USS Sea Cat file photo [11379]

Sea Cat

CountryUnited States
Ship ClassBalao-class Submarine
Hull NumberSS-399
BuilderPortsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine, United States
Laid Down30 Oct 1943
Launched21 Feb 1944
Commissioned16 May 1944
Decommissioned2 Dec 1968
Displacement1,526 tons standard; 2,391 tons submerged
Length312 feet
Beam27 feet
Draft17 feet
MachineryFour Fairbanks-Morse 10-cyl diesel engines (5,400shp surfaced), four Elliott electric motors (2,740shp submerged), two 126-cell Sargo batteries, two shafts
Speed20 knots
Range11,000nm at 10 knots surfaced, 48 hours at 2 knots submerged
Crew81
Armament6x533mm forward torpedo tubes, 4x533mm aft torpedo tubes, 24 torpedoes, 1x127mm deck gun
Submerged Speed8.75 knots

Contributor:

ww2dbaseUSS Sea Cat, short for "Sea Catfish", was commissioned into service in mid-1944 with Commander Rob Roy McGregor in command. She had her shakedown cruise off of the New England coast in northeastern United States, and had a period of training in waters near Hawaii, United States. Her first war patrol took her to the South China Sea, where she operated with other American submarines to attack Japanese shipping; she claimed one Japanese ship sunk and another with partial credit, but none were given to her after the war. Her second war patrol that began on 1 Feb 1945 took her to the East China Sea, again operating as a part of a wolf pack, and again failing to receive credit for her claim of a sinking of a 2,000-ton Japanese ship. She departed for her third war patrol on 27 Apr; in the Yellow Sea off China, she sank a 400-ton schooner with her deck gun. On 6 Aug, she departed for her fifth war patrol to the Kurile Islands. The war ended shortly after she reached her patrol area. She was present in Tokyo Bay in Japan during the formal surrender ceremony on 2 Sep. She arrived at Apra Harbor in Guam, Mariana Islands on 7 Sep, and then headed for San Diego, California, United States. She operated off San Diego in spring 1946, then entered Mare Island Naval Shipyard near San Francisco, California on 15 Apr 1946 for overhaul; the work was completed on 26 Jul. For the remainder of 1946, she conducted a simulated war patrol that took her to China via Hawaii. As a part of the Atlantic Fleet, she operated out of Balboa in the Panama Canal Zone until Jun 1949, when her home port was moved to Key West, Florida, United States. Between Nov 1949 and Mar 1950, she received upgrades at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in Pennsylvania, United States. Between 1950 and early 1952, she operated out of Key West with the Atlantic Fleet. Between Jan and Jun 1952, she was converted into a Fleet Snorkel submarine at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. She remained in active service with the Atlantic Fleet in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico until late 1968, interrupted by a four-month deployment with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea between Jul and Oct 1966. She was decommissioned from service on 2 Dec 1968, and was sold for scrap in 1973.

ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia.

Last Major Revision: Nov 2010

Submarine Sea Cat (SS-399) Interactive Map

Photographs

Submarine tender Proteus with submarines of US Navy Submarine Squadron 20, Tokyo Bay, Japan, 2 Sep 1945USS Sea Cat off Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, United States, 22 Jul 1946USS Sea Cat at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, United States, 23 Jul 1946USS Sea Cat underway, circa mid-1950s
See all 5 photographs of Submarine Sea Cat (SS-399)

Sea Cat Operational Timeline

30 Oct 1943 The keel of submarine Sea Cat was laid down at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, United States.
21 Feb 1944 Submarine Sea Cat was launched, sponsored by Mrs. E. L. Cochrane.
16 May 1944 USS Sea Cat was commissioned into service.
28 Aug 1944 USS Sea Cat departed New London, Connecticut, United States for US Territory of Hawaii via the Panama Canal.
28 Oct 1944 USS Sea Cat departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her first war patrol.
3 Dec 1944 USS Sea Cat claimed sinking of a 10,000-ton Japanese ship; the credit was removed after the war.
4 Dec 1944 USS Sea Cat claimed partial credit in the sinking of a 5,000-ton Japanese ship; the credit was removed after the war.
1 Feb 1945 USS Sea Cat departed Guam, Mariana Islands for her second war patrol.
19 Feb 1945 USS Sea Cat damaged a small Japanese ship with her deck gun.
6 Mar 1945 USS Sea Cat claimed sinking of a 2,000-ton Japanese ship; the credit was removed after the war.
24 Mar 1945 USS Sea Cat arrived at Midway Atoll, ending her second war patrol.
27 Apr 1945 USS Sea Cat departed for her third war patrol.
7 Jun 1945 USS Sea Cat sank a 400-ton Japanese schooner with her deck gun.
8 Jun 1945 USS Sea Cat attacked a Japanese merchant ship with two torpedoes, both of which missed their target.
25 Jun 1945 USS Sea Cat arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her third war patrol.
6 Aug 1945 USS Sea Cat departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her first fifth patrol.
7 Sep 1945 USS Sea Cat arrived at Guam, Mariana Islands.
15 Apr 1946 USS Sea Cat arrived at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, United States for overhaul.
26 Jul 1946 USS Sea Cat completed her overhaul work at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, United States.
12 Aug 1946 USS Sea Cat began a simulated war patrol across the Pacific Ocean from United States to China.
12 Jan 1947 USS Sea Cat arrived at Balboa, Panama Canal Zone.
30 Sep 1949 USS Sea Cat was redesignated AGSS-399.
7 Nov 1949 USS Sea Cat arrived at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, United States for upgrades.
11 Mar 1950 USS Sea Cat completed her upgrade work at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, United States.
9 Jan 1952 USS Sea Cat departed Key West, Florida, United States.
15 Jan 1952 USS Sea Cat arrived at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, United States for conversion into a Fleet Snorkel submarine.
26 Jun 1952 USS Sea Cat completed her conversion work at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, United States and departed for Key West, Florida, United States.
30 Oct 1966 USS Sea Cat arrived at Key West, Florida, United States.
2 Dec 1968 USS Sea Cat was decommissioned from service and struck from the US Naval Register.
18 May 1973 The hull of submarine Sea Cat was sold for scrap.




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Visitor Submitted Comments

1. Anonymous says:
2 May 2022 07:21:41 PM

I was on the USS Bushnell AS-15 in Key West from 4/66 to 1/70 when the Sea Cat took the uncontrolled dive that resulted in its’ decommissioning.

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Submarine Sea Cat (SS-399) Photo Gallery
Submarine tender Proteus with submarines of US Navy Submarine Squadron 20, Tokyo Bay, Japan, 2 Sep 1945
See all 5 photographs of Submarine Sea Cat (SS-399)


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