USS PLUNGER SS-179
Keel
Laid 17 July
1935 Awarded
Navy Unit Commendation On
December 7, 1941, while in the shadow of Diamond Head, The "Plunger"
was making preparations to enter Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked.
Entering port the next day, She provisioned and set off in the company of the
Gudgeon and the Pollack as the first three US Submarines to go on war patrol in
World War Two. In
the following four years the "Plunger" repeatedly went "In Harm's
Way" as she sank a total of 16 Japanese ships and damaged 7 others, sending
a total of 102,107 tons to the bottom. Her impressive accomplishments during the
war included the first wartime penetration of the Sea of Japan, The first (and,
until the very end of the war, the only) Submarine to return to the Sea of
Japan, Rescue of a naval aviator, And the dubious distinction of being the first
US Submarine to be depth-charged by the Japanese during the war. Following
Her Twelfth War Patrol, The "Plunger" was sent to Philadelphia in
April/May of 1945 for a much needed overhaul. In the winter of 1945 She was sent
to Boston where She was finally decommissioned on 15 November, 1945. Please
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Launched 8
July 1936
Commissioned 19 Nov 1936
Decommissioned 15 Nov 1945
Length 300' 7" Test Depth
250' Draft 13' 10"
Beam 25' 1" Speed 19 knots
surfaced, 9 knots submerged
Complement 5 officers and 45 men
War Patrols 12 Battle Stars 13
Ships Sunk 16 (1 DD, 15 Merchants) 102,107 tons
Ships Damaged 7 (1 CL, 1 DD, 5 Merchants) 46,695 tons
The second ship to bear the name "Plunger" was the SS-179, Launched on
8 July, 1936 at the Portsmouth Navy Yard and commissioned on 19 November of the
same year. Following sea trials and initial outfitting the "Plunger"
transited the Panama Canal to report to her homeport in San Diego, California in
November, 1937, her first few years to be spent in routine patrols and
exercises.
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