Submarine Hoe (SS-258)

Hoe

Country	United States
Ship Class	Gato-class Submarine
Hull Number	SS-258
Builder	Electric Boat Company
Laid Down	2 Jan 1942
Launched	17 Sep 1942
Commissioned	16 Dec 1942
Decommissioned	7 Aug 1946
Displacement	1,549 tons standard; 2,463 tons submerged
Length	312 feet
Beam	27 feet
Draft	17 feet
Machinery	Four Hooven-Owens-Rentschler diesel engines (5,400shp), four high-speed Allis-Chalmers electric motors with reduction gears (2,740shp), two 126-cell Sargo batteries, 2 propellers
Speed	21 knots
Range	11,000nm at 10 knots surfaced, 48 hours at 2 knots submerged
Crew	60
Armament	6x533mm forward torpedo tubes, 4x533mm aft torpedo tubes, 24 torpedoes, 1x76mm 50cal deck gun
Submerged Speed	9 knots

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseCommissioned into service in late 1942, USS Hoe sailed for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, United States in mid-1943, arrived on 15 May to prepare for her first war patrol in the Guam of the Mariana Islands and the Palau Islands area. Her second war patrol took her west of Truk, Caroline Islands. After extensive repairs (she had been damaged by a depth charge attack during the second war patrol), she departed Pearl Harbor for her third war patrol on 26 Jan 1944 in waters between Mindanao, Philippine Islands and Halmahera, Maluku Islands and sank one Japanese tanker, Nissho Maru, on 25 Feb. Her fourth through sixth war patrols, all of which started from Fremantle, Australia, were conducted in the South China Sea; her sixth war patrol saw her acting as the leader of a successful submarine wolfpack operating in waters southwest of Lingayen Gulf, Luzon, Philippine Islands, with Hoe claiming credit for the sinking of passenger ship Kohoko Maru. After an uneventful seventh war patrol, her eighth and final war patrol was conducted again in the South China Sea, during which she made an underwater collision with USS Flounder, which was one of the very few recorded in United States Navy history. She was decommissioned in Aug 1946 and placed in reserve. In Sep 1956, she was taken out of reserve to act as a training ship for the Naval Reserve in the 3rd Naval District. Upon completion of her training duties, she was sold for scrap.

ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia

Last Major Revision: May 2011

Submarine Hoe (SS-258) Interactive Map

Photographs

USS Hoe underway off the east coast of the United States, 16 Feb 1943

Stern view of USS Hoe, off Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, United States, 20 Jun 1945

USS Hoe at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, United States, 20 Jun 1945, photo 1 of 2; note circle showing recently received equipment

USS Hoe at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, United States, 20 Jun 1945, photo 2 of 2; note circle showing recently received equipment

See all 7 photographs of Submarine Hoe (SS-258)

