- USS Cuttlefish (SS-171)
USS "Cuttlefish" (SC-5/SS-171), a "Cachalot"-class submarine and one of the "
V-boat s," was the second ship of theUnited States Navy to be named for theCuttlefish , a ten-armed marinemollusk similar to thesquid . Her keel was laid down byElectric Boat Company inGroton, Connecticut . She was launched on21 November 1933 sponsored by Mrs. B. S. Bullard, and commissioned on8 June 1934 withLieutenant Commander Charles W. "Gin" Styer in command.Departing
New London, Connecticut , on15 May 1935 , "Cuttlefish" arrived atSan Diego, California , on22 June . She sailed ontorpedo practice and fleet tactics along the West Coast, as well as in theHawaiian Islands , until28 June 1937 when she sailed for thePanama Canal ,Miami, Florida ,New York City , andNew London, Connecticut .Arriving at New London on
28 July 1937 , she conducted experimental torpedo firing, sound training, and other operations for the Submarine School. She sailed fromNew York City on22 October 1938 forCoco Solo , where she conducted diving operations and other exercises for the training of submariners until20 March 1939 , sailing then forMare Island, California ."Cuttlefish" arrived at
Pearl Harbor on16 June 1939 and was based there on patrol duty, as well as joining in battle problems and exercises in theHawaii an area. That autumn she cruised to theSamoan Islands , and in 1940 to the West Coast. On5 October 1941 she cleared Pearl Harbor for an overhaul atMare Island Navy Yard .After returning to
Pearl Harbor , "Cuttlefish" put to sea on her first war patrol29 January 1942 . (Like her sisters, her MAN engines, license-built in the U.S., caused constant headaches, and she was eventually re-engined). On13 February she performed a reconnaissance ofMarcus Island , gaining valuable information, and after patrolling in theBonin Islands , returned toMidway Island on24 March . She refitted there and at Pearl Harbor, and on2 May cleared Midway for her second war patrol. Between18 May and24 May , she reconnoiteredSaipan and the northern islands of theMariana Islands group. On19 May she attacked a patrol ship, and while maneuvering for a second attack, was detected. She was forced deep to endure four hours of severe depth charging, more of which came her way on24 May when she challenged three enemydestroyer s. The next day an alert enemy plane caught her on the surface and dropped twobomb s as she went under, both of them misses.As it became obvious that the Japanese Fleet was out in strength, "Cuttlefish" was ordered to patrol about convert|700|nm|km|-1 west of Midway, remaining on station during the
Battle of Midway of4 June to6 June 1942 . She returned to Pearl Harbor on15 June , and there and at Midway prepared for her third war patrol, for which she sailed on29 July under the command of Lieutenant Commander Elliot E. Marshall. Patrolling off the Japanese homeland, she attacked adestroyer on18 August , and received a punishingdepth charge attack. Three days later she launched a spread of torpedoes, three of which hit afreighter and one of which hit an escort. Explosions were seen, but the sinking could not be confirmed. On5 September she attacked a tanker which, it is believed, she sunk.Returning to Pearl Harbor
20 September 1942 , "Cuttlefish" was ordered to New London, where she served theSubmarine School as a training ship from December 1942 until October 1945. On8 December 1944 , she suffered minor damage in collision with thedestroyer escort USS|Bray|DE-709|2. She was decommissioned at Philadelphia24 October 1945 and sold12 February 1947 ."Cuttlefish"’s third war patrol was designated as "successful," and she received one
battle star for that patrol and one for her service during theBattle of Midway .References
*DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/c16/cuttlefish.htm
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