USS Dace (SS-247)
Encyclopedia
, a Gato class submarine
, was the first submarine
of the United States Navy
to be named for any of several small North American fresh-water fishes
of the carp
family.
Her keel was laid down by Electric Boat
Company of Groton, Connecticut
22 July 1942. She was launched on 25 April 1943 (sponsored by Mrs O. P. Robertson), and commissioned on 23 July 1943, Lieutenant Commander
Joseph F. Enright in command.
Departing New London, Connecticut
on 7 September 1943, Dace arrived at Pearl Harbor
on 3 October, and 17 days later sailed on her first war patrol, bound for the southeast coast of Honshū
and the approaches to Nagoya. On 7 November, she made her first contact with the enemy, severely damaging a freighter
with torpedo
s. Alert action by patrol craft prevented Dace from continuing her attack. She returned to Midway Island to refit from 11 December-7 January 1944.
On her second war patrol, Dace cruised the shipping lanes south of Truk. On the night of 26 January, she contacted a large tanker
, closely guarded by two escorts. She fired a spread of torpedoes, heard five explosions, and broke off the contact to avoid the pursuit of the escort. The cause of the explosion remains unknown since Japanese records show no ship damaged in that area on that date. After refueling at Tulagi
on 2–3 February, Dace continued her patrol close to Truk during carrier
air raids there on 16–17 February. On 25 February, she arrived at Milne Bay
, New Guinea
, for refit.
Dace put to sea on her third war patrol on 18 March, and two days later embarked a group of commandos at Langemak Bay
. For the next week, she scouted the coast around Hollandia (currently known as Jayapura)
, New Guinea
, landing the commando parties and taking them back on board at night. She refueled at Manus Island
on 27–28 March, and sailed on for her assigned patrol area. This patrol was interrupted from 10–16 April, when Dace made rendezvous at sea with and escorted her into Manus. On 13 May, Dace put into Brisbane
, Australia
, for refit.
Daces fourth war patrol - from 13 June-12 August - found her refueling at Manus on 20–21 June, and sailing on to patrol the Mindanao
coast in Davao Gulf
. Many contacts were made, but most were too small to provide worthwhile targets. On 9 July, Dace scored at least three hits on a large transport
whose two escorts dropped a total of 43 depth charge
s, badly shaking up the submarine's crew but causing little physical damage. A daring reconnaissance mission took her into Sarangani Bay
on 16 July, and ten days later, she began an epic chase. She pursued a smoke contact visible on the horizon for a full day, eight times being forced down to avoid detection by patrolling aircraft. That night, she reestablished contact, and just after midnight on 27 July, Dace launched her attack, firing ten torpedoes into a convoy of three merchantmen. She sent a tanker to the bottom, then was forced deep as one of the escorts tried to ram her; the escort then began a depth charge attack. On 31 July, Dace sank another ship, a small freighter, and the next day received another depth charging after an attack on a well escorted freighter. With all torpedoes gone, Dace put in to Manus on 6 August, and sailed on to Brisbane, arriving on 12 August.
Dace cleared Brisbane on 1 September on her fifth and most successful war patrol. She topped off her fuel tanks at Darwin, Australia
on 10 September, and sailed for the exacting task of sweeping mines in Palawan
Passage and Balabac Strait
. From 27 September-3 October, she put in to Mios Woendi
to repair her gyrocompass
, returning to her patrol area on 10 October. Four days later, she attacked a convoy of seven ships, sinking two and heavily damaging a third.
She now joined in a feat of skill and courage which brought both submarines the Navy Unit Commendation
. On 23 October, they contacted the Japanese Center Force approaching Palawan Passage for the attack
on the Leyte landings. Since the location of this Japanese force had been a mystery for several days, the contact report flashed back by Dace and Darter was one of the most significant of the war. The two submarines closed the task force, and Darter attacked first, sinking and damaging . Dace followed with a torpedo attack that sank , then went deep to avoid the counterattacking destroyer
s. Continuing to track their target, hoping for a chance to finish off Takao, the two submarines worked through treacherous Palawan Passage. Darter ran aground, and Dace stood by. With the area full of searching enemy ships, Dace took Darters men off, then fired torpedoes at her to destroy her. Before she had completed her work, she went deep to avoid a patrolling Japanese aircraft, which obligingly bombed Darter. The Japanese destroyer landed an inspection team afterwards, and captured important documents from Darter, of which was later used by the IJN to exploit weaknesses on Gato class submarine
s. Dace sailed on for Fremantle, Western Australia
, arriving on 6 November.
