- USS Toro (SS-422)
USS "Toro" (SS-422), a "Tench"-class submarine, was the only ship of the
United States Navy to be named for the "toro", a name applied to various fish including thecowfish , thecatalufa , and thecavallo . Her keel was laid down on27 May 1944 at thePortsmouth Navy Yard . She was launched on23 August 1944 sponsored by Mrs. Alan G. Kirk, and commissioned on8 December 1944 with Commander James D. Grant in command.Following her completion on
26 December 1944 , "Toro" participated in training exercises out ofPortsmouth, New Hampshire ,Newport, Rhode Island , andNew London, Connecticut , before arriving atKey West, Florida , on11 February 1945 . She provided services to the Fleet Sonar School, then, on28 February , departed Key West in company with submarine USS|Bumper|SS-333|3, bound for thePanama Canal Zone were she underwent a week of intensive training. The two submarines set a westward course forHawaii on15 March and arrived atPearl Harbor on1 April . "Toro" conducted training exercises out of that port with Submarine Division 101 until24 April when she departedOahu in company with submarine USS|Billfish|SS-286|3. She arrived atSaipan on6 May and, after one false start, got underway for her first war patrol on10 May .After arriving in her patrol and lifeguard area south of
Shikoku and east ofKyūshū on16 May , she occasionally encountered Japanese planes as she pursued her duties. On18 May , following a probable periscope sighting, "Toro" detected a transmission on Japanese submarine radar frequency and attempted to close the contact but was unsuccessful.As she patrolled
Bungo Suido , she was often assigned as lifeguard for air strikes against the Japanese islands. While offOmino Shima before sunrise on25 May , she received word that aB-29 Superfortress was in trouble. She began the search in state four seas with only fair visibility and, two hours after dawn, homed in by friendly air cover, she rescued two Army aviators who had been floating in their lifejackets for three and one-half hours. Twenty minutes later, she rescued another aviator and then continued her search for additional survivors until late in the day. While patrolling on the surface on the following morning, she made radar contact with a possible target at 2000 yards. The submarine turned toward the contact and shortly there after a torpedo wake crossed her bow, indicating that an enemy vessel had first located her. "Toro" dove and had no further contact with the unseen attacker. "Toro" continued patrols and lifeguard duty inBungo Suido until14 June when she set her course for theMariana Islands . She moored atApra Harbor five days later.Following refit by submarine tender USS|Fulton|AS-11|3, she got underway from
Guam on14 July ; paused briefly atSaipan for fuel, water, and the replacement of her torpedoes with Mark 18s; and arrived in her patrol area on24 July . Late in the day, she was drawn far out of her assigned area in a fruitless search for a downed flier. The departure of "Toro"’s air cover at 1800 left her in a most dangerous situation due to the expected passage of an American task force on an antishipping sweep. Unable to clear the area in time, "Toro" made radar contact with the task force at 2055. Despite attempts to establish her identity, "Toro" was soon the target of two obviously unfriendly American ships which bore down on the submarine at a speed of convert|22|kn|km/h|0 and bracketed her with gunfire at a distance of 7400 yards. "Toro" attempted to establish her identity using a flare, smoke bombs, and sonar, but the ships were still firing when she passed convert|150|ft|m|0. The beleaguered submarine continued down to convert|400|ft|m|-1 and rigged fordepth charge s. The surface vessels, thinking that they had sunk a Japanese picket boat, remained in the area for half an hour searching for survivors without discovering that their target had been a friendly submarine. An hour after midnight, "Toro" surfaced and set her course back to her patrol area.That morning, she returned to her lifeguard station and, in the afternoon, rescued three British aviators afloat on a raft. She maintained her station for carrier strikes against
Japan on28 July and, shortly after noon on30 July , received a distress message from anUnited States Army Air Corps P-51 Mustang plane. After circling his plane over the submarine the pilot parachuted from the crippled aircraft at an altitude of only convert|800|ft|m|-1. Within seven minutes, "Toro"’s crew brought the aviator on board.She transferred the rescued British fliers to submarine USS|Gabilan|SS-252|3 on
1 August . On5 August , while patrolling her lifeguard area for planes returning from bomber raids on the Japanese islands, "Toro" sighted dense black smoke on the horizon and, receiving reports of a downed pilot in the area, put on all possible speed to investigate the source of the smoke. Less than 20 minutes later, she picked up an Army aviator afloat in his lifeboat impressively marked by a smoke display. Minutes later, a second Army aviator jumped from his plane nearby, and again "Toro" had a flier on board within seven minutes of the time his parachute opened.At mid-month, Japan capitulated. After destroying a number of
naval mine s south ofHonshū , the submarine departed the area on17 August and proceeded viaGuam toMidway Island where she arrived on27 August .On
4 September , she departed Midway and proceeded via Pearl Harbor and the Panama Canal to east coast ports. She arrived atPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania , on31 October to prepare for inactivation. In January 1946, rescue ocean tug ATR-67 towed the submarine to New London, where on7 February 1946 , "Toro" was decommissioned and placed in reserve."Toro" was recommissioned on
13 May 1947 , and she reported for duty to Submarine Squadron 2, Atlantic Fleet, on28 May . She conducted hunter/killer exercises, made a simulated war patrol in theArctic Sea , and joined fleet tactical exercises in theMediterranean Sea . On28 January 1950 , she joined Submarine Development Group 2, and her operations helped to refine submarine tactics, weapons, and equipment. She worked in theAtlantic Ocean andCaribbean Sea until July 1952, when she reported to Submarine Squadron 2 at New London and assumed new duties training submariners. During the next ten years, she combined these activities with type training and services to ships and aircraft engaged in antisubmarine warfare exercises. She also participated in Operation "Springboard" and made one Mediterranean cruise. She was redesignated an auxiliary submarine withhull classification symbol AGSS in July 1962 and, on22 November 1962 , as her Navy career drew to its close, she made her 11,000th dive while operating inLong Island Sound .In February 1963, she was ordered to berth with the Philadelphia Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet, for demilitarization and non-industrial stripping; on
11 March 1963 she was decommissioned, and on1 April 1963 her name was struck from theNaval Vessel Register . She was slated to be sunk in an attempt to locate submarine USS|Thresher|SSN-593|3 but the plan was abandoned, and "Toro" was later sold and scrapped."Toro" two
battle star s forWorld War II .References
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