Hoe Operational Timeline

2 Jan 1942	Submarine Hoe was laid down by the Electric Boat Company of Groton, Connecticut, United States.
17 Sep 1942	Submarine Hoe was launched, sponsored by Miss Helen Hess.
6 Dec 1942	USS Hoe was commissioned into service with Commander Victor Beucler McCrea in command.
26 Feb 1943	USS Hoe departed New London, Connecticut, United States and arrived at Newport, Rhode Island, United States for special torpedo firing tests.
10 Mar 1943	USS Hoe departed Newport, Rhode Island, United States and arrived at New London, Connecticut, United States.
14 Mar 1943	USS Hoe departed New London, Connecticut, United States for the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine, United States for repairs.
11 Apr 1943	USS Hoe arrived at New London, Connecticut, United States from the Portsmouth Navy Yard.
19 Apr 1943	USS Hoe departed New London, Connecticut, United States for Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii.
1 May 1943	USS Hoe transited the Panama Canal.
15 May 1943	USS Hoe arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii.
27 May 1943	USS Hoe departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her first war patrol.
15 Jun 1943	USS Hoe made a night time underwater torpedo attack, damaging a Japanese freighter with 1 out of 3 torpedoes fired.
21 Jun 1943	USS Hoe sank a Japanese ship, hitting her with 3 out of 4 torpedoes fired.
11 Jul 1943	USS Hoe arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her first war patrol.
21 Aug 1943	USS Hoe departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her second war patrol.
29 Aug 1943	USS Hoe fired 4 torpedoes at a Japanese destroyer escort; all torpedoes missed.
22 Sep 1943	USS Hoe damaged a Japanese tanker after hitting her with 2 out of 6 torpedoes fired.
30 Sep 1943	USS Hoe fired 4 torpedoes at a Japanese freighter; all torpedoes missed.
8 Oct 1943	USS Hoe searched for down American airmen in the Wake Island area.
9 Oct 1943	USS Hoe searched for down American airmen in the Wake Island area.
18 Oct 1943	USS Hoe arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her second war patrol.
26 Jan 1944	USS Hoe departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her third war patrol.
16 Feb 1944	USS Hoe attacked a Japanese convoy with 8 torpedoes, scoring 4 hits on 2 freighters.
25 Feb 1944	USS Hoe sank Japanese fleet tanker Nissho Maru and damaged fleet tanker Kyokuto Maru with a night time surfaced torpedo attack south of Davao Gulf, Philippine Islands.
5 Mar 1944	USS Hoe arrived at Fremantle, Australia, ending her third war patrol.
4 Apr 1944	USS Hoe departed Fremantle, Australia for her fourth war patrol in the South China Sea.
8 May 1944	USS Hoe attacked a Japanese convoy in the South China Sea, damaging army tanker Akane Maru and freighter Sado with 2 of 6 torpedoes fired in the South China Sea west of Luzon Strait.
17 May 1944	USS Hoe damaged a Japanese freighter with 1 of 5 torpedoes fired.
19 May 1944	USS Hoe claimed damaging a Japanese ship and sinking another in the South China Sea after scoring 2 torpedoes on each of the ships; a total of 10 torpedoes were fired.
2 Jun 1944	USS Hoe arrved at Fremantle, Australia, ending her fourth war patrol.
29 Jun 1944	USS Hoe departed Fremantle, Australia for her fifth war patrol in the South China Sea.
20 Jul 1944	USS Hoe fired 4 torpedoes at a Japanese freighter, scoring no hits.
25 Jul 1944	USS hoe fired 6 torpedoes at a Japanese submarine, scoring no hits.
23 Aug 1944	USS Hoe arrved at Fremantle, Australia, ending her fifth war patrol.
15 Sep 1944	USS Hoe departed Fremantle, Australia for her sixth war patrol in the South China Sea.
7 Oct 1944	USS Hoe fired 7 torpedoes at a Japanese convoy, scoring 3 hits on 2 freighters, sinking 1 of them.
8 Oct 1944	USS Hoe fired 17 torpedoes at a Japanese convoy, scoring 5 hits, sinking troop transport Kohoku Maru and damaging 3 other ships including corvette Kaibokan No. 8 in the South China Sea.
22 Oct 1944	USS Hoe arrved at Fremantle, Australia, ending her sixth war patrol.
31 Oct 1944	Lieutenant Commander Miles Permenter Refo III was named the commanding officer of USS Hoe.
23 Nov 1944	USS Hoe departed Fremantle, Australia for her seventh war patrol.
2 Dec 1944	USS Hoe fired 7 torpedoes at a Japanese tanker, damaging her with 2 hits.
22 Dec 1944	USS Hoe fired 3 torpedoes at a Japanese tanker at periscope depth; all torpedoes missed.
3 Jan 1945	USS Hoe arrved at Fremantle, Australia, ending her seventh war patrol.
8 Feb 1945	USS Hoe departed Fremantle, Australia for her eighth war patrol in the South China Sea.
23 Feb 1945	USS Hoe collided with USS Flounder underwater at the depth of 60 feet, incurring light damage.
25 Feb 1945	USS Hoe sank Japanese convoy escort ship Shonan with 1 of 4 torpedoes fired from periscope depth in the South China Sea.
27 Feb 1945	USS Hoe fired 2 torpedoes at periscope depth at a Japanese freighter; both torpedoes missed.
15 Mar 1945	USS Hoe discovered a small sinking Chinese sailboat near the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea. She came alongside and picked up six crew members of the boat.
26 Mar 1945	USS Hoe arrived at Saipan, Mariana Islands and ended her eighth and final war patrol. She came alongside of submarine tender USS Fulton.
14 Apr 1945	USS Hoe entered Mare Island Navy Yard, California, United States for overhaul.
5 Jul 1945	USS Hoe completed her overhaul at Mare Island Navy Yard, California, United States and departed for the western Pacific.
31 Jul 1945	USS Bowfin, USS Pruitt, USS Florikan, and USS Hoe conducted exercises off Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii.
15 Aug 1945	USS Hoe arrived at Apra Harbor, Guam, Mariana Islands.
29 Sep 1945	USS Hoe arrived at New York, New York, United States.
7 Aug 1946	USS Hoe was decommissioned from service at New London, Connecticut, United States and was placed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.
1 May 1960	Submarine Hoe was struck from the US Naval Register.
23 Aug 1960	Submarine Hoe was sold to Laneett Inc. of Boston, Massachusetts, United States for scrap.

