USS Becuna
Service
- 27 May 1944 — 7 November 1969463 days of the war
- Name
- USS Becuna
- Namesake
- Becuna
- Builder
- Electric Boat Company, Groton, Connecticut
- Ordered
- 10 April 1942
- Laid down
- 29 April 1943
- Launched
- 30 January 1944
- Commissioned
- 27 May 1944
- Decommissioned
- 7 November 1969
- Fate
- Museum ship at Philadelphia, 21 June 1976 (1976)
- Status
- Preserved
Specifications — As built
- Length
- 94.79 m (311 ft)
- Beam
- 8.23 m (27 ft)
- Draught
- 4.88 m (16 ft)
- Speed
- 20.3 knots (37.5 km/h, 23.3 mph)
- Range
- 11,000 nmi (20,372 km)
- Complement
- 82
- Main gun
- 127 mm (5 in)
USS Becuna was a Balao-class submarine diesel-electric submarine of the United States Navy. The ship was named after Becuna. Her keel was laid at Electric Boat Company, Groton, Connecticut on 29 April 1943. She entered service on 27 May 1944, having been launched on 30 January 1944.
Her class ran to 111 ships. The class followed the Gato-class submarine and was succeeded by the Tench-class submarine.
The boat displaced 1,830 long tons surfaced and 2,440 long tons submerged. She measured 94.8 m (311 ft) long with a beam of 8.2 m (27 ft). Her designed speed was 20.2 knots, and she carried a complement of 82. Her main battery was of 127 mm (5 in) calibre.
She was in commission for 463 days of the Second World War. She was decommissioned on 7 November 1969.
She has been preserved on 21 June 1976.
Written from the harvested record. Every figure above is sourced; the wording is this site's own.
Armament and machinery
This vessel is recorded in 2 configurations. Wartime refits changed armament and complement substantially, so each is kept separately rather than averaged into one set of figures. The figures above are as built.
As built
- 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
- 2 × propellers
- 5,400 shp (4.0 MW) surfaced
- 2,740 shp (2.0 MW) submerged
- 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
Guppy IA
- Displacement, surfaced
- 1,830 long tons (1,859 t)
- Displacement, submerged
- 2,440 long tons (2,479 t)
- Length
- 93.57 m (307 ft)
- Beam
- 8.23 m (27 ft)
- Draught
- 5.18 m (17 ft)
- Speed
- 17.3 knots (32 km/h, 19.9 mph)
- Range
- 17,000 nmi (31,484 km)
- Complement
- 10
- Propulsion
- Snorkel added
- Batteries upgraded to Sargo II
- Armament
- 10 × 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes
- (6 forward, 4 aft)
- all guns removed
Sister ships
- ARA Santa Fe (S-21)
- USS Apogon
- USS Archerfish (SS-311)
- USS Aspro (SS-309)
- USS Atule
- USS Balao
- USS Bang
- USS Barbel (SS-316)
- USS Barbero
- USS Batfish (SS-310)
- USS Baya
- USS Bergall (SS-320)
- USS Besugo
- USS Billfish (SS-286)
- USS Blackfin
- USS Blanquillo (SS-323)
- USS Blenny
- USS Blower
- USS Blueback (SS-326)
- USS Boarfish
- USS Bowfin
- USS Brill
- USS Bugara
- USS Bullhead
Sources
- Facts harvested from USS Becuna on Wikipedia. Figures only — no wording is taken from it.
- Photograph: Unknown author — Unknown source — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons