View source for USS Becuna

{{Short description|United States Navy submarine}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}

{|{{Infobox ship begin |infobox caption=yes}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[File:USS Becuna;0831914.jpg|300px|Becuna (SS-319), after commissioning in May 1944.]]
|Ship caption=USS ''Becuna'' (SS-319) after commissioning in May&nbsp;1944.
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1942}}
|Ship name=
|Ship namesake= [[Sphyraena|Becuna]]
|Ship ordered=April 10, 1942
|Ship builder=[[General Dynamics Electric Boat|Electric Boat Company]], [[Groton, Connecticut]]<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates">
 {{cite book
 |last=Friedman
 |first=Norman
 |title=U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History
 |publisher=[[United States Naval Institute]]
 |year=1995
 |location=[[Annapolis, Maryland]]
 |pages=285–304
 |isbn=1-55750-263-3
 }}</ref>
|Ship laid down=April29, 1943<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship launched=January 30, 1944<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship sponsor=Mrs. George C. Crawford, wife of Commander Crawford
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=May 27, 1944<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship decommissioned=November 7, 1969<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship stricken=August 15, 1973<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship honors= 4 [[Battle Stars]]
|Ship motto=Tiger of the Sea
|Ship nickname=
|Ship badge=[[File:USS Becuna SS-319 Badge.jpg|180px]]
|Ship fate=
|Ship status=Museum ship at [[Philadelphia]], June 21, 1976<ref name="Register">
 {{cite book
 |last1=Bauer
 |first1=K. Jack
 |author-link=K. Jack Bauer
 |last2=Roberts
 |first2=Stephen S.
 |title=Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775–1990: Major Combatants
 |publisher=Greenwood Press
 |year=1991
 |location=[[Westport, Connecticut]]
 |pages=275–280
 |isbn=0-313-26202-0
 }}</ref>
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=As built
|Ship class={{sclass|Balao|submarine|0}} [[diesel-electric]] [[submarine]]<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|1500|long ton|t}} surfaced<ref name="Register"/>
*{{convert|2080|long ton|t}} submerged<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship length={{convert|311|ft|9|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship beam={{convert|27|ft|3|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship draft={{convert|16|ft|10|in|abbr=on}} maximum<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship propulsion={{Fleet-boat-propulsion-late-GM-4-GE}}
|Ship speed=*{{convert|20.25|kn|km/h|0|lk=in}} surfaced<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs">''U.S. Submarines Through 1945'' pp. 305–311</ref>
*{{convert|8.75|kn|km/h|0}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship range={{convert|11000|nmi|km}} surfaced at 10 knots (19 km/h)<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship endurance=*48 hours at {{convert|2|kn|km/h}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
*75 days on patrol
|Ship test depth={{convert|400|ft|m|-1|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship complement=10 officers, 72 enlisted<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament={{Fleet-boat-armament-5-inch}}
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=Guppy IA
|Ship class=none
|Ship displacement=*1,830&nbsp;tons (1,859&nbsp;t) surfaced<ref name="FriedmanSubs2-chap2">
 {{cite book
 |last=Friedman
 |first=Norman
 |title=U.S. Submarines Since 1945: An Illustrated Design History
 |publisher=[[United States Naval Institute]]
 |year=1994
 |location=[[Annapolis, Maryland]]
 |pages=11–43
 |isbn=1-55750-260-9
 }}</ref>
*2,440&nbsp;tons (2,479&nbsp;t) submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs2-chap2" />
|Ship length={{convert|307|ft|7|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs2-specs">''U.S. Submarines Since 1945'' pp. 242</ref>
|Ship beam={{convert|27|ft|4|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs2-specs" />
|Ship draught=
|Ship draft={{convert|17|ft|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs2-specs"/>
|Ship propulsion=*[[Submarine snorkel|Snorkel]] added<ref name="FriedmanSubs2-chap2"/>
*Batteries upgraded to ''Sargo'' II<ref name="FriedmanSubs2-chap2"/>
|Ship speed=*Surfaced:{{convert|17.3|kn|km/h}} maximum
*{{convert|12.5|kn|km/h}} cruising
*Submerged: {{convert|15.0|kn|km/h}} for {{frac|1|2}} hour
*{{convert|7.5|kn|km/h}} snorkeling
*{{convert|3.0|kn|km/h}} cruising<ref name="FriedmanSubs2-chap2"/>
|Ship range={{convert|17000|nmi|abbr=on}} surfaced at {{convert|11|kn}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs2-specs"/>
|Ship endurance=36 hours at {{convert|3|kn}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs2-specs"/>
|Ship test depth=
|Ship complement=*10 officers
*5 petty officers
*64–69 enlisted men
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=*10 × [[American 21-inch torpedo|21 inch (533 mm)]] [[torpedo tube]]s
*(6 forward, 4 aft)<ref name="FriedmanSubs2-specs"/>
*all guns removed<ref name="FriedmanSubs2-chap2"/>
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox NRHP
|embed=yes
|name=USS ''Becuna'' (SS-319)
|nrhp_type=nhl
|image=
|caption=
|location=Penn's Landing, [[Columbus Boulevard (Philadelphia)|Columbus Blvd.]] & Spruce St., [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], [[United States]]
|locmapin=Pennsylvania
|built=1944
|builder=Electric Boat Co.
|architecture= Balao-class submarine
|added=August 29, 1978
|area=less than one acre
|refnum=78002458<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>
}}
|}