Dace cleared Fremantle on 2 December on her sixth war patrol. She scouted along the Singapore
-Hong Kong
shipping lane, then sailed on to mine the channel between Palau Gambir and the mainland. Finishing that task on 16 December, Dace heard loud explosions from the mined area late in the afternoon, indication of a job well done. Three days later, while preparing to attack an eight-ship convoy, Dace was violently shaken by four depth charges or bombs. She went deep, hitting bottom, and while waiting there for the escorts to break off their attack, she was bumped, turned, scraped, and clanked along the bottom by the strong current. Somehow the enemy did not detect her for all this noise, and the sub was able to surface later, repair minor damage, and sail on to patrol farther north. On 28 December, she sank Nosaki
and damaged a freighter in the same convoy. She put in to Saipan
for fuel on 17 January 1945, and reached Pearl Harbor on 28 January.
After a West Coast
overhaul, Dace sailed from Pearl Harbor on 25 May 1945 on her seventh war patrol. She fueled at Midway on 29 May, and entered her patrol area in the Kurile Islands on 7 June. Here, she sank two sailing ships by gunfire, then headed into the Sea of Okhotsk
. On 10 June, she detected a large freighter and a small tanker
sailing through the fog
. Coming into attacking position, Dace saw the convoy also included three escorts, but continued to close the freighter, firing her first spread at only 380 yd (347.5 m). She swung to fire at the tanker as the freighter exploded and sank, then was confronted by an escort apparently planning to ram. Dace launched a torpedo "down the throat" of the escort, and plunged deep. A severe depth charging followed, after which Dace fired again at the escort. She returned to Midway on 25 July, and sailed on to Saipan on 13 August, preparing for her eighth war patrol. She was there when the war ended.
on 15 January 1946, and was towed to New London, where she was placed out of commission in reserve on 12 February 1947.
Recommissioned on 8 August 1951, Dace operated from New London along the Eastern Seaboard
and in the Caribbean Sea
until placed in commission in reserve at New London on 31 December 1953. She was placed out of commission in reserve at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on 15 January 1954 for extensive modernization
, then was recommissioned on 22 October 1954. After training men of the Marina Militare
, she was decommissioned at New London on 31 January 1955, and transferred the same day to Italy
under the Military Assistance Program.
on 15 October 1972 and returned to the United States Navy; Leonardo da Vinci was deleted from the Italian Navy the following year.
, Dace received seven battle stars during her seven war patrols, the last five of which were designated as "successful." She is credited with having sunk 28,689 tons of Japanese shipping.
Gato class submarine
The United States Navy Gato class submarine formed the core of the submarine service that was largely responsible for the destruction of the Japanese merchant marine and a large portion of the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II...
, was the first 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...
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...
to be named for any of several small North American fresh-water fishes
Dace
A dace is any of a number of species of small fish. The unmodified name is usually a reference to the Common Dace . This, like most fishes called "daces", belongs to the family Cyprinidae, mostly in subfamily Leuciscinae....
of the carp
Carp
Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. The cypriniformes are traditionally grouped with the Characiformes, Siluriformes and Gymnotiformes to create the superorder Ostariophysi, since these groups have certain...
family.
Her keel was laid down 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...
Company of Groton, Connecticut
Groton, Connecticut
Groton is a town located on the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 39,907 at the 2000 census....
22 July 1942. She was launched on 25 April 1943 (sponsored by Mrs O. P. Robertson), and commissioned on 23 July 1943, Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant commander (United States)
Lieutenant commander is a mid-ranking officer rank in the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, with the pay grade of O-4 and NATO rank code OF-3...
Joseph F. Enright in command.
