Allied Warships

Gurnard (SS-254)

Submarine of the Gato class


A bow shot showing USS Gurnard

NavyThe US Navy
TypeSubmarine
ClassGato 
Pennant254 
Built byElectric Boat Co. (Groton, Connecticut, U.S.A.) 
Ordered1 Jul 1940 
Laid down2 Sep 1941 
Launched1 Jun 1942 
Commissioned18 Sep 1942 
End serviceJun 1960 
History

Decommissioned 27 November 1945.
Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet.
Served as a Naval Reserve Training Vessel from 1 July 1949 till June 1960.
Stricken 1 May 1961.
Sold 26 September 1961 to be broken up for scrap.

 

Commands listed for USS Gurnard (254)

Please note that we're still working on this section
and that we only list Commanding Officers for the duration of the Second World War.

CommanderFromTo
1T/Lt.Cdr. Charles Herbert Andrews, USN18 Sep 194212 Sep 1944
2T/Cdr. Norman Dwight Gage, USN12 Sep 19445 Mar 1945
3T/Lt.Cdr. George Stuart Simmons, III, USN5 Mar 194527 Nov 1945

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Notable events involving Gurnard include:


2 Nov 1942
USS Gurnard (Lt.Cdr. C.H. Andrews, USN) departed from New London, Connecticut bound for Rosneath, Scotland.

15 Nov 1942
USS Gurnard (Lt.Cdr. C.H. Andrews) arrived at Rosneath, Scotland.

28 Nov 1942
USS Gurnard (Lt.Cdr. C.H. Andrews) departed from Rosneath for her 1st war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Bay of Biscay.

27 Dec 1942
USS Gurnard (Lt.Cdr. C.H. Andrews) ended her 1st war patrol at Rosneath.

25 Jan 1943
USS Gurnard (Lt.Cdr. C.H. Andrews, USN) departed Rosneath, Scotland for New London, Connecticut.

7 Feb 1943
USS Gurnard (Lt.Cdr. C.H. Andrews) arrived at New London. She was now overhauled before being sent to the Pacific.

29 Apr 1943
USS Gurnard (Lt.Cdr. C.H. Andrews, USN) departed New London, Connecticut for the Panama Canal Zone.

10 May 1943
USS Gurnard (Lt.Cdr. C.H. Andrews, USN) transited the Panama Canal.

26 May 1943
USS Gurnard (Lt.Cdr. C.H. Andrews) arrived at Pearl Harbor.

12 Jun 1943
USS Gurnard (Lt.Cdr. C.H. Andrews) departed from Pearl Harbor for her 2nd war patrol. She was ordered to patrol off Palau.

6 Jul 1943
USS Gurnard (Lt.Cdr. C.H. Andrews) is damaged by aerial bombs and depth charges off Palau in position 07°33'N, 134°26'E, but remains on patrol.

11 Jul 1943
USS Gurnard (Lt.Cdr. C.H. Andrews) torpedoed and sank the Japanese army cargo ship Taiko Maru (1925 GRT, built 1938) about 375 nautical miles north-east of Palau in position 13°08'N, 132°00'E.

26 Jul 1943
USS Gurnard (Lt.Cdr. C.H. Andrews) ended her 2nd war patrol at Pearl Harbor.

6 Sep 1943
USS Gurnard (Lt.Cdr. C.H. Andrews) departed from Pearl Harbor for her 3rd war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the South China Sea.

8 Oct 1943
USS Gurnard (Lt.Cdr. C.H. Andrews) torpedoed and sank the Japanese army cargo ship Taian Maru (5655 GRT) and the Japanese troop transport Dainichi Maru (5813 GRT) off the northern tip of Luzon, Philippines in position 18°48'N, 119°21'E.

28 Oct 1943
USS Gurnard (Lt.Cdr. C.H. Andrews) ended her 3rd war patrol at Pearl Harbor.

28 Nov 1943
USS Gurnard (Lt.Cdr. C.H. Andrews) departed from Pearl Harbor for her 4th war patrol. she was ordered to patrol off the southeast coast of Honshu, Japan.

22 Dec 1943
USS Gurnard (Lt.Cdr. C.H. Andrews) torpedoed and damaged the cargo ship Haferland go, ex German Havelland (6334 GRT) east of Kashinosaki, Japan in position 33°30'N, 135°57'E. The damaged ship never returns to active service.

24 Dec 1943
USS Gurnard (Lt.Cdr. C.H. Andrews) torpedoed and sank the Japanese troop transport Seizan Maru No.2 (1898 GRT) about 27 nautical miles east of Miki Cape in position 33°57'N, 136°19'E, the Japanese army cargo ship Tofuku Maru (5857 GRT) in position 34°02'N, 136°19'E and the Japanese auxiliary minesweeper Naruo Maru (215 GRT) in position 34°17'N, 136°55'E.

