USS Torsk

USS Torsk (hull number SS-423), is a Tench-class submarine built for the United States Navy during World War II, currently part of the museum ship fleet of Historic Ships in Baltimore.

Armed with ten torpedo tubes, the Tench-class submarines were incremental developments of the highly-successful Gato-class submarines that formed the backbone of the US Navy's submarine force during the war. Torsk was laid down at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in June 1944, was launched in September that year, and commissioned in mid-December.

In 1945, Torsk made two war patrols off Japan, sinking one cargo vessel and two coastal defense frigates. The latter of these, torpedoed on 14 August 1945, was the last enemy ship sunk by the United States Navy in World War II. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, she operated primarily as a training vessel; she also went on deployments to the Mediterranean Sea and helped to train elements of the Atlantic Fleet in anti-submarine tactics.

Decommissioned in 1968, she replaced USS Drum at the Washington Naval Yard, where she would serve for another three years training members of the Naval Reserve. She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register in December 1971 and turned over to the state of Maryland for use as a museum ship.

The Tench-class submarines were incremental improvements of the preceding Balao and Gato classes of fleet submarines that proved to be highly successful during operations against Japan in the Pacific War. The Tenches, the culmination of early wartime experiences, were the last submarine class to be built by the United States Navy during the war.

Torsk is 311 ft 8 in (95.00 m) long, with a beam of 27 ft 4 in (8.33 m) and a maximum draft of 17 ft 0 in (5.18 m). She displaced 1,570 long tons (1,600 t) surfaced and 2,414 long tons (2,453 t) submerged. The Tench-class submarines were powered by four Fairbanks-Morse Model 38D8-1⁄8 10-cylinder opposed piston diesel engines driving electrical generators. These were rated at 5,400 shaft horsepower (4,000 kW) for a maximum speed of 20.25 knots (38 km/h) on the surface. During underwater operations, she was powered by two 126-cell Sargo batteries that drove two low-speed direct-drive General Electric electric motors. Her electric motors provided 2,740 shp (2,040 kW) and a top speed of 8.75 knots (16 km/h) submerged. While surfaced, she had a cruising radius of 11,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). Her submerged endurance was limited by the life of her batteries, which at a speed of 2 knots (3.7 km/h; 2.3 mph), would be depleted after 48 hours. She could carry enough provisions for her crew of ten officers and 71 enlisted men for 75 days of operations.

The submarine was armed with ten 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes, six of which were in the bow, with the other four located in her stern. These were supplied with a total of 28 torpedoes. She was also fitted with a 5-inch (127 mm) /25 caliber deck gun and a Bofors 40 mm and Oerlikon 20 mm cannon. The deck guns were removed in 1952 as part of the US Navy's Fleet Snorkel conversion.

The keel for Torsk, which was named for the eponymous fish, was laid down at the Portsmouth Navy Yard on 7 June 1944. The completed hull was launched on 6 September. Work was completed by the end of the year, and she was commissioned on 16 December. Beginning on 31 December, she began training exercises that lasted until 11 February 1945; five days later she sailed to Port Everglades, Florida, where she conducted anti-submarine experiments. The vessel remained there only briefly, and on 20 February, she got underway for the Pacific Ocean, passing through the Panama Canal and arriving in Hawaii on 23 March. There, she conducted further training and underwent repairs in preparation for her first war patrol.