USS ''Sea Robin'' (SS-407), a , was a vessel of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

named for the

sea robin Prionotinae is a subfamily of demersal, marine ray-finned fishes, part of the family Triglidae. The fishes in this subfamily are called sea robins and are found in the Western Atlantic and Eastern Pacific Oceans, the other two Triglid subfamili ...

. This is a spiny-finned fish with red or brown coloring on its body and fins. The first three rays of its pectoral fin separate from the others and are used in walking on the sea bottom.

Construction and commissioning

''Sea Robin'' was laid down by the

Portsmouth Navy Yard The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNS), often called the Portsmouth Navy Yard, is a United States Navy shipyard on Seavey's Island in Kittery, Maine, bordering Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The naval yard lies along the southern boundary of Maine on ...

Kittery Kittery is a town in York County, Maine, United States, and the oldest incorporated town in Maine. Home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery includes Badger's Island, the seaside district of Kittery Point, and part of th ...

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

, on 1 March 1944, launched on 25 May 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Homer Ambrose, wife of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Ambrose, the navy yard's production superintendent, and commissioned on 7 August 1944.

First patrol, November 1944 – January 1945

After shakedown off

Portsmouth, New Hampshire Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on ...

, and

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the outlet of the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, which empties into Long Island Sound. The cit ...

, ''Sea Robin'' transited the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

on 12 October 1944 following an incident with a

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

n merchant ship which, mistaking the submarine for a German

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

, frantically scattered shells in the general direction of the surfaced "enemy." Fortunately, ''Sea Robin'' was out of range and escaped without damage. After spending six days at

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

, ''Sea Robin'' sailed for the

Luzon Strait The Luzon Strait (Tagalog: ''Kipot ng Luzon'', ) is the strait between Luzon and Taiwan. The strait thereby connects the Philippine Sea to the South China Sea in the western Pacific Ocean. This body of water is an important strait for shipp ...

and her first war patrol where, on 6 January 1945, she torpedoed and sank her initial victim of the war, the 5,000-ton

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese tanker ''Tarakan Maru''. Except for dodging floating mines, the remainder of the submarine's first patrol was uneventful; and she returned to port at

Fremantle, Western Australia Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

, on 29 January 1945.

Second patrol, February – April 1945

''Sea Robin''s second patrol proved to be her most productive of the war. On 3 March, while patrolling north of

Surabaja Surabaya is the capital city of East Java province and the second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. Located on the northeastern corner of Java island, on the Madura Strait, it is one of the earliest port cities in Southeast Asia. Acco ...

in the

Java Sea The Java Sea (, ) is an extensive shallow sea on the Sunda Shelf, between the Indonesian islands of Borneo to the north, Java to the south, Sumatra to the west, and Sulawesi to the east. Karimata Strait to its northwest links it to the South Ch ...

, the boat evaded a Japanese escort ship and torpedoed the cargo ship, ''Suiten Maru'' (2,500 tons). After several unsuccessful attempts to rescue survivors, the submarine finally hauled three prisoners of war on board and continued her patrol. Two days later, ''Sea Robin'' contacted a troop-laden convoy of two cargo ships, a converted gunboat, and several escorts. The gunboat ''Manyo Maru'' (2,900 tons) was the first to be sent to the bottom, the victim of three torpedo hits. After evading the suddenly active escort vessels, the submarine commenced an end around and, several hours later, was again in firing position. ''Shoyu Maru'' (853 tons), the first of the two vessels, was zigzagging radically but was unable to avoid the three torpedoes that ''Sea Robin'' fired at her. She took one hit below her bridge and settled quickly by the bow. ''Sea Robin'' then fired a spread of three torpedoes at the remaining ship, but the target zigged and they missed. On the second attempt, the ship was not so fortunate. After watching the target completely reverse course, the submarine fired three more torpedoes at a range of with one hit amidships that broke netlayer '' Nagaru Maru'' (856 tons) in half and sent her rapidly to the bottom. ''Sea Robin'' now began to pay the price for her success. For 24 hours, she was pursued by the escorts and accompanying aircraft; but made good her escape and arrived at

Subic Bay Subic Bay is a bay on the west coast of the island of Luzon in the Philippines, about northwest of Manila Bay. An extension of the South China Sea, its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility, U.S. Naval Base Subi ...

