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USS Bullhead SS-332

The USS Bullhead SS-332 was built by the Electric Boat Company out of Groton, Connecticut. This sub is the only ship to have served the U.S. Military to have carried the name, which comes from large headed fish, like the catfish. It was launched on July 16, 1944 and commissioned into the Navy on December 4, 1944.

Built as a Balao class submarine, the Bullhead measured a little over 311 foot in length and just a bit more than 27 foot in width. When submerged, her displacement was 2,424 tons and, when on the surface, it was 1,526 tons. She was driven along by two propellers that could move the sub at 20.25 knots on the surface and 8.75 knots under the water. Her propulsion system used four V16 diesel engines, built by General Motors, which drove electric generators. The electricity was then used to charge two 126 cell Sargo batteries or used to power four electric motors, built by General Electric. She could carry up to 24 torpedoes that could be launched from ten different tubes, six in the front and four in the rear. She also carried one five inch 25 caliber gun and four machine guns on her deck for surface fighting. She had ten officers and 70 to 71 enlisted men as her crew.

Her first patrol took place in March and April of 1945. Her primary assignment during this patrol was to act as one of the lifeguards for various air attacks against the coast of China. She rescued three airmen who had crash landed a B-29 Superfortress after an attack. At two different points during this patrol she also bombarded targets on Pratas Island, knocking out enemy radio installations.

Her second patrol took her into the Gulf of Siam and the South China Sea. This assignment lasted through May and June of 1945. She had several contacts with the enemy during this mission. She managed to sink two small freighters, a sub chaser and a small schooner. She also damaged two other sub chasers and another small freighter. This was all accomplished with the guns on her deck.

On July 31, 1945, she left Australia for her third patrol. For this mission, she was assigned as part of a wolf pack, a group of hunter-killer subs, with the USS Capitaine SS-336 and the USS Puffer SS-268. She was supposed to operate in the Java Sea until September 5, and then, along with the other two subs, head for Subic Bay in the Philippines. Unfortunately, disaster struck before she was able to complete her mission. She was last heard from on August 6, when she reported that she had successfully navigated the Lombok Strait. On August 15, the Capitaine reported that they had been unable to contact the Bullhead.

There had been a lot of traffic in the area that the Bullhead was supposed to have traversed, so it is difficult to pinpoint exactly what happened. With a post-war examination of Japanese records, however, it is believed that the sub was sunk by depth charges from enemy aircraft. On August 6, it was reported by a Japanese Army plane that it had scored two direct hits on a sub. This occurred near the coast of Bali, which is a mountainous region. It is theorized that the mountain peaks blocked the Bullhead's radar capabilities, inhibiting them from seeing the incoming airplane. After the depth charges were dropped, oil and air bubbles rose to the surface for ten minutes. The crew list for the sunken sub contained 84 names of officers and sailors. The Bullhead received two Battle Stars for service during World War II.

There is one ongoing concern for the sailors who may have served aboard the Bullhead prior to its tragic end. The mineral, asbestos, had been used aboard the sub, as well as aboard most of the other naval vessels built during the beginning and middle of the 1900s. Asbestos containing materials tend to break up and create a dust that contains millions of microscopic asbestos fibers. With the poor ventilation available aboard submarines, this dust was circulated throughout the ship and inhaled and swallowed by the crew. It can take up to fifty years for the damage caused by asbestos exposure to fully develop. Asbestosis and mesothelioma are the two primary asbestos-related diseases that are known to exist. If you have questions about either of them or about asbestos exposure in general, please contact us.

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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