Segundo
| Country | United States |
| Ship Class | Balao-class Submarine |
| Hull Number | SS-398 |
| Builder | Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine, United States |
| Laid Down | 14 Oct 1943 |
| Launched | 5 Feb 1944 |
| Commissioned | 9 May 1944 |
| Decommissioned | 1 Aug 1970 |
| Sunk | 8 Aug 1970 |
| Displacement | 1,550 tons standard; 2,429 tons submerged |
| Length | 311 feet |
| Beam | 27 feet |
| Draft | 17 feet |
| Machinery | Four Fairbanks-Morse Model 38D8-? diesel engines (5,400shp), four high-speed Elliott electric motors (2,740shp), 4 126-cell Sargo batteries |
| Speed | 20 knots |
| Range | 11,000nm at 10 knots surfaced, 48 hours at 2 knots submerged |
| Crew | 81 |
| Armament | 6x533mm forward torpedo tubes, 4x533mm aft torpedo tubes, 24 torpedoes, 1x127mm 25cal gun |
| Submerged Speed | 8.75 knots |
Contributor: C. Peter Chen
ww2dbaseCommissioned in May 1944 with Lieutenant Commander James D. Fulp, Jr., she began a brief training period at New London, Connecticut, United States on 15 Jun. Via the Panama Canal, she arrived at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, United States for further training. Her first war patrol yielded no action, but her subsequent three war patrols had been fruitful. Her fifth war patrol began in the Sea of Okhotsk off the Kurile Islands shortly before the end of the Pacific War. On 29 Aug, she made contact with Japanese submarine I-401 by radar; the two commanding officers agreed for an American crew to board the Japanese submarine, and Segundo escorted I-401 to Sagami Wan southwest of Tokyo Bay, Japan, arriving on 31 Aug. After the war, she returned to the United States in Oct 1945. In 1946, she made a three-month cruise to Australia and China. In 1948, she made a four-month cruise to China. During the Korean War, she served off Korea between Jul and Sep 1950. In 1951, she was modernized at the San Francisco Naval Shipyard, California, United States, then was assigned to the US 7th Fleet for operations off Korea. Between 1953 and 1970, she operated along the west coast of the United States, making frequent trips to the western Pacific Ocean areas. She was found unfit for further service by the Survey Board in Jul 1970, and was decommissioned in the following month. She was sunk by submarine Salmon on 8 Aug 1970 as a target.
ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia
Last Major Revision: Jul 2011
Submarine Segundo (SS-398) Interactive Map
Photographs
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Segundo Operational Timeline
| 14 Oct 1943 | Submarine Segundo was laid down. |
| 5 Feb 1944 | Submarine Segundo was launched, sponsored by Mrs. John L. Sullivan. |
| 9 May 1944 | USS Segundo was commissioned into service with Lieutenant Commander James D. Fulp, Jr. in command. |
| 15 Jun 1944 | USS Segundo arrived at New London, Connecticut, United States. |
| 26 Jun 1944 | USS Segundo departed New London, Connecticut, United States. |
| 9 Jul 1944 | USS Segundo departed Balboa, Panama Canal Zone. |
| 25 Jul 1944 | USS Segundo arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. |
| 19 Aug 1944 | USS Segundo began taking on ammunition and supplies for a war patrol. |
| 20 Aug 1944 | USS Segundo completed taking on ammunition and supplies for a war patrol. |
| 21 Aug 1944 | USS Segundo departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her first war patrol. |
| 3 Sep 1944 | USS Segundo arrived at Saipan, Mariana Islands. |
| 4 Sep 1944 | USS Segundo departed Saipan, Mariana Islands. |
| 6 Oct 1944 | USS Segundo was damaged by a bomb from a Japanese aircraft in the Surigao Strait in Philippine waters, damaging the deck gun, destroying an engine exhaust muffler, and cracking generator foundation mounts. |
| 21 Oct 1944 | USS Segundo arrived at Majuro Atoll, Marshall Islands, ending her first war patrol. |
| 16 Nov 1944 | USS Segundo departed Majuro, Marshall Islands for her second war patrol. |
| 1 Dec 1944 | USS Segundo arrived on station in the Luzon Strait |
| 6 Dec 1944 | Submarines USS Segundo, USS Trepang, and USS Razorback sank all ships in a 7-ship Japanese convoy, escorted by destroyer Kuretake and submarine chaser CH-33, in the South China Sea. Segundo was credited with damaging Yasukuni Maru (later scuttled) and sinking a unidentified ammunition ship. |
| 9 Dec 1944 | USS Segundo recorded stormy weather with winds measuring 8 on the 12-point Beaufort scale. When a large wave hit her, Fireman 1st Class G. H. Saunders was washed overboard and was lost; he was USS Segundo's first casualty. |