, Philippines, on 15 March to replenish her depleted torpedo store. Departing Subic Bay on 19 March, Sea Robin set course for the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...

in the area of the island of

Hainan Hainan is an island provinces of China, province and the southernmost province of China. It consists of the eponymous Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea under the province's administration. The name literally mean ...

where, on 23 March, she rescued a downed airman. On 30 March, the submarine found herself in the middle of a group of six Japanese destroyers. Midway between two of them, she launched three torpedoes at the first, but a quick turn of the ship caused them to pass harmlessly across the bow. The second destroyer swerved 90° and began to bear down on ''Sea Robin''. After 20 minutes of depth charging, the submarine extricated herself and, with Hainan a scant away, again attacked, but a spread of six torpedoes failed to find a target, and the submarine resumed patrol. On 8 April, ''Sea Robin'' sank two small Japanese fishing vessels, taking three prisoners of war and, on the following day, took on board 10 more Japanese, survivors of a foundering trawler that had been attacked by

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

aircraft. The submarine terminated her second patrol at Pearl Harbor on 29 April.

Third patrol, June – August 1945

''Sea Robin'' departed Pearl Harbor 1 June on her third and final war patrol which was conducted in the

Yellow Sea The Yellow Sea, also known as the North Sea, is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula, and can be considered the northwestern part of the East China Sea. Names It is one of four ...

and

East China Sea The East China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. China names the body of water along its eastern coast as "East Sea" (, ) due to direction, the name of "East China Sea" is otherwise ...

. She was in the East China Sea at , about southwest of

Aogashima is a volcanic island to the south of Japan in northernmost Micronesia. It is the southernmost and most isolated inhabited island of the Izu Islands. The islands border the northeast Philippine Sea and lie north of the Ogasawara Islands. Nussba ...

in the

Nanpō Islands The is a collective term for the groups of islands that are located to the south of the Japanese archipelago. They extend from the Izu Peninsula west of Tokyo Bay southward for about , to within of the Mariana Islands. The Nanpō Islands are all ...

, on lifeguard duty in support of air raids on Japan by

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

B-29 Superfortress The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is a retired American four-engined Propeller (aeronautics), propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to ...

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles. There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strateg ...

s on 26 June 1945 when a full load of

bombs A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the Exothermic process, exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-tra ...

a B-29 had jettisoned through overcast landed in the sea only from her. She suffered no damage or casualties.Hinman & Campbell, pp. 245–246. After sinking a small patrol craft on 9 July and taking one prisoner, ''Sea Robin'' torpedoed and sank the cargo ship, ''Sakishima Maru'', on 10 July. Shortly thereafter, while attempting to sink a large

sampan A sampan is a relatively flat-bottomed wooden boat found in East, Southeast, and South Asia. It is possibly of Chinese or Austronesian origin. Some sampans include a small shelter on board and may be used as a permanent habitation on in ...

, the submarine was caught on the surface by a Japanese plane. Although the pilot did not drop his bombs on the first pass, thus giving ''Sea Robin'' a chance to dive, he dropped two close aboard on the second. Although it was not discovered until the end of the patrol, the submarine's bow tubes were severely damaged causing numerous torpedo misses throughout the remainder of the patrol. With the exception of several trawlers sunk in surface attacks, the remainder of the patrol was unproductive. When the war ended on 15 August, ''Sea Robin'' was moored at

Midway Island Midway Atoll (colloquial: Midway Islands; ; ) is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. Midway Atoll is an insular area of the United States and is an unorganized and unincorporated territory. The largest island is Sand Island, which has housi ...

. After a one-day stop at Pearl Harbor, the boat headed for home, transiting the Panama Canal on 20 September and arriving at

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

, four days later.

1945 – 1951

Peacetime assignment brought ''Sea Robin'' to

Submarine Squadron 6 Submarine Squadron 6 (also known as SUBRON 6) is a squadron of submarines in the United States Navy based at Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a populat ...

(SubRon 6) based at Balboa,

Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone (), also known as just the Canal Zone, was a concession of the United States located in the Isthmus of Panama that existed from 1903 to 1979. It consisted of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending on each side o ...

. On 15 May 1947, the submarine commenced a -month simulated war patrol in which she

circumnavigated Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical body (e.g. a planet or moon). This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth. The first circumnavigation of the Earth was the Magellan Exped ...

the

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

n continent and became the first U.S. submarine to round

Cape Horn Cape Horn (, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...

. The year 1948 was spent in fleet training exercises in the Balboa and

Key West Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it con ...

areas. Following overhaul at the

Philadelphia Naval Shipyard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy shipyard and was historically important for nearly two centuries. Construction of the original Philadelphia Naval Shipyard began during the American Revolution in 1776 at Front ...

, ''Sea Robin'' was reassigned to SubRon 8 based at

Naval Submarine Base New London Naval Submarine Base New London is the primary United States Navy East Coast submarine base, also known as the "Home of the Submarine Force." It is located in Groton, Connecticut directly across the Thames River from its namesake city of New L ...

