View source for USS Tuna (SS-203)

{{short description|Submarine of the United States}}
{{other ships|USS Tuna}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[File:UssTuna.jpg|300px|SS-203 Tuna, c. 1941]]
|Ship caption=USS ''Tuna'' underway in [[San Francisco Bay]] on 10&nbsp;March&nbsp;1941.
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1946}}
|Ship name=''Tuna''
|Ship namesake=[[Tuna]]
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Mare Island Naval Shipyard]]<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates">{{cite book
  | last = Friedman
  | first = Norman
  | authorlink =
  | title = U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History
  | publisher = [[United States Naval Institute]]
  | year = 1995
  | location = [[Annapolis, Maryland]]
  | pages = 285–304
  | url =
  | doi =
  | isbn = 1-55750-263-3 }}</ref>
|Ship laid down=19 July 1939<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship launched=2 October 1940<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=2 January 1941<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship decommissioned=11 December 1946<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=21 October 1948<ref name="Register">{{cite book
  | last = Bauer
  | first = K. Jack
  | authorlink =
  |author2=Roberts, Stephen S.
   | title = Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775-1990: Major Combatants
  | publisher = Greenwood Press
  | year = 1991
  | location = [[Westport, Connecticut]]
  | pages = 270
  | url =
  | doi =
  | isbn = 0-313-26202-0 }}</ref>
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship fate=Used as target for [[Operation Crossroads]] atomic bomb tests,<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/> then scuttled off southern [[California]] 24 September 1948<ref name="Register"/>
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass|Tambor|submarine|0}} [[diesel-electric]] [[submarine]]<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|1475|long ton|t|lk=on}} standard, surfaced<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs">''U.S. Submarines Through 1945'' pp. 305-311</ref>
*{{convert|2370|long ton|t}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship length={{convert|307|ft|2|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship beam={{convert|27|ft|3|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship draft={{convert|14|ft|7+1/2|in|m|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship propulsion={{Fleet-boat-propulsion-early-FM-4-GE}}
|Ship speed=*{{convert|20.4|kn|km/h|0}} surfaced<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
*{{convert|8.75|kn|km/h|0}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship range={{convert|11000|nmi|km}} at {{convert|10|kn|km/h}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship endurance=48 hours at {{convert|2|kn|km/h}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship test depth={{convert|250|ft|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship complement=6 officers, 54 enlisted<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament={{Fleet-boat-armament-3-inch}}
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''USS ''Tuna'' (SS-203)''' was a [[United States Navy]] {{sclass|Tambor|submarine}}, serving in the [[Pacific]] during [[World War II]] and earning seven [[battle star]]s for her service. After the war, she participated in the [[Bikini Atoll]] atomic testing in 1946.

''Tuna'' was the second ship of the U.S. Navy to be named for the [[tuna]], a vigorous, spiny-finned fish highly esteemed for sport and food.

==Construction and commissioning==
''Tuna'''s [[keel]] was [[Keel-laying|laid down]] on 19 July 1939 by the [[Mare Island Navy Yard]] at [[Vallejo, California|Vallejo]], [[California]]. She was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 2 October 1940, sponsored by Mrs. Wilhelm L. Friedell, and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 2 January 1941.

==Pre-World War II==

''Tuna'' departed [[San Diego]], California, on 19 May 1941 for [[Pearl Harbor]], Hawaii, and [[Shakedown (testing)|shakedown]] training. Operations in Hawaiian waters revealed that her [[torpedo tube]]s were misaligned. This problem necessitated her returning to the Mare Island Navy Yard for repairs.

==Wartime operations==
During the Japanese [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] on 7 December 1941, ''Tuna'' lay in [[drydock]] at Mare Island. She set out for Pearl Harbor on 7 January 1942.

