| USS Cochino (SS-345) | |
|---|---|
 USS Cochino leaving Portsmouth, England, for the Barents Sea, c. July 1949. | |
| Career |  |
| Name: | USS Cochino |
| Builder: | Electric Boat Company, Groton, Connecticut[1] |
| Laid down: | 13 April 1944[1] |
| Launched: | 20 April 1945[1] |
| Commissioned: | 25 August 1945[1] |
| Fate: | Sunk by battery explosion and fire off Norway, 26 August 1949[2] |
| General characteristics (As completed) | |
| Class & type: | Balao-class diesel-electric submarine[2] |
| Displacement: |
1,526 long tons (1,550 t) surfaced[2] 2,424 long tons (2,463 t) submerged[2] |
| Length: | 311 ft 9 in (95.02 m)[2] |
| Beam: | 27 ft 3 in (8.31 m)[2] |
| Draft: | 16 ft 10 in (5.13 m) maximum[2] |
| Propulsion: | |
| Speed: |
20.25 kn (23.30 mph; 37.50 km/h) surfaced[6] 8.75 knots (16.21 km/h) submerged[6] |
| Range: | 11,000 nmi (13,000 mi; 20,000 km) surfaced at 10 kn (12 mph; 19 km/h)[6] |
| Endurance: |
48 hours at 2 kn (2.3 mph; 3.7 km/h) submerged[6] 75 days on patrol |
| Test depth: | 400 ft (120 m)[6] |
| Complement: | 10 officers, 70–71 enlisted[6] |
| Armament: |
|
| General characteristics (Guppy II) | |
| Displacement: |
1,870 long tons (1,900 t) surfaced[7] 2,440 long tons (2,480 t) submerged[7] |
| Length: | 307 ft (94 m)[8] |
| Beam: | 27 ft 4 in (8.33 m)[8] |
| Draft: | 17 ft (5.2 m)[8] |
| Propulsion: |
Batteries upgraded to GUPPY type, capacity expanded to 504 cells (1 × 184 cell, 1 × 68 cell, and 2 × 126 cell batteries)[7] 4 × high-speed electric motors replaced with 2 × low-speed direct drive electric motors[7] |
| Speed: |
Surfaced:
Submerged:
|
| Range: | 15,000 nmi (17,000 mi; 28,000 km) surfaced at 11 kn (13 mph; 20 km/h)[8] |
| Endurance: | 48 hours at 4 kn (4.6 mph; 7.4 km/h) submerged[8] |
| Complement: |
9–10 officers 5 petty officers 70 enlisted men[8] |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
WFA active sonar JT passive sonar Mk 106 torpedo fire control system[8] |
| Armament: |
10 × 21 in (530 mm) torpedo tubes (six forward, four aft)[8] all guns removed[7] |
| Notes: | Snorkel added[8] |
USS Cochino (SS-345), a Balao-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the cochino, a triggerfish found in the Atlantic. Her keel was laid down by Electric Boat Company of Groton, Connecticut. She was launched on 20 April 1945 sponsored by Mrs. M.E. Serat, and commissioned on 25 August 1945 with Commander W.A. Stevenson in command.
Cochino joined the U.S Atlantic Fleet, cruising East Coast and Caribbean Sea waters from her home port of Key West, Florida. On 18 July 1949, she put to sea for a cruise to Britain, and arctic operations. Her group ran through a violent polar gale off Norway, and the joltings received by Cochino played their part on 25 August in causing an electrical fire and battery explosion, followed by the generation of both hydrogen and chlorine gases.[9]
Defying the most unfavorable possible weather conditions, Rear Admiral (then Captain) Rafael Celestino Benítez (1917–1999), commander of Cochino, and his men fought for 14 hours to save the submarine, displaying seamanship and courage. But a second battery explosion on 26 August made "Abandon Ship" the only possible order, and Cochino sank. Tusk's crew rescued all of Cochino's men except for Robert Wellington Philo, a civilian engineer. Six sailors from Tusk were lost during the rescue.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 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.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 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.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 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.
- ↑ U.S. Submarines Through 1945 p. 261
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305-311
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 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.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8 U.S. Submarines Since 1945 pp. 242
- ↑ "Submarine Casualties Booklet". U.S. Naval Submarine School. 1966. http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/8200. Retrieved 2009-09-08.
- 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 Cochino at NavSource Naval History
- On Eternal Patrol: USS Cochino
Coordinates: 71°35′N 23°35′E / 71.583°N 23.583°E
The original article can be found at USS Cochino (SS-345) and the edit history here.