USS Blackfish (SS-221), a Gato-class submarine in commission from 1942 to 1946, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the blackfish. During World War II, she completed five war patrols in the Atlantic Ocean between October 1942 and July 1943 in waters extending from Dakar, Senegal, to the north of Iceland. She supported the Allied invasion of French North Africa in Operation Torch in November 1942, and is credited with sinking the German vorpostenboot V 408 Haltenbank off the north coast of Spain in February 1943.USS Blackfish Report of Third War Patrol, available via , retrieved 4 November 2010.
Later in 1943, Blackfish proceeded to the Southwest Pacific. Between 19 October 1943 and 14 August 1945, she completed seven war patrols in an area including the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, the South China Sea, the East China Sea, and the Yellow Sea. She sank one Japanese cargo ship of 2,087 gross register tons during her Pacific patrols. She completed her twelfth and final war patrol on 14 August 1945.
Decommissioned in 1946, Blackfish later served as a non-commissioned training ship for United States Naval Reserve personnel from 1949 to 1955. She was sold for scrapping in 1959.
Construction and commissioning Blackfish was laid down on 1 July 1941 at Groton, Connecticut, by the Electric Boat Company. She was launched on 18 April 1942, sponsored by Mrs. Ida H. Mel, wife of Captain Henry F. Mel, head of the Navy Purchasing Office in New York City. She was commissioned on 22 July 1942 with Commander Raymond W. Johnson in command.
Service history
World War II July–October 1942 Following her commissioning Blackfish spent three months outfitting and training. She completed it in October 1942.
Atlantic operations First war patrol Assigned to Submarine Squadron 50 for operations under Commander, Naval Forces, Europe, Blackfish — now under the command of Lieutenant Commander J. F. Davidson — departed New England on 19 October 1942 to begin her first war patrol, shaping a course for French West Africa, where she was to conduct reconnaissance patrols off Dakar, Senegal, in support of Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of French North Africa. During her voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, she mostly ran submerged during daylight hours. On 5 November 1942, after 17 days in transit, she arrived at her assigned patrol station off Dakar.
Blackfish conducted her first full day of reconnaissance on 6 November 1942. During the morning hours, a heavy mist prevented her crew from making any good observations, but by the early afternoon, as visibility improved, the crew managed to take some photographs of the area. On 7 November 1942, Blackfish reconnoitered Dakar Point and Gorée Island, noting that at Point Manuel several buildings believed to be part of a naval base were under construction on reclaimed land in the area.
On 8 November 1942, Operation Torch began in earnest with Allied amphibious landings in French Morocco and Algeria. Blackfish continued her patrol of the Senegalese coast, on the lookout for Vichy French forces heading for French Morocco. Surface traffic in the area was light and Blackfish′s log reported some "doubt" as to whether it was “the best patrol area,” given that “A position south to southwest of Point Manuel offers the best opportunities for observing the harbor but very little chance of successful attack in case ships hug the coast.” The day concluded without Blackfish making contact with enemy forces.
Blackfish′s patrol proved significantly more eventful on 9 November 1942. While patrolling submerged north of Pointe des Almadies, Blackfish sighted a Vichy French convoy of three cargo ships escorted by a destroyer. Once in range, she fired two torpedoes at each cargo ship and then prepared for a potential counterattack by the destroyer. Her torpedoes missed the first cargo ship, which Blackfish attributed to her torpedoes suffering a "loss of depth control." However, her second torpedo struck the second cargo ship, a 7,110-gross register ton vessel, abaft her stack and Blackfish′s sound operator reported that the ship's screw stopped. Meanwhile, the destroyer sped up and dropped a series of eight depth charges. Blackfish dove to and cleared the area to the northwest, running silently.
Following the action on 9 November 1942, Blackfish encountered few other particularly exciting events. On 12 November, her crew sighted a small trawler deemed too small for a torpedo attack. On the night of 12 November, she observed a peculiar flashing searchlight on Cape Verde Point that appeared to be making some type of signal. Nothing developed that evening, but on 13 November 1942, Blackfish patrolled the area again in case the light was signalling incoming convoys. Unfortunately for Blackfish, bad weather developed and visibility became severely limited, and in consequence she nearly collided with a previously undetected ship, which ultimately she did not identify. She dove prior to making contact and narrowly avoided a collision.
On 14 November 1942, Blackfish received word that her duty with Task Force 34 had concluded, and she headed for her primary patrol sector in the vicinity of Dakar. She continued her patrol with nothing of import occurring for the remainder of her time there. She eventually headed north, and on 26 November 1942 she rendezvoused with the Royal Navy Hunt-class destroyer off The Lizard on the southwest coast of England and then steered toward Scotland. She moored to the dock at Rosneath, Scotland, on 27 November 1942 and began a refit. During her first war patrol, she traveled and expended of fuel oil.
