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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive


These two patches are the only "official" patches created while the boat existed

Patch on right courtesy of Y.M.Umar,CPO (Ret.),Turkish Navy, other patches courtesy of Mike Brood, Bergall SS-320 Web Site

Bergall (SS-320)

Radio Call Sign: November - Zulu - Romeo - Victor

Balao Class Submarine: Laid down, 13 May 1943, at Electric Boat Company, Groton, CT.; Launched, 16 February 1944; Commissioned USS Bergall (SS-320), 12 June 1944; Decommissioned, and transferred, on loan to Turkey, 18 October 1958.
While on patrol, she suffered damage aft from mine explosion off Malay coast and put in for emergency repairs at Subic Bay, Luzon. Between August and December 1945, she was permanently repaired at Portsmouth Navy Yard. In 1952, Bergall partly received the GUPPY (snorkel) conversion at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. Removed 4 main motors and reduction gear & added 2 direct drive main motors, but did not complete the GUPPY process and remained a Fleet Snorkel boat through 1954.
On 15 October 1958, Bergall arrived in Izmir, Turkey and Decommissioned 2 days later.Transferred (lease) to Republic of Turkey under terms of Military Assistance Program, she was Commissioned TCG Turgutreis (S-24) 17 October 1958 and on 1959 accordance with the NATO pendant system, renumbered TCG Turgutreis (S-342) (note: named after an Ottoman Navy commander who conquered Corsica and was later killed while attempting to take Malta in 1595).
The ship lost her name on 22 March 1965 (Bauer) in favor of SSN-667 Bergall ordered on 9 March 1965.
She made a return visit to the United States at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. Phila, PA. USA 1974. Struck from U. S. Naval Vessel Registry on 1 February 1973, the exBergall was permanently transferred (cash sale) to Turkish government. Turgutreis (S-342) was one of several ex-USS submarines that participated in the Turkish Navy's Cyprus Peace Operations in 1974.
Turgutreis (S-342) Decommissioned from the Turkish Navy on 5 April 1983; re-named Ceryah Botu - 6 and acted as a receiving boat at Golcuk Navy Yard, Turkey until being sold for scrap in 2000.
Final Disposition, sold for scrapping in April 2000.
Bergall received four battle stars for her World War II service.
Researched by CTRC Donald J. Wagner, USN (Ret.) & Sait Kucuk, CPOS (Retired), Turkish Navy for NavSource.

