АҚШ Суасты Кемасы "Кит" Тарихы

Submarine of the United States

Whale, a Gato class submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for a whale, an extremely large, aquatic mammal that is fishlike in form. The USS Cachalot (SS 170) (Cachalot, another name for a Sperm Whale) commissioned on 1 December 1933 preceded the Whale. Her keel was laid down on 28 June 1941 by the Mare Island Naval Shipyard of Vallejo, California. She was launched on 14 March 1942 (sponsored by Mrs. A. D. Denny, wife of Captain A. D. Denny, the commanding officer of the shipyard), and commissioned on 1 June 1942, with Lieutenant Commander (Lt. Cmdr.) John B. Azer in command. Dock trials and initial shakedown training commenced on 30 July. The submarine—escorted by destroyer Kilty—departed San Francisco, California, on 4 August and arrived at San Diego, California, two days later. Between 30 July and 9 September, she conducted type training in the San Diego and San Francisco areas.

Whale got underway from San Francisco on 23 September and arrived at Pearl Harbor four days later. The submarine departed Hawaii on 9 October 1942, headed via Midway Island for "Imperial Waters" (the seas surrounding The Empire of Japan), and conducted training dives and battle surface drills en route. She arrived at her assigned patrol area off Kii Suido on 25 October and began to reconnoiter the vicinity which had been designated for a naval minefield. Her original plans had called for the submarine to lay mines offshore. However, after sighting several outbound freighters about from the coast, executive officer Frederick "Fritz" Harlfinger II (who later commanded Trigger) convinced Azer that the mines be planted as close in as possible. Hence Whale's first war patrol was conducted "within spitting distance" of the Japanese beach. Whale was the first American submarine to plant mines in Empire waters. During the war, no one on the American side knew how effective these mines proved to be, but a postwar analysis of Japanese shipping records credited Whale's minefield with sinking five enemy ships. The following day, Whale arrived at Seto Saki hoping to intercept some inbound freighter traffic. By the light of a full moon, she sighted a large freighter directly ahead and fired a three torpedo spread at the target. Two torpedoes hit the cargo ship, and she went down by the bow with her screws in the air. Whale sighted a second target astern of the freighter, launched three torpedoes, and observed that target listing slightly to port and heading for the beach. Whale fired a stern shot at a third freighter and heard a heavy torpedo explosion after 43 seconds. From 27 to 29 October, Whale patrolled the entrance to Bungo Suido. On 30 October, while off Ichie Saki, Whale spotted two freighters and a torpedo boat as escort; she launched two torpedoes at each of the ships, but scored only one hit. The torpedoes alerted the escort which bore down on the submarine and attacked her with depth charges. A 17 hour chase ensued in which Whale was badly damaged yet managed to shake the torpedo boat three times. After an unsuccessful search for a disabled sampan, Whale made rendezvous with an escort and proceeded to Pearl Harbor where she underwent repairs from 10 November 1942 through 2 January 1943. The next day, Whale got underway from the Submarine Base, Pearl Harbor, bound for the Marshall Islands. After conducting training dives and drills en route, she arrived in the Wotje and Kwajalein area on 10 January for two days' patrol off those atolls.

On 13 January 1943, Whale began cruising the shipping lane from Kwajalein to Truk. She sighted a freighter and pursued her quarry for before finally managing to work into position dead ahead of the target. She then launched four torpedoes. The first hit struck the freighter aft and broke off about 100 feet (30 m) of the stern; the second struck just forward of the bridge, and the fourth also exploded on target. Within six minutes, 3,559 ton Iwashiro Maru had sunk about 40 nautical miles north of Kwajalein, 09°54'N, 167°07'E., and Whale resumed her voyage toward Truk, running submerged. Whale conducted surface patrols on the Truk Empire shipping lanes until 17 January when she sighted a passenger/freighter bringing in troop reinforcements. Through the periscope, Whale observed hundreds of uniformed soldiers crowding the decks. She fired nine torpedoes and scored eight direct hits. All hits were necessary to sink the 9,816 ton Heiyo Maru north east of Truk in position 10°13'N, 151°25'E. ; the cargo must have been of such a nature as to prevent her from sinking more rapidly. The next seven days were spent patrolling the Caroline Islands. On 25 January while on a surface patrol along the Truk–Empire line, Whale sighted smoke in the bright moonlight and fired a three torpedo spread from the stern tubes at the target. Only one torpedo scored a hit. The damaged tanker, Syoyo Maru, sent up a flare which summoned an escort to her rescue. Whale went deep and sustained light damage from several depth charges. The following evening, Whale sighted the smoke of a steamer about on her starboard bow. She closed and launched one torpedo. A dull thud was heard throughout the boat, and no explosion occurred. The next morning (27 January), the submarine fired a three torpedo spread at the steamer but heard no explosions. A fourth torpedo also failed to explode, and the target, transport Shoan Maru (5624 GRT) attacked in the central Pacific in position 14°24'N, 153°30'E. turned away from the submarine, presenting only her stern to view. Whale fired a fifth and sixth torpedo; the latter passed directly below the target's stern and must have run under its full length without detonating. The Japanese ship then began dropping depth charges as she drew away. Whale fired her last remaining torpedo which hit the target just abaft her stack, causing her to lose power. Although Whale was credited with the kill, the Shoan Maru is towed to Saipan and grounded. After this action, Whale set her course for Midway, where she arrived 2 February 1943 and commenced preparations for her next patrol.

