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USS Thornback (SS-418)
Encyclopedia
USS Thornback (SS-418), a Tench-class submarine
, was the only ship of the United States Navy
to be named for the thornback
, a slender member of the shark
family with a long pointed snout and a sharp spine at the end of each dorsal fin, native to northern Atlantic waters ranging from the temperate to the Arctic.
Her keel was laid down on 5 April 1944 by the Portsmouth Navy Yard. She was launched
on 7 July 1944 sponsored by Mrs. Peter K. Fischler, and commissioned
on 13 October 1944 with Commander Ernest P. Abrahamson in command.
, on 20 March 1945 bound, via the Panama Canal
, for the Hawaiian Islands
. She arrived at Pearl Harbor
on 25 May and conducted training in Hawaiian waters prior to getting underway on 11 June for the western Pacific. As she stood down the Pearl Harbor channel, a formation of Landing Craft Infantry
(LCIs), running down the wrong side of the channel, forced Thornback to crowd dangerously near the extreme edge of the channel. In the process, the submarine damaged her sound dome, necessitating repairs and a two-day delay in departing.
She set sail for Saipan
on 13 June, but she was rerouted to Guam
. En route to the Mariana Islands
, Thornback conducted an average of four training dives daily, in conjunction with battle problems, drills, and emergency surfacing exercises, before she arrived at Guam on 25 June.
As lead ship of a wolf pack nicknamed "Abe's Abolishers", Thornback stood out to sea on 30 June, bound for the Japanese home islands. By this point in the war, American and British task forces steamed within easy gun range of Japanese coastal targets with near impunity. Japan's merchant marine and Navy had dwindled in size. Allied submarines and aircraft had taken an ever increasing toll. In the air, Japan's once vaunted air forces had been struck from the skies. Sweeping ahead of Third Fleet Task Forces, the "Abolishers" made antipicket boat sweeps in the Tokyo
-Yokohama
area before proceeding to hunting grounds off the east coast of Honshū
and south of Hokkaidō
.
Rough seas, strong winds, and generally poor visibility prevailed during Thornback’s patrol. She sighted a hospital ship
on 5 July and let it pass. Six days later, a minor fire in the pump room caused a temporary shutdown in the number one air conditioning plant before swift repairs enabled the ship to continue as before.
On 15 July, Thornback sighted submarine , and the two boats exchanged information on their hunting areas. They also swapped movies, precious commodities for boosting morale on board the crowded boats. Six days later, Thornback proceeded north to patrol off Erimo Seki, an area which had recently seen a series of devastating carrier raids by Admiral William F. Halsey's Fast Carrier Task Force
38. The submarine's commanding officer noted somewhat humorously, "This area should be about as heavily traveled as the Sahara Desert after the working over it just had...."
His assessment was correct—only straggling merchantmen and small patrol craft hugged the barren coasts. On 26 July, at 0320, Thornback submerged 8000 yards (7,315.2 m) off Hei Saki. At 0400, the submarine's sound gear picked up the "pinging" projected by a snooping Japanese escort ship, and she came to periscope depth to have a look.
Carefully maneuvering into position, Thornback fired one shot from her stern tubes at 04:29 and soon heard a small explosion which stopped the enemy's screws. Almost immediately the submariners picked up new sounds—two more escorts, "pinging" and coming aggressively closer. After sizing up the new attackers, Thornback felt that they were too small to use a torpedo
on—besides, a Japanese floatplane had begun circling the area. A rowboat with a few Japanese sailors amidst a pile of flotsam testified to the fact that the first ship was no longer there. Satisfied that their quarry had been sunk, the submarine cleared the area. One of the other escorts gave up the chase and picked up survivors of her sunken sister. "All antisubmarine vessels have closed the beach," Thornback’s commander later recorded, "and seem to be pinging away at the rocks."
Three days later, by periscope, the submarine spotted a 950-ton "sea truck", similar to Sanko Maru, at 2000 yards (1,828.8 m), close inshore. Unescorted, the Japanese presented a tempting target for a gun attack, but, no sooner had Thornback’s periscope shears and bow broken the surface, than the target slipped into the misty weather. Not to be daunted, Thornback followed, playing a cat and mouse game, and fired five torpedoes. All missed. She later sighted the enemy again, missed with three more torpedoes, and took the "sea truck" under fire. Despite poor visibility, Thornback closed to 300 yards (274.3 m) and scored numerous hits with the 40 millimeter guns. The target, however, was able to move closer inshore and escaped in the fog which closed around her like a shroud.
