View source for USS Tirante

{{short description|Submarine of the United States}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image= USS Tirante (SS 420) on her maiden voyage in 1944.jpg
|Ship caption=''Tirante'' (SS-420) at her launch from Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1973}}
|Ship name=USS ''Tirante''
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Portsmouth Naval Shipyard]], [[Kittery, Maine]]<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates">{{cite book
 |last= Friedman
 |first= Norman
 |title= U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History
 |publisher= [[United States Naval Institute]]
 |date= 1995
 |place= [[Annapolis, Maryland]]
 |pages= 285–304
 |isbn= 1-55750-263-3 }}</ref>
|Ship laid down=28 April 1944<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship launched=9 August 1944<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=6 November 1944<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship decommissioned=20 July 1946<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=yes
|Ship recommissioned=26 November 1952<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship decommissioned=1 October 1973<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=1 October 1973<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship fate=Sold for scrap, 21 March 1974<ref name="Register">{{cite book
 |last= Bauer
 |first= K. Jack
 |last2= Roberts
 |first2= Stephen S.
 |title= Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775-1990: Major Combatants
 |publisher= Greenwood Press
 |date= 1991
 |place= [[Westport, Connecticut]]
 |pages= 280–282
 |isbn= 0-313-26202-0 }}</ref>
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=As completed
|Ship class=[[Tench class submarine|''Tench''-class]] [[diesel-electric]] [[submarine]]<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|1570|long ton|t|lk=on}} surfaced<ref name="Register"/>
*{{convert|2416|long ton|t}} submerged<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship length={{convert|311|ft|8|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship beam={{convert|27|ft|4|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship draft={{convert|17|ft|0|in|abbr=on}} maximum<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship propulsion={{Fleet-boat-propulsion-late-FM-2-GE}}
|Ship speed=*{{convert|20.25|kn|km/h|0|lk=in}} surfaced<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs">''U.S. Submarines Through 1945'' pp. 305-311</ref>
*{{convert|8.75|kn|km/h|0}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship range={{convert|11000|nmi|km}} surfaced at {{convert|10|kn|km/h}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship endurance=*48 hours at {{convert|2|kn|km/h}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
*75 days on patrol
|Ship test depth={{convert|400|ft|m|-1|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship complement=10 officers, 71 enlisted<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament={{Fleet-boat-armament-5-inch-28-torps}}
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=(Guppy IIA)
|Ship class=
|Ship displacement=*1,848&nbsp;tons (1,878&nbsp;t) surfaced<ref name="FriedmanSubs2-chap2">{{cite book
 |last= Friedman
 |first= Norman
 |title= U.S. Submarines Since 1945: An Illustrated Design History
 |publisher= [[United States Naval Institute]]
 |date= 1994
 |place= [[Annapolis, Maryland]]
 |pages= 11–43
 |isbn= 1-55750-260-9 }}</ref>
*2,440&nbsp;tons (2,479&nbsp;t) submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs2-chap2"/>
|Ship length={{convert|307|ft|m|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs2-specs">''U.S. Submarines Since 1945'' pp. 242</ref>
|Ship beam={{convert|27|ft|4|in|m|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs2-specs"/>
|Ship draught=
|Ship draft={{convert|17|ft|m|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs2-specs"/>
|Ship propulsion=*[[Submarine snorkel|Snorkel]] added<ref name="FriedmanSubs2-chap2"/>
*One diesel engine and generator removed<ref name="FriedmanSubs2-chap2"/>
*Batteries upgraded to ''Sargo'' II<ref name="FriedmanSubs2-chap2"/>
|Ship speed=*Surfaced:
*{{convert|17.0|kn|km/h|1}} maximum
*{{convert|13.5|kn|km/h|1}} cruising
*Submerged:
*{{convert|14.1|kn|km/h|1}} for ½ hour
*{{convert|8.0|kn|km/h|1}} snorkeling
*{{convert|3.0|kn|km/h|1}} cruising<ref name="FriedmanSubs2-chap2"/>
|Ship range=
|Ship endurance=
|Ship test depth=
|Ship complement=
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=*10 × [[American 21 inch torpedo|21 inch (533 mm)]] [[torpedo tube]]s
*&nbsp;(six forward, four aft)<ref name="FriedmanSubs2-specs"/>
*all guns removed<ref name="FriedmanSubs2-chap2"/>
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''USS ''Tirante'' (SS-420)''', a [[Tench-class submarine|''Tench''-class submarine]], was the second ship of the [[United States Navy]] to be named for the [[tirante (fish)|tirante]], a silvery, elongated "cutlass fish" found in waters off [[Cuba]]. Her keel was laid down on 28 April 1944 by the [[Portsmouth Navy Yard]] of [[Kittery, Maine]]. She was [[ship naming and launching|launched]] on 9 August 1944 sponsored by Mrs. Ruth Maynard Sieglaff, wife of Commander William B. Sieglaff (prospective commander of [[Pre-Commissioning Unit|PCU]] [[USS Tench (SS-417)|Tench]]), and [[ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 6 November 1944 with Lieutenant Commander [[George L. Street III]] in command.

