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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive
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Tilefish (SS-307)

Radio Call Sign: November - Yankee - Lima - Papa
Balao Class Submarine: Laid down, 10 March 1943, at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA.; Launched, 25 October 1943; Commissioned USS Tilefish (SS-307), 28 December 1943; Decommissioned, 12 October 1959; Recommissioned, 30 January 1960; Decommissioned, May 1960; Sold to Venezuelan Navy 4 May 1960 and struck from the Naval Register, 1 December 1960; Renamed, ARV Carite (S-11), Decommissioned, by Venezuelan Navy, 28 January 1977; Final Disposition, cannibalized for spare parts. Tilefish received five battle stars for World War II service and one battle star for Korean service.

As built to the 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.
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Tilefish 211k The keel of the Tilefish (SS-307) is being laid at Mare Island on 10 March 1943. USN photo # 1712-43, courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
Tang & Tilefish209kTang (SS-306) on left, & Tilefish (SS-307) under construction at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA., 1 July 1943. USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org
Tang & Tilefish275kTang (SS-306) on left, & Tilefish (SS-307) under construction at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA., 1 July 1943. USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org
Tang & Tilefish117kTang (SS-306) on left, & Tilefish (SS-307) under construction at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA., 1 July 1943. USN photo 4747-43 courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
Tilefish 204k Mrs. John J. Crane (Matron of Honor), left, and Mrs. W. D. Leggett (Sponsor) are shown at the bow of the Tilefish (SS-307) just prior to her launching at Mare Island on 25 October 1943. USN photo # 7279-43, courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
Tilefish 170k Mrs. W. D. Leggett (Sponsor) christens the Tilefish (SS-307) at Mare Island on 25 October 1943. Left to right: Mrs. John J. Crane (Matron of Honor), RADM W. L. Friedell, Mrs. W. D. Leggett (Sponsor), and Capt F. G. Crisp. USN photo # 7294-43, courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
Tilefish3.64kLaunching procedures for the Tilefish (SS-307) and a 23 page PDF history.Photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Tilefish 203k Tilefish (SS-307) sliding down the building ways at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA., 25 October 1943. Courtesy of submarinesailor.com
Tilefish 212k Painting of a submarine, possibly the Tilefish (SS-307) & Proteus (AS-19) by Lloyds of Vallejo. Both were commissioned within a month of each other at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, December 1943, January 1944. USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org
Tilefish 194k Stern view of the Tilefish (SS-307) being outfitted at Mare Island Navy Yard on 6 January 1944. The Howard W. Gilmore (AS-16) is forward of Tilefish. Gilmore was also being outfitted at the yard. USN photo # 156-44, courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
Tilefish 175k Bow view of the Tilefish (SS-307) being outfitted at Mare Island Navy Yard on 6 January 1944. The Crowley (DE-303) and Rall (DE-304) are aft of Tilefish. Both destroyer escorts are also being outfitted at the yard. USN photo # 157-44, courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
Tilefish 114k Photo of the lookout platform of the Tilefish (SS-307) at Mare Island on 22 February 1944. USN photo # 1378-44, courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
Tilefish 98k Broadside view of the Tilefish (SS-307) off Mare Island on 2 March 1944. USN photo # 1434-44, courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
Tilefish 152k Bow on view of the Tilefish (SS-307) departing Mare Island on 2 March 1944. USN photo # 1436-44, courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
Tilefish 160k Stern view of the Tilefish (SS-307) off Mare Island on 2 March 1944. USN photo # 1432-44, courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.
Tilefish 65k Bow view of the Tilefish (SS-307), at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA., February-March 1944. USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org.
Tilefish 50k Stern view of the Tilefish (SS-307) at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA., February-March 1944. USN photo courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org.
Tilefish 39k Tilefish (SS-307) in black, on sea trials after being completed at Mare Island in April 1944. USN Archive photo # 19-N-63082. Photo and text courtesy of The Floating Drydock, Fleet Subs of WW II by Thomas F. Walkowiak.
Tilefish181kTilefish (SS-307) awards ceremony at Midway Island on 15 November 1944 following her third war patrol. Captain J. M. Will presents Silver Stars to Gunners Mate 2nd class C. C. Howard and Lieutenant (JG) C. DeBay and a Gold Star to Tilefish's captain, Commander R. M. Keithly.US Navy photo # 80-G-289553, now in the custody of the US National Archives, College Park, Maryland, courtesy of Tracy White @ Researcher @ Large.
Tilefish 304k Tilefish (SS-307), circa 44-45, place unknown. USN photo.
Lizardfish and friends 40k The submarine tender Sperry (AS-12), with a gaggle of submarines nestled nearby:
Tilefish (SS-307),
Brill (SS-330),
Trepang (SS-412),
Jallao (SS-368),
Spot (SS-413) and
Lizardfish (SS-373), late 1945 - early 46.		 Courtesy of John Hummel, USN (Retired).
