Albacore
| Country | United States |
| Ship Class | Gato-class Submarine |
| Hull Number | SS-218 |
| Builder | Electric Boat Company |
| Laid Down | 21 Apr 1941 |
| Launched | 17 Feb 1942 |
| Commissioned | 17 Feb 1942 |
| Sunk | 7 Nov 1944 |
| Displacement | 1,526 tons standard; 2,424 tons submerged |
| Length | 312 feet |
| Beam | 27 feet |
| Draft | 15 feet |
| Machinery | Genteral Motors diesel electric engines, two screws |
| Bunkerage | 97,140 gallons, two 126-cell main storage batteries |
| Power Output | 5,400 shaft horsepower |
| Speed | 20 knots |
| Range | 11,000 nm at 10 knots |
| Crew | 60 |
| Armament | 10x21-in torpedo tubes, 1x3-in gun, 4 machine guns |
| Submerged Speed | 8.75 knots |
Contributor: C. Peter Chen
ww2dbaseSponsored by the wife of Captain Elwin F. Cutts, Albacore was the submarine credited with scoring torpedo hits on the Japanese aircraft carrier Taiho during the Battle of the Philippine Sea which led to the eventual sinking of the ship. Interestingly, the Americans did not realize the carrier had sunk until months later; Lieutenant Commander James W. Blanchard eventually received a Navy Cross for the sinking. She left Pearl Harbor on 24 Oct 1944 on her 11th patrol, and stopped at Midway for refueling four days later. After which, she was reported missing at sea. Post war study of Japanese records assumed that the American submarine sunk off Hokkaido on 7 Nov 1944 by a naval mine was Albacore.
ww2dbaseBy the time of her final patrol, Albacore was credited with sinking 74,100 tons of Japanese shipping. Her score card, besides the carrier Taiho, also included three other warships (two destroyers and a light cruiser).
ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia.
Last Major Revision: Nov 2005
Submarine Albacore (SS-218) Interactive Map
Photographs
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Albacore Operational Timeline
| 17 Feb 1942 | Albacore was commissioned into service. |
| 18 Dec 1942 | USS Albacore sank Tenryu between Madang, Australian New Guinea and Truk, Caroline Islands. |
| 19 Dec 1942 | USS Albacore returned to the site of Tenryu's sinking, which took place on the previous day, and observed wooden crates, 85 empty oil drums, and other debris floating in the water. |
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Chiang Kaishek, 31 Jul 1937
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