USS Blenny

USS Blenny (SS-324) on 31 March 1964, possibly at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
History
United States
NameUSS Blenny
Ordered9 July 1942
BuilderElectric Boat Company, Groton, Connecticut
Laid down8 July 1943
Launched9 April 1944
Commissioned27 June 1944
Decommissioned7 November 1969
Stricken15 August 1973
FateScuttled 7 June 1989
General characteristics (As completed)
Class & typeBalao-class diesel-electric submarine
Displacement
  • 1,526 long tons (1,550 t) surfaced
  • 2,424 tons (2,463 t) submerged
Length311 ft 9 in (95.02 m)
Beam27 ft 3 in (8.31 m)
Draft16 ft 10 in (5.13 m) maximum
Propulsion
Speed
  • 20.25 knots (38 km/h) surfaced
  • 8.75 knots (16 km/h) submerged
Range11,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) surfaced at 10 knots (19 km/h)
Endurance
  • 48 hours at 2 knots (3.7 km/h) submerged
  • 75 days on patrol
Test depth400 ft (120 m)
Complement10 officers, 70–71 enlisted
Armament
General characteristics (Guppy IA)
Class & typenone
Displacement
  • 1,830 tons (1,859 t) surfaced
  • 2,440 tons (2,479 t) submerged
Length307 ft 7 in (93.75 m)
Beam27 ft 4 in (8.33 m)
Draft17 ft (5.2 m)
Propulsion
  • Snorkel added
  • Batteries upgraded to Sargo II
Speed
  • Surfaced:
  • 17.3 knots (32.0 km/h) maximum
  • 12.5 knots (23.2 km/h) cruising
  • Submerged:
  • 15.0 knots (27.8 km/h) for ½ hour
  • 7.5 knots (13.9 km/h) snorkeling
  • 3.0 knots (5.6 km/h) cruising
Range17,000 nmi (31,000 km) surfaced at 11 knots (20 km/h)
Endurance36 hours at 3 knots (6 km/h) submerged
Complement
  • 10 officers
  • 5 petty officers
  • 64–69 enlisted men
Armament

USS Blenny (SS/AGSS-324), a Balao-class submarine in commission from 1944 to 1969, was a ship of the United States Navy named for the blenny, a fish found along the rocky shores of the Atlantic Ocean. During World War II, Blenny conducted four war patrols in the Java Sea and South China Sea between 10 November 1944 and 14 August 1945. She sank eight Japanese vessels totaling 18,262 tons. In addition, she is credited with destroying more than 62 miscellaneous Japanese small craft by gunfire.

After World War II, Blenny served in the United States Pacific Fleet along the United States West Coast. She also visited Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, Japan and China and conducted a war patrol during the Korean War. She later transferred to the United States Atlantic Fleet and served in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. She was scuttled as part of an artificial reef in 1989.