The submarine lurked on the surface off Hokkaidō
on 31 July and again tangled with some of the numerous Japanese patrol craft. She sighted a 100 feet (30.5 m) patrol boat at 500 yards (457.2 m) and closing. Thornback’s five-inch (127 mm) deck gun was trained out, but her crew could not keep their sights on the attacker through the telescopes and switched to open sights. Meanwhile, the 40 millimeter gun opened a devastating barrage at the enemy craft as it came steadily on a collision course. These shells continually hit the escort ship along the waterline and in the pilot house, probably killing the occupants on the bridge.
Thornback had passed her target once at 300 yards (274.3 m) and came about for a second pass when the forward torpedo room reported sharp noises forward. Further amplification showed that the noise was caused by enemy machine gun bullets striking the submarine's hull. Resuming the attack, Thornback swung back into action, with visibility only 300 yards (274.3 m) and lessening. Her 40 millimeter fire continued to maul the Japanese vessel, shooting away one of her masts and leaving her limping shoreward at only 3 knots (6 km/h). After securing from battle stations, Thornback passed through an oil slick and noted a mast from the heavily hit patrol craft.
Later on 31 July, Thornback rendezvoused with Sea Poacher off Kesennuma and proceeded north to pick up submarine en route to a projected shore bombardment mission against Hokkaidō
. The sight of the three submarines cruising on the surface moved Thornback’s commander to write: "On this clear and sunny day, the three ships in perfect column on a flat sea made a beautiful picture tearing along at 18 knots."
At 14:02 on 1 August, this part of "Abe's Abolishers"—Thornback, Angler, and Sea Poacher—made landfall off their target of Urakawa, Hokkaidō
. They swung parallel to the beach with guns manned and ready. Twelve minutes later, slowing to 10 knots (19 km/h), Thornback and her consorts opened fire with 5 inches (127 mm) and 40 millimeter batteries at a range of 4200 yards (3,840.5 m). The first few rounds from Thornback’s five-incher went wild, but the crew soon locked onto the range. Firing by hand after the foot firing plunger broke off, Thornback’s gunners eventually sent 100 rounds of five-inch (127 mm) shells shoreward, heavily damaging a factory and a power plant. "The firing took 22 minutes and was of inestimable value to the entire crew," wrote the submarine's commanding officer. "The training was excellent and the boost to morale tremendous."
Thornback set sail for Midway Island after the shelling of Urakawa, and arrived at the atoll on 8 August. Seven days later, Japan—hemmed in by veritable armadas of Allied ships and planes which were able to roam almost at will and unchallenged off her coast and in her skies—surrendered.
, she was converted and reactivated under the Greater Underwater Propulsive Power Program (GUPPY). On 2 October 1953, the submarine was recommissioned, Lieutenant Commander Thomas C. Jones, Jr., in command, and assigned to Submarine Squadron (SubRon) 4.
Shaking down in her new configuration, the submarine performed a "first" for submarines on 6 November 1954, when she snorkel
ed in the Mississippi River
at New Orleans, Louisiana
, from the Industrial Canal
to the foot of Canal Street. With SubRon 4, the ship was based at Key West, Florida
, and visited ports in the Caribbean Sea
before entering the Charleston Naval Shipyard
in February 1956 for overhaul. Upon completion of this work, the submarine was deployed to the Mediterranean Sea
for a tour with the Sixth Fleet before returning to Key West in March 1957. While with SubRon 4, Thornback participated in operations supporting the Operational Development Force, the Fleet Sonar School, and the Fleet Training Unit at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
On 2 June 1958, Thornback departed the Caribbean, bound for Londonderry Port
, Northern Ireland
, and operations with the joint Royal Navy
-Royal Air Force
antisubmarine school. While thus engaged, the submarine damaged her port propeller at Londonderry Port
and became the first American submarine to be docked at Faslane by the Royal Navy. Thornback returned to the Sixth Fleet and her second Mediterranean deployment which lasted from 2 July to 24 September 1958.
