USS Sea Fox

History
United States
Name	USS Sea Fox
Builder	Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine
Laid down	2 November 1943
Launched	28 March 1944
Commissioned	13 June 1944
Decommissioned	15 October 1952
Recommissioned	5 June 1953
Decommissioned	14 December 1970
Stricken	14 December 1970
Identification	SS-402
Fate	Transferred to Turkey, 14 December 1970
Turkey
Name	TCG Burakreis
Acquired	14 December 1970
Commissioned	8 August 1971
Stricken	1996
Identification	S335
General characteristics
Class and type	Balao-class diesel-electric submarine
Displacement	1,526 tons (1,550 t) surfaced; 2,391 tons (2,429 t) submerged;
Length	311 ft 6 in (94.95 m)
Beam	27 ft 3 in (8.31 m)
Draft	16 ft 10 in (5.13 m) maximum
Propulsion	4 × Fairbanks-Morse Model 38D8-⅛ 10-cylinder opposed piston diesel engines driving electrical generators ; 2 × 126-cell Sargo batteries ; 4 × high-speed Elliott electric motors with reduction gears ; two propellers ; 5,400 shp (4.0 MW) surfaced; 2,740 shp (2.0 MW) submerged;
Speed	20.25 knots (38 km/h) surfaced; 8.75 knots (16 km/h) submerged;
Range	11,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) surfaced at 10 knots (19 km/h)
Endurance	48 hours at 2 knots (3.7 km/h) submerged; 75 days on patrol;
Test depth	400 ft (120 m)
Complement	10 officers, 70–71 enlisted
Armament	10 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes; 6 forward, 4 aft; 24 torpedoes; 1 × 5-inch (127 mm) / 25 caliber deck gun ; Bofors 40 mm and Oerlikon 20 mm cannon;
General characteristics (Guppy IIA)
Class and type	none
Displacement	1,848 tons (1,878 t) surfaced; 2,440 tons (2,479 t) submerged;
Length	307 ft (94 m)
Beam	27 ft 4 in (8.33 m)
Draft	17 ft (5.2 m)
Propulsion	Snorkel added; One diesel engine and generator removed; Batteries upgraded to Sargo II;
Speed	Surfaced:; 17.0 knots (19.6 mph; 31.5 km/h) maximum; 13.5 knots (15.5 mph; 25.0 km/h) cruising; Submerged:; 14.1 knots (16.2 mph; 26.1 km/h) for ½ hour; 8.0 knots (9.2 mph; 14.8 km/h) snorkeling; 3.0 knots (3.5 mph; 5.6 km/h) cruising;
Armament	10 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes ; (six forward, four aft); all guns removed;

Last updated September 24, 2024

USS Sea Fox (SS-402), a Balao-class submarine, was a vessel of the United States Navy named for the sea fox, a large shark, also called the thresher shark, which frequents the coast of Europe and the Americas.

Sea Fox was laid down on 2 November 1943 at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine; launched on 28 March 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Robert N. Robertson, widow of Lieutenant Robert N. Robertson, who survived the sinking of USS Squalus only to be lost during the war as executive officer of USS Argonaut. The submarine was commissioned on 13 June 1944.

Service history

First patrol: October–November 1944

Two months after commissioning, Sea Fox departed New London for Hawaii and duty in Submarine Division 282 (SubDiv 282). She arrived at Pearl Harbor on 11 September and, on 4 October, got underway on her first war patrol. On 16 October, she entered her initial patrol area near the Bonin Islands, and remained in the Bonin-Volcano Islands area through 25 October, hunting enemy shipping and serving on lifeguard duty for B-24 Liberator aircraft strikes against Iwo Jima.

On 26 October, she conducted her first attack and damaged an enemy freighter; then proceeded on to the Nansei Shoto in the Ryukyus. There, on 8 November, after firing 11 torpedoes in four attacks, she sank an engines-aft cargoman. Of the 11 torpedoes fired, several broached and one circled and passed over Sea Fox's conning tower. On 15 November, the submarine departed her assigned area and arrived at Majuro on 24 November for refit.

