Submarine Barbero (SS-317)

Barbero

Country	United States
Ship Class	Balao-class Submarine
Hull Number	SS-317
Builder	Electric Boat Company
Laid Down	25 Mar 1943
Launched	12 Dec 1943
Commissioned	29 Apr 1944
Decommissioned	30 Jun 1964
Sunk	7 Oct 1964
Displacement	1,550 tons standard; 2,460 tons submerged
Length	312 feet
Beam	27 feet
Draft	17 feet
Machinery	Four General Motors Model 16-278A V16 diesel engines (5,400shp), four General Electric electric motors (2,740shp), two 126-cell Sargo batteries, two propellers
Bunkerage	118,000gal fuel oil
Speed	20 knots
Range	11,000nm at 10 knots surfaced, 48 hours at 2 knots submerged
Crew	66
Armament	6x533mm forward torpedo tubes, 4x533mm aft torpedo tubes, 24 torpedoes, 1x127mm 25cal deck gun, 1x40mm Bofors gun, 1x20mm Oerlikon cannon, 2x .50cal machine guns
Submerged Speed	8.75 knots

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseUSS Barbero was commissioned into service in Apr 1944 and embarked on her first war patrol in Aug 1944. She scored her first sinking, Japanese transport Kuramasan Maru, on 2 Nov 1944 in the Dutch East Indies, and would go on to achieve two more sinkings for a total of 9,126 tons of shipping. On 27 Dec 1944, while en route to Fremantle, Australia to end her second war patrol, she was damaged by an aerial bomb; the war would end while she was still undergoing repair. After the war, she was put in reserve in 1946, but would see brief service as an experimental cargo submarine between Mar 1948 and early 1950. In 1955, she was converted into a nuclear cruise missile submarine, in which role she conducted nuclear strategic deterrence patrols in the Atlantic Ocean between 1956 and 1964. In 1959, she participated in an experiment in conjunction with the United States Postal Service to transport mail by Regulus cruise missile. She was decommissioned in 1964 and was sunk as a target by submarine USS Greenfish later in the same year.

ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia

Last Major Revision: Jun 2013

Submarine Barbero (SS-317) Interactive Map

Photographs

Launching of submarine Barbero, Groton, Connecticut, United States, 12 Dec 1943

52 submarines and 4 submarine tenders of the US Navy Reserve Fleet, Mare Island Navy Yard, California, United States, circa Jan 1946

USS Besugo at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California, United States, 29 Jan 1946; note USS Spadefish and USS Barbero in background

Commander Samuel Bussey at the commissioning ceremony of USS Barbero, Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California, United States, 26 Jul 1948

See all 11 photographs of Submarine Barbero (SS-317)

Barbero Operational Timeline

25 Mar 1943	The keel of submarine Barbero was laid down by the Electric Boat Company in Groton, Connecticut, United States.
12 Dec 1943	Submarine Barbero was launched at Groton, Connecticut, United States, sponsored by Mrs. Katherine R. Keating.
29 Apr 1944	USS Barbero was commissioned into service with Lieutenant Commander Irvin S. Hartman in command.
9 Aug 1944	USS Barbero departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of for her first war patrol.
7 Sep 1944	USS Barbero attacked a Japanese trawler east of the Philippine Islands; the torpedo missed.
1 Nov 1944	USS Barbero attacked a Japanese patrol boat with her deck gun in the Dutch East Indies, causing no damage.
2 Nov 1944	USS Barbero sank Japanese transport Kuramasan Maru in the Dutch East Indies, hitting her with 2 of 9 torpedoes fired.,
8 Nov 1944	USS Barbero sank Japanese tanker Shimotsu Maru in the South China Sea, hitting her with 3 of 11 torpedoes fired.
24 Dec 1944	USS Barbero sank Japanese tanker Junpo Maru and damaged a transport in the South China Sea, hitting them with 9 of 14 torpedoes fired.
27 Dec 1944	USS Barbero was damaged by a Japanese aircraft.
2 Jan 1945	USS Barbero arrived at Fremantle, Australia, ending her second war patrol.
25 Apr 1946	USS Barbero was decommissioned and placed in reserve while still in commission.
31 Mar 1948	USS Barbero was activated as an experimental cargo submarine.
30 Jun 1950	USS Barbero was decommissioned from service at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California, United States.
1 Feb 1955	USS Barbero entered Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, California, United States for conversion to launch Regulus nuclear cruise missiles.
25 Oct 1955	USS Barbero completed her conversion into a guided missile submarine at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California, United States.
28 Oct 1955	USS Barbero was recommissioned into service.
8 Jun 1959	USS Barbero assisted the United States Postal Service in experimenting with transporting mail via Regulus cruise missiles off Florida, United States.
30 Jun 1964	USS Barbero was decommissioned from service.
1 Jul 1964	Submarine Barbero was struck from the US Naval Register.
7 Oct 1964	Submarine Barbero was sunk as a target off Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, United States.

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