For the remainder of the ship's active career, she was based out of Charleston, South Carolina
, conducting deployments to the North Atlantic, the Mediterranean Sea
, and to the Caribbean Sea
and operating in a support capacity as newer submarine types joined the Fleet.
Thornback received one battle star for her World War II
service.
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Placed in a reduced manning status on 14 April 1971, the ship was turned over to the Turkish Navy
on 1 July 1971 and renamed TCG Uluçalireis (S 338) for the Ottoman
admiral Uluç Ali Reis
. Decommissioned from the United States Navy
on that same date, she was later struck from the Naval Vessel Register
on 1 August 1973. In 2000, after 28 years of service in the Turkish Navy she was taken from active duty. Handed over to the Rahmi M. Koç Museum, she can be visited at her moorings in Golden Horn
in Istanbul
.
Tench class submarine
Tench-class submarines were a type of submarine built for the United States Navy between 1944 and 1951. They were an evolutionary improvement over the Gato and Balao classes, only about 35 to 40 tons larger, but more strongly built and with a slightly improved internal layout...
, was the only 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...
to be named for the thornback
Thornback
Thornback may refer to:* the Thornback ray or Thornback skate, a species of fish* the Thornback guitarfish, another species of fish* USS Thornback , a submarine* the Phaerimm, a fictional species of creatures in the Forgotten Realms setting...
, a slender member of the shark
Shark
Sharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....
family with a long pointed snout and a sharp spine at the end of each dorsal fin, native to northern Atlantic waters ranging from the temperate to the Arctic.
Her keel was laid down on 5 April 1944 by the Portsmouth Navy Yard. She was 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...
on 7 July 1944 sponsored by Mrs. Peter K. Fischler, 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...
on 13 October 1944 with Commander Ernest P. Abrahamson in command.
World War II
Thornback stood out of New London, ConnecticutNew 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 20 March 1945 bound, via the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
, for the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
. She 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 25 May and conducted training in Hawaiian waters prior to getting underway on 11 June for the western Pacific. As she stood down the Pearl Harbor channel, a formation of Landing Craft Infantry
Landing Craft Infantry
The Landing craft, Infantry or LCI were several classes of sea-going amphibious assault ships of the Second World War utilized to land large numbers of infantry directly onto beaches. They were developed in response to a British request for a vessel capable of carrying and landing substantially...
(LCIs), running down the wrong side of the channel, forced Thornback to crowd dangerously near the extreme edge of the channel. In the process, the submarine damaged her sound dome, necessitating repairs and a two-day delay in departing.
She set sail for 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...
on 13 June, but she was rerouted to Guam
Guam
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...
. En route to the Mariana Islands
Mariana Islands
The Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...
, Thornback conducted an average of four training dives daily, in conjunction with battle problems, drills, and emergency surfacing exercises, before she arrived at Guam on 25 June.
As lead ship of a wolf pack nicknamed "Abe's Abolishers", Thornback stood out to sea on 30 June, bound for the Japanese home islands. By this point in the war, American and British task forces steamed within easy gun range of Japanese coastal targets with near impunity. Japan's merchant marine and Navy had dwindled in size. Allied submarines and aircraft had taken an ever increasing toll. In the air, Japan's once vaunted air forces had been struck from the skies. Sweeping ahead of Third Fleet Task Forces, the "Abolishers" made antipicket boat sweeps in the Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
-Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
area before proceeding to hunting grounds off the east 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 south of Hokkaidō
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
.
Rough seas, strong winds, and generally poor visibility prevailed during Thornback’s patrol. She sighted a hospital ship
Hospital ship
A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital; most are operated by the military forces of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones....
on 5 July and let it pass. Six days later, a minor fire in the pump room caused a temporary shutdown in the number one air conditioning plant before swift repairs enabled the ship to continue as before.
On 15 July, Thornback sighted submarine , and the two boats exchanged information on their hunting areas. They also swapped movies, precious commodities for boosting morale on board the crowded boats. Six days later, Thornback proceeded north to patrol off Erimo Seki, an area which had recently seen a series of devastating carrier raids by Admiral William F. Halsey's Fast Carrier Task Force
Fast Carrier Task Force
The Fast Carrier Task Force was the main striking force of the United States Navy in the Pacific Ocean theatre of World War II.The Fast Carrier Task Force was known under two designations. The Navy made use of two sets of upper command structures for planning the upcoming operations...
