Allied Warships

Springer (SS-414)

Submarine of the Balao class


USS Springer postwar.

NavyThe US Navy
TypeSubmarine
ClassBalao 
Pennant414 
Built byMare Island Navy Yard (Vallejo, California, U.S.A.) 
Ordered8 Jun 1942 
Laid down3 Oct 1943 
Launched3 Aug 1944 
Commissioned18 Oct 1944 
End service23 Jan 1961 
History

Decommissioned 26 June 1946.
Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet.
Recommissioned in 1960.
Decommissioned and transferred to Chile 23 January 1961 being renamed Thomson (SS-22).
Stricken by the Chilean navy and stripped for spare parts, her hulk was sold for scrapping.

 

Commands listed for USS Springer (414)

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/Cdr. Russell Kefauver, USN18 Oct 19443 Jun 1945
2T/Lt.Cdr. John Frederick Bauer, USN3 Jun 194527 Jul 1945

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Notable events involving Springer include:


17 Feb 1945
USS Springer (Cmdr Russell Kefauver) departed from Guam for her 1st war patrol, and was ordered to patrol of the Ryukyu Islands.

18 Mar 1945
USS Springer (Cdr. R. Kefauver) torpedoed and sank the Japanese fast transport T 18 (1500 tons) and torpedoed and damaged the Japanese minesweeper W-17 (578 tons, offsite link) near Mutsure Jima, Ryukyu Islands in position 26°38'N, 127°12'E.

25 Mar 1945
USS Springer (Cdr. R. Kefauver) ended her 1st war patrol at Guam.

20 Apr 1945
USS Springer (Cdr. R. Kefauver) departed from Guam for her 2nd war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Yellow Sea.

28 Apr 1945
USS Springer (Cdr. R. Kefauver) torpedoed and sank the Japanese submarine chaser Ch 17 (438 tons, offsite link) off Fukue Shima, Goto archipelago, Japan in position 32°25'N, 128°46'E.

2 May 1945
USS Springer (Cdr. Russell Kefauver) torpedoed and sank the Japanese frigate Ojika (940 tons, offsite link) in the Yellow Sea in position 33°56'N, 122°49'E.

3 May 1945
USS Springer (Cdr. R. Kefauver) torpedoed and sank the Japanese corvette Kaibokan 25 (745 tons, offsite link) in the Yellow Sea in position 34°56'N, 122°49'E.

18 May 1945
USS Springer (Cdr. R. Kefauver) ended her 2nd war patrol at Guam.

17 Jun 1945
USS Springer (Lt.Cdr. John F. Bauer) departed from Saipan for her 3rd war patrol, and was ordered to patrol south of Honshu, Japan.

2 Jul 1945
Around 0545K/2, USS Devilfish (T/Lt.Cdr. S.S. Mann, Jr., USN) and USS Sea Robin (T/Cdr. P.C. Stimson, USN) made rendezvous. One aviator which the USS Sea Robin had rescued, was towed across in a lifebelt. During the transfer USS Sea Robin hit the stern of USS Devilfish with her bow but damage was minor.

Around 1749K/2, USS Devilfish (T/Lt.Cdr. S.S. Mann, Jr., USN) and USS Springer (T/Lt.Cdr. J.F. Bauer, USN) made rendezvous. One aviator which the USS Springer had rescued, was put across in a rubber boat.

26 Jul 1945
USS Springer (Lt.Cdr. J.F. Bauer) ended her 3rd war patrol at Guam.

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)

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