| 17 Dec 1944 | USS Segundo encountered a typhoon while at sea, registering sustained winds at 145 miles per hour, with occasional gusts up to 185 miles per hour. |
| 26 Dec 1944 | USS Segundo sailed through rough seas with crests up to 40 feet. A particularly large wave crashed over the submarine unexpectedly, and the great amount of water that got in damaged both master and auxiliary compasses. |
| 5 Jan 1945 | USS Segundo arrived at Apra, Guam, Mariana Islands. |
| 1 Feb 1945 | USS Segundo departed Guam, Mariana Islands for her third war patrol. |
| 6 Mar 1945 | USS Segundo fired 4 torpedoes at a small Japanese ship in the East China Sea off Korea; all torpedoes missed. |
| 7 Mar 1945 | USS Segundo sank Japanese freighter Shori Maru in the East China Sea, hitting her with 2 of 4 torpedoes fired. |
| 8 Mar 1945 | USS Segundo pursued a Japanese convoy consisted of 2 freighters and 2 escort vessels in the East China Sea; she was chased away by the escorts before she could attack. |
| 10 Mar 1945 | USS Segundo fired 4 torpedoes at a Japanese ship off Korea; all torpedoes missed. |
| 11 Mar 1945 | USS Segundo sank Japanese cargo ship Shori Maru in the East China Sea off Korea with 2 of 4 torpedoes fired. |
| 26 Mar 1945 | USS Segundo arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her third war patrol. |
| 8 May 1945 | The crew of USS Segundo held a celebratory dinner at Saipan, Mariana Islands. |
| 16 May 1945 | USS Segundo departed for her fourth war patrol. |
| 18 May 1945 | USS Segundo encountered two bodies floating in the water in the East China Sea; her crew identified them to be one American and one Japanese. |
| 29 May 1945 | USS Segundo encountered several vessels in the East China Sea; she seven two-masted schooners her crew identified as Japanese with the deck gun. |
| 31 May 1945 | USS Segundo sank a four-masted sail ship with two torpedoes. |
| 3 Jun 1945 | USS Segundo sank a Japanese sail in the East China Sea with her deck gun. |
| 7 Jun 1945 | USS Segundo sank a Japanese ship with her deck gun. |
| 9 Jun 1945 | USS Segundo fired three torpedoes at a tug and her tow; all three missed. She then proceeded to sink them with her deck gun. Seeing that the targets fired back, Segundo's officers determined that the tug was likely a Q-ship. |
| 11 Jun 1945 | USS Segundo sank Fukui Maru with 3 of 7 torpedoes fired. |
| 29 Jun 1945 | Lieutenant Commander Stephen Johnson was named the commanding officer of USS Segundo. |
| 10 Aug 1945 | USS Segundo departed Midway Atoll for her fifth war patrol in the Sea of Okhotsk off the Kurile Islands. She was tasked to monitor Soviet activity in northern Japan. |
| 19 Aug 1945 | USS Segundo reconnoitered waters off the Kurile Islands, monitoring Soviet activity. |
| 24 Aug 1945 | USS Segundo was ordered to sail for Tokyo Bay, Japan. |
| 29 Aug 1945 | USS Segundo halted Japanese submarine I-401 less than 200 miles southeast of Honshu island, Japan and escorted her toward Sagami Wan, Japan. |
| 31 Aug 1945 | USS Segundo arrived at Sagami Wan, Japan at 0500 hours and was relieved of the duty of escorting the captured Japanese submarine I-401. |
| 3 Sep 1945 | USS Segundo departed Tokyo Bay, Japan for the west coast of the United States. |
| 29 Jan 1946 | USS Segundo entered Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, United States for overhaul. |
| 10 May 1946 | USS Segundo completed her overhaul at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, United States. |
| 16 May 1949 | USS Segundo entered Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, United States for overhaul. |
| 24 Aug 1949 | USS Segundo completed her overhaul at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, United States. |
| 15 Aug 1952 | USS Segundo was assigned to the US 7th Fleet for operations off Korea. |
| 16 Feb 1953 | USS Segundo was detached from the US 7th Fleet. |
| 1 Aug 1970 | USS Segundo was decommissioned from service. |
| 8 Aug 1970 | Submarine Segundo was struck from the US Naval Register after being sunk by submarine Salmon as a target. |
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24 Aug 2014 05:17:00 AM
My father was on the SS398 Segundo for war patrols 2-5 he was so proud of his time during the war. Although he didn't talk much about what happened during those patrols he always talked about his buddies. He passed away this past March 2014 I myself retired from the Navy in 2002 after 20+ years I was always proud of his service as was he of mine. Thanks to all of the men who served during that time they are the GREATEST generation.