USS Tang (SS-306)
USS Tang (SS-306) off Mare Island Navy Yard, December 1943 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| United States | |
| Name | USS Tang |
| Namesake | Tang |
| Ordered | 15 December 1941 |
| Builder | Mare Island Naval Shipyard |
| Laid down | 15 January 1943 |
| Launched | 17 August 1943 |
| Commissioned | 15 October 1943 |
| Stricken | 8 February 1945 |
| Fate | Sunk by own torpedo off China in the Taiwan Strait, 25 October 1944 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Balao-class diesel-electric submarine |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 311 ft 10 in (95.05 m) |
| Beam | 27 ft 4 in (8.33 m) |
| Draft | 16 ft 10 in (5.13 m) maximum |
| Propulsion |
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| Speed | |
| Range | 11,000 nmi (13,000 mi; 20,000 km) surfaced at 10 kn (12 mph; 19 km/h) |
| Endurance |
|
| Test depth | 400 ft (120 m) but dived below 600 ft (180 m) |
| Complement | 10 officers, 68 enlisted |
| Armament |
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USS Tang (SS-306) was a Balao-class submarine of World War II, the first ship of the United States Navy to bear the name Tang. She was built and launched in 1943, serving until being sunk by her own torpedo off China in the Taiwan Strait on 24 October 1944.
In her short career in the Pacific War, Tang sank 33 ships totalling 116,454 tons. Commander Richard O'Kane received the Medal of Honor for her last two engagements (23 and 24 October 1944).
Tang was sunk during the last engagement by a circular run of her final torpedo, going down in 180 ft (55 m) of water. 78 men were lost, and the 9 survivors were picked up by a Japanese frigate and taken prisoner of war. This was the only known time that a Momsen lung was used to escape a sunken submarine.