- USS Segundo (SS-398)
USS "Segundo" (SS-398), a "Balao"-class
submarine , was a ship of theUnited States Navy named for the segundo, acavalla fish of Caribbean waters."Segundo" was laid down on
14 October 1943 by thePortsmouth Navy Yard inKittery, Maine ; launched on5 February 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs. John L. Sullivan; and commissioned on9 May 1944 , Lieutenant Commander James D. Fulp, Jr., in command."Segundo" completed fitting out and contract trials then moved to New London, Conn., on
15 June and began training. The submarine stood out of New London on26 June for thePanama Canal Zone en route to the Pacific war zone. She departed Balboa on9 July and arrived at Pearl Harbor on25 July . The next several weeks were spent in training exercises and weapons firing. The ship was combat loaded on19 August and20 August and, the next day, sailed on her first war patrol.First and second patrols, August 1944 – January 1945
"Segundo", together with submarines USS|Seahorse|SS-304|3, and USS|Whale|SS-239|3 formed a wolf pack. They refueled at
Saipan on3 September and departed the next day for their patrol area in thePhilippines nearSurigao Strait . No worthwhile targets were found, and "Segundo" ended her patrol atMajuro Atoll ,Marshall Islands , on21 October without having fired a shot.The second patrol, from
16 November 1944 to5 January 1945 , was more profitable. "Segundo", and sister ships USS|Trepang|SS-412|3, and USS|Razorback|SS-394|3 were cruising betweenLuzon Strait and theSouth China Sea . On the evening of6 December , aconvoy of seven escorted merchant ships was sighted. The three submarines made night attacks which sank all of the merchantmen.Third patrol, February – March 1945
"Segundo" refitted at
Guam from submarine tender USS|Apollo|AS-25|3 and was in theEast China Sea with "Razorback" and USS|Sea Cat|SS-399|3 on1 February . Threetorpedo attacks were made on unescorted ships near theKorea n coast in shallow water. The first attack was on6 March against a small ship but all torpedoes missed. The next was made four days later against a medium-sized ship. Four torpedoes were fired at convert|1000|yd|m|-2 but they also missed.The third attack was a night surface action against a cargo ship on
11 March . Two torpedoes of the spread hit. The first blew the stern off and the second hit amidships, sinking cargo ship "Shori Maru" in two minutes. The submarine ended her patrol at Pearl Harbor on26 March and remained there for a month before putting to sea again.Fourth and fifth patrols, May – August 1945
"Segundo" was assigned to a lifeguard station until
16 May when she departed for her assigned area in the East China Sea. On29 May , she sank seven two-mastedschooner s of approximately 100 tons each with shellfire. Two days later, she sank a large four-masted full-rigged ship of approximately 1,250 tons with two torpedoes. She sank another on3 June with her deck gun. On9 June , two patrol ships were also sunk by her deck gun. On the night of11 June , the "Fukui Maru" was torpedoed and sunk. The submarine then sailed toMidway Atoll for upkeep."Segundo" began her fifth and final war patrol on
10 August in theSea of Okhotsk . Ordered to proceed toTokyo Bay on24 August , the ship was proceeding south when she picked up aJapan ese Sen Toku class I-401 submarine, which was at the time the largest submarine in the world, by radar on29 August . The enemy boat was ordered to halt by international signal. This was done; and, after several trips between the two submarines by their respective representatives, the Japanese agreed to accept aprize crew aboard and to proceed to Tokyo with "Segundo". The two ships enteredSagami Wan on31 August and, at 05:00, the American flag was raised aboard the "I-401".1945 – 1953
"Segundo" stood out of Tokyo Bay on
3 September 1945 en route to the west coast via Pearl Harbor. She was assigned to SubRon 3 inSan Diego and began operations from there. The submarine made a three-month cruise toAustralia andChina in 1946 and a four-month cruise to China in 1948. The outbreak of theKorean War found "Segundo" in the Far East. She supportedUnited Nations Forces in Korea from July to September 1950 before returning to San Diego in late November.In 1951, "Segundo" was modernized and converted to a
Fleet Snorkel submarine at the San Francisco Naval Shipyard. She returned to her home port and resumed operations until15 August 1952 when she again joined the 7th Fleet off Korea. That deployment period ended on16 February 1953 .1953 – 1970
For the next 16 years, "Segundo" operated out of her home port and along the west coast. From 1953 through 1969, she was deployed to the western Pacific every year except 1956, 1957, 1961, and 1963.
In July 1970, a Survey Board found "Segundo" unfit for further Naval service. The submarine was decommissioned
1 August , and struck from the Navy list on8 August 1970 and sunk as a target by USS|Salmon|SSR-573|3."Segundo" received four
battle star s forWorld War II service and one for the Korean War.References
*DANFS|http://hazegray.org/danfs/submar/ss398.txt
External links
*navsource|08/08398|Segundo
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