==First war patrol==
Following shakedown training in [[Long Island Sound]], and the waters off [[Panama]] and [[Oahu]], ''Tirante'' departed [[Pearl Harbor]] for [[Japan]] on 3 March 1945. The submarine patrolled the approaches to [[Nagasaki, Nagasaki|Nagasaki]]. There she sank the 703-ton tanker ''Fuji Maru'' on 25 March and followed with the sinking of the 1218-ton freighter ''Nase Maru'' three days later. After the latter attack, Japanese escorts kept ''Tirante'' down for seven hours, before she slipped away unscathed.

On 31 March, ''Tirante'' shelled and sank a 70-ton lugger with five-inch (127&nbsp;mm) and 40-millimeter gunfire and, on 1 April, missed an LST-type vessel with a spread of three torpedoes. The submarine soon shifted to waters off the south coast of [[Korea]], near the [[Strait of Tsushima]]. At twilight on 6 April, she battle-surfaced and captured a small Japanese fishing vessel and took its three crewmen prisoner before sinking it.

The following day, ''Tirante'' torpedoed a 2800-ton cargo freighter loaded with a deck cargo of oil drums. The submarine surfaced and directed a nearby [[Korea]]n fishing craft to pick up two survivors. Although observers on the submarine reported witnessing the Maru's sinking, post-war examination of Japanese records failed to confirm it.

[[File:StateLibQld 1 184859 Nikko Maru (ship).jpg|thumb|left|In April 1945 ''Tirante'' sank the [[troopship]] ''Nikko Maru'', killing 668 people]]
US naval intelligence had broken the Japanese codes and was able to anticipate their movements. One intercepted message told of an important convoy steaming toward the ''Tirante'''s area. In response to this information, the submarine laid an ambush on 9 April. Picking out two targets, she launched three torpedoes at each. One spread missed, but the other struck the 5,058-ton [[troopship]] ''Nikkō Maru'', carrying homeward-bound Japanese soldiers and sailors from [[Shanghai]]. As ''Nikko Maru'' sank, enemy escorts went on the offensive. To ward off the counterattack, ''Tirante'' fired a "cutie" (homing torpedo) at one of the escorts. ''Tirante'' heard an explosion, "breaking-up noises", and even screams.<ref>{{cite book |last=Beach |first=Edward |date=2004 |title=Submarine! |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tCjTUVCa6H4C&q=cutie |place=New York |publisher=Pocket Books |page=322 |isbn=0-7434-8799-0 |access-date=22 December 2014}}</ref> Again, post-war accounting failed to confirm the sinking.

''Tirante'' resumed her patrol of the [[Yellow Sea]] between [[Quelpart Island]] ([[Cheju Do]]) and the mouth of the [[Yangtze River]]. She soon received an intelligence report informing her that an important Japanese transport was at [[Jeju City|Cheju]], the main port on [[Quelpart Island]]. Under cover of darkness, ''Tirante'' approach her on the surface. In spite of possible enemy radar or patrolling planes or ships, she closed the coast and penetrated the mine- and shoal-obstructed waters within the ten-fathom curve line. ''Tirante'' then entered the harbor where she found three targets: two escort vessels and the 4000-ton ''Juzan Maru''.

The submarine launched three torpedoes at the Maru. The explosion illuminated ''Tirante'' and alerted the [[Mikura-class escort ship|''Mikura''-class escort vessel]] ''Nomi'' and [[Type C escort ship]] ''CD-31'' which immediately got underway toward the submersible. As she headed back out to sea at flank speed, ''Tirante'' launched a spread of torpedoes that hit and destroyed both pursuers. En route to [[Midway Island]], she captured two Japanese airmen (bringing her prisoner total to five) and concluded her first war patrol on 26 April.

''Tirante'''s performance earned Commander Street the [[Medal of Honor]]. Lieutenant [[Edward L. Beach, Jr.|Edward L. Beach]], the executive officer—and later commander of {{USS|Triton|SSRN-586|3}} during the submarine's submerged circumnavigation of the globe—received the [[Navy Cross (United States)|Navy Cross]]. The ship, was awarded the [[Presidential Unit Citation (US)|Presidential Unit Citation]].