1943
Departing New London, Connecticut
New London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States.It is located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, southeastern Connecticut....
on 7 September 1943, Dace arrived at 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...
on 3 October, and 17 days later sailed on her first war patrol, bound for the southeast coast of Honshū
Honshu
is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
and the approaches to Nagoya. On 7 November, she made her first contact with the enemy, severely damaging a freighter
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
with torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
s. Alert action by patrol craft prevented Dace from continuing her attack. She returned to Midway Island to refit from 11 December-7 January 1944.
1944
On her second war patrol, Dace cruised the shipping lanes south of Truk. On the night of 26 January, she contacted a large tanker
Tanker (ship)
A tanker is a ship designed to transport liquids in bulk. Major types of tankship include the oil tanker, the chemical tanker, and the liquefied natural gas carrier.-Background:...
, closely guarded by two escorts. She fired a spread of torpedoes, heard five explosions, and broke off the contact to avoid the pursuit of the escort. The cause of the explosion remains unknown since Japanese records show no ship damaged in that area on that date. After refueling at Tulagi
Tulagi
Tulagi, less commonly Tulaghi, is a small island in the Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Florida Island. The town of the same name on the island Tulagi, less commonly Tulaghi, is a small island (5.5 km by 1 km) in the Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Florida...
on 2–3 February, Dace continued her patrol close to Truk during carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
air raids there on 16–17 February. On 25 February, she arrived at Milne Bay
Milne Bay
Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, southeastern Papua New Guinea. The bay is named after Sir Alexander Milne.The area was a site of the Battle of Milne Bay in 1942....
, New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
, for refit.
Dace put to sea on her third war patrol on 18 March, and two days later embarked a group of commandos at Langemak Bay
Langemak Bay
Langemak Bay is a bay north of Finschhafen, on the north east coast of Papua New Guinea. Langemak Bay saw extensive naval operations in World War II, including a landing beach at the western end of the bay for the embarkation of the 2/24th Australian Infantry Battalion....
. For the next week, she scouted the coast around Hollandia (currently known as Jayapura)
Jayapura
Jayapura City is the capital of Papua province, Indonesia, on the island of New Guinea. It is situated on Yos Sudarso Bay . Its approximate population in 2002 was 200,000....
, New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
, landing the commando parties and taking them back on board at night. She refueled at Manus Island
Manus Island
Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest island of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth largest island in Papua New Guinea with an area of 2,100 km², measuring around 100 km × 30 km. According to the 2000 census, Manus Island had a...
on 27–28 March, and sailed on for her assigned patrol area. This patrol was interrupted from 10–16 April, when Dace made rendezvous at sea with and escorted her into Manus. On 13 May, Dace put into Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, 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...
, for refit.
Daces fourth war patrol - from 13 June-12 August - found her refueling at Manus on 20–21 June, and sailing on to patrol the Mindanao
Mindanao
Mindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country, which consists of the island of Mindanao and smaller surrounding islands. The other two are Luzon and the Visayas. The island of Mindanao is called The...
coast in Davao Gulf
Davao Gulf
Davao Gulf is a gulf found in Mindanao in the Philippines. It has an area of 308,000 hectares. Davao Gulf cuts into the island of Mindanao from Celebes Sea. It is surrounded by all four provinces in the Davao Region. The largest island in the gulf is Samal Island. Davao City, on the gulf's west...
. Many contacts were made, but most were too small to provide worthwhile targets. On 9 July, Dace scored at least three hits on a large transport
Ship transport
Ship transport is watercraft carrying people or goods . Sea transport has been the largest carrier of freight throughout recorded history. Although the importance of sea travel for passengers has decreased due to aviation, it is effective for short trips and pleasure cruises...
whose two escorts dropped a total of 43 depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
s, badly shaking up the submarine's crew but causing little physical damage. A daring reconnaissance mission took her into Sarangani Bay
Sarangani Bay
Sarangani Bay is a bay located on the southern tip of Mindanao in the Philippines. It opens up to the Celebes Sea on the Pacific Ocean. General Santos City, one of the Philippines most important cities and ports, is located on the bay, making the bay one of the busiest and often the sight of...
on 16 July, and ten days later, she began an epic chase. She pursued a smoke contact visible on the horizon for a full day, eight times being forced down to avoid detection by patrolling aircraft. That night, she reestablished contact, and just after midnight on 27 July, Dace launched her attack, firing ten torpedoes into a convoy of three merchantmen. She sent a tanker to the bottom, then was forced deep as one of the escorts tried to ram her; the escort then began a depth charge attack. On 31 July, Dace sank another ship, a small freighter, and the next day received another depth charging after an attack on a well escorted freighter. With all torpedoes gone, Dace put in to Manus on 6 August, and sailed on to Brisbane, arriving on 12 August.
