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USS Croaker
SS-246, Later SSK-246
Length: 311 feet Beam: 27 feet
Draft: 17 feet Displacement: 1,525 tons
Armament: Eight Mk-44 torpedo tubes
Complement: 74 enlisted; 7 officers
Gato Class submarine launched December 19, 1943. Commissioned April 21, 1944 at Electric Boat Company, Groton, CT. Converted December 11, 1953. Decommissioned December 20, 1971.
Built as part of the effort to assemble a major submarine force just prior to and after the U.S. entry into World War II, USS Croaker was sent to the Pacific to wage a war of attrition against Japan's merchant marine and Navy. USS Croaker had 6 WWII pacific war patrols, was awarded 3 battle stars, and claimed 11 Japanese vessels including a cruiser, four tankers, two freighters, an ammunition ship, two escort craft, and a minesweeper.
After WWII, USS Croaker was converted and recommissioned as SSK-246 under the Hunter-Killer conversion program with a streamlined sail, snorkel, long range sonar, and machinery noise reduction. Routine cruises were made to the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Mediterranean until the submarine was placed out of service in 1968.
The submarine then participated in various submarine operations as a Naval Reserve trainer from 1968 to 1971 until stricken from the Navy Register in 1971.
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