View source for USS Mingo (SS-261)

{{short description|Submarine of the United States}}
{{other ships|USS Mingo}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{More citations needed|date=October 2024}}
{{More footnotes needed|date=October 2024}}
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{{Use American English|date=November 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin
}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = USS Mingo;0826106.jpg
| Ship caption = ''Mingo'' off San Francisco, July 1945
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header = 
| Ship country = United States
| Ship flag = {{USN flag|1955}}
| Ship name = USS ''Mingo''
| Ship ordered = 
| 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]] | date = 1995 | location = [[Annapolis, Maryland]] | pages = 285–304 | isbn = 1-55750-263-3 }}</ref>
| Ship laid down = 21 March 1942<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
| Ship launched = 30 November 1942<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
| Ship sponsor = Mrs. Henry L. Pence
| Ship acquired = 
| Ship commissioned = 12 February 1943<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
| Ship decommissioned = January 1947<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header = yes
| Ship recommissioned = 20 May 1955<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
| Ship decommissioned = 15 August 1955<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
| Ship in service = 
| Ship out of service = 
| Ship struck = 20 February 1971<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
| Ship fate = Transferred to [[Japan]] unmodified, 15 August 1955<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header = title
| Ship country = Japan
| Ship flag = {{shipboxflag|Japan|naval}}
| Ship name = ''Kuroshio''
| Ship acquired = 15 August 1955
| Ship commissioned = 
| Ship decommissioned = 31 March 1966
| Ship in service = 
| Ship out of service = 
| Ship struck = 
| Ship fate = *Returned to U.S. control, 31 March 1966
*Sold to Japan 20 February 1971,<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
*Sunk as a target 1973
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
| Class before = ''N/A''
| Class after = [[JDS Oyashio|''Oyashio'' class]]
}}{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header = 
| Header caption = 
| Ship class = {{sclass|Gato|submarine|0}} [[diesel-electric]] [[submarine]]<ref name="Register">{{cite book | last = Bauer | first = K. Jack |author2=Roberts, Stephen S. | title = Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775-1990: Major Combatants | publisher = Greenwood Press | date = 1991 | location = [[Westport, Connecticut]] | pages = 271–273 | isbn = 0-313-26202-0 }}</ref>
| Ship displacement = *{{convert|1525|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} (surfaced)<ref name="Register"/>
*{{convert|2424|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} (submerged)<ref name="Register"/>
| Ship length = {{convert|311|ft|9|in|m|abbr=on}}<ref name="Register"/>
| Ship beam = {{convert|27|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on}}<ref name="Register"/>
| Ship draft = {{convert|17|ft|m|abbr=on}} maximum<ref name="Register"/>
| Ship propulsion = {{Fleet-boat-propulsion-HOR-4-AC}}
| Ship speed = *{{convert|21|kn|mph km/h|lk=in|abbr=on}} <ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs">''U.S. Submarines Through 1945'' pp. 305-311</ref>
*{{convert|9|kn|mph km/h|abbr=on}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
| Ship range = {{convert|11000|nmi|mi km|lk=in|abbr=on}} at {{convert|10|kn|mph km/h|abbr=on}} (surfaced)<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
| Ship endurance = *48 hours at {{convert|2|kn|mph km/h|abbr=on}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
*75 days on patrol
| Ship test depth = {{convert|300|ft|m|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
| Ship complement = 6 officers, 54 enlisted<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
| Ship armament = {{Fleet-boat-armament-3-inch}}
}}
|}

'''USS ''Mingo'' (SS-261)''' — a {{sclass|Gato|submarine|0}} [[submarine]] — was the first ship of the [[United States Navy]] to be named for the [[mingo snapper]].

==Construction and commissioning==
''Mingo''′s [[keel]] was [[Keel-laying|laid down]] by the [[Electric Boat Company]] at [[Groton, Connecticut|Groton]], [[Connecticut]]. She was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 30 November 1942, sponsored by Mrs. Henry L. Pence, and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 12 February 1943.

==Operational history==
After [[shakedown cruise|shakedown]] off [[Long Island]], ''Mingo'' departed for [[Naval Station Newport]] at [[Newport, Rhode Island|Newport]], [[Rhode Island]], on 1 April 1943 for three weeks of operations with the [[Naval Torpedo Station]]. She cleared [[Naval Submarine Base New London]] at [[New London, Connecticut|New London]], [[Connecticut]] on 16 May 1943 for the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] via the [[Panama Canal Zone]].

===First and second war patrols===
After further training at [[Pearl Harbor Naval Base|Pearl Harbor]], [[Hawaii]], ''Mingo'' departed on her maiden war patrol on 25 June 1943. She made damaging attacks on three Japanese merchant ships and bombarded [[Sonsoral#Islands|Sorol Island]] off the [[Palau]]s before returning to Pearl Harbor for refit.

Her second war patrol — from 29 September-20 November — took her to the [[Marshall Islands|Marshalls]], [[Caroline Islands|Carolines]], and [[Mariana Islands|Marianas]]. Her [[Mark 14 torpedo|torpedoes]] damaged a [[Imperial Japanese Navy|Japanese]] [[cruiser]]. She departed the [[Hawaiian Islands]] for overhaul at [[Mare Island Navy Yard]], [[San Pablo Bay]], California. It is likely that her [[Hooven-Owens-Rentschler]] diesels were replaced with [[Fairbanks-Morse]] [[Fairbanks Morse 38 8-1/8 diesel engine|Model 38D8⅛]] [[opposed piston]] engines during this overhaul.<ref>{{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=360–361 |isbn=1-55750-263-3}}</ref> The submarine left the West Coast on 3 February 1944 for continued operations in the Pacific.

