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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

Patch contributed by Mike Smolinski

Tang (SS-306)

Radio Call Sign: November - Yankee - Kilo - Charlie

Balao Class Submarine: Laid down, 15 January 1943, at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA.; Launched, 17 August 1943; Commissioned USS Tang (SS-306), 15 October 1943; Final Disposition, sunk by own torpedo off Turnabout Island near Taiwan, 24 October 1944, 9 survivors. Struck from the Naval Register, 8 February 1945. Tang received four battle stars and two Presidential Unit Citations for World War II service. Her commanding officer received the Congressional Medal of Honor for Tang's final action.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 1,526 t., Submerged: 2,424 t.; Length 311' 10"; Beam 27' 4"; Draft 15' 2"; Speed, Surfaced 20.25 kts, Submerged 8.75 kts; Cruising Range, 11,000 miles surfaced at 10kts; Submerged Endurance, 48 hours at 2kts; Operating Depth Limit, 400 ft; Complement 6 Officers 60 Enlisted; Armament, ten 21" torpedo tubes, six forward, four aft, 24 torpedoes, one 5"/25 deck gun, one 40mm gun, two .50 cal. machine guns; Patrol Endurance 75 days; Propulsion, diesel-electric reduction gear with four Fairbanks-Morse main generator diesel engines, 5,400hp, Fuel Capacity 94,000 gal., four Elliot Motor Co., main motors with 2,740 hp, two 126-cell main storage batteries, two propellers.