===Initial patrols===
The first of ''Tuna''’s 13 war patrols lasted from 26 January to 21 March 1942, as she roved the waters of the [[East China Sea]]. On 4 March off [[Kyūshū]], sank one enemy freighter of about 6,000 tons, damaged and probably sunk one enemy destroyer, and damaged two other ships of undetermined type of about 2,000 tons each.<ref>{{cite web|title=Navy Cross Citation.Lt John L. DeTar|url=http://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient.php?recipientid=20354|website=Hall of Valor|publisher=Military Times}}</ref>

Standing out of Pearl Harbor on 14 April, ''Tuna'' once again set her course towards the Japanese home islands and the hunting off [[Honshū]]. She added another score to her tally by sinking the 805-ton cargo ship ''Toyohara Maru'' on 15 May before returning to Pearl Harbor on 16 June.

Following refit, ''Tuna'' became Task Unit 8.5.12, with orders to proceed to the [[Aleutian Islands]]. This third war patrol commenced on 13 July, but her only contact with the Japanese came on 9 August, when ''Tuna'' sighted a Japanese I-boat on the surface. She lost it shortly thereafter in heavy weather. Later in the month, she supported the Army occupation of [[Adak Island]] by transporting a colonel and six enlisted men from [[Dutch Harbor, Alaska]], to [[Kuluk Bay]] between 25 August and 27 August. She returned to Pearl Harbor on 5 September.

===Patrolling New Guinea waters===
After routine overhaul, ''Tuna'' set out from [[Pearl Harbor]] on 9 November. She made only one contact during her fourth war patrol, firing two torpedoes at a Japanese [[destroyer]] operating off [[New Georgia Island]] on 12 December. Both missed their mark. Three days after Christmas 1942, ''Tuna'' arrived at her new base, [[Brisbane]], [[Australia]].

Setting out again on 18 January 1943 to begin patrol number five, she arrived in waters off the east coast of [[Vella LaVella]] six days later. Expending 16 torpedoes in five futile daylight attacks, ''Tuna'' pressed home determined forays only to be driven deep by intense enemy antisubmarine countermeasures. Kept on station between [[New Ireland (island)|New Ireland]] and [[Buka Island|Buka]] after 11 February, ''Tuna'' launched further attacks &ndash; but from excessive ranges &ndash; which only resulted in still more frustration for her crew. Dispatched next to interdict traffic from reinforcing [[Vila Plantation]] and [[Munda (Solomon Islands)|Munda]], ''Tuna'' remained luckless and was forced deep and endured depth-charge attacks before ending the patrol on 7 February.

After refitting at Brisbane, ''Tuna'' set out on her sixth war patrol on 4 March to take up a position in the [[Bismarck Archipelago]], off [[Lyra Reef]], on the northeast side of [[New Ireland (island)|New Ireland]]. En route, she patrolled west of [[Bougainville Island|Bougainville]]. On 16 March, she received orders to shift her position to a point southeast of a line between [[Mussau Island]] and [[Manus Island]] in the [[Admiralty Islands]]. Late in the afternoon of 29 March, she sighted a convoy of four merchantmen, with two escort ships and two aircraft. After stalking the convoy all night, ''Tuna'' attacked the following morning, firing three torpedoes at the largest vessel. Two hits, and the 4697-ton ''Kurohime Maru'' plunged to the bottom.

On 4 April, ''Tuna'' changed patrol zones, prowling now to the northwest of the Manus-Mussau line in the [[East Caroline Basin]] on the traffic lanes to [[Rabaul]]. After no further attack opportunities developed, ''Tuna'' returned to [[Brisbane]] on 20 April.

On 19 May, en route to her war patrol station for the seventh patrol, ''Tuna'' came under attack by a Japanese submarine which fired one torpedo at the American ship before breaking off the attack. After that brush with destruction, ''Tuna'' prepared to bombard [[Wakde Island]] with her deck guns, but the presence of Japanese subchasers forced a change in plans.

