Submarine Squadron 3 (also known as SUBRON 3) was a squadron of

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

s of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

based at

Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam (JBPHH) is a United States military base on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. It is Joint Base, an amalgamation of the United States Air Force's Hickam Air Force Base and the United States Navy's Naval Station Pearl ...

, Pearl Harbor, HI which was disestablished in 2012. Submarine Squadron 3 was first established on November 25, 1930, at Coco Solo in the Panama Canal Zone. One of its first submarines was the R-1 built in 1917. Her ten boats conducted Panama Sea Frontier patrols for the Atlantic Fleet. As tensions grew through the 1930s, Squadron Three's mission evolved into the defense of coastal regions on both ends of the canal. Most of Squadron Three's submarines shifted to the Pacific end of the canal when war broke out. As the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

progressed, most of the squadron's submarines were transferred to more active regions, leaving only four subs in Squadron Three by August 1943. By May 1945, there were no submarines left in the squadron; only the rescue vessel and three destroyers remained. Squadron Three was deactivated July 1, 1945 and reactivated in Guam on October 1, 1945. The United States built a fleet of diesel-electric submarines during the war and commissioned a new submarine tender, , near its end. To support these ships, the Navy reorganized its submarine squadrons, re-establishing COMSUBRON 3 on Guam on Octobrt. 1, 1945. In February, 1946 the squadron moved to San Diego. Submarine Squadron Three continued to serve until March 31, 1995, when it was again deactivated. On June 16, 1997, Submarine Squadron Three rejoined the Pacific Submarine Force in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii with seven submarines assigned: , , , , , , and . In 2003, five submarines from COMSUBRON 3 were deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Three of these submarines, USS ''Columbia'' (SSN-771), USS ''Louisville'' (SSN-724) and USS ''Key West'' (SSN-722), conducted Tomahawk strike operations against targets in Iraq. On February 2, 2012, Commander, Submarine Squadron (COMSUBRON) 3 disestablished, as COMSUBRON 1 changed command, during an official ceremony aboard USS Greeneville (SSN 772) at the submarine piers at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam.MCS 2/c Ronald Gutridge
Submarine Squadron 3 disestablishes as Submarine Squadron 1 changes command
Naval Submarine Force Pacific, February 3, 2012 The disestablishment reassigned all COMSUBRON 3 attack submarines to COMSUBRON 1 and COMSUBRON 7. Under the deactivation, , and were assigned to COMSUBRON 1 and USS ''Louisville'' (SSN-724) and USS ''Olympia'' (SSN-717) were assigned to COMSUBRON 7. USS ''Chicago'' (SSN-721) was assigned to COMSUBRON 15 in Apra Harbor, Guam.

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Naval Station Pearl harbor
US Navy page. {{United States Navy Submarine squadrons Submarine squadrons of the United States Navy Military units and formations established in 1930 Military units and formations disestablished in 2012 1930 establishments in the United States

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