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USS Lamprey (SS-372)
Encyclopedia
USS Lamprey (SS-372), a Balao-class
submarine
, was a ship of the United States Navy
named for the lamprey
, any of certain eel
-like aquatic vertebrates.
Lamprey (SS-372) was laid down 22 February 1944 by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, Wisc.; launched
18 June 1944, sponsored by Mrs. W. T. Nelson; and commissioned
17 November 1944, Commander William T. Nelson in command.
After trials, tests, and training in Lake Michigan
, the new submarine entered a floating drydock 7 December at Lockport, Ill.
; was floated down the Mississippi River
; and arrived New Orleans
on 13 December. Four days later she departed New Orleans for the Pacific.
Lamprey sailed from Pearl Harbor
17 February 1945 for the coast of Luzon
and her first war patrol. She steamed on life guard duty off Formosa
and Hong Kong
until 29 March; transited the Singapore Strait
s 8 April; and the next day steamed through the Karimata Strait
s into the Java Sea
. She sighted no worthwhile targets, however, because most of Japan
’s merchant marine and fleet lay in Davy Jones' Locker
. The submarine headed for a refit at Fremantle
, Australia
, arriving 22 April 1945.
Under a new commanding officer, Lt. Comdr. Lucien B. McDonald, Lamprey cleared Fremantle 21 May and entered the Java Sea bound for her patrol area in the Siam Gulf
. On 28 May Lamprey and closed for a coordinated gun attack which damaged and set afire a 600-ton escort ship. Lamprey set course for Subic Bay
where she arrived 29 June.
The submarine returned to sea 26 July for her third war patrol and spent most of her time searching for targets along the Gulf of Siam. She entered the Singapore
area 8 August to patrol west of Pengiboe Island where she sank a small craft with gunfire. She was relieved on station by British
submarine the same day and headed for Borneo
. On 12 August her guns destroyed a cargo-carrying lugger
from Surabaya. The submarine was closing in on a two-masted schooner
15 August when she received word to cease hostilities.
Lamprey departed Subic Bay 31 August and moored in San Francisco 22 September. She entered Mare Island Navy Yard, decommissioned 3 June 1946, and was laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet.
Lamprey received four battle stars for World War II
service.
and was commissioned in the Argentine Navy
as ARA Santiago del Estero (S-12). Along with ARA Santa Fe (former USS Macabi (SS-375)
), she was used mainly for training. The conning towers of both submarines were later locally upgraded to improve hydrodynamics. A few years ago, Argentinian officials disclosed that a group of tactical divers
had carried out an incursion on the Falklands Islands onboard the Santiago del Estero in October 1966.
The submarine was returned to US Navy custody, 1 September 1971, to be struck from the Naval Register, sold outright to Argentina, and then broken up for use as spare parts.
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 lamprey
Lamprey
Lampreys are a family of jawless fish, whose adults are characterized by a toothed, funnel-like sucking mouth. Translated from an admixture of Latin and Greek, lamprey means stone lickers...
, any of certain eel
Eel
Eels are an order of fish, which consists of four suborders, 20 families, 111 genera and approximately 800 species. Most eels are predators...
-like aquatic vertebrates.
Lamprey (SS-372) was laid down 22 February 1944 by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, Wisc.; launched
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
18 June 1944, sponsored by Mrs. W. T. Nelson; and commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
17 November 1944, Commander William T. Nelson in command.
After trials, tests, and training in Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...
, the new submarine entered a floating drydock 7 December at Lockport, Ill.
Lockport, Illinois
Lockport is a city in Will County, Illinois, United States, that incorporated in 1853. Lockport is located in northeastern Illinois, 30 miles southwest of Chicago, and north of Joliet, at locks connecting Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal with the Des Plaines River via the Lockport...
; was floated down the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
; and arrived New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
on 13 December. Four days later she departed New Orleans for the Pacific.
Lamprey sailed from 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...
17 February 1945 for the coast of Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
and her first war patrol. She steamed on life guard duty off Formosa
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...
and 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...
until 29 March; transited the Singapore Strait
Singapore Strait
The Singapore Strait is a 105-kilometer long, 16-kilometer wide strait between the Strait of Malacca in the west and the South China Sea in the east. Singapore is on the north of the channel and the Riau Islands are on the south...
s 8 April; and the next day steamed through the Karimata Strait
Karimata Strait
The Karimata Strait is the wide strait that connects the South China Sea to the Java Sea, dividing the islands of Sumatra from Borneo , both in Indonesia....
s into 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...
. She sighted no worthwhile targets, however, because most of 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...
’s merchant marine and fleet lay in Davy Jones' Locker
Davy Jones' Locker
Davy Jones's Locker is an idiom for the bottom of the sea: the state of death among drowned sailors. It is used as an euphemism for death at sea ....
. The submarine headed for a refit at 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...
, arriving 22 April 1945.
Under a new commanding officer, Lt. Comdr. Lucien B. McDonald, Lamprey cleared Fremantle 21 May and entered the Java Sea bound for her patrol area in the Siam Gulf
Gulf of Thailand
The Gulf of Thailand , also known in to Malays as Teluk Siam literally meant Gulf of Siam, is a shallow arm of the South China Sea.-Geography:...
. On 28 May Lamprey and closed for a coordinated gun attack which damaged and set afire a 600-ton escort ship. Lamprey set course for 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...
where she arrived 29 June.
The submarine returned to sea 26 July for her third war patrol and spent most of her time searching for targets along the Gulf of Siam. She entered 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...
area 8 August to patrol west of Pengiboe Island where she sank a small craft with gunfire. She was relieved on station by British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
submarine the same day and headed for Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
. On 12 August her guns destroyed a cargo-carrying lugger
Lugger
A lugger is a class of boats, widely used as traditional fishing boats, particularly off the coasts of France, Scotland and England. It is a small sailing vessel with lugsails set on two or more masts and perhaps lug topsails.-Defining the rig:...
from Surabaya. The submarine was closing in on a two-masted schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
15 August when she received word to cease hostilities.
Lamprey departed Subic Bay 31 August and moored in San Francisco 22 September. She entered Mare Island Navy Yard, decommissioned 3 June 1946, and was laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet.
Lamprey received four battle stars for World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
service.
ARA Santiago del Estero (S-12)
On 21 July 1960 she was transferred on loan to the Government of ArgentinaArgentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
and was commissioned in the Argentine Navy
Argentine Navy
The Navy of the Argentine Republic or Armada of the Argentine Republic is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Army and the Air Force....
as ARA Santiago del Estero (S-12). Along with ARA Santa Fe (former USS Macabi (SS-375)
USS Macabi (SS-375)
USS Macabi was a Balao-class submarine of the United States Navy, named for the macabi, a fish living in tropical seas and off the American coasts as far north as San Diego and Long Island and reaching a length of ....
), she was used mainly for training. The conning towers of both submarines were later locally upgraded to improve hydrodynamics. A few years ago, Argentinian officials disclosed that a group of tactical divers
Tactical Divers Group
The Tactical Divers Group is the premier special operations force of the Argentine Navy. The Buzos Tácticos are based at Base Naval Mar del Plata on the Atlantic coast of Argentina. Its men are highly qualified combat divers, EOD/demolition technicians, and parachutists.The APBT was the first...
had carried out an incursion on the Falklands Islands onboard the Santiago del Estero in October 1966.
The submarine was returned to US Navy custody, 1 September 1971, to be struck from the Naval Register, sold outright to Argentina, and then broken up for use as spare parts.