USS Tiru (SS-416)
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USS ''Tiru'' (SS-416), 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 tiru, a member of the
lizardfish The Synodontidae or lizardfishes(or typical lizardfish to distinguish them from the Bathysauridae and Pseudotrichonotidae) are benthic (bottom-dwelling) marine and estuarine bony fishes that belong to the aulopiform fish order, a diverse grou ...
family. ''Tiru''—laid down on 17 April 1944 at
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, by the
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—remained uncompleted for three years as a result of the curtailment of the submarine building program at the end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. In the fall of 1947, the Navy decided to complete ''Tiru'' as a "
GUPPY II The Greater Underwater Propulsion Power Program (GUPPY) was initiated by the United States Navy after World War II to improve the submerged speed, maneuverability, and endurance of its submarines. (The "Y" in the acronym was added for pronouncea ...
" (Greater Underwater Propulsive Power) snorkel boat. Her altered design incorporated improvements resulting from the Navy's recent combat experience and German technical development. ''Tiru'' was launched on 16 September 1947; sponsored by Mrs. John P. Cromwell, the widow of Captain John P. Cromwell, and commissioned on 1 September 1948. ''Tiru'' was once under the command of future FBI Director
L. Patrick Gray Louis Patrick Gray III (July 18, 1916 – July 6, 2005) was acting director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from May 3, 1972, to April 27, 1973. During this time, the FBI was in charge of the initial investigation into the burglari ...
of
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notoriety.


Service history


1948–1959

''Tiru'' conducted training and trials off the West Coast before heading for
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on 10 February 1949. Homeported at Pearl Harbor and attached to Submarine Squadron 12 ( SubRon 12), the "GUPPY" submarine operated in Hawaiian waters for a year and one-half before conducting a 12-day snorkel voyage from Pearl Harbor to the West Coast which ended upon her arrival at
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on 27 June 1950. On 9 June 1951, ''Tiru'' sailed for the Far East and her first Western Pacific (WestPac) deployment. While in Asiatic waters, she operated in support of
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forces engaged in the
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
. Then, after departing
Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 373,797, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th-most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city i ...
,
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, on 26 November, the warship arrived at Pearl Harbor on 6 December. Her operations in the Hawaiian area continued until 24 February 1952, when ''Tiru'' got underway for her second WestPac deployment. Between 1952 and 1959, ''Tiru'' conducted four more WestPac deployments, interspersed with local operations—providing services for antisubmarine warfare ( ASW) exercises and conducting type-training. Operating with the
7th Fleet The Seventh Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It is headquartered at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of th ...
, her seventh WestPac tour lasted from 1 January to 17 April 1959.


1959–1965

''Tiru'' returned to Pearl Harbor for a major overhaul, entering the shipyard on 4 May 1959 for a fleet rehabilitation and modernization ( FRAM) conversion to a " Guppy III". In the course of the work, the ship took on a new and different external appearance. Her hull was lengthened by ; she acquired a new
conning tower A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armoured, from which an officer in charge can conn (nautical), conn (conduct or control) the vessel, controlling movements of the ship by giving orders to those responsible for t ...
, longer than its predecessor; and a fiberglass
sail A sail is a tensile structure, which is made from fabric or other membrane materials, that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may b ...
was added. Internally, increased
sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects o ...
and ordnance equipment greatly enhanced the ship's capabilities in those key areas. On the last day of the year 1959, ''Tiru'' emerged from the overhaul a virtually "new" ship. From 1 January to 10 November 1960, ''Tiru'' conducted local operations out of Pearl Harbor to prove the worth of the FRAM/Guppy III conversion. After testing and honing her capabilities, the submarine departed Pearl Harbor on 10 November for another 7th Fleet deployment. She later returned to Pearl Harbor on 10 May 1961 upon completion of her eighth WestPac cruise. Local operations out of her home port occupied the rest of 1961 and the first few months of 1962. She again was deployed to WestPac in March and April before returning to Hawaiian waters on 3 May. The next month, the ship operated with a carrier task force on ASW "hunter-killer" exercises. While the submarine was engaged in a firing exercise, a torpedo malfunction in her after torpedo room seriously damaged the compartment, and 18 men were overcome by toxic gases. Quick reaction averted a more serious tragedy and earned four crew members — one officer ( Lieutenant Commander W. Earle Smith Jr.) and three enlisted men — the
Navy and Marine Corps Medal The Navy and Marine Corps Medal is the highest non-combat Military awards of the United States Department of the Navy, decoration awarded for heroism by the United States Department of the Navy to members of the United States Navy and United State ...
.


1966

The ship conducted three more WestPac deployments through 1965 before she returned to a schedule of local operations. ''Tiru'' entered another major overhaul on 6 December 1965—one which saw the installation of a masking system to cover the ship's own noise while snorkeling. Further internal alterations improved both her fighting capacity and her habitability. She conducted sea trials until 14 June 1966 when she departed Hawaii for the
Naval Torpedo Station The Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) is the United States Navy's full-spectrum research, development, test and evaluation, engineering and fleet support center for submarines, autonomous underwater systems, and offensive and defensive weapons ...
at
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, for an alignment and testing of her weapon system. The submarine departed the West Coast on 9 July, bound for Hawaiian waters, and made port at Pearl Harbor nine days later to commence pre-deployment operations. After a 16-day passage from Hawaii, ''Tiru'' arrived at
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
,
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, on 12 October. Three days later, she sailed to commence ASW exercises in the
Coral Sea The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down t ...
with warships of the
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,
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,
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, and United States Navies. The nine-day exercise provided for submarine patrol, reconnaissance, and attack operations against both carrier and
destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...
task forces before the submarine returned to Brisbane on 26 October. On 2 November, ''Tiru'' got underway for
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 ...
,
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. One day out, the submarine ran aground on Frederick Reef. For two anxious days and nights, ''Tiru'' attempted to extricate herself from the predicament by backing off under her own power, but to no avail. On 6 November, civilian tugboat ''Carlock'' and Australian destroyer came to the rescue, arriving on the scene and commencing salvage operations under the direction of a 7th Fleet salvage officer. Returning to Brisbane, ''Tiru'' was
drydock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...
ed at South Brisbane Dockyard for emergency repairs and damage estimates. Following temporary repairs to her sonar dome, outer hull, and keel, the submarine gingerly made her way from Australia to the United States Naval Ship Repair Facility, Yokosuka, Japan. En route, ''Tiru'' called at
Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...
to provision alongside and pick up new crew members. Arriving at Yokosuka on 29 November, the submarine entered drydock for restricted availability.


