Submarine Apogon (SS-308)

Apogon

Country	United States
Ship Class	Balao-class Submarine
Hull Number	SS-308
Builder	Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine, United States
Laid Down	9 Dec 1942
Launched	10 Mar 1943
Commissioned	16 Jul 1943
Decommissioned	29 Apr 1946
Displacement	1,526 tons standard; 2,424 tons submerged
Length	312 feet
Beam	27 feet
Draft	15 feet
Machinery	Four Fairbanks Morse diesel engines, four Elliot Motor Co. electric motors
Bunkerage	116,000 gallons, two 126-cell main storage batteries
Power Output	5,400 shaft horsepower
Speed	20 knots
Range	11,000 miles at 10 knots
Crew	66
Armament	10x21
Submerged Speed	8.75 knots

Contributor:

ww2dbaseApogon was originally named Abadejo, but the name was changed on 24 Sep 1942 before the keel was laid down. After a shakedown cruise off New England, Apogon sailed for Pearl Harbor via Panama Canal for a three-week long training mission. On 3 Nov 1942, she patrolled between Truk and Kwajalein in the Central Pacific, indirectly supporting Operation Galvanic which landed American troops on the Gilbert Islands. She concluded her maiden patrol with the sinking of Japanese gunboat Daido Maru on 4 Dec. She remained active throughout the entire Pacific War, launching eight separate patrols. She was decommissioned in Apr 1946 and was destroyed at Bikini Atoll during atomic bomb test Baker of Operation Crossroads.

ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia.

Last Major Revision: Jul 2006

Submarine Apogon (SS-308) Interactive Map

Photographs

The launch of submarine Apogon, 10 Mar 1943

American submarine Apogon alongside a LCVP from LST 52, circa Feb 1946

Apogon Operational Timeline

16 Jul 1943	Apogon was commissioned into service.
23 Jun 1944	Submarines USS Guardfish, USS Thresher, USS Piranha, and USS Apogon effected a rendezvous 400 miles north of Wake Island and Apogon joined the "Mickey Finns" wolfpack.
1 Jul 1944	Submarines USS Guardfish, USS Thresher, USS Piranha, and USS Apogon entered their assigned patrol area in the Luzon Strait.
11 Jul 1944	Northeast of Luzon, Philippines, submarine USS Thresher detected a seven-ship southbound convoy. Thresher along with USS Guardfish, and USS Apogon began a coordinated stalking of the ships.
12 Jul 1944	Submarines USS Guardfish, USS Thresher, USS Piranha, and USS Apogon attacked the convoy they had been tracking since the previous day. Apogon fired six torpedoes at an auxiliary ship with no hits, but Apogon's periscopes are damaged when she is rammed by a different ship. Piranha torpedoed one cargo ship. Thresher, on the opposite flank of the convoy, was detected by a Japanese escort ship. Thresher evaded but the chase took Thresher 20 miles away from the convoy. Apogon's damage was severe enough that she withdrew from the patrol area and set a course for Pearl Harbor, Hawaiʻi.
29 Apr 1946	Apogon was decommissioned from service.

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