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USS Charr (SS-328)
Encyclopedia
USS Charr (SS/AGSS-328), a Balao-class
submarine
, was a ship of the United States Navy
named for the charr
, a trout
of the waters of northwestern North America.
SS-328, originally designated Bocaccio, was renamed Charr on 24 September 1942 and launched 28 May 1944 by Electric Boat
Co., Groton, Conn.; sponsored by Mrs. W. F. Orkney; and commissioned 23 September 1944, Commander F. D. Boyle in command.
5 November 1944, and reached Pearl Harbor
9 December. On 30 December, she was bound for action waters, as she sailed on her first war patrol off the northeast coast of Indo-China. On 29 January 1945, daring to lie at anchor in broad daylight for 4 hours one mile (1.6 km) off the coast, Charr sent two men ashore in a rubber boat to rescue a downed aviator. A second rescue mission came at the close of her patrol, when she escorted the badly damaged Dutch
submarine HNLMS
Zwaardvisch through the Java Sea
and Lombok Strait
s to Fremantle
, Australia
, where the two submarines arrived 3 March.
, Java
, and South China Sea
s, and along the southern coast of Taiwan
. She sailed for part of the patrol in coordination with and , and with them conducted an epic 4-day chase of the Japan
ese cruiser
Isuzu
and her three escorts. Finally, early in the morning of 7 April 1945, Charr maneuvered into firing position to find Isuzu down by the stern and listing, evidence of successful attack by Gabilan. Charr fired a spread of torpedoes, scoring three hits to send the cruiser to the bottom.
Three days later, 10 April 1945, Charr made contact with another target, a coastal freighter, which she sank on the surface by gunfire. The submarine then headed on for a dangerous assignment, calling for intricate maneuvering, when she laid a minefield
off Pulo Island on 14 April and 15 April. She put in to Subic Bay
from 20 April to 24 April to reload torpedoes, then sailed on to patrol off Formosa on lifeguard duty, during which she rescued one downed pilot.
until 30 January 1946 when she reached San Diego, her newly assigned home port. From this port, she made simulated war patrols to the Far East in 1947 and 1948, operating along the West Coast at other times. On several occasions, she carried members of the Naval Reserve on 2-week cruises, and assisted with training for briefer periods from 1949 through July 1951 when she entered Mare Island Naval Shipyard
for a "Fleet Snorkel" conversion which streamlined her appearance and equipped her with a snorkel
, thus enhancing her underwater cruising range.
With her conversion completed 19 November 1951, she prepared for overseas deployment, and on 26 March 1952, she sailed to support United Nations
forces in Korea
, conducting patrols throughout the Far East. She returned to San Diego 2 October 1952 for local operations, which continued to include occasional training cruises for the Naval Reserve.
Charr again cruised in the Far East from 11 June to 7 December 1954, training air and surface forces in antisubmarine warfare, and conducting patrols. On 9 November, she played hostess to Chiang Kai Shek on his first cruise in a submarine. Upon her return to the west coast, she resumed her normal operating schedule, and did not return to the western Pacific again until 22 March 1957 to 14 October 1957. A highlight of her next period of service was an exercise with ships of the Canadian Navy
in the fall of 1958, which was followed by preparations for her 1959 Far Eastern cruise, completed between 6 May and 28 October. Through 1960, she continued operations from San Diego.
Charr was reclassified an Auxiliary Submarine, AGSS-328, in 1966. She was decommissioned, 28 June 1969, struck from the Naval Register, 20 December 1971, and sold for scrap, 17 August 1972.
Balao class submarine
The Balao class was a successful design of United States Navy submarine used during World War II, and with 122 units built, the largest class of submarines in the United States Navy. An improvement on the earlier Gato class, the boats had slight internal differences...
submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
, was a ship of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
named for the charr
Salvelinus
Salvelinus is a genus of salmonid fish often called char or charr; some species are called "trout". Salvelinus is a member of the Salmoninae subfamily of the Salmonidae family. Charr may be identified by light cream pink or red spots over a darker body. Scales tend to be small, with 115-200 along...
, a trout
Trout
Trout is the name for a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the family Salmonidae. Salmon belong to the same family as trout. Most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...
of the waters of northwestern North America.
SS-328, originally designated Bocaccio, was renamed Charr on 24 September 1942 and launched 28 May 1944 by Electric Boat
Electric boat
While a significant majority of water vessels are powered by diesel engines, with sail power and gasoline engines also remaining popular, boats powered by electricity have been used for over 120 years. Electric boats were very popular from the 1880s until the 1920s, when the internal combustion...
Co., Groton, Conn.; sponsored by Mrs. W. F. Orkney; and commissioned 23 September 1944, Commander F. D. Boyle in command.
First war patrol, December 1944 – March 1945
Pacific-bound, Charr cleared New LondonNaval Submarine Base New London
Naval Submarine Base New London is the United States Navy's primary submarine base, the "Home of the Submarine Force", and "the Submarine Capital of the World".-History:...