Second patrol: December 1944 – February 1945

On her second war patrol, 20 December 1944 to 5 February 1945, Sea Fox returned to the Nansei Shoto as a unit of Task Group 17.19, a coordinated attack group composed of her, Blueback, and Puffer. En route to Saipan to top off with fuel, the submarines and their PC escort picked up survivors of a downed Liberator. On 28 December, the submarines departed the Marianas for the Ryukyus; and, on 1 January 1945, Sea Fox reached her patrol area.

Nine days later, she made her only contact worthy of torpedo fire but, despite two attacks, was unsuccessful. Puffer, to which she reported the contact, later sank the target, Coast Defense Vessel No. 42. In February 1945, while undergoing refit at Guam, five of her crewmembers were killed in a Japanese ambush.

Third and fourth patrols: March – July 1945

Sea Fox's third war patrol, 8 March to 6 May 1945, saw her in the South China Sea–Formosa area. She made six contacts but was able to close and attack only one, a convoy of three merchantmen and four escorts. During that action, conducted in heavy fog on the morning of 1 April, she damaged one of the freighters.

That same day, Queenfish sank the "mercy" ship, Awa Maru; and, on 2 April, Sea Fox was ordered into the area to pick up survivors and wreckage to determine the type of cargo Awa Maru had been carrying. Sea Fox located no survivors but found bales of sheet rubber covering the area where the ship had gone down. She took aboard one of the sheets and continued her patrol.

The next day, one of Sea Fox's crew was accidentally shot by another crewman. Efforts to transfer the wounded man to a homeward-bound submarine were thwarted by rough seas, and the patient remained aboard for the duration of the patrol.

In mid-April, Sea Fox was off the northwest coast of Formosa where she encountered a shift in Japanese antisubmarine warfare (ASW) tactics. Patrol planes were numerous at night, precluding recharging. The planes, however, were relatively inactive during daylight hours, and Sea Fox surfaced and recharged accordingly.

On the night of 16–17 April, Sea Fox departed her patrol area. Progress toward Saipan was slowed by a casualty in the bow plane rigging mechanism on 19 April; but, on 26 April, she arrived in the Marianas, and she reached Pearl Harbor on 6 May. Refit took a month, and Sea Fox sailed on 7 June for her last war patrol. Assigned primarily to lifeguard duty during the 53-day patrol, she picked up nine Army aviators near Marcus Island and a tenth in the Nanpō Islands. On 29 July, she completed the patrol at Midway.

1945–1952

The war ended with the completion of refit, and Sea Fox headed toward Pearl Harbor for a two-week visit prior to getting underway for postwar duty with Submarine Squadron 5 (SubRon 5) in the Philippines. Based at Subic Bay, she operated in the Philippine area into 1946; then, on 12 January, got underway to return to the United States.

Sea Fox arrived in San Francisco Bay on 2 February. Overhaul followed; and in mid-May, she returned to Pearl Harbor where she rejoined Submarine Division 52 (SubDiv 52). During the remainder of the 1940s, she was deployed three times: to the central Pacific in the summer of 1946, and to the western Pacific in the winter of 1948 and in the fall of 1949. The end of the latter year also brought a brief assignment to SubDiv 13, but January 1950 saw her a unit of SubDiv 12. Six months later, the Korean War broke out; and Sea Fox's training exercises—mine planting, torpedo approaches, gunnery, and ASW—increased.

On 2 September 1951, the submarine sailed west. A six-month tour in the western Pacific followed during which she supported the United Nations' effort in Korea by providing services to the ASW training group and by patrolling in the northern Sea of Japan. In March 1952, she returned to the Hawaiian Islands to resume local operations and to prepare for a GUPPY IIA conversion.

1953–1970

Decommissioned on 15 October 1952 at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Sea Fox completed conversion the following spring and was recommissioned on 5 June 1953. In August, she returned to Pearl Harbor and resumed operations—training exercises, special operations, and western Pacific deployments—as a unit of SubDiv 71.

Reassigned to SubDiv 33 at San Diego on 1 July 1955, she became flagship of the division on 1 August and commenced local operations off the southern California coast. A year later, she sailed west for another six-month tour with the 7th Fleet; and, from then until 1969, she continued to rotate between training operations out of San Diego and duty with the 7th Fleet in the western Pacific. From 1964, her tours in WestPac included support of the Allied effort in South Vietnam.

On 21 December 1968, Sea Fox returned to San Diego from her WestPac deployment. Local operations, overhaul, and training exercises followed then she completed her final WestPac tour in the summer of 1970. In November 1970, she was declared unfit for further service. She was decommissioned, her name was struck from the Navy List on 14 December 1970.

