USS ''Capitaine'' (SS/AGSS-336), a ''Balao''-class

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 ...

, 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 capitaine, a brilliantly colored fish inhabiting waters of the Atlantic Ocean from

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Construction and commissioning

''Capitaine'' (SS-336) was launched 1 October 1944 by

Electric Boat An electric boat is a powered watercraft driven by electric motors, which are powered by either on-board battery packs, solar panels or generators. While a significant majority of water vessels are powered by diesel engines, with sail pow ...

Co., Groton, Conn.; sponsored by Mrs. J. A. Rondomanski; commissioned 26 January 1945, Lieutenant Commander E. S. Friedrick in command; and assigned to the Pacific Fleet.

United States Navy

World War II

''Capitaine'' got underway 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 ** ...

7 March 1945 to arrive at

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 Re ...

15 April. On 6 May, she cleared for her first war patrol, off the coast of

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...

north of

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. Enemy targets were disappointingly few for a new submarine, for the Navy had almost completely swept the sea of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese shipping by this time. On 16 June, she rescued from the sea five Japanese survivors of a merchant ship previously sunk by other forces. After refueling at

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 Subi ...

, ''Capitaine'' continued her patrol south of

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

in the

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. On 30 June, she joined in a concerted gun attack on five small enemy craft, one (Bandai Maru) which she sank after its crew had abandoned it. Refitted at

Fremantle submarine base Fremantle submarine base was the utilisation of Fremantle Harbour as a submarine base in World War II. The submarine base was second only to Pearl Harbor in the Pacific theater, with US, British and Dutch submarines operating from Fremantle dur ...

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, ''Capitaine'' sailed for her second war patrol, arriving in her assigned area just three days before hostilities ended.

Post-war

She returned to the west coast in September 1945, but in January 1946 was bound for the Far East once more, training in

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waters through March. A month of operations at Pearl Harbor preceded her return to

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, from which, after an overhaul, she made two simulated war patrols in 1947 and 1948, and conducted local training and services. The submarine was decommissioned and placed in reserve at

Mare Island Naval Shipyard The Mare Island Naval Shipyard (MINSY) was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates th ...

10 February 1950. ''Capitaine'' was recommissioned 23 February 1957, and reported to the Pacific Fleet a month later. From her base at San Diego, she took part in training, served other fleet units as target in antisubmarine exercises, and training reservists, as well as voyaging to the Far East for

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duty, through 1960. On 1 July 1960 ''Capitaine'' was reclassified an Auxiliary Research Submarine, AGSS-336. In 1964 ''Capitaine'' took part in the movie ''

In Harm's Way ''In Harm's Way'' is a 1965 American epic war film produced and directed by Otto Preminger and starring John Wayne, Kirk Douglas and Patricia Neal, with a supporting cast featuring Henry Fonda in a lengthy cameo, Tom Tryon, Paula Prentiss, Stanle ...

''.

Honors and awards

* Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with one

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 ...

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 opposin ...

service *

Navy Occupation Service Medal The Navy Occupation Service Medal is a military award of the United States Navy which was "Awarded to commemorate the services of Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard personnel in the occupation of certain territories of the enemies of the U.S. durin ...

with "ASIA" clasp

Italian Navy

''Capitaine'' was decommissioned, 4 March 1966 and transferred (loaned) to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, 5 March 1966, where she was recommissioned in the

Italian Navy "Fatherland and Honour" , patron = , colors = , colors_label = , march = ( is the return of soldiers to their barrack, or sailors to their ship after a ...

as ''Alfredo Cappellini'' (S 507). She was sold to

and struck from the US

Naval Register A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval author ...

, 5 December 1977, and disposed of.

Fiction related to ''Capitaine''

The fictional submarine USS ''Triggerfish'' in the 1951 movie '' Submarine Command'' has ''Capitaine''s

hull number Hull number is a serial identification number given to a boat or ship. For the military, a lower number implies an older vessel. For civilian use, the HIN is used to trace the boat's history. The precise usage varies by country and type. United S ...

(SS-336).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Capitaine (SS-336) 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 Balao-class submarines of the Italian Navy