History of the History of the USS Bass (SSK-2)

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USS Bass (SSK-2): History, Patrols, Crews

Commissioning

The USS Bass was the second of three submarines in the Barracuda class of hunter-killer submarines. It was the second ship in U.S. Navy history to be named after the fish.
The contract to build the Bass was awarded to the Mare Island Naval Shipyard at Mare Island, Calif. Her keel was laid down on Feb. 23, 1950; she was launched on May 2, 1951. She was commissioned on Nov. 16, 1952, with Lt. Commander D.E. Bunting in command.

Underway

Originally known simply as the K-2, the submarine joined the Pacific Fleet’s Submarine Division 72 at Pearl Harbor on May 23, 1952. The three members of the Barracuda class were built largely as experimental platforms built around the massive BQR-4 bow-mounted sonar array. The ships were part of Project Kayo which tested the use of passive acoustics with low-frequency bow sonar arrays. The submarines themselves were very limited in terms of their own capabilities, as they were slow and had to snorkel more often than their counterparts. As a testing platform, however, they were invaluable; the sonar technology pioneered by the Barracuda class was later used in nuclear-powered submarines.

After completing evaluation operations that fully detailed their abilities and limitations in January 1953, she entered the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard for the installation of additional equipment. In June, she resumed normal operations and spent the 13 months working with other fleet units developing new tactics and combined operation plans.

In January 1954, the K-2 returned to Mare Island for an overhaul, then made a port of call visit to Mazatlan, Mexico. She was renamed the Bass on Dec. 15, 1955. She would spend the rest of her operational career operating out of Pearl Harbor.

Decommissioning

The Bass returned to the continental United States on June 26, 1957 and was decommissioned on Oct. 1 of that year. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on April 1, 1965. She was sold for scrap in November 1966.

Characteristics of the USS Bass (Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Class and type: Barracuda-class diesel-electric hunter-killer submarine
Displacement: 765 tons (777 t) surfaced
1,160 tons (1179 t) submerged
Length: 196 ft 1 in (59.8 m) overall
Beam: 24 ft 7 in (7.5 m)
Draft: 14 ft 5 in (4.4 m) mean
Propulsion: 3 × General Motors diesel engines, total 1050 bhp (0.8 MW)
2 × General Electric electric motors
two screws
Speed: 13 knots (24 km/h) surfaced
8.5 knots (16 km/h) submerged
Test depth: 400 ft (120 m)
Complement: 37 officers and men
Armament: 4 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes

Career:

Builder: Mare Island Naval Shipyard
Laid down: 23 February 1950
Launched: 2 May 1951
Commissioned: 16 November 1951
Decommissioned: 1 October 1957
Struck: 1 April 1965
Fate: Sold for scrap, 17 November 1966

Timeline:

February 1950: Keel of submarine K-2 laid
May 1951: K-2 launched
November 1951: K-2 commissioned
December 1955: K-2 renamed USS Bass
October 1957: USS Bass decommissioned

Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Bass_(SSK-2)
http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08551.htm

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