TCG Burakreis (S 335)

Sea Fox was sold to Turkey on 14 December 1970 at Hunters Point Navy Yard in San Francisco. The Turkish Navy renamed her TCG Burakreis (S 335) , after the great Ottoman admiral Burak Reis. She sailed for her new home on 9 April 1971 from San Diego after conducting ASW training. She was commissioned on 8 August 1971.

In 1996, Burakreis was struck from the Turkish Naval rolls.

Honors and awards

As Sea Fox, the submarine earned four battle stars during World War II and four campaign stars for service during the Vietnam War. In 1964 and 1965 Sea Fox was twice awarded the Battle ready designation.^[9]

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Dolphin</i> (SS-169) "V-boat" class submarine

USS Dolphin (SF-10/SC-3/SS-169), a submarine and one of the "V-boats", was the sixth ship of the United States Navy to be named for that aquatic mammal. She also bore the name V-7 and the classifications SF-10 and SC-3 prior to her commissioning. She was launched on 6 March 1932 by the Portsmouth Navy Yard, sponsored by Mrs. E.D. Toland, and commissioned on 1 June 1932.

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 Volador (SS-490), a Tench-class submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the volador.

USS Tarpon (SS-175), second United States Navy ship of this name, was a Porpoise-class diesel-electric submarine. Tarpon conducted war patrols in the Pacific Ocean during World War II.

USS Skipjack (SS-184), was a Salmon-class submarine, the second ship of the United States Navy to be named after the skipjack tuna. She earned multiple battle stars during World War II and then was sunk, remarkably, by an atomic bomb during post-World War II testing in Operation Crossroads. Among the most "thoroughly sunk" ships, she was refloated and then sunk a second time as a target ship two years later.

USS Scabbardfish (SS-397), a Balao-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the scabbarddfish, a long, compressed, silver-colored fish found on European coasts and around New Zealand. In 1965 she was transferred to the Hellenic Navy and renamed Triaina.

USS Archerfish (SS/AGSS-311) was a Balao-class submarine. She was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the archerfish. Archerfish is best known for sinking the Japanese aircraft carrier Shinano in November 1944, the largest warship ever sunk by a submarine. For this achievement, she received a Presidential Unit Citation after World War II.

USS Shad (SS-235), a Gato-class submarine, was the first submarine and second vessel of the United States Navy to be named for the shad, a fish of the herring family, common along coasts of the United States.

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 Bream (SS/SSK/AGSS-243), a Gato-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the bream. She served during World War II, and her war operations extended from 1 June 1944 to 15 June 1945. During this period she completed six war patrols operating in the Java Sea, Celebes Sea, Sulu Sea, South China Sea, and Gulf of Siam. She sank two Japanese merchant ships totaling 6,934 gross register tons. In addition, Bream shared with the submarines USS Ray (SS-271) and USS Guitarro (SS-363) the destruction of a 6,806-gross register ton passenger-cargo ship. On 23 October 1944, while patrolling off western Luzon, Bream made a daring surface attack on a Japanese naval force, damaging the heavy cruiser Aoba.

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 Blackfin (SS-322), a Balao-class submarine in commission from 1944 to 1948 and from 1951 to 1972, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the blackfin cisco, a food fish of the Great Lakes.

USS Blenny (SS/AGSS-324), a Balao-class submarine in commission from 1944 to 1969, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the blenny, a fish found along the rocky shores of the Atlantic Ocean. During World War II, Blenny conducted four war patrols in the Java Sea and South China Sea between 10 November 1944 and 14 August 1945. She sank eight Japanese vessels totaling 18,262 tons. In addition, she is credited with destroying more than 62 miscellaneous Japanese small craft by gunfire.

USS Boarfish (SS-327), a Balao-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the boarfish, a fish having a projecting hog-like snout.

USS Brill (SS-330), a Balao-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy in commission from 1944 to 1947. She was named for the brill, a European flatfish.

USS Bumper (SS-333), a Balao-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the bumper, a small fish of the North and South Atlantic Ocean.

USS Sea Robin (SS-407), a Balao-class submarine, was a vessel of the United States Navy named for the sea robin. This is a spiny-finned fish with red or brown coloring on its body and fins. The first three rays of its pectoral fin separate from the others and are used in walking on the sea bottom.