==Second and third war patrols==
''Tirante'' departed from [[Midway Island]] on 20 May as command ship of the nine-boat "[[Wolf pack (submarines)|wolfpack]]" dubbed "Street's Sweepers". They patrolled the [[Yellow Sea]] and [[East China Sea]] on the lookout for enemy targets—by then dwindling in number. ''Tirante'' located a four-ship convoy on 11 June, in the familiar waters off [[Nagasaki, Nagasaki|Nagasaki]]. She evaded the three escorts long enough to get a shot at an 800-ton cargo freighter and pressed home a successful attack. Post-war Japanese records, though, did not confirm the hit.

The next day, ''Tirante'' pulled off a repeat performance of her hit-and-run raid at [[Jeju City|Cheju]]. She crept into [[Ha Shima]] harbor, some seven miles (11&nbsp;km) from Nagasaki and picked out the 2200-ton ''Hakuju Maru'' moored alongside a colliery. From a range of {{convert|1000|yd|m|-2}}, the submarine fired at the cargoman which exploded. The second "fish" failed to detonate, but the third completed the destruction. As shells from shore guns fell, ''Tirante'' bent on speed and cleared the area.

Resuming her patrols, ''Tirante'' and her sisters played havoc with shipping between [[Korea]] and [[Japan]], destroying junks carrying supplies from Korea to the Japanese home islands. Boarding parties from the submarine would take off the captains for questioning, put the crew in life boats, and set fire to the craft. ''Tirante'' captured a dozen in this manner and destroyed two heavily armed picket boats with surface gunfire before returning to [[Guam]] on 19 July.

''Tirante'' departed Guam on 12 August on what would have been her third war patrol. The end of the war, however, ended the operation and the submarine put into [[Midway Island]] on 23 August. Eventually sailing for the east coast of the [[United States]], ''Tirante'' moored at the [[Washington Navy Yard]] in October, at which time Commander Street received his [[Medal of Honor]] in a White House ceremony. Shifting to [[Staten Island, New York]], on 31 October, the submarine remained there until moving to [[New London, Connecticut]], on 8 January 1946. After conducting training operations out of [[New London, Connecticut]], ''Tirante'' was decommissioned and placed in reserve on 6 July 1946 at her home port.

==Post World War II and fate==

Subsequently converted to greater underwater propulsive power ([[GUPPY IIA]]) configuration, ''Tirante'' was recommissioned on 26 November 1952, at the [[Portsmouth Naval Shipyard]]. After conducting her shakedown to [[Bermuda]] and operating in the Atlantic as far north as [[Iceland]], the submarine returned to the east coast of the [[United States]] to prepare for her first deployment with the Sixth Fleet.

In the ensuing two decades, ''Tirante'' conducted six more [[Mediterranean Sea]] deployments, interspersed with a regular schedule of exercises and maneuvers with Fleet units in the North Atlantic, off the east coast and in the [[Caribbean Sea]] and the [[Gulf of Mexico]]. The ship participated in joint exercises with [[NATO]] forces; sometimes served as a target for antisubmarine warfare exercises; and, on occasion, assisted the Fleet Sonar School at [[Key West, Florida]], in the development of ASW tactics and weapons.

Decommissioned at [[Key West, Florida]], on 1 October 1973, and struck from the [[Naval Vessel Register]] the same day, ''Tirante'' was sold on 11 April 1974 to [[Union Minerals and Alloys Corporation]] of New York, for scrapping.

''Tirante'' received two [[battle star]]s and a Presidential Unit Citation for her [[World War II]] service.

The ''Tirante'' is the subject of an episode of the [[Television syndication|syndicated]] [[television]] [[anthology series]], ''The Silent Service'', which aired during the 1957-1958 season.

==Notable crewmen==
*[[George L. Street III]], Medal of Honor recipient and skipper
*[[Edward L. Beach, Jr.]], author
*[[Theo Marcuse]], actor
*[[Endicott Peabody]], governor of Massachusetts

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{refbegin}}
*{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/t/tirante.html|http://hazegray.org/danfs/submar/ss420.txt}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
*{{navsource|08/08420|Tirante}}

{{Tench class submarine}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tirante (SS-420)}}
[[Category:Tench-class submarines]]
[[Category:World War II submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Cold War submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships built in Kittery, Maine]]
[[Category:1944 ships]]