'''USS ''Becuna'' (SS/AGSS-319)''', a {{sclass|Balao|submarine}} in commission from 1944 to 1969, was a submarine of the [[United States Navy]] named for the [[Sphyraena|becuna]], a pike-like fish of [[Europe]]. During [[World War II]], she conducted five war patrols between August 23, 1944 and July 27, 1945, operating in the [[Philippine Islands]], [[South China Sea]], and [[Java Sea]]. She is credited with sinking two [[Japan]]ese [[Tanker (ship)|tanker]]s totaling 3,888&nbsp;[[gross register ton]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.phillyseaport.org/historicships/becunawarpatrols.html |title= Seaport Museum Philadelphia Submarine, Becuna |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120204233635/http://www.phillyseaport.org/historicships/becunawarpatrols.html |archive-date = February 4, 2012}}</ref>

After World War II, ''Becuna'' operated as part of the [[United States Pacific Fleet]] from 1945 to 1949. She served in the [[United States Atlantic Fleet]] from 1949 to 1969, primarily as a [[training ship]], although she also made two deployments with the [[United States Sixth Fleet]] in the [[Mediterranean Sea]].

After her decommissioning, ''Becuna'' was designated a [[National Historic Landmark]] for her service in World War II. She became a [[museum ship]] at the [[Independence Seaport Museum]] in [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]].

==Construction and commissioning==
''Becuna'' was [[Keel-laying|laid down]] on April 29, 1943 by the [[General Dynamics Electric Boat|Electric Boat Company]] at [[Groton, Connecticut|Groton]], [[Connecticut]]. She was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on January 30, 1944, [[Ship sponsor|sponsored]] by Mrs. George C. Crawford, and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on May 27, 1944.

==Service history==
===World War II===
====May–August 1944====
After [[Shakedown (testing)|shakedown]] training from [[Naval Submarine Base New London]], ''Becuna'' departed Groton on July 1, 1944 and arrived at [[Pearl Harbor]], [[Hawaii]], on July 29. 1944. She then conducted additional training in the [[Hawaiian Islands]].

====First war patrol====
''Becuna'' departed Pearl Harbor on August 23, 1944 for her first war patrol. After patrolling for a month without spotting anything but aircraft, she surfaced on the afternoon of September 25, 1944 and her lookouts spied a [[convoy]] of three Japanese [[merchant ship]]s escorted by a destroyer. ''Becuna'' submerged and fired a spread of six [[torpedoe]]s. While she evaded a retaliatory [[Depth charge|depth-charge]] attack, her crew heard an explosion but could not verify any sinkings; although she claimed to have destroyed two [[Tanker (ship)|tankers]] in the convoy, postwar examination of Japanese records failed to verify the kills. She had a similar experience on October 8, 1944 when she launched torpedoes at a heavily escorted tanker north of [[Palawan Passage]] in the [[Philippine Islands]]. Again her crew heard two distinct explosions but were too busy dodging depth charges to observe the results of the attack. On October 9, 1944, however, she recorded her first verifiable success when she joined the submarine {{USS|Hawkbill|SS-366}} in sinking the 1,943-[[gross register ton]] Japanese [[cargo ship]] ''Tokuwa Maru''. Later in October 1944, she concluded her patrol, putting into [[Fremantle]], [[Australia]], for a refit.