5 November 1944, and reached Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
9 December. On 30 December, she was bound for action waters, as she sailed on her first war patrol off the northeast coast of Indo-China. On 29 January 1945, daring to lie at anchor in broad daylight for 4 hours one mile (1.6 km) off the coast, Charr sent two men ashore in a rubber boat to rescue a downed aviator. A second rescue mission came at the close of her patrol, when she escorted the badly damaged Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
submarine HNLMS
Royal Netherlands Navy
The Koninklijke Marine is the navy of the Netherlands. In the mid-17th century the Dutch Navy was the most powerful navy in the world and it played an active role in the wars of the Dutch Republic and later those of the Batavian Republic and the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
Zwaardvisch through the Java Sea
Java Sea
The Java Sea is a large shallow sea on the Sunda Shelf. It was formed as sea levels rose at the end of the last ice age. The Java Sea lies between the Indonesian islands of Borneo to the north, Java to the south; Sumatra to the west, and Sulawesi to the east...
and Lombok Strait
Lombok Strait
The Lombok Strait is a strait connecting the Java Sea to the Indian Ocean, located between the islands of Bali and Lombok in Indonesia. The Gili Islands are on the Lombok side....
s to Fremantle
Fremantle, Western Australia
Fremantle is a city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, where the two submarines arrived 3 March.
Second war patrol, March – May 1945
After refit, Charr cleared on her second war patrol, cruising in the FloresFlores Sea
The Flores Sea covers 93,000 square miles of water in Indonesia.- Geography :The seas that border the Flores Sea are the Bali Sea , Java Sea , and the Banda Sea ....
, Java
Java Sea
The Java Sea is a large shallow sea on the Sunda Shelf. It was formed as sea levels rose at the end of the last ice age. The Java Sea lies between the Indonesian islands of Borneo to the north, Java to the south; Sumatra to the west, and Sulawesi to the east...
, and South China Sea
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
s, and along the southern coast of Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. She sailed for part of the patrol in coordination with and , and with them conducted an epic 4-day chase of the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
Isuzu
Japanese cruiser Isuzu
was one of six s in the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was named after the Isuzu River, near Ise Shrine in the Chūbu region of Japan.-Background:Isuzu was the second of the six vessels completed in the Nagara-class of light cruisers, and like other vessels of her class, she was intended for use as...
and her three escorts. Finally, early in the morning of 7 April 1945, Charr maneuvered into firing position to find Isuzu down by the stern and listing, evidence of successful attack by Gabilan. Charr fired a spread of torpedoes, scoring three hits to send the cruiser to the bottom.
Three days later, 10 April 1945, Charr made contact with another target, a coastal freighter, which she sank on the surface by gunfire. The submarine then headed on for a dangerous assignment, calling for intricate maneuvering, when she laid a minefield
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
off Pulo Island on 14 April and 15 April. She put in to Subic Bay
Subic Bay
Subic Bay is a bay forming part of Luzon Sea on the west coast of the island of Luzon in Zambales, Philippines, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila Bay. Its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility named U.S...
from 20 April to 24 April to reload torpedoes, then sailed on to patrol off Formosa on lifeguard duty, during which she rescued one downed pilot.
Third war patrol, June – July 1945
After refitting at Subic Bay from 21 May to 14 June 1945, Charr put out on her third war patrol, cruising in the Gulf of Siam with three other submarines. At this late date in the war, targets were few, for Charrs sister submarines, as well as air and surface forces, had broken the back of Japan's navy and merchant fleet. The wolf pack however, did find a target in the I-351 on 15 July. After Charr and the other wolfpack members had aided in cornering the Japanese submarine, sent her to the bottom.Post-war service
Charr remained at Fremantle from 26 July to 29 August 1945, then sailed for repairs at Pearl Harbor and training at GuamGuam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
until 30 January 1946 when she reached San Diego, her newly assigned home port. From this port, she made simulated war patrols to the Far East in 1947 and 1948, operating along the West Coast at other times. On several occasions, she carried members of the Naval Reserve on 2-week cruises, and assisted with training for briefer periods from 1949 through July 1951 when she entered Mare Island Naval Shipyard
Mare Island Naval Shipyard
The Mare Island Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located 25 miles northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates the peninsula shipyard from the main portion of the...
for a "Fleet Snorkel" conversion which streamlined her appearance and equipped her with a snorkel
Submarine snorkel
A submarine snorkel is a device which allows a submarine to operate submerged while still taking in air from above the surface. Navy personnel often refer to it as the snort.-History:...
, thus enhancing her underwater cruising range.
With her conversion completed 19 November 1951, she prepared for overseas deployment, and on 26 March 1952, she sailed to support United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
forces in Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, conducting patrols throughout the Far East. She returned to San Diego 2 October 1952 for local operations, which continued to include occasional training cruises for the Naval Reserve.
Charr again cruised in the Far East from 11 June to 7 December 1954, training air and surface forces in antisubmarine warfare, and conducting patrols. On 9 November, she played hostess to Chiang Kai Shek on his first cruise in a submarine. Upon her return to the west coast, she resumed her normal operating schedule, and did not return to the western Pacific again until 22 March 1957 to 14 October 1957. A highlight of her next period of service was an exercise with ships of the Canadian Navy
Canadian Forces Maritime Command
The Royal Canadian Navy , is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the unified Canadian Forces. Operating 33 warships and several auxiliary vessels, the Royal Canadian Navy consists of 8,500 Regular Force and 5,100 Primary Reserve sailors, supported by...
in the fall of 1958, which was followed by preparations for her 1959 Far Eastern cruise, completed between 6 May and 28 October. Through 1960, she continued operations from San Diego.
Charr was reclassified an Auxiliary Submarine, AGSS-328, in 1966. She was decommissioned, 28 June 1969, struck from the Naval Register, 20 December 1971, and sold for scrap, 17 August 1972.