Dace cleared Brisbane on 1 September on her fifth and most successful war patrol. She topped off her fuel tanks at Darwin, Australia
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
on 10 September, and sailed for the exacting task of sweeping mines in Palawan
Palawan
Palawan is an island province of the Philippines located in the MIMAROPA region or Region 4. Its capital is Puerto Princesa City, and it is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of jurisdiction. The islands of Palawan stretch from Mindoro in the northeast to Borneo in the...
Passage and Balabac Strait
Balabac Strait
Balabac Strait is a strait in the South China Sea, at . It separates the Balabac island , Philippines from the Banggi Island north of Borneo that are a part of Malaysia's Sabah state....
. From 27 September-3 October, she put in to Mios Woendi
Mios Woendi
Mios Woendi is the name of an island and was a forward base for United States Navy during World War II. The US Navy code word for the base located in Schouten Islands, was Stinker...
to repair her gyrocompass
Gyrocompass
A gyrocompass is a type of non-magnetic compass which bases on a fast-spinning disc and rotation of our planet to automatically find geographical direction...
, returning to her patrol area on 10 October. Four days later, she attacked a convoy of seven ships, sinking two and heavily damaging a third.
She now joined in a feat of skill and courage which brought both submarines the Navy Unit Commendation
Navy Unit Commendation
The Navy Unit Commendation of the United States Navy is an award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944...
. On 23 October, they contacted the Japanese Center Force approaching Palawan Passage for the attack
Battle of Leyte Gulf
The Battle of Leyte Gulf, also called the "Battles for Leyte Gulf", and formerly known as the "Second Battle of the Philippine Sea", is generally considered to be the largest naval battle of World War II and, by some criteria, possibly the largest naval battle in history.It was fought in waters...
on the Leyte landings. Since the location of this Japanese force had been a mystery for several days, the contact report flashed back by Dace and Darter was one of the most significant of the war. The two submarines closed the task force, and Darter attacked first, sinking and damaging . Dace followed with a torpedo attack that sank , then went deep to avoid the counterattacking destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s. Continuing to track their target, hoping for a chance to finish off Takao, the two submarines worked through treacherous Palawan Passage. Darter ran aground, and Dace stood by. With the area full of searching enemy ships, Dace took Darters men off, then fired torpedoes at her to destroy her. Before she had completed her work, she went deep to avoid a patrolling Japanese aircraft, which obligingly bombed Darter. The Japanese destroyer landed an inspection team afterwards, and captured important documents from Darter, of which was later used by the IJN to exploit weaknesses on Gato class submarine
Gato class submarine
The United States Navy Gato class submarine formed the core of the submarine service that was largely responsible for the destruction of the Japanese merchant marine and a large portion of the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II...
s. Dace sailed on for Fremantle, Western Australia
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...
, arriving on 6 November.
Dace cleared Fremantle on 2 December on her sixth war patrol. She scouted along the Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
-Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
shipping lane, then sailed on to mine the channel between Palau Gambir and the mainland. Finishing that task on 16 December, Dace heard loud explosions from the mined area late in the afternoon, indication of a job well done. Three days later, while preparing to attack an eight-ship convoy, Dace was violently shaken by four depth charges or bombs. She went deep, hitting bottom, and while waiting there for the escorts to break off their attack, she was bumped, turned, scraped, and clanked along the bottom by the strong current. Somehow the enemy did not detect her for all this noise, and the sub was able to surface later, repair minor damage, and sail on to patrol farther north. On 28 December, she sank Nosaki
Japanese food supply ship Nosaki
The was a food supply ship of the Imperial Japanese Navy serving during the World War II, the only ship of her class.-Background:In 1939, the IJN planned two food supply ships for China Area Fleet under the Maru 4 Programme...
and damaged a freighter in the same convoy. She put in to Saipan
Saipan
Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...
for fuel on 17 January 1945, and reached Pearl Harbor on 28 January.
