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USS Bugara SS-331

The bugara is a multi-colored fish found off the coast of California. The USS Bugara SS-331 is the only ship to have served the U.S. Military to have carried the name. The submarine was built by the Electric Boat Company out of Groton, Connecticut and launched on July 2, 1944. She was commissioned into the Navy on November 15, 1944.

Built as a Balao class submarine, the USS Bugara measured 311 feet nine inches long and 27 feet three inches wide. Her displacement measured 1,526 tons when floating on the surface and 2,424 tons when submerged. The sub had four V16 diesel engines, made by General Motors, which drove electrical generators. These generators supplied power to four, high speed electric motors, built by General Electric and two 126 cell Sargo batteries. The sub had two propellers that could drive it along at speeds of up to 20.25 knots on the surface and 8.75 knots when under the water. For actions against the enemy, she had ten torpedo tubes. Six of them were located on the forward part of the sub and four were aft. Her payload included up to 24 torpedoes. She also had one five inch 25 caliber gun and four machine guns on her deck for engaging the enemy from the surface. Her crew consisted of ten officers and 70 to 71 enlisted personnel.

Since she was built so close to the end of World War II, the Bugara only performed three war time tours. All three of them took place in the Java Sea, the Flores Sea, the South China Sea and the Gulf of Siam. They all took place between February and August of 1945. Her first two patrols were completely uneventful. The third, however, more than made up for the first two. This last patrol took place in the Gulf of Siam. As the war was winding down, naval targets became scarce. However, the Bugara found and destroyed a total of 57 small boats during that last patrol. In all but two cases, the ships were boarded by the crew of the sub and the native sailors removed and set ashore with their belongings.

One of the strangest incidents involved a Japanese ship that was being crewed by Chinese sailors. The ship was under attack by Malay pirates. The Buraga maneuvered itself into position and then boarded the Japanese boat. Once the Chinese crew had been secured aboard the sub, the Buraga sank it. They then proceeded to take care of the pirates and dropped the crew off, safe and sound. In total, the ships that were sunk by the sub during its last patrol totaled 5,284 tons.

The Buraga arrived in Fremantle, Australia on August 17, 1945, to complete her final war patrol. From there, she made her way to Subic Bay in the Philippians and operated from there for the rest of 1945. She left that side of the Pacific and returned to San Diego, California in January of 1946. After some minor repairs were completed, she made way to Pearl Harbor, reaching Hawaii in May. She received an overhaul at the Pearl Harbor Navy Shipyard and then, in the fall of 1946, made a training cruise through the Bering Sea. After that mission was completed, she returned to California and sat in a yard until March of 1948.

In July of that year, she took a cruise to Yokosuka, Japan, passing through Guam, Melbourne, Buckner Bay, and Tsingtao. She returned to Hawaii in August and spent a year operating out of Pearl Harbor. In August of 1949, she was in San Francisco, where she received an overhaul. She returned to Pearl Harbor in January of 1950 and then was based there until December of 1954. Twice during that time, she was assigned missions to support war activities taking place in Korea. She returned to the continental U.S. in December of 1954.

Until she was decommissioned in October of 1970, she took part in a wide variety of training missions and fleet exercises. Once she had been decommissioned, she was to enter storage. Unfortunately, on June 1, 1971, as she was being towed to the yard, the Buraga was accidentally swamped and sank. She had received three Battle Stars for her service during World War II.

One of the concerns that still exist today for sailors who lived and worked on the USS Buraga is the likelihood of asbestos exposure. As with many of the ships and subs built for and by the U.S. Navy, asbestos had been used extensively as an insulator. The dust that is produced by asbestos containing materials contains millions of microscopic fibers that cause damage to the human body. There are two primary asbestos related diseases, namely asbestosis and mesothelioma, which can result from asbestos exposure. It can take as long as fifty years for these diseases to show up. If you have questions about either of these diseases or about asbestos exposure in general, please contact us for more information.

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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