38. The submarine's commanding officer noted somewhat humorously, "This area should be about as heavily traveled as the Sahara Desert after the working over it just had...."
His assessment was correct—only straggling merchantmen and small patrol craft hugged the barren coasts. On 26 July, at 0320, Thornback submerged 8000 yards (7,315.2 m) off Hei Saki. At 0400, the submarine's sound gear picked up the "pinging" projected by a snooping Japanese escort ship, and she came to periscope depth to have a look.
Carefully maneuvering into position, Thornback fired one shot from her stern tubes at 04:29 and soon heard a small explosion which stopped the enemy's screws. Almost immediately the submariners picked up new sounds—two more escorts, "pinging" and coming aggressively closer. After sizing up the new attackers, Thornback felt that they were too small to use a 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...
on—besides, a Japanese floatplane had begun circling the area. A rowboat with a few Japanese sailors amidst a pile of flotsam testified to the fact that the first ship was no longer there. Satisfied that their quarry had been sunk, the submarine cleared the area. One of the other escorts gave up the chase and picked up survivors of her sunken sister. "All antisubmarine vessels have closed the beach," Thornback’s commander later recorded, "and seem to be pinging away at the rocks."
Three days later, by periscope, the submarine spotted a 950-ton "sea truck", similar to Sanko Maru, at 2000 yards (1,828.8 m), close inshore. Unescorted, the Japanese presented a tempting target for a gun attack, but, no sooner had Thornback’s periscope shears and bow broken the surface, than the target slipped into the misty weather. Not to be daunted, Thornback followed, playing a cat and mouse game, and fired five torpedoes. All missed. She later sighted the enemy again, missed with three more torpedoes, and took the "sea truck" under fire. Despite poor visibility, Thornback closed to 300 yards (274.3 m) and scored numerous hits with the 40 millimeter guns. The target, however, was able to move closer inshore and escaped in the fog which closed around her like a shroud.
The submarine lurked on the surface off Hokkaidō
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
on 31 July and again tangled with some of the numerous Japanese patrol craft. She sighted a 100 feet (30.5 m) patrol boat at 500 yards (457.2 m) and closing. Thornback’s five-inch (127 mm) deck gun was trained out, but her crew could not keep their sights on the attacker through the telescopes and switched to open sights. Meanwhile, the 40 millimeter gun opened a devastating barrage at the enemy craft as it came steadily on a collision course. These shells continually hit the escort ship along the waterline and in the pilot house, probably killing the occupants on the bridge.
Thornback had passed her target once at 300 yards (274.3 m) and came about for a second pass when the forward torpedo room reported sharp noises forward. Further amplification showed that the noise was caused by enemy machine gun bullets striking the submarine's hull. Resuming the attack, Thornback swung back into action, with visibility only 300 yards (274.3 m) and lessening. Her 40 millimeter fire continued to maul the Japanese vessel, shooting away one of her masts and leaving her limping shoreward at only 3 knots (6 km/h). After securing from battle stations, Thornback passed through an oil slick and noted a mast from the heavily hit patrol craft.
Later on 31 July, Thornback rendezvoused with Sea Poacher off Kesennuma and proceeded north to pick up submarine en route to a projected shore bombardment mission against Hokkaidō
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
. The sight of the three submarines cruising on the surface moved Thornback’s commander to write: "On this clear and sunny day, the three ships in perfect column on a flat sea made a beautiful picture tearing along at 18 knots."
At 14:02 on 1 August, this part of "Abe's Abolishers"—Thornback, Angler, and Sea Poacher—made landfall off their target of Urakawa, Hokkaidō
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
. They swung parallel to the beach with guns manned and ready. Twelve minutes later, slowing to 10 knots (19 km/h), Thornback and her consorts opened fire with 5 inches (127 mm) and 40 millimeter batteries at a range of 4200 yards (3,840.5 m). The first few rounds from Thornback’s five-incher went wild, but the crew soon locked onto the range. Firing by hand after the foot firing plunger broke off, Thornback’s gunners eventually sent 100 rounds of five-inch (127 mm) shells shoreward, heavily damaging a factory and a power plant. "The firing took 22 minutes and was of inestimable value to the entire crew," wrote the submarine's commanding officer. "The training was excellent and the boost to morale tremendous."
