USS Becuna

USS *Becuna*
History
United States
Namesake	Becuna
Ordered	10 April 1942
Builder	Electric Boat Company, Groton, Connecticut
Laid down	29 April 1943
Launched	30 January 1944
Sponsored by	Mrs. George C. Crawford, wife of Commander Crawford
Commissioned	27 May 1944
Decommissioned	7 November 1969
Stricken	15 August 1973
Motto	Tiger of the Sea
Honors and; awards	4 Battle Stars
Status	Museum ship at Philadelphia, 21 June 1976
Badge
General characteristics As built
Class and type	Balao-class diesel-electric submarine
Displacement	1,500 long tons (1,500 t) surfaced; 2,080 long tons (2,110 t) submerged;
Length	311 ft 9 in (95.02 m)
Beam	27 ft 3 in (8.31 m)
Draft	16 ft 10 in (5.13 m) maximum
Propulsion	4 × General Motors Model 16-278A V16 diesel engines driving electrical generators; 2 × 126-cell Sargo batteries; 4 × high-speed General Electric electric motors with reduction gears; two propellers ; 5,400 shp (4.0 MW) surfaced; 2,740 shp (2.0 MW) submerged;
Speed	20.25 knots (38 km/h) surfaced; 8.75 knots (16 km/h) submerged;
Range	11,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) surfaced at 10 knots (19 km/h)
Endurance	48 hours at 2 knots (3.7 km/h) submerged; 75 days on patrol;
Test depth	400 ft (120 m)
Complement	10 officers, 72 enlisted
Armament	10 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes; 6 forward, 4 aft; 24 torpedoes; 1 × 5-inch (127 mm) / 25 caliber deck gun; Bofors 40 mm and Oerlikon 20 mm cannon;
General characteristics Guppy IA
Class and type	none
Displacement	1,830 tons (1,859 t) surfaced; 2,440 tons (2,479 t) submerged;
Length	307 ft 7 in (93.75 m)
Beam	27 ft 4 in (8.33 m)
Draft	17 ft (5.2 m)
Propulsion	Snorkel added; Batteries upgraded to Sargo II;
Speed	Surfaced:17.3 knots (32.0 km/h) maximum; 12.5 knots (23.2 km/h) cruising; Submerged: 15.0 knots (27.8 km/h) for 1⁄2 hour; 7.5 knots (13.9 km/h) snorkeling; 3.0 knots (5.6 km/h) cruising;
Range	17,000 nmi (31,000 km; 20,000 mi) surfaced at 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph)
Endurance	36 hours at 3 knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph) submerged
Complement	10 officers; 5 petty officers; 64–69 enlisted men;
Armament	10 × 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes; (6 forward, 4 aft); all guns removed;
	USS Becuna (SS-319)
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	U.S. National Historic Landmark
Location	Penn's Landing, Delaware Ave. & Spruce St., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Area	less than one acre
Built	1944
Built by	Electric Boat Co.
Architectural style	Balao-class submarine
NRHP reference No.	78002458
Added to NRHP	29 August 1978

USS Becuna (SS/AGSS-319), a Balao-class submarine, is a former ship of the United States Navy named for the becuna, a pike-like fish of Europe. She was designated a National Historic Landmark for her service in World War II, for which she earned four battle stars. She presently serves as a museum ship at the Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

World War II[]

Becuna (SS-319) was launched 30 January 1944 by Electric Boat Company, Groton, Connecticut; sponsored by Mrs. George C. Crawford, and commissioned on 27 May 1944.

Becuna departed New London 1 July 1944 and arrived at Pearl Harbor 29 July. Her war operations extended from 23 August 1944 to 27 July 1945. During this period she completed five war patrols in the Philippines, South China Sea, and the Java Sea. Becuna is credited with having sunk two Japanese tankers totaling 3,888 tons.^[10]

The submarine arrived at Subic Bay, Luzon, from her last war patrol 27 July 1945. In September 1945 she arrived at San Diego.

Becuna received four battle stars for her World War II service.

Post-war service[]

After World War II Becuna continued to operate with Submarine Force, Pacific Fleet, until April 1949 when she was ordered to Submarine Force, Atlantic Fleet, as a unit of Submarine Squadron 8.

Between May 1949 and May 1950 she conducted refresher training exercises and also assisted in training of student officers and men at New London, Connecticut. In November 1950 she returned to Electric Boat Co., for a complete modernization overhaul, being refitted as a GUPPY-type submarine. The overhaul was completed in August 1951, and Becuna sailed to the Caribbean for shakedown. She returned to New London in September 1951.

Becuna operated with the Atlantic Fleet, making two cruises with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean and one to Scotland. Other than these extended cruises, the majority of Becuna's service was at New London as a training submarine.

In 1969, she was reclassified an Auxiliary Submarine, AGSS-319.

Museum ship[]

Becuna in Philadelphia. Note the difference in her appearance after her extensive modernization in 1951.

Becuna was decommissioned on 7 November 1969, and laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. She reverted to SS-319 in 1971. She was stricken from the Naval Register on 15 August 1973.

Becuna was placed on permanent display adjacent to the cruiser USS Olympia (C-6) at Penn's Landing in Philadelphia on 21 June 1976. Since 1996 both vessels have been operated by the Independence Seaport Museum.

She was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986.^[11] In 2001, Becuna received the Historical Welded Structure Award of the American Welding Society.

References[]

^ ^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.
^ ^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.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311
^ ^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.
^ U.S. Submarines Through 1945 p. 261
^ ^a ^b ^c U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f U.S. Submarines Since 1945 pp. 242
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f 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.
^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 9 July 2010.
^ "Seaport Museum Philadelphia Submarine, Becuna". Archived from the original on 4 February 2012.
^ "Listing at the National Park Service". Archived from the original on 22 October 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2012.

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entries can be found here and here.

External links[]

USS Becuna at Historic Naval Ships Association
Photo gallery of Becuna at NavSource Naval History
Official website
Kill record: USS Becuna

Coordinates: 39°56′37″N 75°08′28″W / 39.943550°N 75.141179°W / 39.943550; -75.141179

[FriedmanSubs1-dates-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.

[Register-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.

[FriedmanSubs1-specs-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311

[Register_275–280-4] 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.

[FriedmanSubs1-engines_261-5] U.S. Submarines Through 1945 p. 261

[FriedmanSubs1-specs_305–311-6] U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311

[FriedmanSubs2-specs-7] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f U.S. Submarines Since 1945 pp. 242

[FriedmanSubs2-chap2-8] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f 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.

[nris-9] "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 9 July 2010.

[10] "Seaport Museum Philadelphia Submarine, Becuna". Archived from the original on 4 February 2012.

[11] "Listing at the National Park Service". Archived from the original on 22 October 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2012.

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