As built to the specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 1,526 t., Submerged: 2,242 t.; Length 311' 9"; Beam 27' 3"; Draft 15' 3"; 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, 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, one 20mm gun, two .50 cal. machine guns; Patrol Endurance 75 days; Propulsion, diesel-electric reduction gear with four main generator engines., General Motors diesel engines, HP 5400, Fuel Capacity 118,000, four General Electric motors, HP 2,740, two 126-cell main storage batteries, two propellers.
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Bergall 462k Keel laying of the Bergall (SS-320), 13 May 1943, at Electric Boat Company, Groton, CT. Electric Boat photo courtesy of Wendy S. Gulley, Archivist, Submarine Force Museum, Naval Submarine Base NLON, Groton, CT.
Bergall 30k Commemorative post card on the occasion of the Bergall's (SS-320) keel laying, 13 May 1943, at Electric Boat Company, Groton, CT. Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
Bergall 19k Commemorative post card on the occasion of the Bergall's (SS-320) keel laying, 13 May 1943, at Electric Boat Company, Groton, CT. Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
Bergall
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1.88kBuilding Bergall (SS-320) begins.Photographed by Commander Edward Steichen, USNR.
USN photo # 80-G-K-15063 courtesy of Naval History and Heritage Command
Bergall 1.76k Bergall's (SS-320) sponsor Mrs. James. A. Elkins, at the boat's launching on 16 February 1944. Electric Boat photo courtesy of Wendy S. Gulley, Archivist, Submarine Force Museum, Naval Submarine Base NLON, Groton, CT.
Bergall 1.23k Bergall's (SS-320) sponsor Mrs. James. A. Elkins, Lieutenant Commander John. M. Hyde, son John Carr Hyde, & Mrs. John. M. Hyde at the boat's launching on 16 February 1944. Photo courtesy of Electric Boat Co, courtesy of Mike Brood, bergall.org.
Bergall 31k The Bergall (SS-320) slides down the launching ways at Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT., 16 February 1944. Electric Boat Co. photo, courtesy of Mike Brood, bergall.org.
Bergall 38k Commemorative commissioning post card of the launching of the Bergall (SS-320), 16 February 1944. Courtesy of Richard Leonhardt.
Bergall 214k Bergall (SS-320) upon her triumphal return to Australia, 23 December 1944. The path of the heavy cruiser IJNS Myoko's dud 8" shell is clearly marked, having passed from port to starboard through the pressure hull. Photo courtesy of Robert Hurst.
Bergall 18k Bergall's (SS-320) WW II battleflag. Courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
Bergall 46k Bergall (SS-320), possibly at Pearl Harbor, circa post 1945. Courtesy of ussubvetsofwwii.org.
Bergall 1.23k Ten page PDF history of submarine's named Bergall. Photos courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Bergall 104k 3 photo PDF of the Bergall (SS-320), Besugo (SS-321), Caiman (SS-323) & unknown boat alongside their tender circa late '46 to early '47. Photo i.d. courtesy of Mike Brood.
Photos courtesy of Steve Franklin.
Bergall 36k Bergall (SS-320), underway, circa 1947. USN photo courtesy of Mike Brood, bergall.org.
Bergall 300k Following repairs Bergall (SS-320) rejoined the Pacific Fleet in December 1945 She remained on active duty with the Pacific Fleet until departing Pearl Harbor for the Atlantic 10 June 1950. During this time she made one cruise to the Far East (4 December 1948-28 February 1949). She is pictured here in Brisbane in December 1948.Photo courtesy of John Hummel, USN (Retired).
Caiman 29k March 1950 in Hawaii. Bergall (SS-320) is outboard of the Caiman (SS-323). In the background is the Valley Forge (CVA-45). Text courtesy of John Hummel, USN (Retired).
Photo courtesy of Grant Riddle / submarinebaseph.com.
Bergall 45k Bergall (SS-320), at dock in Pearl Harbor, HI., 1950. Courtesy of Grant Riddle & submarinebaseph.com.
Bergall 30k Bergall (SS-320), underway, circa 1950 before Snorkel conversion. USN photo courtesy of Mike Brood, bergall.org.
Hoe460kMeet the XO and CO of the newly re-commissioned Fulton (AS-11). The photo was taken at Mare Island on 10 April 1951. To the right is XO CDR Thomas H. Kimmel and left is the CO Capt. Victor B. McCrea. Both had interesting WWII experience: Capt. McCrea earned the Navy Cross as CO of the Hoe (SS-258) from 1/26/44 to 3/5/44 during her third war patrol. CDR Kimmel earned the Bronze Star with “V” as XO of the Bergall (SS-320) from 9/8/44 to 11/8/44. He later commands Bergall from 9/17/45 to 3/20/48. Photo courtesy of Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum via Darryl L. Baker.
Bergall 79k Bergall (SS-320) in 1953, when she was operated out of New London and conducted two training cruises to the West Indies, where she visited the Bahamas, Cuba, and Key West. USN photo, text courtesy of bergall.org.
Bergall 608k Bergall (SS-320) as a casuality on 2 November 1954, following exercise Lantflex off the coast of Cape Hatteras.
She is seen here on Halloween, 1954.
Photo and text i.d. courtesy of Mike Brood, bergall.org.
Insert photo courtesy of Scott Koen & ussnewyork.com.
Richard Boyer Laning
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2.36k Fulton (AS-11), early October 1957, probably Portsmouth, England. Mothballed shortly after her participation in Operation Crossroads, she was recommissioned in 1951 for use as a tender for Submarine Squadron 10 at New London, CT. With a few exceptions Fulton stayed close to home until crossing the Atlantic in the fall of 1957 to participate in Exercise Strikeback. Following this exercise, she made a stop at Portland, England, before returning to New London. Alongside her were four submarines making their way back to New London as well following very successful and, in some cases, historic deployments in support of this NATO exercise. Inboard to outboard are Nautilus (SSN-571), Bergall (SS-320), Trigger (SS-564), and Jallao (SS-368).
