View source for USS Pickerel (SS-177)

{{short description|Submarine of the United States}}
{{other ships|USS Pickerel}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[File:USS Pickerel (SS-177).jpg|300px|USS Pickerel (SS-177)]]
|Ship caption=
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{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1943}}
|Ship name=
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[General Dynamics Electric Boat]], [[Groton, Connecticut]]<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates">{{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History|publisher=[[United States Naval Institute]]|year=1995|location=[[Annapolis, Maryland]]|pages=285–304|isbn=1-55750-263-3}}</ref>
|Ship laid down=25 March 1935<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship launched=7 July 1936<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=26 January 1937<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=19 August 1943
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship fate=Sunk by Japanese forces north of [[Honshū]] on 3 April 1943<ref name="Register">{{cite book|last=Bauer|first=K. Jack|author2=Roberts, Stephen S. |title=Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775–1990: Major Combatants|publisher=Greenwood Press|year=1991|location=[[Westport, Connecticut]]|pages=268–269|isbn=0-313-26202-0}}</ref>
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Header caption=
|Ship class=[[United States Porpoise class submarine|''Porpoise''-class]] [[diesel-electric]] [[submarine]]<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship displacement=1,350 [[long ton|tons]] (1,372 [[tonne|t]]) standard, surfaced,<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs">''U.S. Submarines Through 1945'' pp. 305–311</ref> 1,997 tons (2,029 t) submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship length={{convert|298|ft|abbr=on}} (waterline),<ref>Lenton, H. T. ''American Submarines'' (New York: Doubleday, 1973), p.45.</ref> {{convert|300|ft|6|in|abbr=on}} (overall)<ref name="Lenton, p.45">Lenton, p.45.</ref>
|Ship beam=25 ft {{frac|7|8}} in (7.6 m)<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship draft={{convert|15|ft|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship propulsion=4 × [[Electro-Motive Diesel|Winton]] Model 16-201A [[V16 engine|16]]-cylinder [[Two-stroke engine|two-cycle]]<ref>Alden, John D., Commander, USN (retired). ''The Fleet Submarine in the U.S. Navy'' (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1979), p.210.</ref> [[diesel engine]]s, {{convert|1300|hp|MW|abbr=on}} each,<ref name="Alden, p.210">Alden, p.210.</ref> driving [[electrical generator]]s through [[Reduction drive|reduction gears]],<ref name="Register"/><ref name="FriedmanSubs1-engines">''U.S. Submarines Through 1945'' pp.261–263</ref> 2 × 120-cell [[Gould Storage Battery Company|Gould]] AMTX33HB [[battery (electricity)|batteries]],<ref name="Alden, p.211">Alden, p.211.</ref> 8 × [[General Electric]] [[electric motor]]s, {{convert|538|hp|kW|abbr=on}} each,<ref name="Alden, p.211"/> 2 × [[General Motors]] six-cylinder [[Four-stroke engine|four-cycle]] 6-241 auxiliary diesels<ref name="Alden, p.210"/>
|Ship speed={{convert|19.25|kn|km/h|abbr=on}} surfaced,<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/> {{convert|8.75|kn|km/h|abbr=on}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship range={{convert|11000|nmi|km|abbr=on}} @ {{convert|10|kn|km/h|abbr=on}},<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/> (bunkerage {{convert|92801|usgal|L}}<ref name="Alden, p.62">Alden, p.62.</ref>
|Ship endurance=10 hours @ {{convert|5|kn|km/h|abbr=on}}, 36 hours @ minimum speed submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship test depth={{convert|250|ft|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship complement= 5 officers, 45 enlisted<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=6 × [[American 21 inch torpedo|21 inch (533 mm)]] [[torpedo tube]]s (four forward, two aft; 16 [[torpedo]]es)<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/> (two external bow tubes added 1942),<ref name="Alden, p.62"/> 1 × [[4"/50 caliber gun|{{convert|4|in|mm|abbr=on}}]]/50 [[Caliber#Caliber as measurement of length|cal]] deck gun,<ref name="Lenton, p.45"/> 4 × 0.3 cal (7.62 mm) [[machine gun]]s (2x2)<ref name="Lenton, p.45"/>
|Ship notes=
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|}

'''USS ''Pickerel'' (SS-177)''', a [[United States Porpoise class submarine|''Porpoise''-class]] [[submarine]], was the first ship of the [[United States Navy]] to be named for the pickerel, species of freshwater fish native to the eastern United States and Canada.

Her [[keel]] was laid on 25 March 1935 by the [[Electric Boat]] Company in [[Groton, Connecticut]]. She was [[ship naming and launching|launched]] on 7 July 1936 sponsored by Miss Evelyn Standley, daughter of Rear Admiral [[William Standley]], acting Secretary of the Navy. She was [[ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 26 January 1937, [[Lieutenant]] Leon J. Huffman in command.

==Service history==

===Inter-War Period===
After her [[shakedown cruise]], the new boat conducted training exercises out of [[New London, Connecticut]] until getting underway on 26 October 1937 and heading, via [[Guantánamo Bay, Cuba]] to transit the [[Panama Canal]] on 9 November. Joining the [[United States Pacific Fleet|Pacific Fleet]], ''Pickerel'' operated out of [[San Diego, California]], along the West Coast, and in [[Hawaii]]an waters. Subsequently, transferred to the Asiatic Fleet, she prepared for war with a vigorous training schedule in the [[Philippines]].

