USS Halfbeak

History
United States
Name	USS Halfbeak
Builder	Electric Boat Company, Groton, Connecticut
Laid down	6 July 1944
Launched	19 February 1946
Commissioned	22 July 1946
Decommissioned	1 July 1971
Stricken	1 July 1971
Fate	Sold for scrap, 13 June 1972
General characteristics
Class and type	Balao-class diesel-electric submarine
Displacement	1,526 tons (1,550 t) surfaced; 2,424 tons (2,463 t) submerged;
Length	311 ft 9 in (95.02 m)
Beam	27 ft 3 in (8.31 m)
Draft	16 ft 10 in (5.13 m) maximum
Propulsion	4 × Fairbanks-Morse Model 38D8-⅛ 10-cylinder opposed piston diesel engines driving electrical generators; 2 × 126-cell Sargo batteries; 4 × high-speed Elliott electric motors with reduction gears; two propellers ; 5,400 shp (4.0 MW) surfaced; 2,740 shp (2.0 MW) submerged;
Speed	20.25 knots (38 km/h) surfaced; 8.75 knots (16 km/h) submerged;
Range	11,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) surfaced at 10 knots (19 km/h)
Endurance	48 hours at 2 knots (3.7 km/h) submerged; 75 days on patrol;
Test depth	400 ft (120 m)
Complement	10 officers, 70–71 enlisted
Armament	10 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes; 6 forward, 4 aft; 24 torpedoes; 1 × 5-inch (127 mm) / 25 caliber deck gun; Bofors 40 mm and Oerlikon 20 mm cannon;
General characteristics (Guppy II)
Class and type	none
Displacement	1,870 tons (1,900 t) surfaced; 2,440 tons (2,480 t) submerged;
Length	307 ft (93.6 m)
Beam	27 ft 4 in (7.4 m)
Draft	17 ft (5.2 m)
Propulsion	Snorkel added; Batteries upgraded to GUPPY type, capacity expanded to 504 cells (1 × 184 cell, 1 × 68 cell, and 2 × 126 cell batteries); 4 × high-speed electric motors replaced with 2 × low-speed direct drive electric motors;
Speed	Surfaced:; 18.0 knots (20.7 mph; 33.3 km/h) maximum; 13.5 knots (15.5 mph; 25.0 km/h) cruising; Submerged:; 16.0 knots (18.4 mph; 29.6 km/h) for ½ hour; 9.0 knots (10.4 mph; 16.7 km/h) snorkeling; 3.5 knots (4.0 mph; 6.5 km/h) cruising;
Range	15,000 nm (28,000 km) surfaced at 11 knots (13 mph; 20 km/h)
Endurance	48 hours at 4 knots (5 mph; 7 km/h) submerged
Complement	9–10 officers; 5 petty officers; 70 enlisted men;
Sensors and ; processing systems	WFA active sonar; JT passive sonar; Mk 106 torpedo fire control system;
Armament	10 × 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes; (six forward, four aft); all guns removed;

USS Halfbeak (SS-352), a Balao-class submarine, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the halfbeak.

Construction and commissioning

Halfbeak was launched 19 February 1946 by the Electric Boat Company at Groton, Connecticut, sponsored by Mrs. William Craig, and commissioned on 22 July 1946.

Service history

After shakedown in the Caribbean and along the Latin American coast to the Canal Zone, Ecuador, and Colombia, Halfbeak spent the next 3 years in training operations and fleet exercises out of New London, Conn., where she was part of SubRon 8. Entering the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard 12 September 1949, Halfbeak was converted to a GUPPY II type submarine. Fitted with a snorkel to enable her to stay submerged for long periods of time and distinguished by a greatly streamlined superstructure, Halfbeak left Portsmouth 13 January 1950 to work with the Research and Development Group at New London. While conducting tests on special underwater sound equipment, she made a cruise to English waters, operating off Jan Mayen Island, in the winter of 1951.

Halfbeak was engaged in further Caribbean exercises until 10 November 1954, when she sailed for her first Mediterranean cruise. Having visited Gibraltar, Naples, Marseilles, Lisbon, and Valencia, Spain, the submarine returned to New London 2 February 1955. A similar cruise in 1956 was punctuated by the Suez Crisis, and Halfbeak remained in the eastern Med operating with the 6th Fleet until January 1957 helping to maintain the peace in that crucial region.

Her duties took another turn as 28 July 1958 she departed for the Arctic, where with the nuclear submarine Skate she operated under and around the polar ice pack to gather information in connection with the International Geophysical Year. During these operations, Skate sailed under the Arctic ice pack to reach the North Pole 11 August and continued to cruise freely there repeating the visit 6 days later.

Local operations and exercises, primarily submarine and fleet maneuvers in the Caribbean but also NATO maneuvers, occupied Halfbeak until 1963, when she resumed her role testing and evaluating sonar and other underwater sound equipment out of New London.

James Bamford in Body of Secrets claims that around September 1965, Halfbeak conducted for the NSA a classified SIGINT mission off the Kola Peninsula . She was detected by Soviet forces, and had to hide for many hours below its maximum permissible depth before escaping. These events were omitted from the official ship's history.

Halfbeak was awarded the Battle Efficiency "E" for 1966 and 1967 and held the "E" for Submarine Division 102 for 1968. Halfbeak was decommissioned and simultaneously struck from the Naval Register, 1 July 1971. She was sold for scrapping, 13 July 1972.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Friedman, Norman (1995). U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute. pp. 285–304. ISBN 1-55750-263-3.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Bauer, K. Jack; Roberts, Stephen S. (1991). Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775-1990: Major Combatants. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 275–280. ISBN 0-313-26202-0.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Bauer, K. Jack; Roberts, Stephen S. (1991). Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775–1990: Major Combatants. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 275–280. ISBN 978-0-313-26202-9.
^ U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 261–263
^ ^a ^b ^c U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h U.S. Submarines Since 1945 pp. 242
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Friedman, Norman (1994). U.S. Submarines Since 1945: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute. pp. 11–43. ISBN 1-55750-260-9.

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entries can be found here and here.

External links

Photo gallery of Halfbeak at NavSource Naval History

[FriedmanSubs1-dates-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Friedman, Norman (1995). U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute. pp. 285–304. ISBN 1-55750-263-3.

[FriedmanSubs1-specs-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311

[Register-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Bauer, K. Jack; Roberts, Stephen S. (1991). Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775-1990: Major Combatants. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 275–280. ISBN 0-313-26202-0.

[Register_275–280-4] Bauer, K. Jack; Roberts, Stephen S. (1991). Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775–1990: Major Combatants. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 275–280. ISBN 978-0-313-26202-9.

[FriedmanSubs1-engines_261–263-5] U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 261–263

[FriedmanSubs1-specs_305–311-6] U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311

[FriedmanSubs2-specs-7] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h U.S. Submarines Since 1945 pp. 242

[FriedmanSubs2-chap2-8] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Friedman, Norman (1994). U.S. Submarines Since 1945: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute. pp. 11–43. ISBN 1-55750-260-9.

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