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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

Patches courtesy of Mike Smolinski

Halibut (SS-232)

Radio Call Sign: November - Alpha - Kilo - Victor

Gato Class Submarine: Laid down, 15 May 1941, at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, ME, Launched, 3 December 1941; Commissioned USS Halibut (SS-232), 10 April 1942; Damaged by depth charge attack and decommissioned 18 July 1945, at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Portsmouth, NH; Struck from the Naval Register in 1946; Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 10 January 1947, to Quaker Shipyard and Machinery Company, Camden, NJ. Halibut was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation and earned 7 battle stars for World War II service.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 1,526 t., Submerged: 2,410 t.; Length 311' 10"; Beam 27' 3"; Draft 15' 2"; Speed, Surfaced 20.25 kts, Submerged 8.75 kts; Complement 6 officers, 54 enlished; Operating Depth, 300 ft; Submerged Endurance, 48 hrs at 2 kts; Patrol Endurance 75 days; Cruising Range, 11,000 miles surfaced at 10 kts; Armament, ten 21" torpedo tubes, six forward, four aft, 24 torpedoes, one 3"/50 deck gun, two .50 cal. machine guns, two .30 cal. machine guns; Propulsion, diesel electric reduction gear with four Fairbanks-Morse diesel engines, 5400 hp, Fuel Capacity, 94,400 gals., four Elliot Motor Co., electric motors, 2740 hp, two 126-cell main storage batteries, twin screws.

Size	Image Description	Source
43k	Commemorative postal cover marking the keel laying of the Halibut (SS-232), 15 May 1941.	Courtesy of Richard Leonhardt.
145k	Her crew lining the deck, the Halibut (SS-232), slides down the launching ways at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, ME, 11:10 AM on 3 December 1941.	USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org.
31k	The Halibut (SS-232) is waterborne on the Piscataqua River at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, ME, 3 December 1941.	USN photo courtesy of USNI.
23k	Commemorative postal cover issued on the occasion of the Halibut's (SS-232) launching, 3 December 1941.	Photo courtesy of Jack Treutle.
39k	Commemorative postal cover & photo inset issued on the occasion of the Halibut's (SS-232) launching, 3 December 1941.	Photo courtesy of Jack Treutle.
24k	Commemorative postal cover issued on the occasion of the Halibut's (SS-232) launching, 3 December 1941.	Photo courtesy of Jack Treutle.
62k	U.S. Naval Submarine Base, New London, Groton, Connecticut: Members of the 4th Command Class at the Submarine Base, February 1942. Those present are, bottom row left to right: Lieutenant Commander Mannert L. Abele; first command would be the Grunion (SS-216). He would be K.I.A. while commmanding the *Grunion, 30 July 1942. Lieutenant Commander Thomas B. Klakring; first command would be the Guardfish* (SS-217), Commander Karl G. Hensel, Officer in Charge; Lieutenant Commander George W. Patterson, Jr., Senior Assistant; and Lieutenant Commander Jesse L. Hull; first command would be the Finback (SS-230). Top row, left to right: Lieutenant Commander Howard W. Gilmore; first command would be the Growler (SS-215). He was postumously awarded the Medal of Honor after he was K.I.A. on the bridge of the *Growler, 7 February 1943. Lieutenant Commander Philip H. Ross; first command would be the Halibut* (SS-232), Lieutenant Commander Arthur H. Taylor; first command would be the Haddock (SS-231), Lieutenant Commander Albert C. Burrows; first command would be the Swordfish (SS-193) and Lieutenant Commander Leonard S. Mewhinney; first command would be the Saury (SS-189).	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # 80-G-88577, now in the collections of the National Archives. Courtesy of the USNHC. Photo added 10/01/07.
21k	Commemorative postal cover issued on the occasion of the Halibut's (SS-232) commissioning, 10 April 1942.	Photo courtesy of Jack Treutle.
280k	Broadside view of the Halibut (SS-232), 20 May 1942 entering N.Y. Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, New Hampshire.	USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org.
129k	Halibut (SS-232), entering Pearl Harbor, circa 1944.	USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org.
18k	Starboard side view of the Halibut (SS-232), circa 1942-45.	USN photo courtesy of subnet.com.
95k	Halibut's (SS-232) WWII battle flag.	Courtesy of US Sub Vets of World War II

View the Halibut (232)
DANFS history entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway Web Site.

Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation
Fleet Reserve Association

Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
Full Fathom Five, U.S. Submarine War Against Japan

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