USS ''Moray'' (SS-300), a ''Balao''-class submarine, was a 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 moray, a family of large

eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

s found in crevices of

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. C ...

s in tropical and subtropical oceans.

Construction and commissioning

''Moray'' 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 21 April 1943 at Cramp Shipbuilding Company,

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

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, ...

; launched on 14 May 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Styles Bridges, wife of the

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

Senator; and commissioned on 26 January 1945.

Operational history

''Moray'' departed Philadelphia 31 January 1945, arriving

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 ...

, 1 February (The Moray accidentally rammed a coal barge Annapolis; there were no deaths.). After shakedown training there and off

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...

, ''Moray'' left New London with and 14 April for

Balboa, Panama Balboa is a district of Panama City, located at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal. History The town of Balboa, founded by the United States during the construction of the Panama Canal, was named after Vasco Núñez de Balboa, the Spani ...

, C.Z., arriving 25 April. Underway 5 May, ''Moray'' 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 ...

21 May for final training, after which she sailed for the Marianas 7 June, arriving Saipan 20 June. The submarine cleared Saipan 27 June for her first war patrol as the senior unit of a coordinated attack group including , , , , and . Comdr. Barrows in ''Moray'' assigned stations when the group reached its patrol area off

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, ...

1 July. The first phase of this patrol centered on lifeguard duty. From 7 July to 9 July ''Morays special mission was service as picketboat southeast of Honshū in preparation for 3rd Fleet bombardment. Then she continued lifeguard operations. By June 1945, successful American submarine operations had made enemy targets almost nonexistent, and lifeguard duty became a vital mission for American submarines. However, ''Moray'' did get a chance at some action, when she and attacked a

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

off Kinkazan, Honshū, 10 July. Allowing ''Kingfish'' to attack first, ''Moray'' then moved in to fire six

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 ...

es, then pulled out to rearm and permit ''Kingfish'' a second stab. A few moments later one of ''Morays torpedoes hit a

whaler A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales. Terminology The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Japa ...

"Fumi Maru No.6" . No other shipping was sighted; on 16 July the patrol was shifted to the

Kurile Islands The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands (; rus, Кури́льские острова́, r=Kuril'skiye ostrova, p=kʊˈrʲilʲskʲɪjə ɐstrɐˈva; Japanese: or ) are a volcanic archipelago currently administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the ...

. ''Moray'' completed her patrol at Midway 6 August 1945. On 1 September 1945 ''Moray'' departed for the

United States West Coast The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S. ...

, arriving

San Francisco, California 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 ...

, 11 September. She then went into deactivation overhaul at

Mare Island Navy Yard 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 t ...

. She decommissioned 12 April 1946 and entered the

Pacific 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 ...

in January 1947. She was redesignated an "auxiliary research submarine" (AGSS-300) on 1 December 1962. She was struck from the

Navy List 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 autho ...

1 April 1967 and sunk as a torpedo target on 18 June 1970 off San Clemente, California.

Honors and awards

''Moray'' received one

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 ...

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.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moray (SS-300) Balao-class submarines World War II submarines of the United States Ships built by William Cramp & Sons 1944 ships Ships sunk as targets Shipwrecks of the California coast Maritime incidents in 1970