Thornback set sail for Midway Island after the shelling of Urakawa, and arrived at the atoll on 8 August. Seven days later, Japan—hemmed in by veritable armadas of Allied ships and planes which were able to roam almost at will and unchallenged off her coast and in her skies—surrendered.
Post-war service
Thornback soon returned to the United States, where she was decommissioned at New London on 6 April 1946 and was placed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Subsequently brought to the 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...
, she was converted and reactivated under the Greater Underwater Propulsive Power Program (GUPPY). On 2 October 1953, the submarine was recommissioned, Lieutenant Commander Thomas C. Jones, Jr., in command, and assigned to Submarine Squadron (SubRon) 4.
Shaking down in her new configuration, the submarine performed a "first" for submarines on 6 November 1954, when she 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:...
ed in 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...
at New Orleans, Louisiana
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...
, from the Industrial Canal
Industrial Canal
The Industrial Canal is a 5.5 mile waterway in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. The waterway's proper name, as used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and on NOAA nautical charts, is Inner Harbor Navigation Canal...
to the foot of Canal Street. With SubRon 4, the ship was based at Key West, Florida
Key West, Florida
Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...
, and visited ports 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....
before entering the Charleston Naval Shipyard
Charleston Naval Shipyard
Charleston Naval Shipyard was a U.S. Navy ship building and repair facility located along the west bank of the Cooper River, in North Charleston, South Carolina and part of Naval Base Charleston...
in February 1956 for overhaul. Upon completion of this work, the submarine was deployed to the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
for a tour with the Sixth Fleet before returning to Key West in March 1957. While with SubRon 4, Thornback participated in operations supporting the Operational Development Force, the Fleet Sonar School, and the Fleet Training Unit at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
On 2 June 1958, Thornback departed the Caribbean, bound for Londonderry Port
Londonderry Port
Londonderry Port at Lisahally is a port near Derry, Northern Ireland. It is the United Kingdom’s most westerly port, has capacity for 30,000 ton vessels and accepts cruise ships. The current port is on the east bank of the River Foyle at the southern end of Lough Foyle, by the small village of...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, and operations with the joint Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
-Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
antisubmarine school. While thus engaged, the submarine damaged her port propeller at Londonderry Port
Londonderry Port
Londonderry Port at Lisahally is a port near Derry, Northern Ireland. It is the United Kingdom’s most westerly port, has capacity for 30,000 ton vessels and accepts cruise ships. The current port is on the east bank of the River Foyle at the southern end of Lough Foyle, by the small village of...
and became the first American submarine to be docked at Faslane by the Royal Navy. Thornback returned to the Sixth Fleet and her second Mediterranean deployment which lasted from 2 July to 24 September 1958.
For the remainder of the ship's active career, she was based out of Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, conducting deployments to the North Atlantic, the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
, and to 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....
and operating in a support capacity as newer submarine types joined the Fleet.
Thornback received one battle star for her 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.
TCG Uluçalireis (S 338)
Turkish Navy
The Turkish Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces.- Ottoman fleet after Mudros :Following the demise of the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of World War I, on November 3, 1918, the fleet commander of the Ottoman Navy, Liva Amiral Arif Pasha, ordered all flags to be...
on 1 July 1971 and renamed TCG Uluçalireis (S 338) for the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
admiral Uluç Ali Reis
Uluj Ali
Uluj Ali was an Italian by birth who converted to Islam, became a pirate, and later became an Ottoman admiral and Grand Admiral of the Ottoman Fleet in the 16th century.He was also known by several other names in...
. Decommissioned from 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...
on that same date, she was later struck from the Naval Vessel Register
Naval 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 1 August 1973. In 2000, after 28 years of service in the Turkish Navy she was taken from active duty. Handed over to the Rahmi M. Koç Museum, she can be visited at her moorings in Golden Horn
Golden Horn
The Golden Horn is a historic inlet of the Bosphorus dividing the city of Istanbul and forming the natural harbor that has sheltered Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman and other ships for thousands of...
in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
.