, 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

greenling Hexagrammidae, the greenlings, is a family of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the suborder Cottoidei in the order Scorpaeniformes. These fishes are found in the North Pacific Ocean. Taxonomy Hexagrammidae was first proposed as a family i ...

Construction, commissioning, and shakedown

''Greenling'' 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 ...

by Electric Boat Company, Groton,

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

, on 12 November 1940, launched on 20 September 1941, sponsored by Mrs. R. S. Holmes, and commissioned at

Naval Submarine Base New London Naval Submarine Base New London is the primary United States Navy East Coast submarine base, also known as the "Home of the Submarine Force." It is located in Groton, Connecticut directly across the Thames River from its namesake city of New L ...

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 ** ...

, Connecticut, on 21 January 1942. While she was conducting

shakedown Shakedown may refer to: * Shakedown (continuum mechanics), a type of plastic deformation * Shakedown (testing) or a shakedown cruise, a period of testing undergone by a ship, airplane or other craft before being declared operational * Extortion, ...

training from New London, she suffered damage on 28 February 1942 when a

PBY-5A Catalina The Consolidated PBY Catalina is a flying boat and amphibious aircraft that was produced in the 1930s and 1940s. In Canadian service it was known as the Canso. It was one of the most widely used seaplanes of World War II. Catalinas served w ...

amphibian of U.S. Navy Patrol Squadron 73 (VP-73) mistook her for a German

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

and bombed her.

First war patrol, April – June 1942

After completing shakedown training, ''Greenling'' departed New London on 7 March 1942 for the Pacific. She arrived

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 ...

3 April and sailed 20 April for her first war patrol, in the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Intern ...

and

Caroline Islands The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the ce ...

. The submarine attacked the cargo ship ''Seia Maru'' four times 30 April – 1 May off

Eniwetok Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with i ...

, but due to faulty torpedoes was not able to sink her. The tenacious submarine even closed for a night gunfire attack in an attempt to cripple her adversary. Finally forced by Japanese aircraft to break off the attack, ''Greenling'' turned her attention to the huge Japanese base at Truk. As the Japanese converged on the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...

, Truk became a busy shipping point and a fertile ground for submarine operations. The submarine recorded her first kill 4 May when she hit cargo ship ''Kinjosan Maru'' amidships, breaking her in two. As the Japanese were turned back in the important Battle of the Coral Sea (history's first carrier air battle), ''Greenling'' attempted to intercept the retiring enemy units, but her speed was no match for the fast Japanese heavy units. The submarine departed the Truk area 4 June, the day of Japan's first great naval defeat at the Battle of Midway, and arrived at Pearl Harbor 16 June.

Second war patrol, July – September 1942

''Greenling'' departed on her second war patrol 10 July 1942. One of the first submarines to operate in the Truk area, she now joined in the undersea blockade of that important base, in an attempt to cut its supply lines to Japan. After damaging ships on 26 and 29 July, ''Greenling'' sank the transport ''Brasil Maru'' off Truk on the 5th of August, and just after midnight the same night torpedoed and sank the cargo ship ''Palau Maru''. Next morning the submarine took

periscope A periscope is an instrument for observation over, around or through an object, obstacle or condition that prevents direct line-of-sight observation from an observer's current position. In its simplest form, it consists of an outer case with ...

photographs of Truk, and steamed to the New Ireland area, attempting to intercept Japanese fleet units retiring from the Solomons. The submarine encountered surface opposition in the area, but evaded a destroyer attack 20 August and set course back to Midway. En route on 26 August she used her deck gun to destroy a large Japanese sampan of from 50 to 100 tons at 5°13'N, 160°-17'E; she arrived Midway 1 September 1942.

Third war patrol, September – November 1942

''Greenlings third war patrol took her off the Japanese home islands. Departing Midway 23 September, the submarine sank the cargo ship ''Kinkai Maru'' 3 October, and ''Setsuyo Maru'' the next day. She fired three torpedoes at cargo ship ''Takusei Maru'' 14 October, scored three hits, and watched her sink in the space of 6 minutes. This attack brought a host of escort vessels to search for ''Greenling'', but she evaded them and attacked a large freighter 18 October. One torpedo set the target aflame, but the second "fish" ran erratically, circled, and almost hit ''Greenling''. The next ran true, however, and cargo ship ''Hakonesan Maru'' was sent to the bottom. After destroying a sampan in the

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

–

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a chain of 14 large v ...

shipping lanes 21 October, ''Greenling'' returned to Pearl Harbor 1 November. The attrition on Japanese shipping by submarines was already being felt and would be a major factor in their eventual defeat.

Fourth war patrol, December 1942 – January 1943

Steaming into the Solomons–Truk area for her fourth war patrol, ''Greenling'' departed Pearl Harbor 9 December 1942. Immediately upon her arrival off Bougainville 21 December she attacked a tanker and two escorts, sinking ''Patrol Boat 35'' before being driven down by depth charge attacks. Moving to the familiar Truk traffic lanes, she sank freighter ''Nissho Maru'' 30 December. She attacked a destroyer-escorted large tanker early 10 January 1943, but after scoring one hit was fired upon by the tanker's large deck gun and was forced to break off the action. Off New Britain on 16 January she torpedoed and sank cargo ship ''Kimposan Maru''. On 18 January ''Greenling'' claimed to have damaged ammunition transport/survey vessel "Soya" in Queen Carola Channel,US Navy Chronology 1943
/ref> although the Japanese ship was not damaged and recovered a torpedo for later examination. Greenling then reconnoitered the

Admiralty Islands The Admiralty Islands are an archipelago group of 18 islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the South Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-co ...

before steaming to

Brisbane, Australia Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

Fifth and sixth war patrols, January – July 1943

The submarine arrived Brisbane 31 January 1943 and remained there until departing on her fifth war patrol 21 February. ''Greenling'' steamed to the Solomons– Bismarck area, and landed a party of intelligence agents on the coast of New Britain 2 March. In a patrol characterized by bad weather, she scored no hits on enemy shipping and returned to Brisbane 26 April 1943. ''Greenling'' cleared Brisbane 17 May to conduct her sixth war patrol, in the Solomons–

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

area, long the scene of bitter sea and land fighting. During this patrol she damaged oiler ''Akebono Maru'' on 9 June, and is also alleged to damaged ships on 10 June, and 27 June, but was unable to record a sinking because of heavy escort activity. She returned to Brisbane 8 July 1943.