SS-307
0830708		 477kTilefish (SS-307) transiting the Ballard Locks, Seattle, 17 March 1947. Photos courtesy of Gary Mcintosh.
Tilefish 317k Hula dancers welcome Tilefish (SS-307), as she docks at the Pearl Harbor Submarine Base after a Korean War tour. Crewmen placing the flower lei around Tilefish's bow are Engineman 3rd Class Donald E. Dunlevy, USN, (left - still wearing E-3 stripes) and Torpedoman's Mate 1st Class Gordon F. Sudduth, USNR. This photograph was released by Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, on 26 March 1951. Cabezon (SS-334) is in the background. USN photo # NH 97068, from All Hands Magazine. collection at the US Naval Histoical Center.
Tilefish 167k Sailors on board the Tilefish (SS-307) throw a line to the pier at the sub base at Groton, CT., circa 1951. Submitted by Stan Svec from the December 1951 issue of All Hands Magazine.
COC 1.34k This unusual view shows eleven vessels of Submarine Squadron Five (nine submarines, a submarine rescue vessel and a submarine tender) moored side by side for a recent change of command ceremony at San Diego, California. Captain Eugene B. Fluckey, USN, Medal of Honor recipient, relieved Captain Francis B. Scanland, USN, as Commander, Submarine Squadron Five on 1 August 1955. Nested alongside the submarine tender Nereus (AS-17) are: Tunny (SSG-282), Cusk (SS-348), Carbonero (SS-337), Tilefish (SS-307), Spinax (SSR-489), Rock (SSR-274), Remora (SS-487), Catfish (SS-339), and Volador (SS-490), and the submarine rescue vessel, Florikan (ASR-9). Photograph released 3 August 1955. Photo # USN 681919 courtesy of the National Museum of the U.S. Navy, via flickr.com.
COC 681k Nereus (AS-17) with nine submarines;
Tunny (SSG-282),
Cusk (SS-348),
Carbonero (SS-337),
Tilefish (SS-307),
Spinax (SSR-489),
Rock (SSR-274),
Remora (SS-487),
Catfish (SS-339),
Volador (SS-490)
and the Submarine Rescue Vessel Florikan (ASR-9) moored alongside at San Diego.		 USN photo from "All Hands" magazine, November 1955, courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com
Tilefish 215k Tilefish (SS-307), the Tillymaru, underway, portside view in blue, sometime in the later 1950's. Courtesy of Roger N. Stephenson.
Tilefish 533k Tilefish (SS-307),Charr (SS-328) & Razorback (SS-394) visit Vancouver, Canada in 1957. Photo taken by Gordon Hunter, from Namaino, BC, Canada via wikimedia.org courtesy of Robert Hurst.
Tilefish 358k On 16 September 1958, the veteran submarine made way via Pearl Harbor for Midway and the Marshalls. With four civilian geophysicists on board from the Hydrographic Office, the submarine completed a submerged survey of Eniwetok, Wake, and Midway, operating at sea for nearly three months. Tilefish (SS-307) returned to San Diego on 5 December 1958 for inactivation and appears here on this date. Text courtesy of DANFS.
USN photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
ARV Carite (S-11)
Tilefish296k Mapiro (SS-376) and Mero (SS-378) transfer to Turkey San Francisco CA. 18 March 1960.
In the background the ex-Tilefish (SS-307) soon to be the ARV Carite (S-11) is being overhauled near a destroyer. She joined the Venezuelan Navy 4 May 1960. 		Photo courtesy of Sait Kucuk, CPOS (Retired),Turkish Navy.
Tilefish 83k Tilefish (SS-307), stern view, Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA., 7 July, 1960 subsequent to her transfer to the Venezuelan Navy and being renamed ARV Carite (S-11). Courtesy of submarinesailor.com
Tilefish 125k Tilefish (SS-307), broadside starboard view, Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA., 7 July, 1960 subsequent to her transfer to the Venezuelan Navy and being renamed ARV Carite (S-11). Courtesy of submarinesailor.com
Tilefish 66k Tilefish (SS-307), after quarter port view, Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA., 7 July, 1960 subsequent to her transfer to the Venezuelan Navy and being renamed ARV Carite (S-11). Courtesy of submarinesailor.com
Tilefish 115k Starboard bow view of the ARV Carite (S-11), circa 1962. USN photo courtesy of the 1964-65 Edition of Jane's Fighting Ships courtesy of Robert Hurst.
Tilefish 86k Stern view of the ARV Carite (S-11), circa 1965. USN photo courtesy of Robert Hurst.
Tilefish 550k Two views of the ARV Carite (S-11) circa October 1966. Photo courtesy of John Hummel, USN (Retired).
Insert photo submitted by Robert Hurst.
View the Tilefish (SS-307)
DANFS history entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway
Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation
Fleet Reserve Association
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