1967–1970

Once repaired, ''Tiru'' left Yokosuka on 9 January 1967 for Chin Hae,
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
, and while in transit provided services for an
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-based patrol plane squadron. Operating with Republic of Korea (ROK) ASW forces from 15 January to 17 January, ''Tiru'' arrived back at Yokosuka on 22 January for upkeep. From 7 February to 20 March, the submarine conducted special operations before returning for further upkeep prior to a "
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" deployment off
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. She later operated with Nationalist Chinese forces on ASW exercises; conducted additional special operations; and again provided services for patrol plane squadrons based at Iwakuni, before returning to Hawaii on 15 May. Spending the remainder of the year 1967 on local operations out of Pearl Harbor, ''Tiru'' commenced the year 1968 as a unit of Submarine Division 72 ( SubDiv 72), SubRon 7, and Submarine Flotilla 5 ( SubFlot 5). On 16 May, the submarine was shifted to operational control of Commander, 7th Fleet, with her home port changed to Yokosuka, Japan. Departing the western Pacific on 4 October after a tour which had included a transit through the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
zone, ''Tiru'' returned to the West Coast; and her home port was changed to
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, while she became a unit of SubDiv 52, SubRon 5, SubFlot 1. Overhauls and local operations occupied the ship until 12 November 1969, when ''Tiru'' sailed west for another WestPac deployment. Transferred to the command of the Commander, 7th Fleet, on 6 December, the submarine arrived at Yokosuka on 10 December. Five days later, she got underway for special operations which took her into 1970. ''Tiru'' participated in Exercise "Sea Rover," with United States and Australian naval units, before heading home for the United States at the conclusion of her WestPac deployment. While approaching Guam for voyage repairs, she routinely copied the evening weather broadcast which was accompanied by an urgent alert notifying the ship of a search and rescue ( SAR) operation underway to look for and rescue survivors of a small craft which had been adrift for two days in a heavy sea. An extensive search by Guam-based SAR forces had thus far turned up nothing, but ''Tiru'' located the five people—two of them
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 nationals—and rescued them, despite darkness and high seas. Soon after ''Tiru''s arrival at Guam on 14 April 1970, the Japanese consul visited the submarine to express his government's appreciation for the ship's rescue mission.


1970–1975

Subsequently, arriving at San Diego on 8 May after a brief period at Pearl Harbor, ''Tiru'' conducted local operations, transited to San Francisco to undergo an overhaul at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard and returned to San Diego prior to being transferred to the Atlantic Fleet on 1 August 1970. Underway on 6 August for Charleston,
South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
, her new home port, ''Tiru'' called at
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, Mexico; Rodman,
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; transited the
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; and visited
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, before reaching Charleston harbor on 2 September. For the remainder of the year, the ship conducted local operations, provided services, and underwent type training—activities which continued into 1972. Later transferred to SubFlot 6, SubRon 4, SubDiv 41, during 1972, ''Tiru'' operated in the Caribbean Sea and off the lower East Coast of the United States, with two deployments to European waters, into 1975. On 1 July 1975, ''Tiru'' was decommissioned and struck from the
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to be sold to the Turkish government. An American arms
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imposed on Turkey as a result of the
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tensions between Greece and Turkey delayed the sale, however, even though negotiations and arrangements had been well into the planning stages. The sale was never completed, and on 19 July 1979 ''Tiru'' was sunk as a target by the submarine at , about off
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,
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. ''Tiru'' was the last submarine of the ''Balao'' class to be commissioned, and was also the last to be decommissioned. ''Tiru'' was also the last submarine of a World War II vintage design to be decommissioned by the U.S. Navy.


Trivia

At the time of her decommissioning, ''Tiru'' was the oldest submarine in service with the US Navy. She held this distinction for only four days following the decommissioning of ''USS Tigrone'' (SS-419) on 27 June 1975. She was also the last unit of the ''Balao'' class to be decommissioned.


Awards

*
China Service Medal The China Service Medal was a service medal awarded to U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard personnel. The medal was instituted by Navy Department General Order No. 176 on 1 July 1942. The medal recognized service in and around China befo ...
*
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 *
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal The Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (AFEM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces, which was first created in 1961 by Executive Order of President John F. Kennedy. The medal is awarded to members of the U.S. Armed Forces who, a ...
with two stars *
Vietnam Service Medal The Vietnam Service Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces established on 8 July 1965 by order of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The medal is awarded to recognize service during the Vietnam War by all members of the U.S. ...
with three
campaign stars 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 ...


References

*


External links

*
USS ''Tiru'' website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiru (Ss-416) Balao-class submarines Cold War submarines of the United States Korean War submarines of the United States Vietnam War submarines of the United States Ships built in Vallejo, California 1947 ships Ships sunk as targets Shipwrecks of the Carolina coast