USS Pomfret (SS-391), a Balao-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the pomfret, a fish of the seabream family which is a powerful and speedy swimmer, capable of operating at great depths.

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.

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 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.
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.
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. 275–280. ISBN 978-0-313-26202-9.
↑ U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 261–263
1 2 3 U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311
1 2 3 4 5 6 U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311
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.
1 2 3 4 U.S. Submarines Since 1945 pp. 242
↑ US Navy records

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships .The entries can be found here and here.

External links

Photo gallery of Sea Fox at NavSource Naval History
USS Sea Fox website

31°10′N129°41′E / 31.167°N 129.683°E / 31.167; 129.683

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.

[FriedmanSubs1-dates-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 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.

[Register-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.

[Register_275–280-3] 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. 275–280. ISBN 978-0-313-26202-9.

[FriedmanSubs1-engines_261–263-4] U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 261–263

[FriedmanSubs1-specs_305–311-5] 1 2 3 U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311

[FriedmanSubs1-specs-6] 1 2 3 4 5 6 U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311

[FriedmanSubs2-chap2-7] 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.

[FriedmanSubs2-specs-8] 1 2 3 4 U.S. Submarines Since 1945 pp. 242

[9] US Navy records

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

History

United States
Name	USS Sea Fox
Builder	Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine ^[1]
Laid down	2 November 1943^[1]
Launched	28 March 1944^[1]
Commissioned	13 June 1944^[1]
Decommissioned	15 October 1952^[1]
Recommissioned	5 June 1953^[1]
Decommissioned	14 December 1970^[1]
Stricken	14 December 1970^[2]
Identification	SS-402
Fate	Transferred to Turkey, 14 December 1970^[1]
Turkey
Name	TCG Burakreis
Acquired	14 December 1970
Commissioned	8 August 1971
Stricken	1996
Identification	S335
General characteristics
Class and type	Balao-class diesel-electric submarine ^[2]
Displacement	1,526 tons (1,550 t) surfaced^[2] 2,391 tons (2,429 t) submerged^[2]
Length	311 ft 6 in (94.95 m)^[2]
Beam	27 ft 3 in (8.31 m)^[2]
Draft	16 ft 10 in (5.13 m) maximum^[2]
Propulsion	4 × Fairbanks-Morse Model 38D8-⅛ 10-cylinder opposed piston diesel engines driving electrical generators ^[3]^[4] 2 × 126-cell Sargo batteries ^[5] 4 × high-speed Elliott electric motors with reduction gears ^[3] two propellers ^[3] 5,400 shp (4.0 MW) surfaced^[3] 2,740 shp (2.0 MW) submerged^[3]
Speed	20.25 knots (38 km/h) surfaced^[6] 8.75 knots (16 km/h) submerged^[6]
Range	11,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) surfaced at 10 knots (19 km/h)^[6]
Endurance	48 hours at 2 knots (3.7 km/h) submerged^[6] 75 days on patrol
Test depth	400 ft (120 m)^[6]
Complement	10 officers, 70–71 enlisted^[6]
Armament	10 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes 6 forward, 4 aft 24 torpedoes^[5] 1 × 5-inch (127 mm) / 25 caliber deck gun ^[5] Bofors 40 mm and Oerlikon 20 mm cannon
General characteristics (Guppy IIA)
Class and type	none
Displacement	1,848 tons (1,878 t) surfaced^[7] 2,440 tons (2,479 t) submerged^[7]
Length	307 ft (94 m)^[8]
Beam	27 ft 4 in (8.33 m)^[8]
Draft	17 ft (5.2 m)^[8]
Propulsion	Snorkel added^[7] One diesel engine and generator removed^[7] Batteries upgraded to Sargo II^[7]
Speed	Surfaced: 17.0 knots (19.6 mph; 31.5 km/h) maximum 13.5 knots (15.5 mph; 25.0 km/h) cruising Submerged: 14.1 knots (16.2 mph; 26.1 km/h) for ½ hour 8.0 knots (9.2 mph; 14.8 km/h) snorkeling 3.0 knots (3.5 mph; 5.6 km/h) cruising^[7]
Armament	10 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes (six forward, four aft)^[8] all guns removed^[7]