USS Balao

	Balao off the Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, California on 25 October 1944
History
United States
Builder	Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine
Laid down	26 June 1942
Launched	27 October 1942
Commissioned	4 February 1943
Decommissioned	20 August 1946
Recommissioned	4 March 1952
Decommissioned	11 July 1963
Stricken	1 August 1963
Honors and; awards	9 battle stars for World War II
Fate	Sunk as a target off Florida on 6 September 1963;; conning tower is a memorial at the Navy Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C.;
General characteristics
Class and type	Balao-class diesel-electric submarine
Displacement	1,526 long tons (1,550 t) surfaced,; 2,414 long tons (2,453 t) submerged;
Length	311 ft 9 in (95.02 m)
Beam	27 ft 3 in (8.31 m)
Draft	16 ft 10 in (5.13 m) maximum
Propulsion	4 × General Motors Model 16-278A V16 diesel engines driving electrical generators; 2 × 126-cell Sargo batteries; 4 × high-speed General Electric electric motors with reduction gears; 2 × propellers; 5,400 shp (4.0 MW) surfaced; 2,740 shp (2.0 MW) submerged;
Speed	20.25 kn (23.3 mph; 37.5 km/h) surfaced, 8.75 kn (10.1 mph; 16.2 km/h) submerged
Range	11,000 nmi (13,000 mi; 20,000 km) surfaced @ 10 kn (12 mph; 19 km/h)
Endurance	48 hours @ 2 kn (2.3 mph; 3.7 km/h) submerged; 75 days on patrol
Test depth	400 ft (120 m)
Complement	10 officers, 70–71 enlisted
Armament	10 × 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes (six forward, four aft; 24 torpedoes); one [[4-inch/50-caliber gun\|4 in (100 mm)/50]]/50 caliber deck gun; one 40 mm (1.57 in) Bofors antiaircraft cannon; two .50 cal (12.7 mm) machineguns;

USS Balao (SS/AGSS-285) was the lead ship of the United States Navy's Balao-class submarines during World War II and named for the balao, a small schooling marine fish.

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Friedman, Norman (1995). U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute Press. pp. 285–304. ISBN 1-55750-263-3.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Bauer, K. Jack; Roberts, Stephen S. (1991). Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775–1990: Major Combatants. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 275–280. ISBN 0-313-26202-0.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp.305–311.
^ Lenton, H. T. American Submarines (Doubleday, 1973), p.79.

[FriedmanSubs1-dates-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Friedman, Norman (1995). U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute Press. pp. 285–304. ISBN 1-55750-263-3.

[Register-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Bauer, K. Jack; Roberts, Stephen S. (1991). Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775–1990: Major Combatants. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 275–280. ISBN 0-313-26202-0.

[FriedmanSubs1-specs-3] U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp.305–311.

[4] Lenton, H. T. American Submarines (Doubleday, 1973), p.79.

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History
Balao off the Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, California on 25 October 1944
United States
Builder	Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine^[1]
Laid down	26 June 1942^[1]
Launched	27 October 1942^[1]
Commissioned	4 February 1943^[1]
Decommissioned	20 August 1946^[1]
Recommissioned	4 March 1952^[1]
Decommissioned	11 July 1963^[1]
Stricken	1 August 1963^[1]
Honors and awards	9 battle stars for World War II
Fate	Sunk as a target off Florida on 6 September 1963;^[2] conning tower is a memorial at the Navy Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C.
General characteristics
Class and type	Balao-class diesel-electric submarine^[2]
Displacement	1,526 long tons (1,550 t) surfaced,^[2] 2,414 long tons (2,453 t) submerged^[2]
Length	311 ft 9 in (95.02 m)^[2]
Beam	27 ft 3 in (8.31 m)^[2]
Draft	16 ft 10 in (5.13 m) maximum^[2]
Propulsion	4 × General Motors Model 16-278A V16 diesel engines driving electrical generators 2 × 126-cell Sargo batteries 4 × high-speed General Electric electric motors with reduction gears 2 × propellers 5,400 shp (4.0 MW) surfaced 2,740 shp (2.0 MW) submerged
Speed	20.25 kn (23.3 mph; 37.5 km/h) surfaced, 8.75 kn (10.1 mph; 16.2 km/h) submerged^[3]
Range	11,000 nmi (13,000 mi; 20,000 km) surfaced @ 10 kn (12 mph; 19 km/h)^[3]
Endurance	48 hours @ 2 kn (2.3 mph; 3.7 km/h) submerged;^[3] 75 days on patrol
Test depth	400 ft (120 m)^[3]
Complement	10 officers, 70–71 enlisted^[3]
Armament	10 × 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes (six forward, four aft; 24 torpedoes) one [[4-inch/50-caliber gun\|4 in (100 mm)/50]]/50 caliber deck gun one 40 mm (1.57 in) Bofors antiaircraft cannon two .50 cal (12.7 mm) machineguns^[4]