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USS Bang SS-385

The USS Bang was a Balao-class submarine launched on August 30, 1943, and commissioned on December 4. Credited with the sinking of eight Japanese merchant ships, she received six battle stars for her service in World War II.

The USS Bang during World War II

The USS Bang was in Pearl Harbor ready for action by the end of March 1944, and departed on her first patrol on March 29. Together with Parche and Tinosa she made for Luzon Straight and the waters south west of Formosa. On April 29 the USS Bang sighted a convoy of a dozen ships. She attacked and sank the Takegawa Maru, a freighter weighing almost 2,000 tons, and the next day sank the 2,800 ton cargo Nittatsu Maru. She managed to avoid the counterattacking depthcharges, and along with her two wolf pack members, sank the 6,000 ton cargo Kinrei Maru on May 3. With all of her torpedoes expended, she departed the area and arrived at Midway on May 14.

On June 6, the USS Bang began her second war patrol, and as the Marianas invasion had just begun, she was assigned to patrol the west of the island group to allow her to intercept any Japanese vessels moving east towards the islands. On June 22, shortly after the decisive Battle of the Philippine Sea, the Bang met with Seahorse and Growler, forming a wolf pack which would patrol the waters around Formosa. The pack sighted a large convoy of more than 15 ships, and, and Bang quickly fired ten torpedoes in a submerged attack. Just as quickly the escort ships turned on her, firing large numbers of depth charges, and the Bang was forced to submerge even further to escape them. The convoy was gone by the time she surfaced. A similar sequence of events occurred on July 4, when she sighted a small convoy but was in turn spotted and counterattacked before she could hit her target. She returned to Pearl Harbor on July 17.

The third patrol of the USS Bang began on August 27. Returning to waters near Formosa, she encountered a small enemy convoy on September 9. She was able to hit and sink two freighters in the same convoy, the Tokiwasan Maru and the Shoryu Maru. The escort ships, however, spotted her and counterattacked quickly. She took minor damage from depth charges, which her crew was able to repair over the next few days. On September 19, she spotted another enemy convoy, and sank tanker Tosei Maru No. 2, again managing to evade depth chargers from escort ships. The next day, she returned to Midway and the end of her patrol.

Her fourth patrol found her again in Formosa, along with Shad and Redfish. Typhoons prevented effective patrolling for several days, but eventually Bang sighted a convoy on November 22, and in a series of coordinated attacks the three submarines sank the entire convoy. Bang herself sank two cargo ships, the Sakae Maru and the Amakasu Maru. She then left the area, and arrived at Pearl Harbor on December 5 for refit. Her fifth patrol began on January 2, 1945, and this time she was headed for Saipan. Together with Spadefish, Atule, and Pompon she sailed for the Yellow and South China seas. There were few targets in the area, however, and she arrived at Guam at the end of her patrol with no new targets under her belt. The Bang began her sixth and final patrol on March 25. Bound for Luzon Strait, she took up lifeguard duty northeast of Formosa during strikes on Okinawa. After several weeks she returned to Hawaii, arriving May 18. She was subsequently sent to the Portsmouth Navy Yard for an overhaul, arriving June 22. For some months afterwards she operated out of New London, and was then decommissioned on February 12, 1947.

After the War

The USS Bang was recommissioned on February 1, 1951, but spent just fifteen months on active duty before her second decommission on May 15, 1952. During this time she was modernized and redesignated as a Guppy IIA, and recommissioned for a third time on October 4, 1952. She spent the next two decades operating in the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, participating in training exercises and periodically going on training cruises in locations such as Spain and Denmark. In 1972 she was transferred to the Spanish Navy, first on a five year loan, and subsequently was sold permanently.

Many United States Navy vessels contained large amounts of asbestos, as the substance was once used extensively as an insulator and fire-proofing material. Many people who served onboard these vessels, or were involved in building, repairing, or outfitting them, have subsequently developed asbestos-related diseases due to asbestos exposure. If you've developed an asbestos-related disease as a result of involvement with Navy vessels, contact us for information about your legal options.

Submarines Index

USS Albacore SS 218 USS AmberJack SS 219 USS Angler SS 240 USS Apogon SS 308 USS Archer-fish SS 311 USS Argonaut-SM-1 USS Argonaut SS 475 USS Aspro SS 309 USS Atule SS 403 USS Balao SS 285 USS Bang SS 385 USS Barbel SS 316 USS Barbero SS 317 USS Barb SS 220 USS Barracuda SS 163 USS Bashaw SS 241 USS Bergall SS 320 USS Besugo SS 321 USS Billfish SS 286 USS Blackfin SS 322 USS Blackfish SS 221 USS Blenny SS 324 USS Blower SS 325 USS Blueback SS 326 USS Bluefish SS 222 USS Bluegill SS 242 USS Boarfish SS 327 USS Bonefish SS 223 USS Bonita SS 165 USS Bowfin SS 287 USS Bream SS 243 USS Brill SS 330 USS Bugara SS 331 USS Bullhead SS 332 USS Bumper SS 333 USS Burrfish SS 312 USS Cabezon SS 334 USS Carbonero SS 337 USS Hake SS 256 USS Hammerhead SS 364 USS Harder SS 257 USS Hardhead SS 365 USS Hawkbill SS 366

USS Herring SS 233 USS Hoe SS 258 USS Icefish SS 367 USS Jack SS 259 USS Jallao SS 368 USS Kete S 369 USS Kingfish SS 234 USS Kraken SS 370 USS Lagarto SS 371 USS Lizardfish SS 373 USS Loggerhead SS 374 USS Macabi SS 375 USS Mackerel-204 USS Manta SS 299 USS Mapiro SS 376 USS Marlin SS 205 USS Mingo SS 261 USS Moray SS 300 USS Muskallunge SS 262 USS Narwhal SS 263 USS Nautilus-ss-0024 USS Paddle SS 167 USS Pampanito SS 383 USS Parche SS 384 USS Pargo SS 264 USS Perch SS 176 USS Permit SS 178 USS Peto SS 265 USS Pickerel SS 177 USS Picuda SS 382 USS Pike SS 173 USS Pilotfish SS 386 USS Pintado SS 387 USS Pipefish SS 388 USS Pirahna SS 389 USS Plaice SS 390 USS Plunger SS 179 USS Pogy SS 266 USS Pollack SS 180 USS Pomfret SS 391 USS Pompano SS 181 USS Pompon SS 267 USS Porpoise SS 172

USS Puffer SS 268 USS Queenfish SS 393 USS Quillback SS 424 USS Rasher SS 269 USS Raton SS 270 USS Ray SS 271 USS Razorback SS 394 USS Redfin SS 272 USS Redfish SS 395 USS Robalo SS 273 USS Rock SS 274 USS Ronquil SS 396 USS Runner SS 275 USS Runner SS 476 USS S-1 SS 105 USS S-20 SS 125 USS S-46 SS 157 USS Sailfish SS 192 USS Salmon SS 182 USS Sand Lance SS 381 USS Sargo SS 188 USS Saury SS 189 USS Sawfish SS 276 USS Scabbardfish SS 397 USS Scamp SS 277 USS Scorpion SS 278 USS Sculpin SS 191 USS Sea Cat SS 399 USS Sea Devil SS 400 USS Sea Dog SS 401 USS Seadragon SS 194 USS Sea Fox SS 402 USS Seahorse SS 304 USS Sealion SS 195 USS Seal SS 183 USS Sea Owl SS 405 USS Sea Poacher SS 406 USS Searaven SS 196 USS Sea Robin SS 407 USS Seawolf SS 197 USS Segundo SS 398 USS Sennet SS 408

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