Submarine Hawkbill (SS-366)

Hawkbill

Country	United States
Ship Class	Balao-class Submarine
Hull Number	SS-366
Builder	Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, United States
Laid Down	7 Aug 1943
Launched	9 Jan 1944
Commissioned	17 Aug 1944
Decommissioned	20 Sep 1946
Displacement	1,550 tons standard; 2,463 tons submerged
Length	312 feet
Beam	27 feet
Draft	17 feet
Machinery	Four Fairbanks-Morse Model 38D8-? 10-cylinder diesel engines (5,400shp), four high-speed Elliott electric motors (2,740shp), two 126-cell Sargo batteries, two propellers
Bunkerage	116,000 gallons of oil
Speed	20 knots
Range	11,000nm at 10 knots surfaced, 48 hours at 2 knots submerged
Crew	81
Armament	6x533mm forward torpedo tubes, 4x533mm aft torpedo tubes, 24 torpedoes, 1x127mm 25cal deck gun, 1x40mm gun, 1x20mm gun, 2x12.7mm machine guns
Submerged Speed	8.75 knots

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseUSS Hawkbill, named after the hawksbill sea turtle but with a misspelling, was commissioned into service in May 1944. She conducted her training in the Greak Lakes, transferred down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico, and reached the US Territory of Hawaii in Jul 1944 to prepare to join in the Pacific War. She departed on her first war patrol on 23 Aug 1944, and the war ended while she was on her fifth war patrol. All 5 war patrols were designated successful, and she received a Navy Unit Commendation for her WW2 service.

ww2dbaseIn 1952, USS Hawkbill was brought out of the reserve fleet for GUPPY IB modernization. Upon completion, she was transferred to the Netherlands, where she would operate under the name of HNLMS Zeeleeuw (Sealion) until 1970.

ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia

Last Major Revision: Mar 2012

Submarine Hawkbill (SS-366) Interactive Map

Photographs

Launching of submarine Hawkbill, Manitowoc River, Manitowoc, Winconsin, United States, 9 Jan 1944

52 submarines and 4 submarine tenders of the US Navy Reserve Fleet, Mare Island Navy Yard, California, United States, circa Jan 1946

Hawkbill Operational Timeline

7 Aug 1943	The keel of submarine Hawkbill was laid down.
9 Jan 1944	Submarine Hawkbill was launched, sponsored by the wife of the submarine's future commanding officer F. Worth Scanland, Jr.
17 May 1944	USS Hawkbill was commissioned into service with Lieutenant Commander F. Worth Scanland, Jr. in command.
1 Jun 1944	USS Hawkbill departed Manitowoc, Wisconsin, United States.
10 Jun 1944	USS Hawkbill arrived at New Orleans, Louisiana, United States.
16 Jun 1944	USS Hawkbill departed New Orleans, Louisiana, United States for the Panama Canal Zone.
28 Jul 1944	USS Hawkbill arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii.
23 Aug 1944	USS Hawkbill departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her first war patrol.
7 Oct 1944	USS Hawkbill detected a Japanese carrier in the South China Sea, but was driven off by destroyers.
9 Oct 1944	USS Hawkbill attacked a Japanese convoy in the South China sea with USS Becuna, damaging several ships with her torpedoes.
14 Oct 1944	USS Hawkbill transited the Lombok Strait, Dutch East Indies.
17 Oct 1944	USS Hawkbill arrived at Fremantle, Australia, ending her first war patrol.
15 Nov 1944	USS Hawkbill departed Fremantle, Australia for her second war patrol.
15 Dec 1944	USS Hawkbill sank Japanese destroyer Momo.
5 Jan 1945	USS Hawkbill arrived at Fremantle, Australia, ending her second war patrol.
5 Feb 1945	USS Hawkbill departed Fremantle, Australia for her third war patrol.
14 Feb 1945	USS Hawkbill sank two Japanese submarine chasers.
20 Feb 1945	USS Hawkbill attacked a Japanese convoy, sinking cargo ship Daizen Maru.
6 Apr 1945	USS Hawkbill arrived at Fremantle, Australia, ending her third war patrol.
1 May 1945	USS Hawkbill damaged Japanese minelayer Hatsutaka, which was grounded to prevent sinking.
2 May 1945	USS Hawkbill fired three torpedoes into Japanese minelayer Hatsutaka, which she had damaged on the previous day, sinking her.
5 May 1945	USS Hawkbill departed Fremantle, Australia for her fourth war patrol.
16 May 1945	USS Hawkbill arrived off British Malaya to serve on lifeguard station.
18 Jun 1945	USS Hawkbill arrived at Subic Bay, Zambales, Philippine Islands, ending her fourth war patrol.
12 Jul 1945	USS Hawkbill departed Subic Bay, Zambales, Philippine Islands for her fifth war patrol.
18 Jul 1945	USS Hawkbill attacked a Japanese convoy just off the coast of Kuala Dungun, British Malaya; she only narrowly escaped the subsequent depth charge attack by the convoy escorts. 9 torpedoes were expended.
9 Aug 1945	USS Hawkbill arrived at Borneo, Dutch East Indies and destroyed the Japanese radio station at Tambelan.
22 Sep 1945	USS Hawkbill departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for San Francisco, California, United States.
20 Sep 1946	USS Hawkbill was decommissioned from US service at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, United States.
10 Dec 1952	USS Hawkbill was recommissioned into service.
21 Apr 1953	USS Hawkbill was decommissioned from US service and was transferred to the Dutch Navy, where she would be commissioned as HNLMS Zeeleeuw.
11 Jun 1953	HNLMS Zeeleeuw arrived at Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
20 Feb 1970	USS Hawkbill, which had been operating in the Dutch Navy as HNLMS Zeeleeuw since 1953, was struck from the US Naval Register and was sold to the Netherlands.
24 Nov 1970	Submarine Zeeleeuw was sold to A. J. Van Den Kooy N.V., Rijnacker, Netherlands for scrap.

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