Submarine USS Dragonet (SS-293) | World War II Database

USS Dragonet

Country	United States
Ship Class	Balao-class Submarine
Hull Number	SS-293
Builder	Cramp Shipbuilding Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Laid Down	28 Apr 1942
Launched	18 Apr 1943
Commissioned	6 Mar 1944
Decommissioned	16 Apr 1946
Sunk	17 Sep 1961
Displacement	1550 tons standard; 2463 tons submerged
Length	312 feet
Beam	27 feet
Draft	16 feet
Machinery	Four Fairbanks-Morse Model 38D8-1/8 9-cylinder opposed piston diesel engines (5,400shp), four high-speed Elliott electric motors (2,740shp), two 126-cell Sargo batteries, two propellers
Bunkerage	116,000 gallons of oil
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 deck gun, 1x40mm Bofors gun, 2x .50cal machine guns
Submerged Speed	8.75 knots

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

USS Dragonet was commissioned into service on 6 Mar 1944. She arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii and embarked on her first war patrol, but she would strike an uncharted underwater obstacle south of Matsuwa, Hokkaido, Japan in the Kurile Islands, forcing her to end her first war patrol early. After receiving temporary repairs at Midway Atoll and permanent repairs at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, California, United States, she returned to Pearl Harbor in Apr 1945. On her second war patrol, she acted in the role of lifeguard, rescuing four downed US Army aviators south of Japan. Her third war patrol, which was designated as successful, took her into the Japanese home islands in the final days of the war. She was decommissioned in 1946.

Source: Wikipedia

USS Dragonet Operational Timeline

28 Apr 1942	The keel of submarine Dragonet was laid down by the Cramp Shipbuilding Company at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
18 Apr 1943	Submarine Dragonet was launched at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, sponsored by Mrs. J. E. Gingrich.
6 Mar 1944	USS Dragonet was commissioned into service with Commander Jack Hayden Lewis in command.
9 Oct 1944	USS Dragonet arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii.
1 Nov 1944	USS Dragonet departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her first war patrol.
15 Dec 1944	USS Dragonet struck an underwater obstruction near Matsuwa in the Kurile Islands, Japan (now Matua, Russia) in the morning and flooded her forward torpedo room, forcing her to surface and escape.
16 Dec 1944	USS Dragonet's crew conducted emergency repairs on the bow planes while at sea in the Kurile Islands.
20 Dec 1944	USS Dragonet arrived at Midway Atoll, ending her first war patrol.
4 Jan 1945	USS Dragonet arrived at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California, United States for repairs.
26 Mar 1945	USS Dragonet departed Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California, United States.
2 Apr 1945	USS Dragonet arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii.
19 Apr 1945	USS Dragonet departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her second war patrol.
1 May 1945	USS Dragonet arrived at Guam, Mariana Islands.
3 May 1945	USS Dragonet departed Guam, Mariana Islands.
10 Jun 1945	USS Dragonet arrived at Guam, Mariana Islands, ending her second war patrol.
9 Jul 1945	USS Dragonet departed Guam, Mariana Islands for her third war patrol.
17 Aug 1945	USS Dragonet arrived at Saipan, Mariana Islands, ending her third war patrol.
16 Apr 1946	USS Dragonet was decommissioned from service at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, California, United States.
1 Jun 1961	Submarine Dragonet was struck from the US Naval Register.
17 Sep 1961	Submarine Dragonet was scuttled in Chesapeake Bay on the east coast of the United States as the result of an explosion test.