====Second war patrol====
On November 16, 1944, ''Becuna'' stood out of Fremantle and embarked on her second war patrol. She cruised the waters of the [[South China Sea]] off the southern coast of Japanese-occupied [[French Indochina]] searching for Japanese fleet units. On December 23, 1944 she encountered the Japanese [[heavy cruiser]] {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Ashigara||2}} and [[light cruiser]] {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Oyodo||2}}, which she mistakenly identified as a [[Yamato-class battleship|''Yamato''-class]] [[battleship]] and a "''Nachi''-class"(i.e., [[Myōkō-class cruiser|''Myōkō''-class]]) heavy cruiser, respectively. Lack of time prevented her from achieving a favorable setup before they entered [[Cam Ranh Bay]] on the coast of French Indochina. The remainder of ''Becuna''′s patrol proved almost equally unsuccessful. She destroyed floating [[naval mine]]s and, on her way back to Fremantle, sank two "sea trucks" — the American term for a type of small Japanese cargo ship — with her [[deck gun]] just north of [[Lombok Strait]]. During January 1945 she underwent a refit at Fremantle.

====Third war patrol====
''Becuna'' embarked on her third war patrol in February 1945. She returned to the South China Sea off the coast of French Indochina, where she encountered a Japanese convoy off [[Cap Padaran]] on the morning of February 22, 1945. She fired a spread of torpedoes at the tanker ''Nichiryu Maru'' and sent her to the bottom. She endured a barrage of 70 depth charges from two escort vessels before escaping. She sighted no other Japanese shipping, and her patrol ended with her arrival at [[Subic Bay]] on [[Luzon]] in the Philippine Islands, where she underwent a refit.

====Fourth war patrol====
''Becuna'' departed Subic Bay to begin her fourth war patrol in May 1945. She sighted no Japanese ships, and proceeded to Fremantle, where she arrived in early June 1945 and underwent a refit.

====Fifth war patrol====
On June 21, 1945, Becuna got underway from Fremantle for her fifth war patrol. On two occasions, [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] [[floatplane]]s on [[Antisubmarine warfare|antisubmarine]] patrol subjected her to [[Aerial bomb|bombing]] attacks. Then, on the night of July 15, 1945, she made [[radar]] contact on a single fast-moving target in the [[Java Sea]]. After tracking it for several hours, she fired a spread of torpedoes in a night surface attack. They all missed, but the submarine {{USS|Baya|SS-318}} took up the chase and sank the vessel, the [[Ambon Island]]-bound Japanese [[torpedo boat]] {{ship|Japanese torpedo boat|Kari|1937|2}}. ''Becuna'' concluded her patrol at Subic Bay late in July 1945. While she was still undergoing a refit there, [[World War II]] ended on August 15, 1945 with the [[Surrender of Japan|cessation of hostilities with Japan]].

===Post-World War II service===
''Becuna'' returned to the [[United States]] at [[San Diego]], [[California]], on September 22, 1945. She then served in the [[United States Pacific Fleet]] until 1949, conducting submarine crew training missions and participating in various multiship exercises. She visited [[Japan]] from November 15 to December 9, 1947 and from October 31 to November 6, 1948 and [[China]] from November 7 to 29, 1948.<ref name= militaryribbons>[https://www.officialmilitaryribbons.com/us_navy_china_service/navy_occupation_china_service_B.html Official Military Ribbons: United States Navy Ships Navy Occupation andChina Service Medal (extended)]</ref>

In April 1949, ''Becuna'' was transferred to the [[United States Atlantic Fleet]] as a unit of [[Submarine Squadron 8]]. She operated from Groton, Connecticut, conducting refresher training exercises and frequently serving as a school ship for students at the Submarine School. That duty continued until November 1950, when she entered the [[shipyard]] of the Electric Boat Company at Groton for nine-month conversion under the [[Greater Underwater Propulsive Power Program|Greater Underwater Propulsive Power (GUPPY) Program]] to a [[Greater Underwater Propulsive Power Program#GUPPY IA program|GUPPY IA]] submarine. She received additional [[Electric battery|batteries]], a [[submarine snorkel]], and a streamlined [[Sail (submarine)|sail]] as well as a number of other modifications to various items of equipment.

