the Royal Netherlands Navy as HNLMS Zeeleeuw (S803), the first Dutch naval ship to be named for the sealion. Zeeleeuw reached Rotterdam 11 June, in time to participate successfully in NATO summer exercises, 'beating' the Royal Navy as well as the U.S. Navy. On 24 November 1970, Zeeleeuw was sold for scrap.
Hawkbill received six battle stars for World War II service. All five of her war patrols were designated "successful," and she received a Navy Unit Commendation for her outstanding performance on patrols 1, 3, and 4.
USS Blueback (SS-326), a Balao-class submarine in commission from 1944 to 1948, was the first submarine of the United States Navy to be named for the blueback salmon, also known as the sockeye salmon. She completed three war patrols in the South China Sea and Java Sea during World War II. She sank a 300-displacement ton submarine chaser as well as eight smaller vessels.
USS Darter (SS-227), a Gato-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the darter.
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 Sand Lance (SS-381), a Balao-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the sand lance, a member of the family Ammodytidae.
USS Bluegill (SS-242/SSK-242) was a Gato-class submarine in commission in the United States Navy from 1943 to 1946, from 1951 to 1952, and from 1953 to 1969. She was named for the bluegill, a sunfish of the Mississippi Valley.
USS Bluefish (SS-222), a Gato-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the bluefish. Between 9 September 1943 and 29 July 1945 she completed nine war patrols. Her operating area extended from the Netherlands East Indies to the waters south of Honshū. According to the notoriously unreliable JANAC accounting, Bluefish sank 12 Japanese ships totaling 50,839 tons.
USS Bashaw (SS/SSK/AGSS-241), a Gato-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the bashaw. Between 10 March 1944 and 29 April 1945, she completed six war patrols in the Celebes, Philippine, and South China Seas during World War II. Bashaw sank three Japanese merchant vessels totaling 19,269 gross register tons as well as several small craft. She later served in the Vietnam War.
USS Flasher (SS-249) was a Gato-class submarine which served in the Pacific during World War II. She received the Presidential Unit Citation and six battle stars, and sank 21 ships for a total of 100,231 tons of Japanese shipping, making her one of the most successful American submarines of the War. She was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the flasher.
USS Haddo (SS-255), a Gato-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the haddo.
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 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 Puffer (SS-268), a Gato-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the puffer.
USS Rasher (SS/SSR/AGSS/IXSS-269), a Gato-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the rasher, or vermilion rockfish, a fish found along the California coast.
USS Raton (SS/SSR/AGSS-270), a Gato-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the raton, a polynemoid fish inhabiting semitropical waters off the Pacific coast of the Americas.
USS Ray (SS/SSR-271), a Gato-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the ray, a fish characterized by a flat body, large pectoral fins, and a whiplike tail.
USS Rock (SS/SSR/AGSS-274), a Gato-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy to be named for the rockfish, a striped bass found in the Chesapeake Bay region and elsewhere along the United States East Coast.
USS Baya (SS/AGSS-318), a Balao-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the baya. During World War II, she completed five war patrols in the South China Sea, Gulf of Siam, Java Sea, and Philippine Sea between 23 August 1944 and 25 July 1945. She sank four Japanese vessels totaling 8855 gross register tons, and shared credit with the submarine USS Hawkbill (SS-366) for sinking a Japanese 8,407-gross register ton passenger-cargo ship. After World War II, she saw service as a research submarine during the Cold War and operated off Vietnam during the Vietnam War.
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 Guitarro (SS-363), a Gato-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the guitarro.
USS Hammerhead (SS-364), a Gato-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the hammerhead shark, a shark found in warm seas with a flattened anterior forward of the gill slits, presenting a hammer-like silhouette when viewed from above.