View source for Engineering:USS Bluefish (SS-222)

{{short description|Submarine of the United States}}
{{other ships|USS Bluefish}}


{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=USS Bluefish;0822205.jpg
|Ship image size=270px
|Ship caption=''Bluefish'' slides down the ways at Groton, 21 February 1943.
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1953}}
|Ship name=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=Electric Boat Company, 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=5 June 1942<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship launched=21 February 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 = 271–273
  | isbn = 0-313-26202-0 }}</ref>
|Ship sponsor=Mrs. Robert Y. Menzie
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=24 May 1943<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship decommissioned=12 February 1947<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=yes
|Ship recommissioned=7 January 1952<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship decommissioned=20 November 1953<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=1 September 1958<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship fate=Sold for scrap, 8 June 1960<ref name="Register"/>
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class=''Gato''-class diesel-electric [[Engineering:Submarine|submarine]]<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|1525|LT|t}} surfaced<ref name="Register"/>
*{{convert|2424|LT|t|abbr=on}}  submerged<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship length={{convert|311|ft|9|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship beam={{convert|27|ft|3|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship draft={{convert|17|ft|abbr=on}} maximum<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship speed=*{{convert|21|kn|mph km/h|0|abbr=on}} surfaced<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs">''U.S. Submarines Through 1945'' pp. 305-311</ref>
*{{convert|9|kn|km/h mph |abbr=on}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship range={{convert|11000|nmi|mi km}} surfaced at {{convert|10|kn|mph km/h|0|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship endurance=*48 hours at {{convert|2|kn|km/h|0|abbr=on}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
*75 days on patrol
|Ship test depth={{convert|300|ft|m|-1|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship complement=6 officers, 54 enlisted<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/> (peacetime)
|Ship sensors=<!--ST radar, SD RWR, retractable sonar head-->
|Ship EW=
}}
|}

{{USS|Bluefish|SS-222}}, a ''Gato''-class [[Engineering:Submarine|submarine]], was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the [[Biology:Bluefish|bluefish]]. Between 9 September 1943 and 29 July 1945 she completed nine war patrols. Her operating area extended from the Netherlands East Indies to the waters south of Honshū. According to the notoriously unreliable JANAC accounting,<ref>Blair</ref> ''Bluefish'' sank 12 {{wipe|Japan}}ese ships totaling 50,839&nbsp;tons.

==Construction and training==
''Bluefish'' was laid down 5 June 1942 by Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT. She was launched 21 February 1943 (sponsored by Mrs. Robert Y. Menzie), and commissioned 24 May 1943. ''Bluefish'' departed New London 21 July and reported to Task Force 72 (TF&nbsp;72) at Brisbane, Australia on 21 August 1943.

*On 8 September 1943, a {{wipe|Royal Australian Air Force}} [[Engineering:Consolidated PBY Catalina|Catalina]] [[Engineering:Flying boat|flying boat]] mistakenly strafed ''Bluefish'' in the Timor Sea north of Melville Island.<ref>Hinman & Campbell, p. 26.</ref>

==First war patrol==
''Bluefish'' departed Brisbane on 9 September 1943 to patrol the South China Sea for 25 days.<ref name=blr>Blair, pp.910 & 911</ref> On 25 September ''Bluefish'' torpedoed the Japanese merchantman ''Akashi Maru'' (3228 GRT) south-east of Celebes, Netherlands East Indies, in the Flores Sea. While following the damaged ''Akashi Maru'', ''Bluefish'' torpedoed and sank the Japanese torpedo boat ''Kasasagi'' (595 tons) on 27 September about {{convert|25|nmi|km mi|abbr=on}} south of Celebes. On 29 September ''Bluefish'' found and sank the damaged ''Akashi Maru'' north of Wetar.<ref name=web>{{cite web |url=http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/2968.html |title=Bluefish (SS-222) |website=uboat.net |publisher=Guðmundur Helgason |access-date=21 November 2013 }}</ref>

==Second war patrol==
''Bluefish'' departed Fremantle in October 1943 for a 32-day patrol of the South China Sea.<ref name=blr/> On 8 November ''Bluefish'' torpedoed and sank the Japanese tanker ''Kyokuei Maru'' (10570 GRT) in the South China Sea. On 18 November ''Bluefish'' torpedoed and sank the old escorting [[Engineering:Destroyer|destroyer]] IJN ''Sanae'' and damaged the Japanese fleet oiler ''Ondo'' (14050 GRT) in the Celebes Sea about {{convert|90|nmi|km mi|abbr=on}} south of Basilan Island.<ref name=web/>

==Third war patrol==
''Bluefish'' departed Fremantle in December 1943 for a 27-day patrol of the South China Sea.<ref name=blr/> On 30 December, she sank the Japanese oiler ''Ichiyu Maru'' (5061 GRT) in the Java Sea. After laying mines off the eastern Malayan coast on 3 January 1944, ''Bluefish'' attacked a Japanese convoy off Indo-China together with [[Engineering:USS Rasher|''Rasher'']]. ''Bluefish'' torpedoed and sank the Japanese tanker ''Hakko Maru'' (6046 GRT) on 4 January.<ref name=web/>

