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USS Plunger (SS-179)
Encyclopedia
, a , was the second ship of the United States Navy
to be named plunger after a diver or a daring gambler. Unlike most American submarines of the day, she was not named for a fish or other sea-dwelling creature.
The second Plunger was laid down 17 July 1935 at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine
; launched
8 July 1936 (sponsored by Miss Edith E. Greenlee); commissioned
19 November 1936, Lt. George L. Russell (later commander of Submarine Squadron 10) in command.
Plunger departed Gravesend Bay, N.Y. 15 April 1937 for a shakedown cruise
to Guantanamo Bay, the Canal Zone
, and Guayaquil
, Ecuador
. In November, following post-shakedown alterations at Portsmouth, she steamed to San Diego to join SubDiv 14, SubRon 6 (Submarine Division 14, Submarine Squadron 6). Continuing operations in the San Diego area for the next several years, Plunger joined (AS–3) and five Porpoise-class boats 15 March 1938 for a cruise to Dutch Harbor, Alaska
. Training cruises to waters off Panama
and Hawaii
occupied the next several years. On 30 November 1941 she reported to Pearl Harbor
and was off Diamond Head
when Japanese planes attacked 7 December.
of 1927) set out on her first patrol less than a week after the Pearl Harbor attack, but had to turn back due to a pressure hull leak. Repaired, she set out again on 14 December.
Along with and , Plunger was part of the first US Navy offensive operation of World War II
. Her orders sent her to Kii Suido, a principal entrance into the Inland Sea and an important funnel to industrial bases in the area. The three boats took two important technological devices into enemy waters: the Mark VI magnetic exploder for their Mark 14 torpedo
es, and the primitive SD radar set.
She sank Japanese cargo ship Eizon Maru 18 January 1942.
Plunger's second war patrol, 5 June to 15 July, took her off Shanghai
. On this patrol, she sank the 4,700-ton cargo ship Ukai Maru No. 5 on 30 June and Unyo Maru No. 3 on 2 July before returning to Midway
15 June.
, Plunger departed Pearl Harbor on 12 October to reconnoiter the area and to block the "Tokyo Express
." However, Plunger hit an uncharted reef 2 November, destroying her sound gear and damaging her bottom.
After repairing at Brisbane
, Plunger returned to the Guadalcanal
area for her fourth war patrol and operated off Munda
, where Japanese barges were coming in at night, unloading troops and supplies, and departing by daybreak. On the night of 16 – 17 December she slipped past four destroyer
s and attacked two others unloading at Munda Bar. After seeing two of her "fish" explode, she slipped away from a counterattack. After another attack with unknown results the next night, and a bomber attack while heading home 8 January 1943, she arrived Pearl Harbor 12 January.
10 May. In June, she joined and in the first U.S. penetration into the Sea of Japan
, an area abounding with Japanese shipping. Crossing the southern end of the Sea of Okhotsk
, the ships returned to Midway 26 July but departed again 6 August to return to the Sea of Okhotsk. Plunger sank 3,404-ton Seitai Maru there 20 August and 4,655-ton Ryokai Maru 22 August. Returning to Pearl Harbor 5 September, the ships were the only U.S. vessels to complete two patrols to this area until the final weeks of the war.
In October, Plunger reconnoitered in the Marshalls
area. She added lifeguard duties to her resume as U.S. bombers hit the islands, picking up a downed aviator 15 November. During the rescue, a Zero strafed the boat, seriously wounding the executive officer and five bluejackets. Nevertheless, the submarine rescued Lt. (j.g.) Franklin G. Schramm.
attacks pursued Plunger in January 1944 as she patrolled off the Japanese main islands. The risk was profitable, however, as she sank Toyo Maru No. 5 and Toyo Maru No. 8 on 2 February and Kimishima Maru on 23 February. Returning to Pearl Harbor 8 March, Plunger departed again 8 May to patrol the Bonin Islands. In July, she patrolled in and around Truk.
On 19 September 1944 she reported to Pearl Harbor for overhaul. She departed 15 February 1945 for New London
, to serve in a training capacity until 25 October, when she reported to New Haven for Navy Day celebrations. On 30 October she reported to the Boston Navy Yard
, where she decommissioned 15 November 1945.
to support the Naval Reserve Training Program. Returning to New York 18 February 1954, she was declared inessential 5 July 1956. Stricken from the Navy Register 6 July 1956, she was sold to Bethlehem Steel Co., Bethlehem, Pa. 22 April 1957, and scrapped.
Plunger received 14 battle stars for World War II service.
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 plunger after a diver or a daring gambler. Unlike most American submarines of the day, she was not named for a fish or other sea-dwelling creature.
The second Plunger was laid down 17 July 1935 at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine
Kittery, Maine
Kittery is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 9,543 at the 2000 census. Home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery includes Badger's Island, the seaside district of Kittery Point, and part of the Isles of Shoals...
; 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...
