In
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
used submarines heavily. Overall, 263 US submarines undertook war patrols, claiming 1,392 ships and 5,583,400 tons during the war. Submarines in the United States Navy were responsible for sinking 540,192 tons or 30% of the
Japanese navy and 4,779,902 tons of shipping, or 54.6% of all Japanese shipping in the
Pacific Theater. Submarines were responsible for laying 18,553 mines.
At the beginning of the war, Japanese merchant ships had a carrying capacity of around six million tons. By the end of the war, in August 1945, the capacity was two million, with only 320,000 in condition to carry cargo.
Submarine warfare began on 7 December 1941, when the
Chief of Naval Operations ordered the navy to "execute
unrestricted air and submarine warfare against Japan."
It appears the policy was executed without the knowledge or prior consent of the government.
The
London Naval Treaty, to which the U.S. was signatory,
required submarines to abide by
prize rules (commonly known as "cruiser rules"). It did not prohibit arming merchantmen,
but arming them, or having them report contact with submarines (or
raiders), made them ''de facto'' naval auxiliaries and removed the protection of the cruiser rules.
This made restrictions on submarines effectively moot.
U.S. Navy submarines also conducted reconnaissance patrols, landed
special forces and
guerrilla troops and performed
search and rescue tasks.
The submarines were so successful that by early 1944, they struggled to find targets.
The war against shipping was the single most decisive factor in the collapse of the Japanese economy, and the
Cabinet of Japan reported to the
National Diet after the war that “the greatest cause of defeat was the loss of shipping.”
Starting in 1941, submarines patrolled the
American Theater, hunting
German U-boats and protecting shipping lanes. Submarine Squadron 50, formed in 1942, served in the
European Theater
The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main theatres of combat during World War II. It saw heavy fighting across Europe for almost six years, starting with Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 and ending with the ...
. The squadron was present in several invasions, and hunted
blockade runners, first off of Spain and later Norway. The ships scored several hits, but a lack of targets led to them being returned to the United States.
Total tonnage
With 116,454 tons sunk, the ''USS Tang'' sank the most tonnage of shipping in World War II for the United States. Its tonnage was revised from the
Joint Army–Navy Assessment Committee (JANAC) report, which initially credited ''Tang'' with fewer sinkings. (93,824 tons and 24 ships) In 1980, the relevant JANAC section was officially replaced and updated.
The ''Tang'' sank more than 16,000 tons over the second highest submarine, the ''USS Flasher'' (100,231). All 23 other submarines sank between 99,901 (''USS Rasher)'' and 59,800 (''USS Archerfish)'' tons. Fourteen of the submarines were
''Gato''-class, six were
''Balao''-class, four were
''Tambor''-class and one was
''Sargo''-class.
Ships sunk
With 33 ships sunk, the ''USS Tang'' sank the most tonnage of shipping in World War II for the United States. Its tonnage was revised from the
Joint Army–Navy Assessment Committee (JANAC) report, which initially credited ''Tang'' with fewer sinkings. (93,824 tons and 24 ships) In 1980, the relevant JANAC section was officially replaced and updated.
The ''Tautog'' sank the second most, with 26. The other submarines sank from 23 (''Silversides)'' to 14 (''Kingfish'') ships. Seventeen ships were ''Gato''-class, four were ''Balao-''class and three were ''Tambor-''class.
See also
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Allied submarines in the Pacific War
*
List of lost United States submarines
These United States submarines were lost either to enemy action or to "storm or perils of the sea."
Before World War II
Additionally:
*, decommissioned as a target, flooded and sank unexpectedly 30 July 1919 in Two Tree Channel near Niantic, C ...
*
List of successful U-boats
Notes
References
Bibliography
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*{{Cite book, last=O'Kane, first=Richard H., title=Clear the Bridge!: The War Patrols of the U.S.S. Tang, orig-year=1977, year=1989, publisher=Presidio Press, isbn=978-0-89141-346-2, url-access=registration, url=https://archive.org/details/clearbridgew00okan
Submarines
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