USS_Balao;0828502.jpg
Balao off the Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA, 25 October 1944.
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| Career
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| Ordered:
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| Laid down:
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| Launched:
| 27 October 1942
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| Commissioned:
| 4 February 1943
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| Decommissioned:
| 11 July 1963
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| Struck:
| 1 August 1963
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| Fate:
| sunk as a target,
4 September 1963
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| General Characteristics
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Displacement,
Surfaced:
Submerged:
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1,526 tons (1550 t),
2,424 tons (2460 t)
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| Length:
| 311.8 ft (95.0 m)
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| Beam:
| 27.3 ft (8.3 m)
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| Draft:
| 15.3 ft (4.6 m)
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| Depth limit:
| 400 ft (120 m)
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Speed,
Surfaced:
Submerged:
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20.25 knots (37 km/h)
8.75 knots (16 km/h)
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| Propulsion:
| four 5400-hp Diesel engines,
four 2740-hp (2.0 MW) electric motors,
two propellers
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| Submerged Endurance:
| 48 hours at 2 knots
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| Patrol Endurance:
| 75 days
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| Range:
| 11,000 nmi. (20,000 km)
surfaced at 10 knots
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| Complement:
| 6 Officers, 60 Enlisted
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| Armament:
| ten 21" torpedo tubes,
(six forward, four aft),
24 torpedoes,
one 4"/50 deck gun,
four machine guns
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| Motto:
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USS Balao (SS/AGSS-285), a Balao-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy; balao is the name of any of several halfbeaks.
Balao (SS-285) was launched 27 October 1942 by Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine, sponsored by Mrs. Theodore C. Aylward, wife of Lieutenant Commander Aylward, commissioned 4 February 1943, Lieutenant Commander R. H. Crane in command; and reported to the Pacific Fleet.
Balao's war operations span a period from 25 July 1943 until 27 August 1945. During this period she completed ten war patrols. She is credited with having sunk seven Japanese ships totalling 32,108 tons, in addition to sinking by gunfire 1100 tons of miscellaneous enemy small craft.
Balao arrived at Staten Island, N.Y., 27 September 1946 and on 20 August 1948 went out of commission in reserve at New London.
On 4 March 1952 Balao was recommissioned and assigned to the Atlantic Fleet. Based at Key West, Fla., she operated as a unit of Submarine Division 121, engaging in various type exercises, fleet maneuvers, and submarine warfare training.
Balao was redesignated an Auxiliary Research Submarine, AGSS-285, in 1960. She was decommissioned, 11 July 1963, and struck from the Naval Register, 1 August 1963. She was sunk as a target, 4 September 1963 off Charleston, SC.; her conning tower and periscope shears were removed prior to sinking as a target for display at the Navy Memorial Museum, Washington, DC.
Balao received nine battle stars for her World War II service.
SS/AGSS-285 Balao appeared as the hard-luck submarine in the 1959 Cary Grant/Tony Curtis motion picture comedy "Operation Petticoat." Through a major portion of the movie, she was painted pink! (Numerous web refs, including photo at: http://www.submarinesailor.com/boats/ss285balao/)
References
This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
External links
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