USS Flounder (SS-251) 943724 217496386 2008-06-06T08:37:13Z Lightbot 7178666 Units/dates/other {|{{Infobox Ship Begin}} {{Infobox Ship Image |Ship image=[[Image:USS Flounder (SS-251).jpg|300px]] |Ship caption= }} {{Infobox Ship Career |Hide header= |Ship country= |Ship flag={{USN flag|1947}} |Ship name= |Ship ordered= |Ship builder=[[General Dynamics Electric Boat|Electric Boat Company]], [[Groton, Connecticut]]<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates">{{cite book | last = Friedman | first = Norman | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History | publisher = [[United States Naval Institute]] | date = 1995 | location = [[Annapolis, Maryland]] | pages = pp. 285-304 | url = | doi = | isbn = 1-55750-263-3 }}</ref> |Ship laid down=[[5 December]] [[1942]]<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/> |Ship launched=[[22 August]] [[1943]]<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/> |Ship acquired= |Ship commissioned=[[29 November]] [[1943]]<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/> |Ship decommissioned=[[12 February]] [[1947]]<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/> |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= |Ship struck=[[1 June]] [[1959]]<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/> |Ship reinstated= |Ship fate=[[2 February]] [[1960]]<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/> |Ship status= }} {{Infobox Ship Characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class=[[Gato class submarine|''Gato''-class]] [[diesel-electric]] [[submarine]]<ref name="Register">{{cite book | last = Bauer | first = K. Jack | authorlink = | coauthors = Roberts, Stephen S. | title = Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775-1990: Major Combatants | publisher = Greenwood Press | date = 1991 | location = [[Westport, Connecticut]] | pages = pp. 271–273 | url = | doi = | isbn = 0-313-26202-0 }}</ref> |Ship displacement=1,525&nbsp;[[long ton|ton]]s (1,549&nbsp;[[tonne|t]]) surfaced<ref name="Register"/><br />2,424&nbsp;tons (2,460&nbsp;t) submerged<ref name="Register"/> |Ship length={{convert|311|ft|9|in|abbr=on|lk=on}}<ref name="Register"/> |Ship beam={{convert|27|ft|3|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="Register"/> |Ship draft={{convert|17|ft|0|in|abbr=on}} maximum<ref name="Register"/> |Ship propulsion={{Fleet-boat-propulsion-early-GM-4-GE}} |Ship speed={{convert|21|kn|km/h|lk=on}} surfaced<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs">''U.S. Submarines Through 1945'' pp. 305-311</ref><br />{{convert|9|kn|km/h}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/> |Ship range=11,000&nbsp;[[nautical mile|nmi]] (20,000&nbsp;km) surfaced at {{convert|10|kn|km/h|0}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/> |Ship endurance=48 hours at {{convert|2|kn|km/h|0}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/><br />75 days on patrol |Ship test depth={{convert|300|ft|m|-1|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/> |Ship complement=6 officers, 54 enlisted<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/> |Ship sensors= |Ship EW= |Ship armament={{Fleet-boat-armament-3-inch}} }} |} '''USS ''Flounder'' (SS-251)''', a [[Gato class submarine|''Gato'' class submarine]], was the only ship of the [[United States Navy]] to be named for the [[flounder]], a valuable food fish, many varieties of which are found in great schools along the Atlantic coast north of [[Cape Cod]]. Her keel was laid down by the [[Electric Boat]] Company in [[Groton, Connecticut]]. She was [[ship naming and launching|launched]] on [[22 August]] [[1943]] sponsored by Mrs. Astrid H. McClellan, and [[ship commissioning|commissioned]] on [[29 November]] [[1943]] with Commander C. A. Johnson in command. ''Flounder'' arrived at [[Milne Bay, New Guinea]], from [[New London, Connecticut]], on [[6 March]] [[1944]], and 11 days later sailed on her first war patrol, bound for the [[Palau Islands]]. Many planes were sighted, limiting her action, and few contacts were made. She returned to Milne Bay to refit, then sailed to [[Manus Island|Manus]] for training, and from that base took departure [[3 June]] on her second war patrol. In the [[Philippine Sea]] during the assault on the [[Mariana Islands]], ''Flounder'' made