===Friendly fire===
On 29 July 1943, as ''Tuna'' set out from [[Brisbane]] on her eighth patrol, a [[Royal Australian Air Force]] [[Consolidated PBY Catalina|Catalina]] [[flying boat]] [[patrol bomber]] attacked her, dropping four [[depth charge]]s close aboard while ''Tuna'' was in the [[Solomon Sea]] {{convert|80|nmi}} east-northeast of [[Kiriwina Island]] and north of [[Woodlark Island]] at {{coord|08|02|N|152|07|E}}.<ref name=hinmanp314>Hinman & Campbell, p. 314.</ref> After ''Tuna'' [[Crash dive|crash-dived]], the depth charges exploded as she passed a depth between {{convert|70|ft|0}} and {{convert|110|ft|0}}, and she plunged to a depth of {{convert|365|ft|0}} before her crew regained control of her.<ref name=hinmanp314/> She surfaced with a [[Port and starboard|port]] [[List (ship)|list]] of 18 degrees.<ref name=hinmanp314/> The damage she sustained necessitated 17 days of major repairs at Brisbane, delaying her departure for her eighth war patrol until 21 August. Once on station for that patrol, two attack opportunities presented themselves, but neither one bore fruit.

Arriving back at [[Fremantle, Western Australia|Fremantle]] on 14 October, ''Tuna'' refitted alongside [[submarine tender]] {{USS|Pelias|AS-14|2}} before proceeding on her ninth patrol which commenced on 7 November. After transiting the [[Molucca Strait]], ''Tuna'' prowled in the [[Java Sea]] and [[Flores Sea]]. Attacking a freighter in a rain squall on 21 November, ''Tuna'' launched four torpedoes, but only one hit the enemy merchantman. On 12 December, the submarine had better luck. The 5484-ton cargo ship ''Tosei Maru'' fell victim to her torpedoes, becoming the largest kill in ''Tuna''’s war career to date.

Following her ninth patrol, ''Tuna'' proceeded across the Pacific to [[Hunters Point Naval Shipyard|Hunters Point Navy Yard]] in California, where she arrived on 6 April 1944 for a major overhaul. After refitting, she returned to Hawaii to begin her tenth war patrol. Departing Pearl Harbor on 24 April, she surveilled the [[Palau Islands]].

===The ''Takima Maru''===
On 4 May 1944, ''Tuna'' sighted a 100-ton trawler. Bound for [[Wake Island]] with classified documents on board, ''Takima Maru'' put up a fight when taken under fire by the submarine's two 20-millimeter guns. In the face of the returned fire, ''Tuna'' opened up with her three-inch deck gun and scored a hit on the first salvo, holing ''Takima Maru'' near the stern. Ten minutes later, the trawler settled beneath the waves, stern first, leaving the waters littered with secret papers and the surviving Japanese.

Meanwhile, submarine {{USS|Haddock|SS-231}} arrived on the scene and assisted in the pickup of confidential documents and prisoners. Each submarine picked up 30 documents; ''Tuna'' fished out three prisoners, one of whom died later. The two remaining prisoners were transferred to ''Haddock''. ''Tuna'' lost her senior enlisted man, the Chief of the Boat, who was swept overboard and drowned while recovering material from the sea.

Ten days later, ''Tuna'' bombarded the [[phosphate]] works on [[Fais Island]] with 24 rounds from her deck gun. After the remainder of her patrol proved fruitless, the submarine returned to the [[Marshall Islands]] arriving at [[Majuro Atoll]] on 21 June.

===Final war patrols===
After commencing her 11th patrol upon departing [[Majuro Atoll]] on 15 July 1944, ''Tuna'' roamed the sea lanes of the Japanese home islands, off [[Shikoku]] and [[Kyūshū]]. Her radar picked up tempting targets, but bad luck continued to dog the ship's efforts to make contact and launch attacks. On occasion, the superior surface speed of the hunted enabled it to easily outrun the hunter, and good antisubmarine measures by the Japanese escort ships forced ''Tuna'' to proceed cautiously. On 5 September, she arrived at Pearl Harbor empty-handed.

Following refit, ''Tuna'' departed Pearl Harbor on 8 October, bound for the western Pacific. In conjunction with Operation "King Two," the invasion and liberation of the [[Philippines]], ''Tuna'' operated in a wolf pack, "Roach's Raiders," in company with ''Haddock'' and {{USS|Halibut|SS-232|2}}. During this 12th patrol, ''Tuna'' contacted seven ships; but made only one unsuccessful attack before arriving at [[Saipan]] on 2 December.