===Third and fourth war patrols===
For her third war patrol, ''Mingo'' joined the [[United States Seventh Fleet|US 7th Fleet]] in patrolling the [[South China Sea]]. She then sailed for [[Brisbane, Australia]], via the [[Bismarck Sea]] and [[Milne Bay]], [[New Guinea]], arriving on 9 May. She continued on to [[Manus Island|Manus]], [[Admiralty Islands]] on 10 June for further training.

''Mingo'' left Manus for the [[Philippines]] on 18 June on her fourth war patrol. On 7 July, she attacked a Japanese high-speed convoy off [[Luzon]] and sank the [[destroyer]] {{Ship|Japanese destroyer|Tamanami||2}}. The submarine put into [[Fremantle, Australia]] on 30 July.

===Fifth and sixth war patrols===
''Mingo'' began her fifth war patrol on 27 August 1944. Although her primary operation was lifeguard duty in support of the US [[Thirteenth Air Force]] strikes on the Philippines and [[Borneo]], she sank four coastal freighters. ''Mingo'' did a noteworthy job as lifeguard as she rescued 16 [[B-24 Liberator]] fliers shot down off [[Balikpapan]], Borneo; six of them from rubber boats in [[Makassar Strait]] and the other 10 from the beach of [[Sulawesi|Celebes Island]]. On 4 October, a U.S. Navy [[PB4Y-1 Liberator]] [[patrol bomber]] mistakenly attacked her, dropping a {{convert|100|lb|0|adj=on}} [[Aerial bomb|bomb]] which landed {{convert|100|yd|0}} from ''Mingo'', inflicting no damage or casualties.<ref>Hinman & Campbell, p. 123.</ref> She moored in Fremantle on 13 October.

Her sixth war patrol, mostly reconnaissance duty, took place west of Borneo. On 25 December, ''Mingo'' made a night torpedo attack on a Japanese convoy on a run between [[Singapore]] and [[Brunei]], Borneo. Beside damaging an escort gunboat, she sank loaded 9,486-ton tanker ''Manila Maru''. The sinking of a [[Japanese ship-naming conventions#Merchant ships|maru]] of that name was prophetic, for the Japanese were only three months away from losing their hold completely on the ship's namesake, the [[Manila|Philippine capital]]. After assisting two other submarines in successful attacks, she returned to Fremantle on 29 December for repairs.

===Seventh war patrol===
''Mingo'' took station at the [[South China Sea]] again for her seventh and last war patrol from 6 February–10 April 1945. On 14 February, she sailed to Fremantle to repair damage caused by a [[hurricane]] in which she had lost two men on 10 February. She departed on 19 February for further patrol off the [[Gulf of Siam]] before arriving in the Marianas on 10 April.

''En route'' to Hawaii on 14 August, ''Mingo'' received word of the end of hostilities. After a short stay at Pearl Harbor, she sailed for the West Coast.

===Japanese service, 1955–1966===

{{other ships|Japanese ship Kuroshio}}

On 1 January 1947 ''Mingo'' decommissioned at Mare Island and entered the [[Pacific Reserve Fleet]]. Recommissioned on 20 May 1955. ''Mingo'' was transferred on loan to Japan under the Military Assistance Program and renamed '''''Kuroshio'' (SS-501)''' on 15 August. Her initial role was as an underwater training target for surface vessels. She continued to serve the [[Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force]] as ''Kuroshio'' until decommissioned on 31 March 1966. She was sunk as a target in 1973.

==Awards==
''Mingo'' received five [[Service star|battle star]]s for [[World War II]] service. Five of her seven war patrols were designated "successful".

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/m/mingo-ii.html}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Wright |first1=C. C. |title=Question 17/03: Replacement of US Submarine Diesel Engines |journal=Warship International |date=2005 |volume=XLII |issue=4 |pages=431–434 |issn=0043-0374}}
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=hkupDwAAQBAJ&dq=LApon+raton&pg=PA181 Hinman, Charles R., and Douglas E. Campbell. ''The Submarine Has No Friends: Friendly Fire Incidents Involving U.S. Submarines During World War II''. Syneca Research Group, Inc., 2019.] {{ISBN|978-0-359-76906-3}}.

==External links==
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08261.htm navsource.org: USS ''Mingo'']
* [http://www.pigboats.com/ww2/mingo.html Kill Record: USS ''Mingo''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303182041/http://www.pigboats.com/ww2/mingo.html |date=2016-03-03 }}

{{Gato class submarine|others}}
{{October 1944 shipwrecks}}
{{1973 shipwrecks}}

{{coord missing|Pacific Ocean}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mingo (SS-261)}}
[[Category:Gato-class submarines]]
[[Category:Ships built in Groton, Connecticut]]
[[Category:1942 ships]]
[[Category:World War II submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Gato-class submarines of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force]]
[[Category:Cold War history of Japan]]
[[Category:Postwar Japan]]
[[Category:Friendly fire incidents of World War II]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in October 1944]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1973]]
[[Category:Ships sunk as targets]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean]]