Balao Class Submarine: more stats
Balao-class submarine
The Balao class was a successful design of United States Navy submarine used during World War II. With 120 units completed, the largest class of submarines in the United States Navy.
An improvement on the earlier Gato class, the boats had slight internal differences. The most significant improvement was the use of thicker, higher yield strength steel in the pressure hull skins and frames, which increased their test depth to 400 feet (120 m).
Tang actually achieved a depth of 612 ft (187 m) during a test dive and exceeded that test depth when taking on water in the forward torpedo room while evading a destroyer
An improvement on the earlier Gato class, the boats had slight internal differences. The most significant improvement was the use of thicker, higher yield strength steel in the pressure hull skins and frames, which increased their test depth to 400 feet (120 m).
Tang actually achieved a depth of 612 ft (187 m) during a test dive and exceeded that test depth when taking on water in the forward torpedo room while evading a destroyer
Baleo-class;
World of Warships
Torpedo Stats:
MK29
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Torpedo placement and angles.
Balao-class submarine
The Balaos were similar to the Gatos, except they were modified to increase test depth from 300 ft (90 m) to 400 ft (120 m). In late 1941, two of the Navy's leading submarine designers, Captain Andrew McKee and Commander Armand Morgan, met to explore increasing diving depth in a redesigned Gato. A switch to a new High-Tensile Steel (HTS) alloy, combined with an increase in hull thickness from 9⁄16 inch (14.3 mm) to 7⁄8 inch (22.2 mm), would result in a test depth of 450 ft (140 m) and a collapse depth of 900 ft (270 m). However, the limited capacity of the trim pump at deep depths and lack of time to design a new pump caused Rear Admiral E. L. Cochrane, Chief of the Bureau of Ships, to limit test depth to 400 ft (120 m). Fortunately, in 1944 a redesigned Gould centrifugal pump replaced the noisy early-war pump, and effective diving depth was increased.
The Balaos incorporated the sail, conning tower and periscope shears reduction efforts that were being retrofitted to the Gatos and the preceding classes in the original design, refining the reductions and reducing the sail to the smallest practical size. By the time the boats began to be launched, lessons learned from patrol reports had been worked into the design and the bridge and sail proved to be efficiently laid out, well equipped, and well-liked by the crews.
For the masts and periscope shears, the original arrangement for both the Government and Electric Boat designs had (forward to aft) the two tapered cone-shaped periscope support shears, followed by a thin mast for the SJ surface search radar, and then by a thin mast for the SD air search radar. There were minor differences in how the periscopes were braced against vibration, but both designs were nearly identical. About halfway through their production run, Electric Boat altered their design, moving the SJ radar mast forward of the periscopes, then altered it again a few boats later by enlarging the SD radar mast. Late in the war, many Balaos built with the original design had the SD air search radar moved slightly aft onto a thickened and taller mast. These mast arrangements, along with the tremendous variation in the gun layout as the war progressed account for the numerous exterior detail differences among the boats, to the point that at any given time no two Balaos looked exactly alike
The Balaos incorporated the sail, conning tower and periscope shears reduction efforts that were being retrofitted to the Gatos and the preceding classes in the original design, refining the reductions and reducing the sail to the smallest practical size. By the time the boats began to be launched, lessons learned from patrol reports had been worked into the design and the bridge and sail proved to be efficiently laid out, well equipped, and well-liked by the crews.
For the masts and periscope shears, the original arrangement for both the Government and Electric Boat designs had (forward to aft) the two tapered cone-shaped periscope support shears, followed by a thin mast for the SJ surface search radar, and then by a thin mast for the SD air search radar. There were minor differences in how the periscopes were braced against vibration, but both designs were nearly identical. About halfway through their production run, Electric Boat altered their design, moving the SJ radar mast forward of the periscopes, then altered it again a few boats later by enlarging the SD radar mast. Late in the war, many Balaos built with the original design had the SD air search radar moved slightly aft onto a thickened and taller mast. These mast arrangements, along with the tremendous variation in the gun layout as the war progressed account for the numerous exterior detail differences among the boats, to the point that at any given time no two Balaos looked exactly alike
Notable submarines
Tang was second on the list of a number of ships sunk with 33 and first on the list of tonnage with 116,454.Her third war patrol was the most successful of any U.S. submarine with 10 ships for 39,100 tons. Sunk in the Taiwan Strait by a circular run of her own torpedo, her skipper Richard O'Kane and eight others escaped; some escaped the submerged wreck with the only known successful use of the Momsen Lung.
Tang's survivors were imprisoned by the Japanese for the rest of the war. After his release following the Japanese surrender, Richard O'Kane was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions commanding Tang during the convoy battles of 24 and 25 October 1944.
Balao-class losses
| Name and hull number | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| USS Cisco (SS-290) | 28 September 1943 | Lost to air attack and gunboat Karatsu (ex-USS Luzon) |
| USS Capelin (SS-289) | December 1943 | Cause of loss unknown, possibly naval mine or attack by the Japanese minelayer Wakataka |
| USS Escolar (SS-294) | 17 October - 13 November 1944 | Probably lost to enemy mine |
| USS Shark (SS-314) | 24 October 1944 | Attacked by the Japanese destroyer Harukaze |
| USS Tang (SS-306) | 25 October 1944 | Sunk by a circular run of own torpedo |
| USS Barbel (SS-316) | 4 February 1945 | Air attack |
| USS Kete (SS-369) | March 1945 | Cause of loss unknown, possibly to mine or enemy action |
| USS Lagarto (SS-371) | 3 May 1945 | Attacked by Japanese minelayer Hatsutaka |
| USS Bullhead (SS-332) | 6 August 1945 | Air attack |
| USS Cochino (SS-345) | 26 August 1949 | Accidental fire |
| TCG Dumlupinar (D-6) (formerly USS Blower (SS-325)) | 4 April 1953 | In Turkish service, lost in collision with MV Naboland |
| USS Stickleback (SS-415) | 28 May 1958 | Collision with USS Silverstein (DE-534) |
| ARA Santa Fe (S-21) (formerly USS Catfish (SS-339)) | 25 April 1982 | In Argentine service, disabled by helicopter attack and captured by ground forces during Operation Paraquet, the British recapture of South Georgia during the Falklands War. After the war, she was scuttled in deep water |
| BAP Pacocha (SS-48) (formerly USS Atule (SS-403)) | 26 August 1988 | In Peruvian service, lost in collision with Japanese fishing trawler Kiowa Maru |
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