''Tuna''’s final war patrol began on 6 January as she left [[Saipan]] to take position off the west coast of [[Borneo]]. From 28 January to 30 January 1945, ''Tuna'' conducted a special mission, reconnoitering the northeast coast of Borneo. She did not attempt a landing due to enemy activity. From 2 March to 4 March, ''Tuna'' accomplished her second special mission of the patrol, landing personnel and {{convert|4400|lb|kg}} of stores near [[Labuk Bay]]. During the patrol, she sighted no contacts deemed worthy of torpedo fire, and ''Tuna'' returned to Fremantle on 13 March 1945.

==Post-war assignments==
Thereafter, based at Fremantle, ''Tuna'' operated on training duty until she sailed for [[Leyte (island)|Leyte]] in the [[Philippines]] on 13 April. The submarine touched at [[U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay|Subic Bay]] and [[Saipan]] before returning to Pearl Harbor on 5 September. From there, she proceeded to [[San Francisco, California]], arriving on 14 September.

After moving through the [[Panama Canal]] to the East Coast, ''Tuna'' remained in commission, in the inactive fleet, to assist in the maintenance and security of other submarines sent to [[Portsmouth, New Hampshire]], for tests. In this capacity, she served with Submarine Division 162, Submarine Squadron 16, Inactive Fleet, New London Group, until she was selected as a target vessel for the upcoming [[atomic bomb]] tests at [[Bikini Atoll]] in the [[Marshall Islands]].

==Atomic testing==
After once again transiting the [[Panama Canal]], ''Tuna'' arrived at Pearl Harbor on 2 March 1946 and reported for duty with Commander, Joint Task Force 1. In company with submarines {{USS|Skipjack|SS-184|2}}, {{USS|Skate|SS-305|2}}, and {{USS|Searaven|SS-196|2}}, ''Tuna'' departed Pearl Harbor on 21 May 1946.

Upon her arrival at [[Bikini Atoll]], nine days later, ''Tuna'' was assigned a place among the target vessels anchored in the atoll. The first [[atomic bomb]] was detonated on 1 July 1946, and the second followed 24 days later. Receiving only superficial damage, ''Tuna'' departed for [[Kwajalein]] on 22 August 1946 en route to Pearl Harbor and the West Coast. On 5 September, she arrived in [[Hawaii]]an waters, mooring at the [[submarine base]].

==Decommissioning==
Underway for the [[United States West Coast]] on 7 October 1946, ''Tuna'' arrived at the [[Mare Island Naval Shipyard]] a week later where she moored with the [[US 19th Fleet|19th Fleet]]. Scheduled for decommissioning on 11 December 1946, she was retained as a radiological laboratory unit and subjected to numerous radiological and structural studies while remaining at [[Mare Island]]. No preservation work was undertaken on the ship, and she was decommissioned on 11 December 1946. On 20 September 1948, fleet ocean [[tugboat|tug]] {{USS|Tekesta|ATF-93|2}} towed ''Tuna'' from Mare Island for the submarine's "last patrol." On 24 September 1948, ''Tuna'' was sunk in {{convert|1,160|fathom}} of water in the Pacific Ocean off the U.S. West Coast. She was struck from the [[Naval Vessel Register]] on 21 October 1948.

== References ==
===Citations===
{{reflist}}
{{refbegin}}
*{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/t/tuna-ii.html}}
{{refend}}

===Bibliography===
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=hkupDwAAQBAJ&dq=LApon+raton&pg=PA181 Hinman, Charles R., and Douglas E. Campbell. ''The Submarine Has No Friends: Friendly Fire Incidents Involving U.S. Submarines During World War II''. Syneca Research Group, Inc., 2019.] {{ISBN|978-0-359-76906-3}}.

{{Tambor class submarine}}
{{July 1943 shipwrecks}}
{{1948 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuna (SS-203)}}
[[Category:Tambor-class submarines]]
[[Category:World War II submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships built in Vallejo, California]]
[[Category:1940 ships]]
[[Category:Friendly fire incidents of World War II]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in July 1943]]
[[Category:Ships involved in Operation Crossroads]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1946]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1948]]
[[Category:Ships sunk as targets]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean]]