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USS Blueback SS-326

During World War II, the United States Navy commissioned a number of submarines to patrol and defend waters in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. One such vessel was the USS Blueback SS-326. This ship, named after a type of trout found in the Pacific Northwest, was part of the Balao class submarines. An improvement upon the early Gato models, the USS Blueback SS-326 became a significant part of the military's victory against its enemies in World War II.

As part of the Balao class, the USS Blueback SS-326 was over 300 feet long and 27 feet wide. Traveling at over 20 knots per hour above the surface and 8.75 knots per hour below the surface, she could stay submerged for up to 48 hours and boasted ten torpedo tubes carrying up to 24 torpedoes. She was laid down on July 29, 1943 by the Electric Boat Company of Groton, Connecticut, one of the few submarine shipbuilding companies of this time period. After month of work, the USS Blueback SS-326 was launched on May 7, 1944. She was sponsored by Mrs. William Brent Young and commissioned into the Navy on August 28, 1944.

Under the command of Lieutenant Commander Merrill K. Clementson, the USS Blueback SS-326 completed a shakedown cruise along the east coast of the United States before being sent to Key West for training exercises. While in Florida, she was part of the Fleet sound School before traveling through the Panama Canal and onto Pearl Harbor via Balboa. She arrived in Hawaii on November 22 and underwent training exercises because being sent out on her first wartime patrol.

During her first patrol, the USS Blueback SS-326 became part of a patrol group along with the USS Puffer SS-268 and the USS Sea Fox SS-402. The three vessels traveled together north of Saipan. Just a few days before New Year's Day, the USS Blueback SS-326 rescued four Army bombers. After taking them to Saipan, she resumed patrol off of Tori Shima and was put in charge of weather reports as part of the attack on Okinawa. On January 26, 1945, she left this area for a mission to patrol the South China sea near Camranh Bay.

While in the South China Sea, the USS Blueback SS-326 took part in a failed attack against a Japanese convoy, served in lifeguard duties between Hong Kong and Singapore, and took part in the search for a Japanese battleship task force that was never found. During this patrol, she was stationed out of Fremantle in Australia, but in mid-February, she was reassigned to Subic Bay in the Philippines.

After some time for repairs and training at Subic Bay, the USS Blueback SS-326 joined a coordinated group that included the USS Bergall SS-320, the USS Blackfin SS-233, the USS Hawkbill SS-366, and the USS Flasher SS-249 in a patrol around the Indochinese coast. On March 4, and enemy fired upon her, but she dove to escape with minimal damages. That same day, she spotted a Japanese sailing vessel, which she sank, along with another small Japanese vessel later that month. On March 26, she fired upon and missed a Japanese destroyer and narrowly escaped a heavy depth charge attack. She then began tracking a Japanese convoy, and during a battle with them, she again had to dive deep to avoid enemy fire.

In April of that year, the USS Blueback SS-326 changed her course and set sail for the Java Sea. After a few weeks of uneventful sailing, the submarine was sent to Fremantle for refitting and training exercises. Her third patrol too her to the Lombok Straight where, on May 21, she opened fire on a sailboat. Later that month, she also was involved unsuccessfully in an attack on a Japanese subchaser before heading to the Sundra Strait. During a battle with a Japanese convoy there, she lost depth control and could only fire a single torpedo at the ships before resting on the ocean's bottom before resurfacing and returning to Fremantle, where she was refitted and a torpedo accuracy problem was repaired.

After repairs, the USS Blueback SS-326 patrolled waters neat the Thousand Islands. The war then ended and she was sent to Subic Bay and later Guam for training exercises. After time in Guam and the Admiralty Islands, she returned home to the United States where she patrolled the local waters and took part in a cruise to Pearl Harbor, Truck, the Philippines, and China. She was then reassigned to become part of the Navy's ship-lending program. She was decommissioned on May 23, 1948 and sent to be a part of the Turkish Navy. After being stricken officially from the Navy's Register, she became a part of the Turkey's submarine fleet under the name Ikinoi Inonu, and the submarine still belongs to Turkey today.

During her World War II service, the USS Blueback SS-326 received two battle stars and her crew received a number of Naval awards and medals. However, there is a dark side to this story. Like all ships built during this time period, she was constructing using products containing asbestos, which can be quite dangerous. If you worked in the Navy on this or any other period vessel, talk to your doctor right away to find out more about how you've been put at risk.

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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