27 Dec 1943
USS Gurnard (Lt.Cdr. C.H. Andrews) torpedoed and damaged the Japanese troop transport Gokoku Maru (10438 GRT, offsite link) off the south coast of Honshu, Japan in position 34°23'N, 138°24'E.

7 Jan 1944
USS Gurnard (Lt.Cdr. C.H. Andrews) ended her 4th war patrol at Pearl Harbor. She is now ordered to the Mare Island Navy Yard for a major overhaul lasting from 18 January till 25 March.

16 Apr 1944
USS Gurnard (Lt.Cdr. C.H. Andrews) departed from Pearl Harbor for her 5th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Celebes Sea.

6 May 1944
USS Gurnard (Lt.Cdr. C.H. Andrews) torpedoed and sank the Japanese army cargo ships Aden Maru (5823 GRT), Amatsuzan Maru (6886 GRT) and Tajima Maru (6995 GRT) in the Celebes Sea in position 02°42'N, 124°07'E.

24 May 1944
USS Gurnard (Lt.Cdr. C.H. Andrews) torpedoed and sank the Japanese fleet tanker Tatekawa Maru (10009 GRT, offsite link) off the coast of Mindanao, Philippines in position 05°45'N, 125°43'E.

11 Jun 1944
USS Gurnard (Lt.Cdr. C.H. Andrews) ended her 5th war patrol at Fremantle, Australia.

5 Jul 1944
USS Gurnard (T/Cdr. C.H. Andrews, USN) and USS Ray (T/Cdr. W.T. Kinsella, USN) conducted exercises off Fremantle attacking a 'convoy' made up of HMAS Adelaide (A/Capt. J.C.D. Esdaile, OBE, RAN), HMAS Norman (Cdr. H.J. Buchanan DSO, RAN), HMAS Dubbo (T/Lt. F.W. Roberts, RANR(S)), HMAS Horsham (T/A/Lt.Cdr. W.H. Newby, RANR(S)) and HMAS Wollongong (T/Lt. J. Hare, RANR(S)). (1)

8 Jul 1944
USS Gurnard (Lt.Cdr. C.H. Andrews) departed from Fremantle for her 6th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Banda, Molucca, Celebes, Sulu, and Mindanao Seas.

5 Sep 1944
USS Gurnard (Lt.Cdr. C.H. Andrews) ended her 6th war patrol at Fremantle.

9 Oct 1944
USS Gurnard (Cdr. N.D. Gage) departed from Fremantle for her 7th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the South China Sea.

3 Nov 1944
USS Gurnard (Cdr. N.D. Gage) torpedoed and sank the Japanese merchant cargo ship Taimei Maru (6923 GRT) about 275 nautical miles west of Labuan, Borneo in position 05°48'N, 111°12'E.

6 Nov 1944
USS Gurnard (Cdr. N.D. Gage) lays mines off bei Tanjong Datoe, western Borneo.

17 Nov 1944
USS Gurnard (Cdr. N.D. Gage) ended her 7th war patrol at Fremantle.

11 Dec 1944
USS Gurnard (Cdr. N.D. Gage) departed from Fremantle for her 8th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the South China Sea.

1 Feb 1945
USS Gurnard (Cdr. N.D. Gage) ended her 8th war patrol at Fremantle.

10 Mar 1945
USS Gurnard (Lt.Cdr. G.D. Simmons III) departed from Fremantle for her 9th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the South China Sea.

9 May 1945
USS Gurnard (Lt.Cdr. G.D. Simmons III) ended her 9th war patrol at Pearl Harbor. She is now ordered to the Mare Island Navy Yard for a major overhaul.

1 Sep 1945
The submarine tender USS Aegir (T/Capt. J.M. Boyd, USN) and the submarines USS Gurnard (T/Lt.Cdr. G.S. Simmons, 3rd, USN), USS Devilfish (T/Lt.Cdr. S.S. Mann, Jr., USN), USS Hackleback (T/Cdr. F.E. Janney, USN), USS Lionfish (T/Lt.Cdr. B.M. Ganyard, USN), USS Moray (T/Cdr. F.L. Barrows, USN), USS Aspro (T/Cdr. J.H. Ashley, Jr., USN) and USS Piranha (T/Cdr. D.G. Irvine, USN) departed Midway for the Mare Island Navy Yard where they arrived on 11 September.

Media links


U. S. Submarines in World War II

Kimmett, Larry and Regis, Margaret


U.S. Submarines Through 1945

Friedman, Norman


amazon.co.uk
(£ 56.95)

Sources

  1. Report of proceedings of HMAS Horsham for July 1944

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