==Fourth war patrol==
''Bluefish'' departed Fremantle in February 1944 under the command of Charles M. Henderson for a 58-day patrol of the South China Sea.<ref>Blair, p.920</ref> on 4 March ''Bluefish'' torpedoed and sank the Japanese oiler ''Ominesan Maru'' (10536 GRT) in the South China Sea about {{convert|300|nmi|km mi|abbr=on}} west of Miri, Sarawak.<ref name=web/>

==Fifth war patrol==
''Bluefish'' departed Fremantle in May 1944 for a 53-day patrol of the Celebes Sea.<ref>Blair, p.922</ref> On 16 June, she sank the Japanese merchant ''Nanshin Maru'' (1422 GRT) in the Celebes Sea south-west of Tarakan, Borneo. On 21 June, she sank the Japanese transport ''Kanan Maru'' (3280 GRT) off the southern approaches to Makassar Strait.<ref name=web/>

==Sixth war patrol==
''Bluefish'' departed Fremantle in July 1944 for a 54-day patrol to Pearl Harbor.<ref>Blair, p.930</ref> On 14 August, she sank the tanker ''Shinpo Maru'' (5,135 GRT), damaged by {{USS|Puffer|SS-268|3}} on 12 August, off Golo Island. On 19 August, ''Bluefish'' attacked convoy Hi-71, sinking the Japanese fleet tanker/seaplane carrier Hayasui (18,300 GRT) some {{convert|80|nmi|km mi|abbr=on}} northwest of Cape Bolinao and damaging the Japanese transport ''Awa Maru'' (11,249 GRT) at {{coord|17|36|N|119|38|E|}}.<ref name=web/>

==Seventh war patrol==
''Bluefish'' departed Pearl Harbor in February 1945 for an unproductive 42-day patrol of Japanese coastal waters.<ref>Blair, p.942</ref>

==Eighth war patrol==
''Bluefish'' departed Pearl Harbor in April 1945 under the command of George W. Forbes for an unproductive 38-day patrol to Fremantle.<ref>Blair, p.950</ref>

==Ninth war patrol==
''Bluefish'' departed Fremantle in June 1945 for a 33-day patrol of the South China Sea.<ref>Blair, p.948</ref> On 15 July, she sank the Japanese submarine {{ship|Japanese submarine|I-351||2}} (2650 tons) in the South China Sea about {{convert|100|nmi|abbr=on}} east-north-east of Natuna Besar off Borneo. Four days later, she sank a ''No.1-class'' submarine chaser by gunfire east of Sumatra, Netherlands East Indies, at {{coord|00|04|N|105|08|E|}}.<ref name=web/>

==Post-war operations==
With the cessation of hostilities, ''Bluefish'' returned to the United States, arriving at Philadelphia Navy Yard 9 October 1945. She was placed in the 16th Fleet and on 31 October moved to the Submarine Base, New London. She was later towed to Electric Boat Co., Groton, where she underwent repairs. On 12 June 1946 she returned to New London where she went out of commission in reserve 12 February 1947.

''Bluefish'' was recommissioned 7 January 1952 at the Submarine Base, New London, and reported to Submarine Division 82, Atlantic Fleet. On 7 April she proceeded to Key West, Florida, and reported to Submarine Division 41 on 11 April. She operated along the Florida coast and in the Caribbean, engaging in local operations and training exercises until May 1953.

On 7 June 1953 ''Bluefish'' arrived at the [[Company:Portsmouth Naval Shipyard|Portsmouth Naval Shipyard]] in Kittery, Maine. Following pre-inactivation overhaul at the shipyard, she was placed out of commission in reserve at New London 20 November 1953.

==Honors and awards==
* {{ribbon devices|number=10|type=service-star|ribbon=Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with 10 battle stars for [[Social:World War II|World War II]] service

== References ==
===Citations===
{{reflist|30em}}
*{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/b/bluefish-i.html}}
===Bibliography===
* {{cite book |last=Blair |first=Clay |title =Silent Victory |url=https://archive.org/details/silentvictoryus00blai |url-access=registration |publisher =J.B. Lippincott Company |year =1975 |location =New York |isbn=9780397007530 }}
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=hkupDwAAQBAJ&dq=LApon+raton&pg=PA181 Hinman, Charles R., and Douglas E. Campbell. ''The Submarine Has No Friends: Friendly Fire Incidents Involving U.S. Submarines During World War II''. Syneca Research Group, Inc., 2019.] {{ISBN|978-0-359-76906-3}}.

== External links ==
*[http://hazegray.org/danfs/submar/ss222.htm hazegray.org: USS ''Bluefish'']
*[http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08222.htm navsource.org: USS ''Bluefish'']
*[http://pigboats.com/ww2/bluefish.html  Kill record: USS ''Bluefish'']
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050526220605/http://ussbluefish.com/history.htm ussbluefish.com: USS ''Bluefish'' (SS-222) History]


{{DEFAULTSORT:Bluefish (SS-222)}}
[[Category:Gato-class submarines]]

{{Sourceattribution|USS Bluefish (SS-222)}}