Whale got underway on 21 November for her tenth war patrol. She reached the Ryukyus on 4 December and operated off those islands through the end of the year. On 22 December, she sighted eight twin engine planes and three trawlers. She launched four torpedoes at the trawlers without scoring a hit and then cleared the area. The following day, while submerged southeast of Nakano Jima, Whale sighted four trawlers. She went to gun action stations and fired at the ships using four inch (102 mm) and .50 caliber guns. None of the fishing vessels fought back, and all were sunk within 80 minutes. On 4 and 5 January 1945, Whale and sister ship Kingfish searched unsuccessfully in the waters near Sufu Gan for a life raft containing 11 survivors of a downed B 29 Superfortress. There were heavy seas and visibility was only , and the B 29 did not answer calls on the lifeguard frequency. That lack of communication greatly hampered the rescue operation. On 6 January, Whale received orders to proceed via Midway to Hawaii, arriving at Pearl Harbor on 15 January. She soon pushed on to the west coast and entered the Mare Island Navy Yard on 26 January 1945 for an overhaul.

After she returned to Pearl Harbor via San Francisco, California, it was discovered that the submarine's hydraulic plant required an overhaul. This delayed departure on patrol for one month. Meanwhile, Lt. Cmdr. Freeland H. Carde, Jr., relieved Commander (Cmdr.) James B. Grady. On 15 June, fully loaded with provisions and torpedoes, Whale commenced her 11th war patrol. En route to the Marianas, Whale conducted training drills – emphasizing evasive dives from aircraft – and battle surface drills. She arrived at Saipan on 21 June and, the next day, commenced patrolling across the Japan–Wake Island supply lines until 30 June when she headed for Guam. She arrived there on 6 July and got underway the following day for lifeguard duty. From 8–23 July, Whale conducted lifeguard patrols in the areas of Nanpō Islands, Marianas, and Bungo Suido. Whale sighted several American B 29 Superfortress and B 24 Liberator bombers overhead. She also encountered a few freighters afloat but could not get in position to attack. On occasion at night, she spotted Japanese planes that were searching the water for lights. During this period, Whale rescued 15 downed aviators, saving several under adverse conditions. For example, on 26 July, while going in close for a rescue, Whale sighted 43 floating naval mines in 20 minutes, many close aboard. As a result of this lifeguard duty, Whale discovered many flaws in the air sea rescue doctrine and made several noteworthy recommendations to improve future operations. Whale commenced patrol east of Okino Shima on 30 July and ran into heavy seas: "Couldn't hold our own with this current, so took soundings each half hour." On 4 August, she submerged for patrol off Bungo Suido and, four days later, made rendezvous with submarine Dragonet to take on board a rescued pilot. On 9 August, Whale received 16 aviators and one patient who were transferred from submarine Blackfish, using a rubber boat with lines on bow and stern for propulsion. On 11 August, Whale received orders to proceed to Saipan for fuel and to Midway for refitting. She arrived at Saipan on 14 August. The next day, President of the United States Harry S. Truman announced the final Japanese capitulation. Whale sailed in company with submarine Scabbardfish for Hawaii and arrived at Pearl Harbor on 25 August 1945.

Whale departed Pearl Harbor on 30 August, bound for the Panama Canal, and arrived there on 14 September. After a three day stay, Whale sailed for New York City and arrived at Tompkinsville, Staten Island, on 23 September. In October, she moved north via Newport, Rhode Island, and entered Boston, Massachusetts, harbor on 23 September for the Navy Day celebration. She arrived at New London, Conn., on 30 October 1945 to prepare for inactivation. Whale was decommissioned in January 1947, berthed in New London, Connecticut, and placed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. She was towed to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where she arrived on 8 April 1948. Whale made several visits to Portsmouth and New London during the summer, and she finally came to rest at New London on 11 September 1948. The submarine was partially activated from 14 November to 14 December 1956 in order to replace submarine Tarpon. Whale departed New London on 12 January 1957 and, on 22 January, arrived at New Orleans, Louisiana, where she was recommissioned upon arrival. Whale was decommissioned for the last time in September 1957 and was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 March 1960. While at New Orleans, she was sold for scrap on 29 September 1960. Whale earned 11 battle stars during World War II, sinking 57,716 tons of Japanese shipping.