USS ''Cusk'' (SS/SSG/AGSS-348), 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 ...
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
cusk, a large food fish related to the
cod
Cod is the common name for the demersal fish genus '' Gadus'', belonging to the family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus ''Gadus'' is commonly not call ...
.
History
''Cusk'' was launched 28 July 1945 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 ...
,
Groton, Conn.
Groton is a town in New London County, Connecticut located on the Thames River. It is the home of General Dynamics Electric Boat, which is the major contractor for submarine work for the United States Navy. The Naval Submarine Base New London is ...
; cosponsored by Mrs. C. S. Gillette, and Mrs. W. G. Reed; and commissioned 5 February 1946.
Christening of USS Cusk, with Walter Reed.jpg, Christening of USS Cusk, with Mr. & Mrs. Walter Reed, Mr. L. Spear, Mr. & Mrs. Claude Gillette
Departing
New London 24 April 1946, ''Cusk'' made an extended cruise through the
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...
, and arrived at
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
6 June 1946. She sailed to
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., ...
and northern waters between 16 July and 20 August, then carried out local operations out of San Diego. A pioneer in the missile field, ''Cusk'' was fitted with a missile hangar and launching ramp just aft of her sail in 1947.
She was designated SSG-348, 20 January 1948 and was the first submarine to launch a
guided missile
In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocket ...
(a
Republic-Ford JB-2
The Republic-Ford JB-2, also known as the Thunderbug, KGW and LTV-N-2 Loon, was a United States copy of the German V-1 flying bomb. Developed in 1944, and planned to be used in the United States invasion of Japan ( Operation Downfall), ...
Loon, derived from the German
V-1 flying bomb
The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Ministry of Aviation (Nazi Germany), Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buz ...
) from her own deck, a forerunner of the
cruise missile
A cruise missile is a guided missile used against terrestrial or naval targets that remains in the atmosphere and flies the major portion of its flight path at approximately constant speed. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhe ...
and
ballistic missile
A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are guided only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles stay within the ...
submarines of the future.
She entered
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 ...
for a "
Fleet Snorkel" conversion and modernization in 1954, but remained in the
Regulus
Regulus is the brightest object in the constellation Leo and one of the brightest stars in the night sky. It has the Bayer designation designated α Leonis, which is Latinized to Alpha Leonis, and abbreviated Alpha Leo or α Leo. Re ...
missile program because of her special guidance equipment, although redesignated SS-348 on 1 July 1954.
''Cusk'' arrived 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 ...
, her new home port, 13 May 1957. Continuing her missile guidance duties with consorts , and she operated in
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
an waters with a cruise to San Diego in 1957 and duty in the Far East in 1958 and 1960.
In the fall of 1961 ''Cusk'' had her Regulus missile guidance equipment removed and reverted to attack submarine profile. After successfully shooting a MK 14 Mod 3 warshot torpedo at the target cliffs on Kahoolawe Island she departed for WesPac in January 1962. Designated as the SubFlot 7 Mining platform during the deployment, ''Cusk'' offloaded all steam torpedoes at
Cubi Point NAS that spring and reloaded 4 MK 27 Mobile drill mines and 18 MK 10 moored drill mines. 12 days after departure from Subic Bay, ''Cusk'' entered the shallow waters of
Buckner Bay
is a bay on the southern coast of Okinawa Island on the Pacific Ocean in Japan. The bay covers and ranges between to deep. The bay is surrounded by the municipalities of Uruma, Kitanakagusuku, Nakagusuku, Nishihara, Yonabaru, Nanjō, all in ...
Okinawa
is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi).
Naha is the capital and largest city ...
submerged, launched the 4 MK 27 mobile mines and then planted a field of 18 MK 10 moored mines. following the successful mine plant ''Cusk'' returned to Subic Bay RP, and retrieved her MK 14 Mod 3 warshot torpedoes.
In June 1969, the
Secretary of Defense
A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
ordered that 100 of the Navy's oldest ships be decommissioned; the ''Cusk'' was on that list. Subsequently, the ''Cusk'' was redesignated AGSS-348 and she set sail for the last time in September 1969 for
Hunter's Point Naval Shipyard
The Hunters Point Naval Shipyard was a United States Navy shipyard in San Francisco, California, located on of waterfront at Hunters Point in the southeast corner of the city.
Originally, Hunters Point was a commercial shipyard established ...
in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, 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 List of Ca ...
.
''Cusk'' was decommissioned and simultaneously struck from the
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 ...
, 24 September 1969; she was sold for scrap, 26 June 1972.
Awards
*
World War II Victory Medal
*
National Defense Service Medal with star
References
*
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
USS ''Cusk'' website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cusk (SS-348)
Balao-class submarines
Cold War submarines of the United States
Ships built in Groton, Connecticut
1945 ships