Piranha file photo [1661]

Piranha

CountryUnited States
Ship ClassBalao-class Submarine
Hull NumberSS-389
BuilderPortsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine, United States
Laid Down21 Jun 1943
Launched27 Oct 1943
Commissioned5 Feb 1944
Decommissioned31 May 1946
Displacement1,526 tons standard; 2,391 tons submerged
Length312 feet
Beam27 feet
Draft15 feet
MachineryFour Fairbanks Morse diesel engines, four Elliot Motor Co. electric motors
Bunkerage116,000 gallons, two 126-cell main storage batteries
Power Output5,400 shaft horsepower
Speed20 knots
Range11,000 miles at 10 knots
Crew66
Armament10x21" torpedo tubes with 24 torpedos, 1x5" deck gun, 1x40mm, 1x20mm, 2x0.50 caliber machine guns
Submerged Speed8.75 knots

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Last Major Revision: Jan 2005

Submarine Piranha (SS-389) Interactive Map

Photographs

PiranhaInactivated submarines at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, United States, early 194652 submarines and 4 submarine tenders of the US Navy Reserve Fleet, Mare Island Navy Yard, California, United States, circa Jan 1946Inactivated submarines at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, United States, 3 Jan 1946
See all 5 photographs of Submarine Piranha (SS-389)

Piranha Operational Timeline

5 Feb 1944 Piranha was commissioned into service.
14 Jun 1944 Submarines USS Guardfish, USS Thresher, and USS Piranha departed Pearl Harbor, Hawaiʻi as part of a coordinated wolfpack known as the "Mickey Finns." Guardfish was on her eighth war patrol, Thresher was beginning her thirteenth patrol, and Piranha was on her first patrol.
18 Jun 1944 Submarines USS Guardfish, USS Thresher, and USS Piranha arrived at Midway to refuel and then departed again bound for their patrol area. An hour-and-a-half out, Thresher suffered a minor malfunction to her radar display that required her to return to Midway for a spare part. Once collected, Thresher set out to join Guardfish and Piranha again.
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.
16 Jul 1944 West of Luzon in the Philippines, submarine USS Piranha made contact with the 26-ship Japanese Convoy TAMA-21C southbound from Takao in Taiwan to Manila in the Philippines. Piranha torpedoed and sank the 6,000-ton troop ship Seattle Maru and then withstood a depth charge attack of over 100 charges. Piranha’s “Mickey Finns” wolfpack partners, Guardfish and Thresher, closed in on the convoy and launched a continuous attack that lasted into the following day and covered 100 miles of ocean. Thresher sank 2,800-ton transport ship Shozen Maru and 4,916-ton merchant ship Sainei Maru. Thresher also claimed sinking destroyer IJN Kusagaki but she was unscathed. Guardfish sank the 6,000-ton transport ship Mantai Maru and the 5,200-ton transport ship Jinzan Maru and later the 3,000-ton merchant ship Hiyama Maru. A total of 42 torpedoes were fired by the three submarines with 28 hits claimed.
17 Mar 1945 The wolfpack consisting of submarines USS Thresher, USS Peto, and USS Shad was dissolved with Peto and Shad assigned to lifeguard duties and Thresher assigned to join a neighboring wolfpack consisting of submarines USS Piranha, USS Sea Owl, and USS Puffer.
31 May 1946 Piranha was decommissioned from service.




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