USS ''Becuna'' (SS/AGSS-319), a , is a former 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 becuna, a pike-like fish of Europe. She was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places liste ...

for her service in

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, for which she earned four battle stars. She presently serves as a museum ship at the Independence Seaport Museum in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Construction and commissioning

''Becuna'' (SS-319) was launched 30 January 1944 by Electric Boat Company,

Groton, Connecticut 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 ...

; sponsored by Mrs. George C. Crawford, and commissioned on 27 May 1944.

World War II

''Becuna'' departed New London 1 July 1944 and 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 ...

29 July. Her war operations extended from 23 August 1944 to 27 July 1945. During this period she completed five war patrols in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

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 Ph ...

, and the

Java Sea The Java Sea ( id, Laut Jawa, jv, Segara Jawa) is an extensive shallow sea on the Sunda Shelf, between the Indonesian islands of Borneo to the north, Java to the south, Sumatra to the west, and Sulawesi to the east. Karimata Strait to its no ...

. ''Becuna'' is credited with having sunk two

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 n ...

ese tankers totaling 3,888 tons. The submarine arrived at Subic Bay,

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

, from her last war patrol 27 July 1945. In September 1945 she 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 eighth most populous city in the United States ...

. ''Becuna'' received four

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 her

service.

Post-war service

After World War II ''Becuna'' continued to operate with Submarine Force, Pacific Fleet, until April 1949 when she was ordered to Submarine Force, Atlantic Fleet, as a unit of Submarine Squadron 8. Between May 1949 and May 1950 she conducted refresher training exercises and also assisted in training of student officers and men at

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decade ...

. In November 1950 she returned to Electric Boat Co., for a complete modernization overhaul, being refitted as a

GUPPY The guppy (), also known as millionfish and rainbow fish, is one of the world's most widely distributed tropical fish and one of the most popular freshwater aquarium fish species. It is a member of the family Poeciliidae and, like almost all ...

-type submarine. The overhaul was completed in August 1951, and ''Becuna'' sailed to the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...

for shakedown. She returned to New London in September 1951. ''Becuna'' operated with the Atlantic Fleet, making two cruises with the 6th Fleet in the

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 and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

and one to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. Other than these extended cruises, the majority of ''Becuna''s service was at New London as a training submarine. In 1969, she was reclassified an Auxiliary Submarine, AGSS-319.

Museum ship

''Becuna'' was decommissioned on 7 November 1969, and laid up in the

Atlantic Reserve Fleet The United States Navy maintains a number of its ships as part of a reserve fleet, often called the "Mothball Fleet". While the details of the maintenance activity have changed several times, the basics are constant: keep the ships afloat and s ...

. She reverted to SS-319 in 1971. She was stricken 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 ...

on 15 August 1973. ''Becuna'' was placed on permanent display adjacent to the cruiser at

Penn's Landing Penn's Landing is a waterfront area of Center City Philadelphia along the Delaware River. Its name commemorates the landing of William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania in 1682. The actual landing site is farther south in Chester, Pennsylvani ...

on 21 June 1976. Since 1996 both vessels have been operated by the Independence Seaport Museum. She was designated a

in 1986. In 2001, ''Becuna'' received the Historical Welded Structure Award of the

American Welding Society The American Welding Society (AWS) was founded in 1919 as a non-profit organization to advance the science, technology and application of welding and allied joining and cutting processes, including brazing, soldering and thermal spraying. Headq ...

References

External links