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Visitor Submitted Comments

1. 1 says:
20 Apr 2011 06:22:45 AM

USS Hoe is a funny name

2. Gregory Fassler says:
17 Jun 2014 07:18:42 AM

Hello, I just recently received documents on my father who is deceased that sailed on the SS-258 Hoe. Is there anyway of getting a list of the sailors who sailed that ship. My father was a Machinists Mate 1c specializing in diesel engines.
Thank You for your help!

3. Anonymous says:
16 Jan 2015 07:25:12 AM

My uncle was on this sub for a while he was a TM

4. Dennis Moore says:
5 Feb 2019 08:12:09 AM

My father served aboard the Hoe from her commissioning until the end of WWII. He passed away 10 years ago at the age of 84. His name was John W. Moore, who was often called "Dinty." He was a Motor Mechanic.

5. SGT D. Edward Pierson says:
5 Dec 2020 03:45:51 PM

My grandfather Edward D. Phillips was on the Hoe for the entire war. He was an electrical mechanic. Sounds like they were prob buddies. He wrote a book "Roosevelt's Children" which is on Amazon, which partially accounts his service. Kinda nifty

6. 林錫義 says:
25 Jan 2021 04:05:01 AM

我的父親， 1945年3月15日，在西沙群島海域，，被美國潛艇 h o e 拯救，一艘小帆船，，船上總共5個人，，，

7. 林錫義 says:
27 Jan 2021 04:48:04 AM

我的父親， 1945年3月15日，早上，被美軍潛艇HOE拯救 ,，船上總共6個人，
3月26日，他們，被送到塞班島，，，

David Stubblebine says:
27 Jan 2021 11:19:26 AM

Lin Xiyi (above x2):
Thank you for submitting your comments about your father’s rescue by the USS Hoe. It is nice to know some of the war’s seemingly minor details still have a large importance to people today. I was able to look up the Hoe’s report from her eighth war patrol and I found the description of this rescue. That report does not add any more details except to say that when they first approached the swamped sailboat, they thought it might have been the raft of some downed Allied airmen they were looking for. It wasn’t the airmen but your father and his companions.

Thank you also for causing us to take a closer look at USS Hoe’s war record. The official Hoe history says she ended her last patrol on 6 Mar 1945 in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. But if she ended her last patrol on 6 Mar in Hawaii, how could she be rescuing stranded fishermen in the South China Sea on 15 Mar? It turns out the Navy’s official history is in error. The patrol report is clear that the patrol ended on 26 Mar at Saipan, as you stated in your second comment. The Hoe timeline has been corrected to reflect this and we are always pleased to lead the way with accurate information whenever we can.

9. Mark Hamilton says:
13 Sep 2021 04:16:02 PM

My father served on the USS Hoe during WW2. He passed before I could ask him about his service

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