ARA Santa Fe (S-21)

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For other ships with the same name, see ARA Santa Fe.

USS Catfish;0833910.jpg
Catfish underway, during her visit to the Far East, 1956.
History
United States
NameUSS Catfish
BuilderElectric Boat Company, Groton, Connecticut[1]
Laid down6 January 1944[1]
Launched19 November 1944[1]
Commissioned19 March 1945[1]
Decommissioned1 July 1971[1]
In service
  • World War II
  • Korean War
Stricken1 July 1971[2]
IdentificationSS-339
FateTransferred to Argentina, 1 July 1971[1]
Argentina
NameARA Santa Fe
Acquired1 July 1971
In serviceFalklands War
FateCaptured by British during Falklands War and scuttled
General characteristics (As completed)
Class and type Balao-class diesel-electric submarine[2]
Displacement
  • 1,526 tons (1,550 t) surfaced[2]
  • 2,424 tons (2,463 t) submerged[2]
Length311 ft 9 in (95.02 m)[2]
Beam27 ft 3 in (8.31 m)[2]
Draft16 ft 10 in (5.13 m) maximum[2]
Propulsion
  • 4 × General Motors Model 16-278A V16 diesel engines driving electrical generators[4][5]
  • 2 × 126-cell Sargo batteries[6]
  • 4 × high-speed General Electric electric motors with reduction gears[4]
  • two propellers [4]
  • 5,400 shp (4.0 MW) surfaced[4]
  • 2,740 shp (2.0 MW) submerged[4]
Speed
  • 20.25 knots (38 km/h) surfaced[3]
  • 8.75 knots (16 km/h) submerged[3]
Range11,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) surfaced at 10 knots (19 km/h)[3]
Endurance
  • 48 hours at 2 knots (3.7 km/h) submerged[3]
  • 75 days on patrol
Test depth400 ft (120 m)[3]
Complement10 officers, 70–71 enlisted[3]
Armament
General characteristics (Guppy II)
Class and typenone
Displacement
  • 1,870 tons (1,900 t) surfaced[8]
  • 2,440 tons (2,480 t) submerged[8]
Length307 ft (93.6 m)[7]
Beam27 ft 4 in (7.4 m)[7]
Draft17 ft (5.2 m)[7]
Propulsion
  • Snorkel added[8]
  • Batteries upgraded to GUPPY type, capacity expanded to 504 cells (1 × 184 cell, 1 × 68 cell, and 2 × 126 cell batteries)[8]
  • 4 × high-speed electric motors replaced with 2 × low-speed direct drive electric motors[8]
Speed
  • Surfaced:
  • 18.0 knots (33.3 km/h) maximum
  • 13.5 knots (25.0 km/h) cruising
  • Submerged:
  • 16.0 knots (29.6 km/h) for ½ hour
  • 9.0 knots (16.7 km/h) snorkeling
  • 3.5 knots (6.5 km/h) cruising[8]
Range15,000 nm (28,000 km) surfaced at 11 knots (20 km/h)[7]
Endurance48 hours at 4 knots (7 km/h) submerged[7]
Complement
  • 9–10 officers
  • 5 petty officers
  • 70 enlisted men[7]
Sensors and
processing systems
  • WFA active sonar
  • JT passive sonar
  • Mk 106 torpedo fire control system[7]
Armament

ARA Santa Fe was an Argentine Balao-class submarine that was lost during the Falklands War. Built by the US during the Second World War, the ship operated in the United States Navy as USS Catfish (SS-339) until 1971 when she was transferred to the Argentine Navy. She served until 1982 when she was captured by the British at South Georgia after being seriously damaged and subsequently sank along a pier, with just her sail visible above the waterline. The submarine was raised, towed out of the bay and scuttled in deep waters in 1985.

U.S. Navy service[]

Catfish was launched 19 November 1944 by Electric Boat Co., Groton, Connecticut; sponsored by Mrs. J. J. Crowley; and commissioned 19 March 1945, Lieutenant Commander W. A. Overton, USNR, in command.

