Recognition Guide Warships of the Second World War
United States Navy — Submarine SS-235

USS Shad (SS-235)

Gato-class diesel-electric submarine

USS Shad (SS-235)
Unknown author — Unknown source — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons Plate — SS-235 USS Shad; https://www.navsource.net/archives/08/08235.htm Sliding down the launching ways, Shad (SS-235), backs into the waters of the Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, ME., 15 April 1942. US Navy photo, courtesy of http://ussubvetsofworldwarii.org webpage.

Service

  1. United States Navy12 June 1942 — 19471,178 days of the war
Full service history About 933 words
Gato-class diesel-electric submarine Particulars
Name
USS Shad
Pennant / hull number
SS-235
Builder
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine
Laid down
24 October 1941
Launched
15 April 1942
Commissioned
12 June 1942
Decommissioned
1947
Struck
1 April 1960
Fate
Sold for scrap 11 July 1960 (1960)
Status
Scrapped

Specifications

Displacement, surfaced
1,525 long tons (1,549 t)
Displacement, submerged
2,424 long tons (2,463 t)
Length
94.79 m (311 ft)
Beam
8.23 m (27 ft)
Draught
5.18 m (17 ft)
Speed
21 knots (38.9 km/h, 24.2 mph)
Range
11,000 nmi (20,372 km)
Complement
60
Main gun
76 mm (3 in)

The second Shad (SS-235) was laid down by the Portsmouth (N.H.) Navy Yard on 24 October 1941; launched on 15 April 1942; sponsored by Miss Priscilla Alden Dudley; and commissioned on 12 June 1942, Lt. Comdr. E. J. MacGregor III in command.

Following shakedown off the New England coast, Shad departed on a special patrol as a unit of Submarine Squadron (SubRon) 50 to a point off the coast of Mehdiya, French Morocco, to conduct reconnaisance in preparation for Operation "Torch," the Allied occupation of North Africa. Upon completion, she sailed to Roseneath, Scotland, for repairs and further training.

Shad's second war patrol was conducted in the Bay of Biscay and Spanish coastal waters with other units of SubRon 50 under British command. Although the majority of the vessels she sighted were neutral Spanish ships, the submarine sank an enemy trawler, a barge, and severely damaged a destroyer escort before she returned to Roseneath for refit on 12 February 1943.

Continue to the full service history About 933 words

From the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, compiled by the Naval History and Heritage Command (Shad II (SS-235)). A work of the United States Government, in the public domain.

Armament and machinery

Armament and machinery
Propulsion
  • 4 × Fairbanks-Morse Model 38D8-<templatestyles src="Fraction/styles.css" />1⁄8 9-cylinder opposed-piston diesel engines driving electrical generators
  • 2 × 126-cell Sargo batteries
  • 4 × high-speed Elliott electric motors with reduction gears
  • 2 × propellers
  • 5,400 shp (4.0 MW) surfaced
  • 2,740 shp (2.04 MW) submerged
Armament
  • 10 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes
  • 6 forward, 4 aft
  • 24 torpedoes
  • 1 × 3-inch (76 mm) / 50 caliber deck gun
  • Bofors 40 mm and Oerlikon 20 mm cannon

Sister ships

51 more in the class

Sources

  • Facts harvested from USS Shad (SS-235) on Wikipedia. Figures only — no wording is taken from it.
  • Service history reproduced verbatim from Shad II (SS-235) , Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships — public domain, a work of the United States Government.
  • Photograph: Unknown author — Unknown source — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons