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The US Navy entered World War II with a number of obsolete submarines from the interwar years, and a handful of what would become known as the “fleet boats” of large, long range, diesel electric powered submarines. After a year and a half of disastrous operations where faulty torpedoes critically hampered their operations, beginning in 1943, US submarines began to rack up a record of successes that would result in the virtual elimination of the Japanese merchant fleet, and an outsized portion of the Imperial Japanese Navy itself. Also in 1943, the mass production of the wartime submarines would begin the enter COMSUBPAC in great numbers.  Of the roughly 200 submarines in service at the end of the war, about 120 were Balao class boats.

Essentially an improved Gato class, the Balao’s were built with thicker hulls and stronger steel, giving them a diving depth of 400 feet, rather than the 300 feet of the earlier successful Gatos.

The name “fleet boats” came from their intended use as scouts and the front echelon of the main battle fleet, a role they performed well, especially in the battles around the Philippines. Detecting, counting and tracking enemy fleets, and whittling them down as targets of opportunity provided fleet commanders with critical information on Japanese locations, strength and intentions.

But the most famous use of the fleet boats was their wide ranging operations in Japanese home waters, operating in the very back yard of the empire, and gutting the merchant fleet so critical to providing Japan with the materials to sustain her military power.

The Balaos were big subs, at 311 feet long, and with a submerged displacement of about 2400 tons. They had six 21” bow torpedo tubes, and four tubes in the stern.  They were powered by four diesel engines, either Fairbanks-Morse or General Motors, which in turn powered electric motors. There was no direct connection between the engines and the twin propeller shafts.  Their large battery banks would allow them to remain submerged for as long as 36 hours at a time, though 12-24 hours was far more common. They had an astonishingly long range on their diesel engines, about 11,000 nautical miles, and a typical patrol could last as long as 75 days.

The largest warship ever sunk by submarine, the IJN Shinano, at 59,000 tons, succumbed to the Balao class boat USS Archerfish. The most successful Balao class boat was probably the USS Tang, which sank an incredible 33 enemy ships during the war, for a total of 116,000 tons of shipping.

The US discovery of the German Type XXI U-boat at the end of World War II made it clear that the future of submarine warfare was with boats with much greater underwater speed, and endurance while submerged. The Navy recognized they would not again face an opponent with no radar, and that surfaced night attacks followed by submerging to escape would not be a viable tactic. And as such, virtually the entire Balao fleet was rendered obsolete virtually overnight, even though most were only one or two years old.

That pending obsolescence lead to the GUPPY program., or Greater Underwater Propulsive Power. Hulls and the conning tower would be streamlined for greater underwater speed, the battery banks would be vastly increased to provide much better submerged endurance, and a snorkel would be fitted to allow the use of the diesel engines while at periscope depth, providing nearly unlimited submerged endurance.

Even as nuclear submarines entered the fleet in increasing numbers throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the GUPPY improved Balaos and similar fleet boats provided the backbone of the Silent Service, and indeed, quite a few GUPPYs served well into the 1970s.

As they were retired from the fleet, many were provided to friendly foreign nations, with something over forty serving our allies.

Astonishingly, one boat to the day still serves with the Republic of China (Taiwan) on active duty. The former USS Tusk today serves with the ROC Navy as the Hai Pao.

With so many built, they’ve also proven to be popular museum ships. And while you find them in the usual suspects, such as San Francisco, and Patriots Point, South Carolina, would you believe there are examples in Muskogee, Oklahoma and Little Rock, Arkansas of all places?