1945
After a West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
overhaul, Dace sailed from Pearl Harbor on 25 May 1945 on her seventh war patrol. She fueled at Midway on 29 May, and entered her patrol area in the Kurile Islands on 7 June. Here, she sank two sailing ships by gunfire, then headed into the Sea of Okhotsk
Sea of Okhotsk
The Sea of Okhotsk is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, lying between the Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands on the southeast, the island of Hokkaidō to the far south, the island of Sakhalin along the west, and a long stretch of eastern Siberian coast along the west and...
. On 10 June, she detected a large freighter and a small tanker
Tanker (ship)
A tanker is a ship designed to transport liquids in bulk. Major types of tankship include the oil tanker, the chemical tanker, and the liquefied natural gas carrier.-Background:...
sailing through the fog
Fog
Fog is a collection of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. While fog is a type of stratus cloud, the term "fog" is typically distinguished from the more generic term "cloud" in that fog is low-lying, and the moisture in the fog is often generated...
. Coming into attacking position, Dace saw the convoy also included three escorts, but continued to close the freighter, firing her first spread at only 380 yd (347.5 m). She swung to fire at the tanker as the freighter exploded and sank, then was confronted by an escort apparently planning to ram. Dace launched a torpedo "down the throat" of the escort, and plunged deep. A severe depth charging followed, after which Dace fired again at the escort. She returned to Midway on 25 July, and sailed on to Saipan on 13 August, preparing for her eighth war patrol. She was there when the war ended.
Post-War
With the end of hostilities, Dace was ordered back to Pearl Harbor, and on 5 October 1945 arrived at New London. She was placed in commission in reserve at Portsmouth Naval ShipyardPortsmouth Naval Shipyard
The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard , often called the Portsmouth Navy Yard, is a United States Navy shipyard located in Kittery on the southern boundary of Maine near the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It is used for remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships...
on 15 January 1946, and was towed to New London, where she was placed out of commission in reserve on 12 February 1947.
Recommissioned on 8 August 1951, Dace operated from New London along the Eastern Seaboard
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
and in the Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
until placed in commission in reserve at New London on 31 December 1953. She was placed out of commission in reserve at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on 15 January 1954 for extensive modernization
Modernization
In the social sciences, modernization or modernisation refers to a model of an evolutionary transition from a 'pre-modern' or 'traditional' to a 'modern' society. The teleology of modernization is described in social evolutionism theories, existing as a template that has been generally followed by...
, then was recommissioned on 22 October 1954. After training men of the Marina Militare
Marina Militare
The Italian Navy is the navy of the Italian Republic. It is one of the four branches of military forces of Italy; formed in 1946, from what remained of the Regia Marina . As of 2008, the Italian Navy had 35,200 active personnel with 180 commissioned ships, 19 Floating Docks, and 123 aircraft...
, she was decommissioned at New London on 31 January 1955, and transferred the same day to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
under the Military Assistance Program.
Italian Navy
Ex-Dace was commissioned in the Marina Militare Italiana (Italian Navy) as Leonardo da Vinci (S-510). Originally to be lent to Italy for five years, this arrangement was extended by five years in 1959 and extended for yet another five years, twice. Together with Enrico Tazzoli (S-511) (ex-), da Vinci formed the backbone of Italian submarine strength in the late 1950s and 1960s. Dace was stricken from the Naval Vessel RegisterNaval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
on 15 October 1972 and returned to the United States Navy; Leonardo da Vinci was deleted from the Italian Navy the following year.
Awards
In addition to the Navy Unit CommendationNavy Unit Commendation
The Navy Unit Commendation of the United States Navy is an award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944...
, Dace received seven battle stars during her seven war patrols, the last five of which were designated as "successful." She is credited with having sunk 28,689 tons of Japanese shipping.