The USS Barb (SS-220) Compiled One of the Most Outstanding Records of WWII
The USS Barb (SS-220) was a US Navy submarine that became highly decorated after successfully sinking a whopping 96,628 tons of enemy shipping during its service in World War II. Led by Lt. Cmdr. Eugene B. “Lucky” Fluckey, Barb completed record-breaking attacks that earned her four Presidential Unit Citations, a Navy Unit Commendation and eight battle stars.
The USS Barb‘s entry into the European Theater
The USS Barb was laid down on June 7, 1941 in Groton, Connecticut, and a year later was launched and commissioned. A member of the Gato-class of submarines, she was the first Navy vessel to be named for the Barbus fish.
Barb carried out her first five patrols in the European Theater, where she conducted reconnaissance duties during the Allied invasion of North Africa and sailed against Axis blockade runners along the European coast. Following the termination of her fifth patrol, she was ordered by Naval Operations Adm. Ernest J. King to join the Pacific Fleet and undergo modifications.
The submarine’s service in the Pacific Theater
The USS Barb‘s second tour of duty in the Pacific saw a lot more action. In the spring of 1944, she cut freighter Fukusei Maru in half with three torpedoes, sank five ships and two sampans patroling the waters along the Kuril Islands, and sank the cargo ships Koto Maru and Madras Maru.
That summer was even more successful. During this time, the submarine sank two trawlers, the Japanese ship Toten Maru and the freighter Chihaya Maru all in the same day, followed by a passenger cargo ship two days later.
Barb had been credited with sinking 15,472 tons of enemy ships during this patrol. She then joined organized group attacks with the 9th Patrol, including the USS Queenfish (SS-393) and Tunny (SS-282), in patroling the Manila/Hong King sea-lanes. In this effort, Barb was successful in sinking many more Japanese vessels.
In the fall of 1944, Barb was requested to help in the rescue of Allied prisoners of war onboard a sunken Japanese transport. On the way, she and Queenfish encountered a heavy enemy convoy. Barb deployed six torpedoes, sinking both the 11,700-ton tanker Azuna and the 20,000-ton escort carrier Un’yō. Both successfully reached their designated rescue location, where Barb pulled aboard 14 British and Australian prisoners.
Making history off the shore of Japan
The USS Barb continued to make history as she continued her patrols. However, it was in June 1945, while on her 12th patrol, that she became the first submarine to launch an assault against Japanese shore installations.
After reaching the area north of Hokkaido, Japan and east of the Karafuto Prefecture, the submarine immediately used close gunfire to sink two Japanese luggers. Following this, she positioned herself approximately three miles from the center of the town of Shari. Her crew then launched their attack, and a few weeks later repeated the process against two other shore settlements.
The USS Barb “sunk” a train
On July 19, 1945, the crew onboard the USS Barb spotted a railroad close to the Japanese coastline. This prompted them to halt their harassment of Japanese shipping and shore operations and, instead, lay low as they observed the tracks to determine train schedules.
During this time, the crew prepared their equipment and waited to strike.
On the night of July 23, Barb moved close to the shoreline. Dropping down small boats, eight of her crew members paddled toward the beach, and after 25 minutes became the first American combatants to set foot on one of Japan’s homeland islands.
Passing through high grass, a highway and a ditch, the crew arrived at the tracks. Once they’d established their position had gone unnoticed, they began to quietly dig and bury explosives and batteries beneath the soil. When the final connection was made, it was just a matter of time until the next train traveled across the tracks, triggering an explosion.
Ninety minutes after they left, the crew signaled back to the Barb that they were returning, and 15 minutes after climbing back into their small boats and pushing off the shore, a train came thundering toward the explosive setup. At 1:47 AM, a 16-car train hit the detonator. From the safety of the submarine, the crew watched as it piled up and “sank” on Japanese soil.
The USS Barb‘s post-war career
Returning to the United States after WWII, Barb was placed in and out of commission multiple times, including with the Atlantic Fleet. Following her decommissioning in February 1954, she underwent the Greater Underwater Propulsion Power Program (GUPPY) conversion, after which she rejoined the Atlantic Fleet.
In December of that year, the submarine was ultimately decommissioned and loaned out to Italy under the Mutual Defense Assistance Act.
More from us: The US Navy’s First Escort Carrier Shined During the Guadalcanal Campaign
Under service with the Italian Navy, the vessel was renamed the Enrico Tazzoli (S 511) and eventually sold for scrap in 1972 for approximately $100,000 USD. Adm. Fluckey remarked that he wished he’d known about her scrapping, as he and his crew would have bought the vessel, returned it to the US and kept it as a museum submarine.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment
How did you like the post, leave a comment. I would appreciate hearing from you all. Best wishes from JC's Naval, Maritime and Military News