USS Bang (SS-385)

History
United States
Name:	USS Bang (SS-385)
Builder:	Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine
Laid down:	30 April 1943
Launched:	30 August 1943
Commissioned:	4 December 1943
Decommissioned:	12 February 1947
Recommissioned:	1 February 1951
Decommissioned:	15 May 1952
Recommissioned:	4 October 1952
Decommissioned:	1 October 1972
Struck:	1 November 1974
Fate:	Transferred to Spain, 1 October 1972
Spain
Name:	SPS Cosme Garcia (S34)
Fate:	Scrapped in 1983
General characteristics (World War II)
Class and type:	Balao-class diesel-electric submarine
Displacement:	1,526 long tons (1,550 t) surfaced, 2,391 long tons (2,429 t) submerged
Length:	311 ft 6 in (94.95 m)
Beam:	27 ft 3 in (8.31 m)
Draft:	16 ft 10 in (5.13 m) maximum
Propulsion:	4 × Fairbanks-Morse Model 38D8-⅛ 10-cylinder opposed piston diesel engines driving electrical generators 2 × 126-cell Sargo batteries 4 × high-speed Elliott electric motors with reduction gears two propellers 5,400 shp (4.0 MW) surfaced 2,740 shp (2.0 MW) submerged
Speed:	20.25 kn (37.50 km/h) surfaced, 8.75 kn (16.21 km/h) submerged
Range:	11,000 nmi (20,000 km) @ 10 kn (19 km/h)
Endurance:	48 hours @ 2 kn (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 6 forward, 4 aft 24 torpedoes 1 × 5-inch (127 mm) / 25 caliber deck gun Bofors 40 mm and Oerlikon 20 mm cannon
General characteristics (Guppy IIA)
Class and type:	none
Displacement:	1,848 tons (1,878 t) surfaced, 2,440 tons (2,479 t) submerged
Length:	307 ft (94 m)
Beam:	27 ft 4 in (8.33 m)
Draft:	17 ft (5.2 m)
Propulsion:	Submarine snorkel added, One diesel engine and generator removed, Batteries upgraded to Sargo II
Speed:	Surfaced: 17.0 kn (31.5 km/h) (maximum) 13.5 kn (25.0 km/h) (cruising) Submerged: 14.1 kn (26.1 km/h) (for ½ hour) 8.0 kn (14.8 km/h) (snorkeling) 3.0 kn (5.6 km/h) (cruising)
Armament:	10 × 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes  (six forward, four aft) all guns removed

USS Bang (SS-385) was a United States Navy Balao-class submarine, named after the bang, a dark blue or black fish of the Atlantic herring family found in the coastal waters of the United States north of North Carolina.

Bang was laid down on 30 April 1943 at Kittery, Maine, by the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard; launched on 30 August 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Robert W. Neblett; and commissioned on 4 December 1943, Lieutenant Commander Antone R. Gallaher in command.

Following four weeks of shakedown training off New England, the submarine departed New London, Conn. on 8 February 1944 and headed for the Pacific. After transiting the Panama Canal, she proceeded to Pearl Harbor for intensified training in torpedo approaches, evasive maneuvers, and simulated warfare. As March came to an end, Bang was fully provisioned and ready for battle.

On the 29th, she departed Pearl Harbor in company with Parche and Tinosa for her first war patrol. After a one-day fueling stop at Midway Atoll, the trio continued to their patrol area in Luzon Strait and waters southwest of Formosa.

The three submarines exchanged contact information and coordinated attack plans throughout the patrol. On 29 April, Bang sighted a 12-ship, southbound convoy. After maneuvering into a favorable position, she fired her torpedoes into the convoy, sinking Takegawa Maru. The submarine continued to hound the convoy during the night and, the following morning, sank Nittatsu Maru. The enemy rained down depth charges on Bang, but training in evasive maneuvers and a bit of good luck enabled her to escape damage.

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