Catfish sailed from New London 4 May 1945 for Pearl Harbor, arriving 29 June. After training and the installation of new equipment, she proceeded to Guam for special training, then departed 8 August on her first war patrol, a special mission to locate a minefield off Kyūshū. When the cease-fire order was given 15 August, she was ordered to the Yellow Sea for surface patrol and lifeguard duty. She returned to Guam 4 September, thence to the West Coast, arriving at Seattle 29 September.

Based at San Diego, Catfish operated locally on the west coast and made two cruises to the Far East during which she conducted simulated war patrols and provided services to the Seventh Fleet.

Catfish was extensively modernized in a GUPPY II conversion (August 1948–May 1949), giving her greater submerged speed and endurance. She was on another Far Eastern cruise when war broke out in Korea, already in the area, she made a reconnaissance patrol in support of the United Nations forces. Catfish returned to the States 20 October 1950 and was based in San Diego.

After that the submarine carried out training exercises with Naval Reservists off the west coast, operated with the Canadian Forces in joint antisubmarine warfare exercises, and made several cruises to the Far East.

Catfish was decommissioned and transferred to the Argentine Navy on 1 July 1971.

Awards[]

Argentine service[]

ARA Santa Fe (S-21), formerly the USS Catfish (SS-339) was acquired by Argentina along with her sister ship USS Chivo (SS-341) who was renamed ARA Santiago del Estero (S-22), a Balao GUPPY 1A submarine.[citation needed]

In 1978, due to the conflict in the South between Argentina and Chile, many ships and Army and Air Force participated and the Argentine Submarine Force deployed all submarines available. This included the America-made submarines, who made several patrols in the conflict area.

In 1982 the ship's commander was Captain Bicain.[citation needed] In March 1982, Santa Fe participated in an exercise called Cimarron, together with the Uruguayan Navy. His sister ship, Santiago del Estero (S-22), was no longer operative at the time. Santa Fe took part in the Falklands War (April 2 - June 14, 1982) alongside San Luis, the Argentine Navy's only other operative submarine.

Santa Fe supported the landings on April 2, by transporting the Agrupacion de Buzos Tacticos (tactical divers) to the area of conflict at Yorke Bay, who marked the beach for the main amphibious force, and also seized the lighthouse at Cape Pembroke.

On 12 April, Santa Fe was ordered to ferry a party of Argentine marines, and supplies to Grytviken, in South Georgia. She departed from Mar del Plata in the early hours of 17 April.[9] On 23 April, the Royal Navy ships HMS Brilliant, HMS Antrim, HMS Plymouth and the ice patrol ship HMS Endurance were sent to retake the island of South Georgia with a detachment of Royal Marines and Special Boat Squadron commandos.

Santa Fe accomplished the resupply mission and landed the marines on 25 April. Members of the Argentine garrison had salvaged a crippled BAS launch, which was used to download the cargo.[10] Some hours later, after leaving Grytviken, Santa Fe was detected on radar by Lieutenant Chris Parry, the observer of the Westland Wessex HAS.3 anti-submarine helicopter from Antrim, and attacked with depth charges. This attack caused extensive internal damage, including the splitting of a ballast tank, the dismounting of electrical components and shocks to the machinery. As the submarine struggled to return to Grytviken on the surface, Plymouth launched a Westland Wasp HAS.1 helicopter, and Brilliant launched a Westland Lynx HAS.2. The Lynx dropped a Mk 46 torpedo, which failed to strike home, but strafed the submarine with its pintle-mounted 7.62 mm L7 General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG). The Wessex also fired on Santa Fe with its GPMG. The Wasp from HMS Plymouth and two other Wasps launched from Endurance fired AS-12 air-to-surface anti-ship missiles at the submarine. Due to the material of the ship's bow, the missiles passed from side to side. However, in this action Corporal Alberto Macias is severely wounded, latter losing one of his legs. From the ship, as it retreated back to Grytviken, MG fire was used to respond the helicopter's attack. One interestig aspect, is that Santa Fe, former USS Catfish, was fitted with doors at the bow, from which to shoot while navigating on surface. It is feature that most American submariners considered unnecesary, and yet it was then being used some 40 years after the launching of the ship.[citation needed]

