USS Chivo (SS-341)
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USS ''Chivo'' (SS-341), a
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 named for the "chivo" or big-scaled goatfish ''Pseudopenaeus grandisquamis'', a fish inhabiting the Pacific Ocean between Panama and Mexico. ''Chivo'' was launched 14 January 1945 by
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Company,
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 ...
; sponsored by Mrs. Edith Lindholm Baldwin, wife of
Raymond E. Baldwin Raymond Earl Baldwin (August 31, 1893 – October 4, 1986) was an American politician who served as a United States senator from Connecticut and also as the 72nd and 74th Governor of Connecticut. A conservative Republican, he was elected governo ...
, the governor of Connecticut; and commissioned 28 April 1945.


1945–1950

''Chivo'' departed New London 7 June 1945 for
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where she trained and exercised briefly at the sound school and experimental torpedo range, before sailing on to Pearl Harbor in company with and . While the submarine was preparing for her first war patrol, hostilities ended; ''Chivo'' then remained at Pearl Harbor, operating locally with other ships of the Pacific Fleet. Assigned to Submarine Squadron Seven (SubRon 7), she returned to the States in October, basing out of San Diego, California for local operations which continued until January 1946, when ''Chivo'' sailed for a short tour of duty operating out of Subic Bay in the Philippines. Returning to San Diego in May, the submarine exercised along the west coast for the next 15 months, a period culminating in an overhaul 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 ...
. Growing tensions in Asia, provoked in part by French conflict with the
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in Indochina and disagreements over the future of Korea, encouraged the Navy to conduct more realistic training for submariners. As part of this general approach, ''Chivo'' began a three-month simulated war patrol in August 1947 which took her to
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,
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; Guam; and Japan; before she arrived back at San Diego in November. West coast duty continued for her until mid-1949 when she was transferred to the Atlantic Fleet, arriving at her new home port of
Naval Station Key West The U.S. Naval Station in Key West, Florida, United States is a historic district that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official l ...
and Submarine Squadron Four (SubRon 4) on 4 July 1949. During her transit there the boat's movement reports describe one of the hazards of sailing in the warm waters in the West Indies when ''Chivo'' "struck unidentified submerged object, possibly turtle." The submarine provided training and services for Atlantic Fleet ships in intertype exercises until 30 October 1950 when she arrived at New London to begin an extensive Greater Underwater Propulsion Program (GUPPY 1-A) overhaul and modernization. The modifications included streamlining the hull and superstructure, adding a snorkel to allow diesel engine operation while at periscope depth and increasing overall battery power.


1951–1960

With increased power and a new streamlined shape, ''Chivo'' returned to duty with the Atlantic Fleet in July 1951, resuming anti-submarine warfare (ASW) training operations with surface ships as well as maintaining proficiency in anti-shipping and
mine warfare Mine warfare refers to the use of different types of explosive devices: *Land mine, a weight-triggered explosive device intended to maim or kill people or to disable or destroy vehicles *Minelaying, deployment of explosive mines at sea **Naval mine ...
. These drills and exercises took place mainly off Key West and Guantanamo Bay. This regular training continued until 19 April 1952 when ''Chivo'' sailed for a short cruise with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean, visiting
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; Cannes and Marseille, France; and Naples, Italy; before returning home via the Azores in June. Assigned to Submarine Squadron Twelve (SubRon 12) upon her return to Key West, the submarine resumed her familiar training routine with the Fleet Sonar School interspersed with port visits to Havana, Cuba;
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, Jamaica; and
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,
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. Aside from a three-month overhaul at Philadelphia between January and May 1953, ''Chivo'' remained in the West Indies until October when the submarine transited the Panama Canal for a month of operations off the Pacific coast of
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. This training period continued until May 1954 when the boat began a four-month regular overhaul at
Charleston Naval Shipyard Charleston Naval Shipyard (formerly known as the Charleston Navy Yard) was a U.S. Navy ship building and repair facility located along the west bank of the Cooper River, in North Charleston, South Carolina and part of Naval Base Charleston. H ...
. She again returned to Fleet Sonar School duty in September, with such employment put on hold in March 1955 for a ten-week battery renewal restricted availability. In a change to her normal schedule, the submarine visited Gulfport, Mississippi, in March 1956 and New York City in August of that same year. After another visit to Gulfport in January 1957 to train reservists, and Santiago de Cuba in February, ''Chivo'' commenced an overhaul at Charleston Naval Shipyard in March. Returning to normal duty out of Key West in September, the boat remained there save for the occasional port visit to Gulf Ports until transferred to Charleston and Submarine Squadron Four in July 1959, a shift completed after a short cruise north to Boston, and Quebec City, Canada the previous month. ''Chivo'' resumed her familiar ASW services out of Charleston shortly thereafter, a duty she continued in January 1960 with ASW services to patrol aircraft off Bermuda. She followed that with another overhaul at Charleston Naval Shipyard between March and September, with repairs and modifications that included a new sonar system. On 4 October 1960 ''Chivo'' began her first out-of-area cruise in eight years, though she first sailed south to St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, for a two-week amphibious exercise with the 2d Reconnaissance Company, Fleet Marine Force. The submarine then sailed to South Africa, via Trinidad, British West Indies, for Operation CAPEX-60, a joint ASW exercise with British,
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, Portuguese and
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ships and aircraft. While en route, the boat held the traditional crossing-the-line ceremonies at the
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. As put by the '' Navy Times'', "Although greatly outnumbered, the fifteen 'shellbacks' kept complete control as they initiated the 'polywogs' into the Ancient Order of the Deep." The exercise, which included port visits to Simonstown,
Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...
and Cape Town, lasted through November and ''Chivo'' did not return home to Charleston, via San Juan, Puerto Rico, until 21 December.