8 July 1936 (sponsored by Miss Edith E. Greenlee); 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...
19 November 1936, Lt. George L. Russell (later commander of Submarine Squadron 10) in command.
Plunger departed Gravesend Bay, N.Y. 15 April 1937 for a shakedown cruise
Shakedown cruise
Shakedown cruise is a nautical term in which the performance of a ship is tested. Shakedown cruises are also used to familiarize the ship's crew with operation of the craft....
to Guantanamo Bay, the Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
, and Guayaquil
Guayaquil
Guayaquil , officially Santiago de Guayaquil , is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador,with about 2.3 million inhabitants in the city and nearly 3.1 million in the metropolitan area, as well as that nation's main port...
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
. In November, following post-shakedown alterations at Portsmouth, she steamed to San Diego to join SubDiv 14, SubRon 6 (Submarine Division 14, Submarine Squadron 6). Continuing operations in the San Diego area for the next several years, Plunger joined (AS–3) and five Porpoise-class boats 15 March 1938 for a cruise to Dutch Harbor, Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. Training cruises to waters off Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
and Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
occupied the next several years. On 30 November 1941 she reported to 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...
and was off Diamond Head
Diamond Head, Hawaii
Diamond Head is the name of a volcanic tuff cone on the Hawaiian island of Oahu and known to Hawaiians as Lēahi, most likely from lae 'browridge, promontory' plus ahi 'tuna' because the shape of the ridgeline resembles the shape of a tuna's dorsal fin...
when Japanese planes attacked 7 December.
First and second war patrols, December 1941 – July 1942
Plunger, commanded by David C. White (ClassUnited States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
of 1927) set out on her first patrol less than a week after the Pearl Harbor attack, but had to turn back due to a pressure hull leak. Repaired, she set out again on 14 December.
Along with and , Plunger was part of the first US Navy offensive operation of 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...
. Her orders sent her to Kii Suido, a principal entrance into the Inland Sea and an important funnel to industrial bases in the area. The three boats took two important technological devices into enemy waters: the Mark VI magnetic exploder for their Mark 14 torpedo
Mark 14 torpedo
The Mark 14 torpedo was the United States Navy's standard submarine-launched anti-ship torpedo of World War II.This weapon was plagued with many problems which crippled its performance early in the war, and was supplemented by the Mark 18 electric torpedo in the last 2 years of the war...
es, and the primitive SD radar set.
Shortly after White arrived on station, Plunger was seen by a Japanese destroyer which came on using powerful echo-ranging sonar—or "pinging." Hearing the pinging was a jolt. The submarine force had not known for certain, until now, that the Japanese had such gear. The Japanese not only had it, they knew how to use it. The destroyer found Plunger and unleashed twenty-four close depth charges. It was a vicious, determined attack, the first for both the hunter and the hunted in Empire waters. It jarred the boat and crew severely. White was thankful that he had put back into Pearl Harbor to repair the weakness in the hull. Had he not, Plunger might not have survived.
She sank Japanese cargo ship Eizon Maru 18 January 1942.
Plunger's second war patrol, 5 June to 15 July, took her off Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
. On this patrol, she sank the 4,700-ton cargo ship Ukai Maru No. 5 on 30 June and Unyo Maru No. 3 on 2 July before returning to Midway
Midway Atoll
Midway Atoll is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, near the northwestern end of the Hawaiian archipelago, about one-third of the way between Honolulu, Hawaii, and Tokyo, Japan. Unique among the Hawaiian islands, Midway observes UTC-11 , eleven hours behind Coordinated Universal Time and one hour...
15 June.
While on this patrol, White nearly sank a ship by accident that would have caused an international uproar. Through diplomatic channels, President Roosevelt had arranged an exchange of political prisoners trapped in the United States and Japan by the outbreak of war, including U.S. Ambassador to Japan Joseph C. Grew. They were put aboard the neutral vessels Asama MaruAsama MaruThe was a Japanese ocean liner owned by Nippon Yusen Kaisha. The ship was built in 1927-1929 by Mitsubishi Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. at Nagasaki, Japan....
and S.S. Conte Verde for transfer from Japan to the United States. They were to sail with lights and other markings on a prearranged route, as would the vessels returning the Japanese.
On 5 June, [COMSUBPACComSubPacCommander Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet is the principal advisor to the Commander, United States Pacific Fleet for submarine matters. The Pacific Submarine Force includes attack, ballistic missile and auxiliary submarines, submarine tenders, floating submarine docks, deep submergence...
] EnglishRobert Henry EnglishRobert Henry English was a United States Navy Commissioned officer who commanded the U.S. Navy's submarine force in the Pacific Ocean early in World War II....
had sent instructions to his submarines, describing these ships, the routes, and the markings. Later, on 25 June, when the vessels actually got under way, English sent further messages, designed to assure immunity from submarine attack. Dave White failed to receive these messages. In the early morning hours of 30 June, he picked up Conte Verde and began an approach, somewhat astonished to find a ship all lighted up.