Size	Image Description	Source
209k	Tang (SS-306) on left, & Tilefish (SS-307) under construction at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA., 1 July 1943.	U.S. Navy photo courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org
275k	Tang (SS-306) on left, & Tilefish (SS-307) under construction at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA., 1 July 1943.	U.S. Navy photo courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org
117k	Tang (SS-306) on left, & Tilefish (SS-307) under construction at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA., 1 July 1943.	U.S. Navy photo # 4747-43 courtesy of Darryl Baker.
183k	Tang's (SS-306) Launching party: Left to right: Mrs. F. W. Scanland, LTJG L. R. Olsen, USN, Mrs. F. G. Crisp, Capt. F. W. Scanland, USN, Mrs. W. L. Friedell, RADM W. L. Friedell (Shipyard Commander), Mrs. L. R. Olsen (Matron of Honor), Capt. A. S. Pitre, USN, Mrs. Antonio S. Pitre (Sponsor), Capt. F. G. Crisp, USN, Congressman J. Leroy Johnson, Mrs. J. L. Johnson.	USN photo contributed by Darryl L. Baker.
46k	News clipping from the 20 Aug 1943 edition of the shipyard's newspaper the Grapevine of the Sponsor and Matron of Honor for the launching of the Tang (SS-306) at Mare Island on 17 Aug 1943. Left to right: Mrs. Cecily Olsen (Matron of Honor) and Mrs. A. S. Pitre (Sponsor).	USN photo contributed by Darryl L. Baker.
222k	The Tang (SS-306) at the end of the ways during her launching at Mare Island Navy Yard on 17 Aug 1943.	U.S. Navy photo # 5897-43 courtesy of Darryl Baker.
157k	The Tang (SS-306) at the end of the ways during her launching at Mare Island Navy Yard on 17 Aug 1943. The fore poppet & packing from the launching is floating in the foreground.	USN photo courtesy of mareislandlostboats.org.
175k	Commissioning ceremonies aboard the Tang (SS-306) at Mare Island Navy Yard on 15 Oct 1943.	U.S. Navy photo # 7149-43 courtesy of Darryl Baker.
42k	Commemorative postal cover marking the Tang's (SS-306) commissioning at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA. 15 October 1943.	Photo courtesy of Jack Tretule.
70k	Tang (SS-306), off Mare Island Navy Yard, CA., 2 December 1943.	US Navy photo # NH 42273, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
48k	Tang (SS-306), off Mare Island Navy Yard, CA., 2 December 1943. This photo has been retouched. The elimination of the forward fairwater gun deck was just not done during the war. A few of the post war mods [Barbero (SS-317), Tigrone (SS-419)] did this, but not during the war. I down loaded the photo and blew it up quite a bit and there is unmistakeable evidence of tampering. Not only did they airbrush out the gun deck, but most of the masts as well. Who "they" are is unknown. It seems unlikely that the Navy would do this with all the other pictures that are out there. This may have been a third person job.	USN photo. Photo i.d courtesy of John Hummel. Text i.d. courtesy of David Johnston.
93k	A Vought OS2U "Kingfisher" floatplane, from North Carolina (BB-55) off Truk with nine aviators on board, awaiting rescue by Tang (SS-306), 1 May 1944. The plane had landed inside Truk lagoon to recover downed airmen. Unable to take off with such a load, it then taxied out to *Tang*, which was serving as lifeguard submarine during the 29 April-1 May carrier strikes on Truk.	US National Archives photo # 80-G-227990, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
116k	A Vought OS2U "Kingfisher" floatplane, from North Carolina (BB-55) off Truk with nine aviators on board, awaiting rescue by Tang (SS-306), 1 May 1944. The plane had landed inside Truk lagoon to recover downed airmen. Unable to take off with such a load, it then taxied out to *Tang*, which was serving as lifeguard submarine during the 29 April-1 May carrier strikes on Truk.	US National Archives photo # 80-G-227991, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
149k	Tang (SS-306) takes aboard aircrewmen of downed aircraft and of a North Carolina (BB-55) OS2U floatplane that had landed to rescue them, off Truk on 1 May 1944.	US National Archives photo # 80-G-80-G-227989, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
86k	A Vought OS2U "Kingfisher" floatplane, from North Carolina (BB-55) afire after it was hit by gunfire from Tang (SS-306), off Truk, 1 May 1944. The plane was destroyed after its crew and passengers were removed.	US National Archives photo # 80-G-80-G-227992, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
143k	Tang (SS-306)'s Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Commander Richard H O'Kane (center), poses with the twenty-two aircrewmen that *Tang* rescued off Truk during the carrier air raids there on 29 April-1 May 1944. The photograph was taken upon *Tang*' s return to Pearl Harbor from her second war patrol, in May 1944.	US National Archives photo # 80-G-80-G-227987, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
151k	Photo of a water color by LCDR E. T. Grigware, USNR of the rescue of 22 Naval Airmen by Tang (SS-306) off Truk Island 29-30 April 1944.	Contributed by Darryl L. Baker.
21k	Tang (SS-306) returning to Pearl Harbor after her 2nd War Patrol, Circa May 1944.	Courtesy of MMCM (SS) Greg Peterman USN Retired.
71k	Oil painting by Commander Albert K. Murray, USNR, Official U.S. Navy Combat Artist, depicting Commander Richard H. O'Kane, USN on board the submarine Tang (SS-306) in 1944. This photograph was taken to support the Metropolitian Museum of Art exhibition "Your Navy: Its contribution to America from Colonial Days to World Leadership", which opened on 25 October 1948.	Official U.S. Navy Photograph # NH 97859, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.
66k	Tang (SS-306), returning to Pearl Harbor.	USN / USNI photo.
119k	Tang (SS-306) returning to Pearl Harbor after her 2nd War Patrol, Circa May 1944.	Photo courtesy of Sheldon Levy, USN RET, and ussubvetsofworldwarii.org