1961–1971

Over the next few years, ''Chivo'' continued to specialize in her role as an " opposition force" (i.e. Soviet) submarine during ASW training exercises. These included pretending to launch a ballistic missile at the United States, disrupting "blue force" amphibious convoys or attempting submerged transits against reconnaissance aircraft patrols. In the latter case during Operation DeltEx XV in October 1962, ''Chivo'' managed to stay undetected during a three-day submerged transit opposed by aircraft from Norfolk and Bermuda. In addition to conducting similar exercises in 1963, the submarine also received a plastic fairwater to help with underwater speed during a regular overhaul at Charleston between February and June 1964. On 4 January 1965 the submarine got underway for her second Mediterranean deployment, stopping at
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, Portugal; and
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, Spain; before beginning a series of exercises with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces off Italy and Turkey. The boat sailed for home from Athens, Greece, on 14 April and arrived, via Rota, on 2 May. ''Chivo'' spent the rest of the year conducting her usual local training operations, including a specialized
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planting exercise. A regularly scheduled five-month overhaul took place at Charleston in early 1966, followed by type training and the usual ASW services to various Atlantic Fleet units. During this period ''Chivo'' also participated in the final weapons range acceptance tests for the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC) in the Bahama Islands. Local operations continued into 1967, with ''Chivo'' servicing warships and submarines out of Guantanamo Bay and conducting prospective commanding officer training in nearby operating areas. This routine was only broken in January 1968 when the submarine participated in destroyer-submarine Exercise Springboard I, a six-week exercise that allowed ''Chivo'' to conduct forty-eight torpedo firings at surface and sub-surface targets, greatly improving the skill of the fire control team. Following upkeep alongside submarine tender , the submarine then sailed north on 26 May to assist in
Search and Rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...
operations for , with ''Chivo'' assisting in tracing the intended track of the wrecked submarine. During November, ''Chivo'' provided services for the AUTEC range at Bermuda before ending the year at Charleston. After another overhaul between January and August 1969, the submarine conducted refresher and type training in preparation for Exercise Springboard II in January 1970. After a port visit to San Juan, Puerto Rico, in mid-January, the boat sailed north to
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, for repairs. She then conducted two months of training services out of Guantanamo Bay before returning to Charleston on 28 April. At this time, the Navy — needing money and qualified manpower elsewhere — reduced ''Chivo's'' manning level to 43 sailors and placed the boat in cadre or "non-operational" status. A service inspection completed on 16 February 1971 determined the boat was unfit for further service, as ''Chivo'' was "far below the standards of a Guppy III submarine considered the minimum required to meet the increasing demands of present and future submarine warfare requirements." Although temporarily returned to active duty on 26 February 1971, the status change was in preparation for her transfer to a foreign navy that summer. There was still time for providing training and services, however, and the submarine conducted operational readiness exercises with in March; mainly conducting trailing, approach and torpedo firing exercises with the newer nuclear-powered submarine. ''Chivo'' provided the same "opposition force" training for in April and in May. These services ended when Argentine Naval personnel arrived at Charleston on 15 June to receive two weeks of underway training with ''Chivos crew, focusing on diving, surfacing and snorkeling evolutions. ''Chivo'' decommissioned at
Charleston Navy Yard Charleston Naval Shipyard (formerly known as the Charleston Navy Yard) was a U.S. Navy ship building and repair facility located along the west bank of the Cooper River, in North Charleston, South Carolina and part of Naval Base Charleston. H ...
on 1 July 1971 and was struck from the Navy List that same day.