Back at Pearl Harbor, George "Turkey Neck" Crawford was on duty that night in submarine headquarters. "The Communications Officer," Crawford remembered, "came in to see me and wanted to send the immunity message again. I checked through the files and discovered that we had sent it four nights in a row. I questioned the need to send it again. However, the Communications Officer thought it might be a good idea, so, somewhat reluctantly, I put it on the air."
On Plunger, White had Conte Verde fixed in his periscope hairs and the crew at battle stations when his communications officer, having picked up and just decoded this fifth immunity message, rushed up into the conning tower. White broke off the attack at the last minute, settling for a photograph taken through the periscope from a range of 800 yards.
Third and fourth war patrols, October 1942 – January 1943
In October, as U.S. forces pushed on to Matanikau and Cape EsperanceCape Esperance
Cape Esperance is the northernmost point on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. The Battle of Cape Esperance, one of several naval engagements fought in the waters north of the island during the World War II Guadalcanal campaign, took its name from this point...
, Plunger departed Pearl Harbor on 12 October to reconnoiter the area and to block the "Tokyo Express
Tokyo Express
The Tokyo Express was the name given by Allied forces to the use of Imperial Japanese Navy ships at night to deliver personnel, supplies, and equipment to Japanese forces operating in and around New Guinea and the Solomon Islands during the Pacific campaign of World War II...
." However, Plunger hit an uncharted reef 2 November, destroying her sound gear and damaging her bottom.
After repairing at 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...
, Plunger returned to the Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...
area for her fourth war patrol and operated off Munda
Munda (Solomon Islands)
Munda is the largest settlement on the island of New Georgia in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands, and consists of a number of villages...
, where Japanese barges were coming in at night, unloading troops and supplies, and departing by daybreak. On the night of 16 – 17 December she slipped past four 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 and attacked two others unloading at Munda Bar. After seeing two of her "fish" explode, she slipped away from a counterattack. After another attack with unknown results the next night, and a bomber attack while heading home 8 January 1943, she arrived Pearl Harbor 12 January.
1943
Plunger continued reconnaissance patrols throughout the spring and summer. She sank Taihosan Maru 12 March, and Tatsutake Maru and Kinai MaruKinai Maru (1930)
The Kinai Maru was a 8360 gross ton freighter built by Mitsubishi Shipbuilding & Engineering Company Ltd, Nagasaki, Japan, in 1930 for Osaka Shosen Kaisha for the Yokohama-New York cargo run....
10 May. In June, she joined and in the first U.S. penetration into the Sea of Japan
Sea of Japan
The Sea of Japan is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, between the Asian mainland, the Japanese archipelago and Sakhalin. It is bordered by Japan, North Korea, Russia and South Korea. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no tides due to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific...
, an area abounding with Japanese shipping. Crossing the southern end of 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...
, the ships returned to Midway 26 July but departed again 6 August to return to the Sea of Okhotsk. Plunger sank 3,404-ton Seitai Maru there 20 August and 4,655-ton Ryokai Maru 22 August. Returning to Pearl Harbor 5 September, the ships were the only U.S. vessels to complete two patrols to this area until the final weeks of the war.
In October, Plunger reconnoitered in the Marshalls
Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...
area. She added lifeguard duties to her resume as U.S. bombers hit the islands, picking up a downed aviator 15 November. During the rescue, a Zero strafed the boat, seriously wounding the executive officer and five bluejackets. Nevertheless, the submarine rescued Lt. (j.g.) Franklin G. Schramm.
1944–1945
Frequent depth chargeDepth 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...
attacks pursued Plunger in January 1944 as she patrolled off the Japanese main islands. The risk was profitable, however, as she sank Toyo Maru No. 5 and Toyo Maru No. 8 on 2 February and Kimishima Maru on 23 February. Returning to Pearl Harbor 8 March, Plunger departed again 8 May to patrol the Bonin Islands. In July, she patrolled in and around Truk.
On 19 September 1944 she reported to Pearl Harbor for overhaul. She departed 15 February 1945 for New London
Naval 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:...
, to serve in a training capacity until 25 October, when she reported to New Haven for Navy Day celebrations. On 30 October she reported to the Boston Navy Yard
Boston Navy Yard
The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. Established in 1801, it was officially closed as an active naval installation on July 1, 1974, and the property was...
, where she decommissioned 15 November 1945.
Post-war service
Retained in an inactive status, Plunger was fitted for service as a Naval Reserve Training vessel and reported to Brooklyn, N.Y. in May 1946, remaining there until 8 May 1952, when she departed for Jacksonville, FloridaJacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
to support the Naval Reserve Training Program. Returning to New York 18 February 1954, she was declared inessential 5 July 1956. Stricken from the Navy Register 6 July 1956, she was sold to Bethlehem Steel Co., Bethlehem, Pa. 22 April 1957, and scrapped.
Plunger received 14 battle stars for World War II service.