''Becuna'' completed the conversion in August 1951 and then conducted shakedown and refresher training in the [[West Indies]]. She returned to Naval Submarine Base New London Groton in September 1951. Over the ensuing 18 years, she operated from Groton, performing a variety of peacetime missions, most of them involving training. She served as a [[training ship]] for students at the Submarine School, and prospective submarine [[commanding officer]]s made their familiarization cruises aboard her. She also provided test services to the Test and Evaluation Force and trained [[United States Naval Reserve]] personnel.

''Becuna'' made two deployments to serve with the [[United States Sixth Fleet]] in the [[Mediterranean Sea]], where she made numerous port visits. She also participated in many exercises with U.S. and foreign naval units. She made one cruise to [[Scotland]], occasionally visited [[northern Europe]]an ports, and was a frequent caller at ports in [[Canada]], along the [[United States East Coast]], and in the West Indies. In 1969, she was reclassified as an [[Auxiliary ship|auxiliary]] submarine and given the [[hull classification symbol]] '''AGSS-319'''.

==Decommissioning and disposal==
''Becuna'' was [[Ship decommissioning|decommissioned]] on November 7, 1969 and laid up in the [[Atlantic Reserve Fleet]] at [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]]. Her hull classification symbol reverted to '''SS-319''' in 1971.

''Becuna'' remained in reserve at Philadelphia until August 15, 1973, when her name was stricken from the [[Naval Vessel Register]]. In 1974, a prospective transfer of ''Becuna'' to [[Venezuela]] fell through. On June 21, 1976, she was donated to the [[Cruiser Olympia Association]] for use as a memorial.

==Honors and awards==
*{{ribbon devices|number=4|type=service-star|ribbon=Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} [[Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal]] with four [[battle star]]s for [[World War II]] service
*[[File:Army of Occupation ribbon.svg|106px]] [[Navy Occupation Service Medal]] with "ASIA" clasp
*[[File:China Service Medal ribbon.svg|106px]] [[China Service Medal]]

==Museum ship==
[[File:Becuna Sub Philly.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.2|''Becuna'' in Philadelphia. Note the difference in her appearance after her extensive modernization in 1951.]]

''Becuna'' was placed on permanent display adjacent to the cruiser {{USS|Olympia|C-6}} at [[Penn's Landing]] in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on June 21, 1976. ''Becuna'' was designated a [[National Historic Landmark]] in 1986.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1785&ResourceType=Structure |title= Listing at the National Park Service |access-date= August 23, 2012 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101022111330/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1785&ResourceType=Structure |archive-date = 22 October 2010}}</ref> Since 1996, both vessels have been operated by the [[Independence Seaport Museum]]. ''Becuna'' received the Historical Welded Structure Award of the [[American Welding Society]] in 2001.

==See also==
{{Portal|Philadelphia}}
*[[List of National Historic Landmarks in Philadelphia]]
*[[National Register of Historic Places listings in Center City, Philadelphia]]

==References==
{{Commons category|USS Becuna (SS-319)}}
{{reflist}}
{{Refbegin}}
* {{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/b4/becuna-i.htm|http://hazegray.org/danfs/submar/ss319.htm}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
* {{hnsa|uss-becuna-ss-319}}
* {{navsource|08/08319|Becuna}}
*{{official website}}
* [http://pigboats.com/ww2/becuna.html Kill record: USS ''Becuna'']
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtlObZEbGT4 HUNTER KILLER ANTI-SUBMARINE WARFARE U.S. NAVY FILM 30102 on YouTube], 1954 film which includes footage of USS ''Becuna'' (SS-319) underway at sea
*[https://stock.periscopefilm.com/30102-hunter-killer-anti-submarine-warfare-u-s-navy-film/ 30102 HUNTER KILLER ANTI-SUBMARINE WARFARE U.S. NAVY FILM at Periscope Film], 1954 film which includes footage of USS ''Becuna'' (SS-319) underway at sea 

{{coord|39.943550|-75.141179|region:US_type:landmark|display=title}}
{{Balao class submarine}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Becuna (SS-319)}}
[[Category:1944 ships]]
[[Category:Balao-class submarines]]
[[Category:Cold War submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Military and war museums in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Museum ships in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Museums in Philadelphia]]
[[Category:National Historic Landmarks in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Naval museums in the United States]]
[[Category:Ships built in Groton, Connecticut]]
[[Category:Ships on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:World War II submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Penn's Landing]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia]]