Santa Fe's men and the marines, once at shore, and still being attacked, attempted to fire their rifles and machine guns, and an old Bantam anti-tank missile at the aircraft, which missed. The Argentine boat was damaged badly enough to prevent her from submerging, or even from sailing away, and the British aircraft decided to end the attack and retreat to their ships. The crew abandoned the listing submarine at Grytviken pier[11][12] on South Georgia. In the following hours, the submarine crew and the Grytviken garrison decided to surrender on 25 April, after being warned by the main guns of the ships HMS Plymouth (F-126) and HMS Antrim (D-18); also there was several helicopters in the area, trasporting SAS and SBS commandos. Lt. Alfredo Astiz and fifteen of his men, at Port Leith, initially refused to surrender on March 25, but would do it finally on the morning of March 26. [13][14]

While under guard on the submarine by a British Royal Marine, Argentine Navy Petty Officer Felix Artuso was mistakenly shot dead on 26 April while a prisoner of war; his body was buried at Grytviken Cemetery.[15][16] Artuso was shot because it was believed that he was trying to sabotage the vessel.[13] According to some members of her crew, in the middle of the confusion that followed the incident, a number of valves and hatchways were left open, the submarine flooded and sank alongside the pier, with only her combat-damaged conning tower showing above the surface.[17][18] Artuso is, until present day, the only Argentine buried in the Georgias, and the only Argentine submarinist to have died while serving during a war.[citation needed]

After the conflict ended, Santa Fe was considered to be worthless as a war prize because she was non-standard, obsolete, badly damaged and too expensive to repair. However, the submarine was still loaded with torpedoes, fuel, and elements such as the batteries; all were contaminating. As a result, the submarine was temporarily raised by the British, these elemets were removed, and then the submarie was towed into deep water and scuttled on 10 February 1985.[citation needed]

See also[]

  • Argentine Submarine Force

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f Friedman, Norman (1995). U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute. pp. 285–304. ISBN 1-55750-263-3.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Bauer, K. Jack; Roberts, Stephen S. (1991). Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775-1990: Major Combatants. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 275–280. ISBN 0-313-26202-0.
  3. ^ a b c d e f U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305-311
  4. ^ a b c d e Bauer, K. Jack; Roberts, Stephen S. (1991). Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775–1990: Major Combatants. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 275–280. ISBN 978-0-313-26202-9.
  5. ^ U.S. Submarines Through 1945 p. 261
  6. ^ a b c U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h U.S. Submarines Since 1945 pp. 242
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Friedman, Norman (1994). U.S. Submarines Since 1945: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute. pp. 11–43. ISBN 1-55750-260-9.
  9. ^ Bóveda, Jorge (2007). La Odisea del submarino Santa Fe. IPN editores, pp. 79–90. ISBN 978-950-899-073-0 (in Spanish)
  10. ^ Bóveda, pp. 105–106 and 122
  11. ^ Cindy Buxton; Annie Price (1983). Survival: South Atlantic. HarperCollins. p. 172. ISBN 0-246-12087-8.
  12. ^ "Operation Paraquet – Recapture of South Georgia".
  13. ^ a b Yates, D. (2006). Bomb Alley – Falklands War 1982: Aboard HMS Antrim at War. Pen & Sword Maritime. pp. 95–105. ISBN 1-84415-417-3.
  14. ^ Bóveda, pp. 110–123
  15. ^ Evans, Michael (5 October 2007). "Marine killed Argentinian in Falklands war blunder". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 27 July 2008. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  16. ^ "ARTUSO, Felix".
  17. ^ "La guerra que no se vió". La Nacion (in Spanish). 6 April 1997. Luego de atracar, y aprovechando la distracción de los británicos por un incidente que le había costado la vida al suboficial Félix Artuso, tripulantes del submarino lograron burlar la guardia y abrieron disimuladamente válvulas y escotillas de la nave, provocando su hundimiento. No sólo el Santa Fe quedó así inutilizable: también el muelle.
  18. ^ "Wreckage of the Santa Fe". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2008.

External links[]

  • Photo gallery of Catfish at NavSource Naval History no nationality or prefix;

Coordinates: 54°10′59″S 36°22′32″W / 54.18306°S 36.37556°W / -54.18306; -36.37556

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