USS ''Chub'' (SS-329), a ''Balao''-class submarine, was a ship 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 ...

named for the chub, a game fish of the Atlantic and Mediterranean. The name is also given locally to a wide variety of American fishes. She was later transferred to

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

where she served as TCG ''Gür'' (S 334).

Operational history

USS ''Chub''

SS-329, originally named ''Bonaci'', was renamed ''Chub'' on 24 September 1942 and launched 18 June 1944 by Electric Boat Co., Groton, Conn.; sponsored by Mrs. T. A. Risch; and commissioned 21 October 1944.

First war patrol, February – April 1945

''Chub'' reached

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...

from

New London New London may refer to: Places United States *New London, Alabama *New London, Connecticut *New London, Indiana *New London, Iowa *New London, Maryland *New London, Minnesota *New London, Missouri *New London, New Hampshire, a New England town ** ...

24 January 1945, and after final training, put to sea for action waters 13 February. Her first war patrol, in

Tonkin Gulf The Gulf of Tonkin is a gulf at the northwestern portion of the South China Sea, located off the coasts of Tonkin (northern Vietnam) and South China. It has a total surface area of . It is defined in the west and northwest by the northern ...

and the

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...

and

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phi ...

s, found her skill and determination tried in four hairbreadth escapes from destruction. On 3 March, she was attacked by an enemy submarine whose torpedoes she evaded. On 29 March, she began a long surface chase after an escort group, which she carried through the next day, even though forced six times to go deep by enemy aircraft. On their last pass, they dropped bombs, a clear indication that ''Chubs chase must be broken off. The next day she was off Yulikan Bay, and while American and Japanese planes fought in the skies above, ''Chub'' rescued three downed pilots as they and she were strafed. With two Japanese patrol craft looming out of the harbor, ''Chub'' raced away. On 12 April, ''Chub'' was bombed by an enemy patrol plane as the submarine dove. Bomb damage caused a temporary loss of power, and with depth control lost, ''Chub'' broached. Fortunately, the aircraft had apparently dropped its entire load on the first run.

Second and third war patrols, May – August 1945

''Chub'' put into Fremantle, Australia to repair and refit from 18 April 1945 to 14 May, and then sailed for the Java Sea and her second war patrol. During this patrol, she attacked two freighters, and sank the

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

'' W-34'' which had come out hunting for her. The damage already done to Japanese shipping made targets few by this time, and ''Chub'' put into

Subic Bay Subic Bay is a bay on the west coast of the island of Luzon in the Philippines, about northwest of Manila Bay. An extension of the South China Sea, its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility, U.S. Naval Base Sub ...

from 21 June to 15 July to refit. Her third war patrol found her again in the Java Sea, sinking a number of small craft, although again and again attacked by the remnant of Japanese air strength. Returning to Fremantle 17 August, she sailed on to Subic Bay for training through the remainder of 1945, then returned to the West Coast.

1946 – 1947

During 1946, ''Chub'' operated from Pearl Harbor, her new home port, visiting the west coast for necessary overhaul. Between 12 November 1946 and 14 February 1947, she served in the Far East, making a simulated war patrol, and training with the

7th Fleet The Seventh Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It is headquartered at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of ...

. During late 1947, she joined in a training cruise in

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

n waters, and voyaged from

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

with reservists on board for training. After overhaul at San Francisco she put to sea 4 March 1948 to call at New London, then crossed the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

and

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

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, arriving 11 May. She was decommissioned and struck from the

Naval Vessel Register The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...

23 May 1948.

Honors and awards

''Chub'' received three

battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

s for

World War II 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 opposing ...

service by reason of her three "successful" war patrols. She is credited with having sunk a total of 4,200 tons of shipping.

TCG ''Gür''

The ex-''Chub'' was transferred to Turkey on 25 May 1948, and was commissioned in the

Turkish Navy The Turkish Naval Forces ( tr, ), or Turkish Navy ( tr, ) is the naval warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was establis ...

as TCG ''Gür'' (S 334). In 1953, she was converted to a GUPPY Fleet Snorkel Submarine, the work being done first in Turkey's Gölcük Navy Yard and completed in the United States. ''Gür'' was decommissioned on 12 December 1975, returned to U.S. custody, and sold for scrapping.

References

External links

*
''History of Turkish Submarines'' (1948–1972)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chub (SS-329) Balao-class submarines Ships built in Groton, Connecticut 1944 ships World War II submarines of the United States Cold War submarines of the United States Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Turkish Navy Balao-class submarines of the Turkish Navy Maritime incidents in 1962