Second war patrol
Following her refit, Blackfish put back to sea, arriving in her patrol area in the Atlantic Ocean north of Spain off Punta de Estaca de Bares for her second war patrol on 27 December 1942. Over the course of about three weeks, she scoured the area in search of enemy activity. She encountered British forces, numerous fishing trawlers, and an occasional Spanish merchant ship, but no enemy forces in the course of her patrol. She returned to Rosneath, mooring there on 18 January 1943, thus ending her second war patrol with little to show for it other an account of a minor episode of laryngitis among her crew, a few photographs, and some intelligence on merchant ships and fishing vessels.
Blackfish remained at Rosneath in upkeep status for the rest of January 1943. She underwent minor repairs and established two shore leave periods, which afforded her crew at least five days of leave.
Third war patrol
On 1 February 1943, Blackfish got underway for her third war patrol, bound for a patrol area in the Bay of Biscay near Bilbao, Spain. She departed Rosneath in company with the Royal Navy destroyer and the U.S. submarine . Shikari and Barb parted company with Blackfish on the morning of the 2 February. Over the course of the next several weeks while patrolling in her assigned area, she encountered a daily flurry of Spanish fishing and cargo vessels. On several occasions, she received notification of the passage of the Vichy French ships Winnetou, Livadia, and Nordfels steaming from Bilbao to Bordeaux, France. She was unable to engage any of them owing to an apparent effort by those ships to travel on days of low visibility and exceptionally bad weather conditions.
At 10:50 on 18 February 1943, Blackfish happened upon approximately 30 small fishing boats headed for Bermeo, Spain, and her log noted that the boats appeared to have sighted her. It may have very well been that sighting which prompted the events of the next day. At 17:40 on 19 February 1943, Blackfish observed two small vessels that appeared to be large fishing trawlers traveling in a column which did not display any Spanish colors. Blackfish′s commanding officer called the crew to general quarters and initiated an attack approach. The first ship's small bow made her difficult to make out, and several suspenseful minutes passed. At last, at 17:49, Blackfish clearly observed German colors and identified both ships as converted trawler-type submarine tender vessels with guns mounted fore and aft.
Blackfish fired two torpedoes from her bow torpedo tubes at the lead ship, and another two at the second. The second of the vessels, the disguised Vorpostenboot (patrol boat) V 408 Haltenbank, suffered a fatal hit by one of Blackfish′s torpedoes. Blackfish immediately was subjected to a depth-charge attack, as well as, according to her log, “something, which sounded like a bomb, but that did not produce much shock.” As she dove, five bombs and four depth charges exploded, the third of which reportedly detonated very close aboard and “jarred the ship considerably.” The blast had in fact cracked the conning tower door frame, which caused some minor flooding. Blackfish bottomed out in of water, then maintained total silence for a full hour. At 19:18, she cleared the area. Blackfish surfaced at 22:20, and her crew made some minor repairs while inspecting her for additional damage. Having taken an account of herself, Blackfish sent word of her damage and then continued her patrol.USS Blackfish Report of Third War Patrol, available via , retrieved 4 November 2010.
Early on the morning of 20 February 1943, Blackfish received orders to return from patrol. She sped back to port and arrived safely in Falmouth, England, on 22 February 1943. In addition to the action that took place on 19 February, the patrol resulted in Blackfish′s keen observation that, according to her patrol report, “the traffic of Spanish ships east of Bilbao appears excessive considering that Pasajes is the only Spanish port. Although the ships are covered with Spanish flags and cruise very close inshore, it is almost certain that some are enemy ships, and that all of them are not going to Pasajes but are bound for some French port.”
Shortly after her return to England, Blackfish proceeded to the Royal Naval Dockyard at Devonport, England. She underwent repairs and testing there from 5 March to 4 April 1943.
Fourth war patrol
At 09:00 on 5 April 1943, Blackfish got underway for her fourth war patrol and headed for the waters of Inchmarnock at the northern end of the Sound of Bute in the Firth of Clyde on the coast of Scotland to perform practice approaches with the British patrol yacht . Gale-force winds, rain, and poor visibility hindered all training efforts, and by 15:00 Blackfish had shaped a new course, proceeding in company with the former French Navy minesweeper to Muckle Flugga in the Shetland Islands. On 7 April 1943 she parted company with La Capricieuse and made for the waters of Norway and Iceland.
Overall, the patrol was uneventful with the exception of some environmental challenges. With air temperatures remaining between , a buildup of ice on Blackfish′s hull presented one of the more significant challenges of the voyage. In one instance the ice slowed her diving time by approximately two minutes while she tried to avoid an unidentified airplane.
On 14 April 1943, Blackfish believed she sighted a periscope roughly off her port bow, but a subsequent search revealed nothing. It was the first of several sightings that likely were false as, according to Blackfish′s log, "a certain amount of wreckage has been sighted from time to time and a piece of this may have been mistaken for a periscope." The crew also spotted some mines and observed a few airplanes, most of which were friendly, but ultimately, encountered no enemy ships.