Argentine service

The submarine was transferred (sold) to Argentina, under terms of the Security Assistance Program on 1 July 1971. She served in the Argentine Navy (''
Armada de la República Argentina The Argentine Navy (ARA; es, Armada de la República Argentina). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the ...
'') as ARA ''Santiago del Estero'' (S-22), the third submarine to be named in honor of
Santiago del Estero Province Santiago del Estero (), also known simply as Santiago, is a province in the north of Argentina. Neighboring provinces, clockwise from the north, are Salta, Chaco, Santa Fe, Córdoba, Catamarca and Tucumán. History The indigenous inhabitant ...
. This submarine played a minor role in the Falklands War. She had not participated in exercises since 1980, her sonar had been removed in 1981, and she had been decommissioned in September 1981. By the start of the Falkalnds War on 2 April 1982, ''Santiago del Estero'' could not submerge, but she could still move on the surface. The British had no satellite technology at the time and eventually got the aid of the United States, which had available three satellites. One was of the HEXAGON/KH-9 type, launched on 11 May 1982, which had the problem that the film had to be ejected towards the Earth and picked up near Hawaii, and then transported by air towards the continent. The other were two KENNAN/KH-11, the most modern in the world, and could pass the encrypted information directly to a station in the US and from there it would be transmitted to the headquarters in Northwood, UK. In April, the United States had the KH-11/4 moved away from its orbit above the USSR and this satellite was observing Argentine bases both in the continent and the islands. Once received, he information was passed from Northwood to both Task Forces in the South Atlantic: TF 317 (Surface fleet) and TF 324 (submarine fleet); the latter commanded by
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Peter Herbert. The British had put the emphasis on the four Argentine submarines, as well as on Argentina's sole
aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
ARA ''Veinticinco de Mayo'' (V-2); the latter was detected navigating south of Gulf San Jorge. However, ''Santiago del Estero'' (S-22), which was believed to be non-operational at the time, could not be seen since 21 April. The Argentine Navy knew about the satellite technology monitoring the mainland, and the submarine, which was not capable of submerging, had been towed by night toward Puerto Belgrano Naval Base, and there she was successfully camouflaged between two transports. The information was very important for the British; since after the capture of ''Santiago del Estero''′s
sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...
ARA ''Santa Fe'' (S-21) at South Georgia, during
Operation Paraquet Operation Paraquet was the code name for the British military operation to recapture the island of South Georgia from Argentine military control in April 1982 at the start of the Falklands War. The operation, a subsidiary of the main Operatio ...
, there were only three Argentine submarines, and it was necessary to find where the Argentine submarines were, as to prevent attacks on British submarines by mistake. It took until 28 May for the American-British satellital technology to find ''Santiago del Estero''. She was seen in the base together with two old World War II American
destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...
s, one modern Type 42, and the only aircraft carrier, in a day in which weather conditions made possible for the satellite to effectively distinguish them. The other Argentine submarines had different performances in the war. ARA ''San Luis'' (S-32), a German Type 209/1200, had returned to Puerto Belgrano Naval Base on 19 May, after a 39-day patrol north of the Falklands, in which she spent 864 hours submerged. ''San Luis''′s sister ship ARA ''Salta'' (S-31) had many problems at the time with her torpedo tubes and was conducting several tests of them, navigating in continental waters from 21 May. She finally arrived at her base on 29 May. ''Santiago del Estero'' was disposed of in 1983.


See also

* for other Argentine ships named ''Santiago del Estero'' * https://www.elsnorkel.com/2015/04/guerra-de-malvinas-satelites-cia-y-el.html


References

*


External links

*
USS ''Chivo'' website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chivo (SS-341) Balao-class submarines Ships built in Groton, Connecticut 1945 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 Argentine Navy