USS ''Croaker'' (SS/SSK/AGSS/IXSS-246), a ''Gato''-class submarine, was the first 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 ...

to be named for the croaker, any of various fishes which make throbbing or drumming noises.

Construction and commissioning

''Croaker''′s

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

on 1 April 1943 by Electric Boat Company in

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 i ...

. She was launched on 19 December 1943, sponsored by the wife of Admiral William H. P. Blandy, and commissioned on 21 April 1944, with Commander John E. Lee in command. ''Note:'' This includes an
''Accompanying five photographs''
/ref>

Service history

World War II

''Croaker'' 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 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 ** ...

on 26 June 1944, and on 19 July put to sea on her first war patrol, sailing to the

East China East China () is a geographical and a loosely defined cultural region that covers the eastern coastal area of China. A concept abolished in 1978, for economical purposes the region was defined from 1949 to 1961 by the Chinese Central Govern ...

and

Yellow Sea The Yellow Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula, and can be considered the northwestern part of the East China Sea. It is one of four seas named after common colour ter ...

s. In a series of brilliantly successful attacks which won her the Navy Unit Commendation, she sank the cruiser ''Nagara'' on 7 August, an auxiliary minesweeper, '' Taito Maru'', on 16 August, and two freighters, '' Daigen Maru No. 7'' on 14 August and '' Yamateru Maru'' on 17 August. During this patrol, she served as lifeguard during air strikes on the

Bonin Islands The Bonin Islands, also known as the , are an archipelago of over 30 subtropical and tropical islands, some directly south of Tokyo, Japan and northwest of Guam. The name "Bonin Islands" comes from the Japanese word ''bunin'' (an archaic read ...

. She refitted at Midway Atoll from 31 August to 23 September, when she sailed in a coordinated attack group for the same area on her second war patrol. Again successful, she sank the freighters '' Shinki Maru'' on 9 October, and '' Hakuran Maru'' on 23 October. She shadowed a convoy on 23–24 October, sank the freighter '' Mikage Maru'', and damaged '' Gassan Maru'' with her last

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...

. Tubes empty, she returned to Midway to fuel, and pushed on to Pearl Harbor, arriving for refit on 10 November. ''Croaker''s third war patrol, in the

Luzon Strait The Luzon Strait (Tagalog: ''Kipot ng Luzon'', ) is the strait between Taiwan and Luzon island of the Philippines. The strait thereby connects the Philippine Sea to the South China Sea in the western Pacific Ocean. This body of water is an im ...

s 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 ...

from 13 December 1944 to 12 February 1945, found her making no contacts with enemy shipping, but providing essential lifeguard service during strikes on

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 ...

preparatory to the invasion landings in Lingayen Gulf. She refitted at Fremantle, Australia, and on 12 March sailed for a patrol off the coast of

Indo-China Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

twice interrupted by the need to return to Australia for repairs. She refitted 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 Sub ...

, Philippines from 22 April to 15 May, then sailed for her fifth war patrol, in the Java Sea. On 30 May, she attacked a convoy of three small oilers guarded by an escort, with unconfirmed results, and on 5 June returned to Fremantle. Her final war patrol – from 1 July to 13 August – found her assigned to lifeguard duties in the South China Sea and off

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

as the final series of air attacks on Japan were carried out. Returning to Subic Bay, ''Croaker'' sailed for Saipan and continued on to Galveston, Tex., and New London, where she was then decommissioned and placed in reserve 15 May 1946 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 ...

Post-War

Recommissioned on 7 May 1951, she served as schoolship out of New London until 18 March 1953, when she was again decommissioned at

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, often called the Portsmouth Navy Yard, is a United States Navy shipyard in Kittery on the southern boundary of Maine near the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Founded in 1800, PNS is U.S. Navy's oldest continuo ...

for conversion to a

hunter-killer submarine An attack submarine or hunter-killer submarine is a submarine specifically designed for the purpose of attacking and sinking other submarines, surface combatants and merchant vessels. In the Soviet and Russian navies they were and are called "m ...

. She was reclassified SSK-246 on 9 April 1953, and was recommissioned on 11 December 1953. Returning to active duty in February 1954, she operated along the East Coast and in the Caribbean, visiting ports in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

while taking part in

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

exercises in 1957 and 1958. ''Croaker'' was reclassified SS-246 again in August 1959. Special submarine exercises took her to England once more in February 1960, after which she resumed local operations out of New London. In September 1960, ''Croaker'' departed on a cruise which saw her sailing through 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 Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

and Suez Canal to call at various Near Eastern ports and

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

, Pakistan. She returned to New London in mid-December, retracing her outward track. She was reclassified Auxiliary Submarine AGSS-246 in May 1967. Decommissioned for the last time on 2 April 1968, ''Croaker'' was 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 ...

on 20 December 1971 and reclassified Miscellaneous Unclassified Submarine IXSS-246 in December 1971. From 1977 to 1987, ''Croaker'' was displayed as a private attraction in

by the Submarine Memorial Association until the Navy revoked its agreement with the group citing a requirement for historical preservation of the vessel. Since 1988, ''Croaker'' has served as a museum ship at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

. Image:U.S.S._Croaker.jpg, U.S.S. Croaker at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park Image:U.S.S._Croaker_3.1.jpg, Image:U.S.S._Croaker_5.jpg, Image:U.S.S. Croaker 6.jpg, File:USS CROAKER (submarine) 2013-09-22 07-34-59.jpg, File:USS CROAKER (submarine) 2013-09-22 07-41-50.jpg,

Awards

* Navy Unit Commendation *

American Campaign Medal The American Campaign Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was first created on November 6, 1942, by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was intended to recognize those military members who had perfo ...

* Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with three

battle stars 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 ...

World War II Victory Medal The World War II Victory Medal is a service medal of the United States military which was established by an Act of Congress on 6 July 1945 (Public Law 135, 79th Congress) and promulgated by Section V, War Department Bulletin 12, 1945. The Wo ...

National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It is awarded to every member of the US Armed Forces who has served during any one of four ...

with star Along with the Navy Unit Commendation, ''Croaker'' 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 those of her war patrols designated as "successful": the first, second, and fifth of her six. She is credited with having sunk 19,710 tons of shipping. ''Croaker'' was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

on 12 September 2008.

References

External links

*
navsource.org: USS ''Croaker''
*

Photos on board the Submarine USS ''Croaker'' in Buffalo, NY {{DEFAULTSORT:Croaker (Ss-246) Gato-class submarines World War II submarines of the United States Cold War submarines of the United States Museum ships in New York (state) Ships on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) Ships built in Groton, Connecticut 1943 ships Museums in Buffalo, New York Military and war museums in New York (state) National Register of Historic Places in Buffalo, New York