a sound contact on [[17 June]] which resulted in her sinking a 2681-ton transport. Escorts immediately began a persistent, vigorous, and ineffective counter-attack. On [[24 June]], as ''Flounder'' sailed on the surface, two enemy planes suddenly dived out of the cloud cover, and dropped bombs which landed close aboard, causing some minor damage. The submarine topped off her fuel tanks at Manus [[6 July]], and sailed on to [[Brisbane, Australia]], to refit. ''Flounder'' cleared Brisbane on her third war patrol [[1 August]] [[1944]], and after calling at Manus on [[8 August]] and [[9 August]], sailed on to serve as lifeguard during strikes on the [[Philippine Islands]]. Once more, during the portion of her patrol devoted to aggressive patrol, she found few contacts, and was able to make only one attack. The intended target, a small escort, dodged her [[torpedo]]es, and drove her deep with [[depth charge]]s. ''Flounder'' took on provisions and fuel at [[Mios Woendi, New Guinea]], from [[28 August]] to [[1 September]], then completed her patrol in [[Daveo Gulf]], returning to Brisbane on [[4 October]]. On her fourth war patrol, for which she sailed on [[27 October]] [[1944]], ''Flounder'' patrolled the [[South China Sea]] with two other submarines. North of [[Lombok Strait]] on [[10 November]] ''Flounder'' sighted what was first thought to be a small sailboat. Closer inspection revealed the target to be the [[conning tower]] of a submarine, and ''Flounder'' went to battle stations submerged. She sent four torpedoes away, observing one hit and feeling another as the target submarine exploded and was enveloped by smoke and flame. Coming back to periscope depth a half hour later, ''Flounder'' found nothing in sight. She had sunk one of the German submarines operating in the Far East, [[Unterseeboot 537|U-537]]. An attack by her group on a convoy off Palawan on [[21 November]] [[1944]] sank a freighter, but other contacts were few, and ''Flounder'' returned to [[Fremantle, Western Australia|Fremantle]] to refit between [[13 December]] and [[7 January]] [[1945]]. Underway for her fifth war patrol, ''Flounder'' had to return to Fremantle from [[12 January]] to [[14 January]] to repair her [[fathometer]], then sailed to lead a three-submarine wolf pack in the South China Sea. On [[12 February]] and [[13 February]], her group made a determined chase after a Japanese task force, but was unable to close these fast targets. A more obliging target came her way on [[22 February]], when she launched four torpedoes at a patrol boat. Two of these, however, ran erratically, and only ''Flounder''’s skillful maneuvering saved her from being hit by her own torpedoes. More trouble came her way three days later, when in a freak accident, she and {{USS|Hoe|SS-258|3}} brushed each other 66&nbsp;feet beneath the surface. Only a slight leak developed, which was quickly brought under control. ''Flounder'' prepared for her sixth war patrol at [[U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay|Subic Bay]] from [[26 February]] [[1945]] to [[16 March]]. Again with a wolf pack, she scouted targets south of [[Hainan]], and on [[29 March]] contacted a large convoy, which was attacked by aircraft before she and her sisters could launch their torpedoes. She closed her war patrol at [[Saipan]] on [[22 April]] and headed home for a stateside overhaul. Returning to [[Pearl Harbor]] action-bound on the day hostilities ended, ''Flounder'' was ordered to the East Coast, and arrived at [[New York City]] on [[18 September]]. After laying immobilized at [[Portsmouth, New Hampshire]], and [[New London, Connecticut]], she was decommissioned and placed in reserve at New London on [[12 February]] [[1947]]. The second and fourth of ''Flounder''’s six war patrols were designated "Successful," and she is credited with having sunk 2,681&nbsp;tons of Japanese shipping as well as [[Unterseeboot 537|U-537]]. ''Flounder'' received two [[battle star]]s for [[World War II]] service. ==References== {{reflist}} ==Sources== {{DANFS}} {{Gato_class_submarine}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Flounder (SS-251)}} [[Category:Gato class submarines]] [[Category:World War II submarines of the United States]] [[de:USS Flounder (SS-251)]] [[ja:フラウンダー (潜水艦)]]