Seventh war patrol, July – September 1943

The submarine sailed 29 July on her seventh war patrol, which consisted largely of special missions. She landed a party of Marine Raiders in the

Treasury Islands Treasury Islands () are a small group of islands a few kilometres to the south of Bougainville and from the Shortland Islands. They form part of the Western Province of the country of Solomon Islands. The two largest islands in the Treasuries ...

22 – 23 August to select a site for a

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...

station and prepare for the landings there, scheduled for October. ''Greenling'' reconnoitered

Tarawa Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " 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 fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

via Pearl Harbor for overhaul.

Eighth and ninth war patrols, December 1943 – May 1944

Returning to Pearl Harbor 5 December, ''Greenling'' sailed for her eighth war patrol 20 December 1943, in the Caroline Islands. She ended the old year with a late night attack, sinking freighter ''Shōhō Maru'', reconnoitred

Wake Island Wake Island ( mh, Ānen Kio, translation=island of the kio flower; also known as Wake Atoll) is a coral atoll in the western Pacific Ocean in the northeastern area of the Micronesia subregion, east of Guam, west of Honolulu, southeast of T ...

, and returned to Midway 28 January 1944. Her ninth war patrol, 20 March – 12 May 1944, was a special mission entailing photographic

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

Tinian Tinian ( or ; old Japanese name: 天仁安島, ''Tenian-shima'') is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Together with uninhabited neighboring Aguiguan, it forms Tinian Municipality, one of the ...

, and Saipan in the

Marianas Islands The Mariana Islands (; also the Marianas; in Chamorro: ''Manislan Mariånas'') are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, betw ...

, work which did much to aid the coming amphibious campaign for the Marianas.

Tenth and eleventh war patrols, July – November 1944

''Greenling'' sailed from Pearl Harbor on her 10th patrol 9 July 1944. Operating off Formosa, she formed a coordinated attack unit (" wolfpack") with and . Closely watched by enemy aircraft, ''Greenling'' recorded no torpedo sinkings, though she sank a trawler with gunfire 8 August north-east of Luzon, Philippines in position 19°50'N, 119°58'E.Uboat.net
/ref> She returned to Midway 12 September 1944. The veteran submarine departed 5 October 1944 for her 11th war patrol, in the ocean approaches to Tokyo. Sighting a 5-ship convoy 7 November, she fired 4 torpedoes and sank both oiler ''Koto Maru'' and transport ''Kiri Maru 8''. Continuing to prowl off Japan, ''Greenling'' sank her last ship 10 November 1944 when she torpedoed old destroyer ''Patrol Boat 46''. She returned to Pearl Harbor 23 November 1944.

Twelfth war patrol, December 1944 – January 1945

''Greenlings last war patrol, her 12th, was carried out in the

Ryukyu Islands The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yona ...

. Departing Pearl Harbor 26 December she found no targets until 24 January 1945, when she intercepted a nine-ship convoy. While making her approach, ''Greenling'' was attacked by escorts, and after a four-hour depth charge attack managed to make her escape. The submarine suffered minor damage and steamed to Saipan 27 January 1945 for repairs. There it was decided to send her to the United States, and ''Greenling'' steamed via Pearl Harbor, San Francisco, and the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...

Kittery, Maine Kittery is a town in York County, Maine, United States. Home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery includes Badger's Island, the seaside district of Kittery Point, and part of the Isles of Shoals. The southernmost town i ...

. After overhaul 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 ...

, the submarine decommissioned 16 October 1946 at New London, Connecticut.

Post-war service

''Greenling'' was placed in service for the

1st Naval District The naval district was a U.S. Navy military and administrative command ashore. Apart from Naval District Washington, the Districts were disestablished and renamed Navy Regions about 1999, and are now under Commander, Naval Installations Command ...

in December 1946. Stationed at Portsmouth, she assisted in the training of reservists there and at Boston. The submarine continued this vital service until 18 March 1960, when she was placed out of service at

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. She was sold 16 June 1960 to Minichiello Brothers, Chelsea, Massachusetts, and scrapped.

Awards

United States Navy Presidential Unit Citation ribbon

Presidential Unit Citation for her outstanding performance in her first three war patrols * Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with 10 battle stars 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 opposing ...

service All of ''Greenling''′s war patrols except the fifth, tenth, and twelfth were designated "successful."

References

Citations

Bibliography

*
Hinman, Charles R., and Douglas E. Campbell. ''The Submarine Has No Friends: Friendly Fire Incidents Involving U.S. Submarines During World War II''. Syneca Research Group, Inc., 2019.
.

External links

hazegray.org: USS ''Greenling''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenling (SS-213) Gato-class submarines World War II submarines of the United States Ships built in Groton, Connecticut 1941 ships Maritime incidents in February 1942 Friendly fire incidents of World War II