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Albacore file photo [1092]

Albacore

CountryUnited States
Ship ClassGato-class Submarine
Hull NumberSS-218
BuilderElectric Boat Company
Laid Down21 Apr 1941
Launched17 Feb 1942
Commissioned17 Feb 1942
Sunk7 Nov 1944
Displacement1,526 tons standard; 2,424 tons submerged
Length312 feet
Beam27 feet
Draft15 feet
MachineryGenteral Motors diesel electric engines, two screws
Bunkerage97,140 gallons, two 126-cell main storage batteries
Power Output5,400 shaft horsepower
Speed20 knots
Range11,000 nm at 10 knots
Crew60
Armament10x21-in torpedo tubes, 1x3-in gun, 4 machine guns
Submerged Speed8.75 knots

Contributor:

ww2dbaseSponsored by the wife of Captain Elwin F. Cutts, Albacore was the submarine credited with scoring torpedo hits on the Japanese aircraft carrier Taiho during the Battle of the Philippine Sea which led to the eventual sinking of the ship. Interestingly, the Americans did not realize the carrier had sunk until months later; Lieutenant Commander James W. Blanchard eventually received a Navy Cross for the sinking. She left Pearl Harbor on 24 Oct 1944 on her 11th patrol, and stopped at Midway for refueling four days later. After which, she was reported missing at sea. Post war study of Japanese records assumed that the American submarine sunk off Hokkaido on 7 Nov 1944 by a naval mine was Albacore.

ww2dbaseBy the time of her final patrol, Albacore was credited with sinking 74,100 tons of Japanese shipping. Her score card, besides the carrier Taiho, also included three other warships (two destroyers and a light cruiser).

ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia.

Last Major Revision: Nov 2005

Submarine Albacore (SS-218) Interactive Map

Photographs

Albacore off Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, United States, May 1944

Albacore Operational Timeline

17 Feb 1942 Albacore was commissioned into service.
18 Dec 1942 USS Albacore sank Tenryu between Madang, Australian New Guinea and Truk, Caroline Islands.
19 Dec 1942 USS Albacore returned to the site of Tenryu's sinking, which took place on the previous day, and observed wooden crates, 85 empty oil drums, and other debris floating in the water.




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Event(s) Participated:
» Mariana Islands Campaign and the Great Turkey Shoot

Partner Sites Content:
» Albacore Submarine Operations Research Group Attack Data


Submarine Albacore (SS-218) Photo Gallery
Albacore off Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, United States, May 1944


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