, arriving on 20 August 1949. On 23 February 1950, the submarine departed New London for participation in Exercise "Portex," a joint

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

-Navy-

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

exercise in the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

, returning on 23 March. From September through November, she was engaged in her first tour of duty with the 6th Fleet in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

1951 – 1955

In 1951, ''Sea Robin'' was converted to a GUPPY IA submarine, following which she returned to New London for local operations. In January and February 1952, the submarine participated in Exercise "Micowex" in the North Atlantic testing cold weather gear and procedures under the supervision of the

Naval Research Laboratory The United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is the corporate research laboratory for the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. Located in Washington, DC, it was founded in 1923 and conducts basic scientific research, appl ...

, New London, followed by a return to warmer waters and participation in Exercise "Pacex" in the Caribbean. For the next two years, ''Sea Robin'' was engaged in local fleet and training operations in the New London area. On 30 August 1954, ''Sea Robin'' set sail for a six-week northern training cruise which stretched across the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circl ...

and included stops at

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

; and

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. On 4 January 1955, the submarine departed for six weeks in the Caribbean participating in operation "Springboard" and, in September, took part in

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

exercise "New Broom IV," visiting

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John () is a port#seaport, seaport city located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. It is Canada's oldest Municipal corporation, incorporated city, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign ...

, en route home to New London, where she operated locally for the remainder of the year.

1956 – 1970

After engaging in special operations in late 1956 and early 1957, ''Sea Robin'' resumed normal duties in the New London area until entering the

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNS), often called the Portsmouth Navy Yard, is a United States Navy shipyard on Seavey's Island in Kittery, Maine, bordering Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The naval yard lies along the southern boundary of Maine on ...

on 24 July 1957 for a two-month overhaul. Upon return to New London, she engaged in fleet exercises in the Atlantic and Caribbean until 28 March 1958 when she set sail for a -month tour of duty with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean. From Jan - May 1963 she again conducted a tour of duty in the Mediterranean. For the next five years, with time out for regularly scheduled overhaul periods, ''Sea Robin'' operated in Atlantic and Caribbean waters, engaging in fleet antisubmarine warfare exercises and providing services to the United States Naval Submarine School. In September 1964, ''Sea Robin'' in the company of ''Piper'' participated in exercise "Master Stroke" with United States, Canadian, and British forces. During this exercise, they conducted port calls in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

, England and

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

, Holland. ''Sea Robin'' returned to New London for local operations and entered Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in November for a scheduled overhaul, remaining there until April 1965. Following shakedown operations, ''Sea Robin'', and departed New London in July for exercise with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean returning to New London in October. The year 1966 was spent in participation with operation "Springboard" forces in the Caribbean providing services to naval air squadrons and surface units followed by training and

antisubmarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations a ...

(ASW) exercises in the New London area. A scheduled main battery replacement was performed at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard during the months of July and August. ''Sea Robin'' participated in ''Operation Springboard'' in the early months of 1967, and resumed normal operations upon her return to New London. On 22 May 1967, ''Sea Robin'' put to sea in company with , , and ''Sea Owl'' for a two-month tour of northern European ports stopping at

, England;

Cherbourg Cherbourg is a former Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French departments of France, department of Manche. It was merged into the com ...

, France;

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

, Northern Ireland; and various Scandinavian ports. From 2 October through 1 February 1968, ''Sea Robin'' underwent overhaul at the

and upon completion resumed normal duties in the Atlantic and Caribbean. On 1 December 1969, the submarine was transferred to SubRon 2, also based at New London. Highlights of 1970 were participation in operation "Springboard" in January and February and NATO exercise "Steel Ring" in April and May. On 4 August, the submarine made her 12,920th and final dive. On 1 October 1970, ''Sea Robin'' was decommissioned and struck from the Navy list. She was sold for scrap on 3 June 1971 to the North American Smelting Co., Wilmington, Del.

Honors and awards

* Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with three

battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or service period. T ...

s *

World War II Victory Medal The World War II Victory Medal was a service medal of the United States military which was established by an Act of Congress on 6 July 1945 (Public Law 135, 79th Congress) and promulgated by Section V, War Department Bulletin 12, 1945. Histo ...

National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It was awarded to every member of the U.S. Armed Forces who served during any one of four s ...

with star

References

Citations

Bibliography

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.
.

External links

*
USS ''Sea Robin'' website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sea Robin (SS-407) Balao-class submarines World War II submarines of the United States Cold War submarines of the United States Ships built in Kittery, Maine 1944 ships Maritime incidents in June 1945 Friendly fire incidents of World War II