===World War II===
Upon receiving word of [[Japan]]'s [[attack on Pearl Harbor]], ''Pickerel'' – commanded by [[Lieutenant commander (United States)|Lieutenant Commander]] [[Barton E. Bacon, Jr.]] – sped to the coast of [[French Indochina]] and conducted her first war patrol off [[Cam Ranh Bay]] and [[Danang|Tourane Harbor]]. She tracked a Japanese [[submarine]] and a [[destroyer]] but lost them in haze and rain squalls before they came in [[torpedo]] range. On 19 December, she also missed a small Japanese patrol craft with five [[torpedo]]es, before returning to Manila Bay on 29 December.

On her second patrol (31 December 1941 – 29 January 1942), conducted between [[Manila]] and [[Surabaya]], the submarine sank ''Kanko Maru'' on 10 January 1942. On her third war patrol (7 February–19 March), along the [[Malay Barrier]], and her fourth (15 April–6 June), in the [[Philippines]], she failed to score.

''Pickerel''{{'}}s fifth war patrol (10 July–26 August), was a voyage from [[Brisbane]], [[Australia]], to [[Pearl Harbor]] for refit, with a short patrol in the [[Mariana Islands]] ''en route'', during which she damaged a freighter. During the refit, LCDR Bacon was detached and ''Pickerel''{{'}}s executive officer, Lieutenant Commander [[Augustus H. Alston, Jr.]], became her new CO.

On her sixth war patrol (22 January–3 March 1943), she searched among the [[Kurile Islands]] on the [[Tokyo]]-[[Kiska]] traffic lanes. In sixteen attacks, she sank ''Tateyama Maru'' and two 35-ton [[sampan]]s.

She departed Pearl Harbor on 18 March 1943 and, after topping off with fuel and provisions at [[Midway Island]] on 22 March, headed for the eastern coast of northern [[Honshū]], Japan and was never heard from again. ''Pickerel'' was the first submarine to be lost in the Central Pacific area. She was stricken from the [[Naval Vessel Register]] on 19 August 1943.

Post-war analysis of Japanese records give conflicting suggestions about ''Pickerel''{{'}}s fate. The Japanese officially credit her with sinking ''Submarine Chaser Number 13'' on 3 April and ''Fukuei Maru'' on 7 April, and give no official report of her destruction. Those records also describe an action off [[Shiramuka Lighthouse]] on northern [[Honshū]] on 3 April 1943<ref>[http://www.combinedfleet.com/Shirakami_t.htm Combined IJN Fleet gives date as 4 April 1943]</ref> in which naval aircraft first bombed an unidentified submarine, then directed ''Shiragami'' and ''Bunzan Maru'' to the spot, where they dropped twenty-six [[depth charge]]s. A large quantity of oil floated to the surface, which was often enough for Japanese [[antisubmarine warfare|ASW]] ships to believe their target was sunk. It is likely ''Pickerel''{{'}}s [[Fuel oil#Bunker fuel|fuel oil bunker]]s leaked. Since there were several other ASW operations in the area in that period,<ref>Clay Blair, Jr., ''Silent Victory'' (Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1975), p. 409.</ref> and ''Pickerel'' was the only American submarine in that area, one of these other attacks, sometime after 7 April, probably claimed her.

==Awards==
*{{ribbon devices|number=3|type=service-star|ribbon=Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} [[Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal]] with three [[Service star|battle stars]] for [[World War II]] service

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/p/pickerel-i.html|http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/submar/ss177.txt}}
*[[Edward L. Beach Jr.|Beach Jr., Edward L. "Ned"]]. ''Submarine!''. Henry Holt, 1952.
*Beach Jr., Edward L. ''[[Run Silent, Run Deep]]'' (a novel). Pocket Books, 1972.
*_____. ''Dust on the Sea'' (a novel). Dell, 1972.{{author missing|date=August 2022}}
*[[George W. Grider|Grider, George W.]], as told to Lydel Sims. ''War Fish''. Little, Brown and Company, 1958.
*[[Wilfred J. Holmes|Holmes, Wilfred J. "Jasper"]] ''Undersea Victory''. Doubleday, 1966.
*[[Richard O'Kane|O'Kane, Richard H.]] ''Clear the Bridge!''. Rand McNally & Co., 1977.
*______. Wahoo: ''The Patrols of America's Most Famous World War II''. Presidio Pres, 1987.{{author missing|date=August 2022}}

==External links==
*{{navsource|08/08177|Pickerel}}
*[http://www.oneternalpatrol.com/uss-pickerel-177.htm On Eternal Patrol: USS ''Pickerel'']

{{United_States_Porpoise_class_submarine}}
{{April 1943 shipwrecks}}
{{Coord|41|3|N|141|58|E|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pickerel (Ss-177)}}
[[Category:United States Porpoise-class submarines]]
[[Category:World War II submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Lost submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships built in Groton, Connecticut]]
[[Category:1936 ships]]
[[Category:Submarines lost with all hands]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in April 1943]]
[[Category:Submarines sunk by Japanese warships]]