59k	Oil on canvas painting by the artist Kevin Anderson entitled " Pearl Harbor Bound" depicts the Tang (SS-306) running on the surface on her way home after sinking their last ship on the boat's 4th patrol. In a month or so *Tang* would be sunk by its own torpedo and most of her men would be K.I.A.	Photo & text courtesy of subart.net.
212k	On 24 October 1944, during her fifth war patrol, Tang (SS-306) was sunk in Formosa Strait as a result of the malfunctioning of one of her own torpedoes which made a circular run and returned to strike the hull abreast the after torpedo room. The resulting detonation caused the ship to plunge by the stern within a few seconds. This report is based on the information contained in the references. The first portion of reference (a) is a narrative of *Tang's* fifth war patrol up to the time of her loss and was written from memory by the Commanding Officer upon his release form a Japanese prisoner of war camp at the end of the war, approximately one year after the action took place. The second portion of reference (a) is a reconstruction of the events which occurred in *Tang* after the torpedo struck. Since the Commanding Officer was washed off the bridge when the ship sank, this portion is based on the stories of the eight other survivors as related to him at the first opportunity after their capture by the Japanese; five of the eight having gone down with the boat and later making individual underwater escapes form the forward torpedo room. This reference, although understandably not as complete as formal war damage reports covering actions in which a submarine returns to base and damage can be thoroughly investigated, is an excellent presentation of the available data and is the only account in U.S. Naval history of the events inside a war-damaged U.S. submarine during and after hits sinking. References (b) and (c) cover the escape problem facing the men trapped within the boat and the procedure used by those few who made successful escapes. These latter two references are based upon personal written and oral accounts of the survivors as related to representatives of th Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. The photograph of the torpedoing of U-977 is included to illustrate the magnitude of *Tang's* disaster. The PLATE was prepared by the Bureau.	Photo & text courtesy of ibiblio.org. Photo added 01/01/10.
67k	Google Earth satellite photo of Tang's (SS-306) last approximate position based during post-war debriefings. This position is thought to be the final resting place of the *Tang* and her crew.	View courtesy of Google Earth.
251k	Area map showing the Straits of Taiwan & the general area where the Tang (SS-306) was lost. The exact area is 24. 36'N, 121.25'E. This might be near the island of Tung-yin Tao, formerly Turnabout Island.	Photo courtesy of lib.utexas.edu.
42k	Commemorative photo in honor of the memory of the crew of the Tang (SS-306).	Photo courtesy of Tom Kermen. Dante's Prayer courtesy of Loreena McKennitt via quinlanroad.com.
117k	The wife of a World War II U.S. submarine veteran, tosses a flower into a reflecting pool to honor the memory of one of the 52 submarines lost during World War II at the National Submarine Memorial-West on board Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, Calif. On this Veterans Day, the Submarine Veterans of World War II transferred ownership of the memorial to the U.S. Navy. The following text is from The Coming Fury by Bruce Catton., pg. 478. "Major Sullivan Bullen of Illinois was killed in the battle, and just before it he had written to his wife, Sarah, to tell her that he believed he was going to be killed and to express a tremulous faith that could see a gleam of light in the dark: "But O Sarah! If the dead can come back to this earth and float unseen around those they loved, I shall always be near you in the gladdest days and in the gloomiest nights, always, always, and if there be a soft breeze upon your chest it shall be my breath, as the cool air fans your throbbing temple it shall be my spirit passing by. Sarah, do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait, for we shall meet again!"	U.S. Navy photo # N-1159B-021 by Journalist 2nd Class Brian Brannon, courtesy of news.navy.mil.
201k	"Escape from the Tang (SS-306). Sunk by her own and last torpedo-final shot in an epic convoy battle-the ill fated submarine lies deep in Formosa Strait. As depth charges rain down, submariners open escape hatches. Strongest goes first with knife to cut away obstacles." In Memorium: In the Second Book of Shmuel (Samuel), 22nd chapter, 5th through the 20th verses, translated from the original in Hebrew and published by the Koren Publishers of Jerusalem, Israel, 1982, can perhaps aptly describe the fate of the crew and all other U.S. submariners who died defending their county: "When the waves of death compassed me / the floods of ungodly men made me afraid; / the bonds of She'ol encircled me; / the snares of death took me by surprise; / in my distress I called upon the Lord, / and cried to my G-D: / and he heard my voice out of his temple, / and my cry entered into his ears. / Then the earth shook and trembled; /the foundations of heaven moved / and shook because of his anger /...the heavy mass of waters, and thick clouds of the skies /... And the channels of the sea appeared, / the foundations of the world were laid bare, / at the rebuking of the Lord, at the blast at the breath of his nostrils. / He sent from above, he took me; / he drew me out of many waters; / he delivered me from my strong enemy, and from those who hated me; for they were too strong for me. / They surprised me in the day of my calamity: / but the Lord was my stay..."	Drawing by Lt. Cmdr. Fred Freemen, courtesy of Theodore Roscoe, from his book "U.S. Submarine Operations of WW II", published by USNI.