Nautilus was returning from her first voyage under the Arctic ice pack. This historic 1,383 mile journey by the Navy’s first nuclear powered submarine opened the waters of the Soviet Union which were previously out of reach of US diesel boats. After that, Nautilus set sail for the eastern Atlantic to participate in NATO Exercise Strikeback off Norway in late September 1957 where her performance as an attack submarine against conventional hunter-killer boats would forever change the trajectory of the US submarine fleet:
By the fall of 1957, Nautilus had been exposed to 5,000 dummy attacks in U.S. exercises. A conservative estimate would have had a conventional submarine killed 300 times: Nautilus was ruled as killed only 3 times...Using their active sonars, nuclear submarines could hold contact on diesel craft without risking counterattack...In effect, Nautilus wiped out the ASW progress of the past decade. (Friedman, Norman (1994). U.S. Submarines Since 1945: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute. ISBN 1-55750-260-9, retrieved from Wikipedia)
Also according to Friedman, Nautilus "presented a greater threat than all 21 snorkel submarines combined" during Operation Strikeback. It was immediately understood that the future of the US submarine force was nuclear powered. Following Strikeback, Nautilus made calls to various British and French ports. Nautilus returned to New London on 28 October where she underwent upkeep. Based on the results of this deployment, the US submarine force spent the next two years decommissioning or reassigning its conventional submarine fleet in favor of nuclear powered vessels.
Alongside Nautilus is Bergall. Bergall departed New London on August 31, 1957 for Sixth Fleet operations, by way of Rothesay, Scotland, on 13 September. Ten days later, the submarine turned south and, after a brief refueling stop at Portland, England (as seen here), passed through the Strait of Gibraltar on 7 October. Outboard of Bergall is Jallao. Jallao spent September and October in the North Atlantic on a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) evolution before she returned to New London on 24 October.
Lastly is Trigger. Trigger accompanied Nautilus on her voyage to the Arctic Ocean, spending ten days at the ice pack in the North Greenland Sea where the Tang-class diesel made several short trips under the ice pack. From 16 September to 1 October, Trigger also participated in NATO Exercise Strikeback before calling at Portland, England (seen here), and Le Havre, France en route back to New London to resume normal operations.
Text & photo courtesy of Brian Miller via Gary Priolo.
Trutta & Bergall 65k Trutta (SS-421), & Bergall (SS-320), dockside in Florida, home from Med Cruise 1958. Photo courtesy of Jack Treutle (of blessed memory).
Groton 226k Busy piers at lower base in Groton shows a few SSKs, 1957.
From left to right, unidentified sub,
Toro (SS-422),
Irex (SS-482),
unidentified sub,
Trout (SS-566),
Bergall (SS-320),
Sea Owl (SS-405),
Cavalla (SS-244),
& Sea Robin (SS-407), & Piper (SS-409).
The rest of the subs are too far away for positive identification.
Text courtesy of David Johnston Photo i.d. courtesy of Mike Brood. USN photo courtesy of Submarine Force Library, courtesy of Ken Hart.
Bergall 56k Commemorative drawing on the fictional occasion of the Bergall (SS-320) meeting her future namesake, Bergall (SSN-667). Courtesy of Mike Brood.
Fremantle 365k This plaque was unveiled 20 March 1995 by His Excellency Major General P.M. Jeffery OA MC, Governor of Western Australia to commemorate the sacrifices made by Allied submarines that operated out of Fremantle, Western Australia during WW II. Photo courtesy of Ron Reeves (of blessed memory).
TCG Turgutreis (S-342)
Bergall 133k Montage of photos showing Turkish sailors saluting their flag during transfer ceremony of the ex-Bergall (SS-320), as the Turkish Turgutreis (S-342) on 18 October 1958. Photo courtesy of Cüneyt Demir.
Bergall 159k ex-Bergall (SS-320), as the Turkish Turgutreis (S-342), at Valetta, Malta in 1962. Courtesy of ussubvetsofwwii.org. Photo i.d. courtesy of Sait Kucuk, CPOS (Retired),Turkish Navy.
Bergall 166k Turgutreis (S-342) off to participate in NATO exercises, 1963. Photo courtesy of Sait Kucuk, CPOS (Retired),Turkish Navy.
Bergall 66k Commemorative post card on the occasion of the Turgutreis (S-342) visiting Norfolk, VA., 18 January 1964. Photo courtesy of Y.M.Umar,CPO (Ret.),Turkish Navy.
Bergall 101k Going to Exercise in Marmarean Sea, 1965. Photo courtesy of Sait Kucuk, CPOS (Retired),Turkish Navy.
Bergall 190k The Turgutreis (S-342) at a depth of 250 foot while in horizontal navigation (carefully look at the depth gauge). Photo courtesy of Y.M.Umar,CPO (Ret.),Turkish Navy.
Bergall 217k Turgutreis (S-342) in front on the Princess Islands (Heybeliada) in Marmara, (1975). Photo courtesy of Y.M.Umar,CPO (Ret.),Turkish Navy.
Bergall 104k Eregli Harbor in Black Sea, Hasan Alp ETCPO and left side Turgutreis (S-342). Photo courtesy of Y.M.Umar,CPO (Ret.),Turkish Navy.
Bergall 122k In the Turgutreis (S-342) Maneuvering Room. Checking controls.( 1975 ) Suleyman Kurum ETC. Photo courtesy of Y.M.Umar,CPO (Ret.),Turkish Navy.
Bergall 104k On the Aft Deck, Mersin Harbour, 1976 (Resting after Patrols for the peace operation on Cyprus) Suleyman Kurum ETC. Photo courtesy of Y.M.Umar,CPO (Ret.),Turkish Navy.
Bergall 96k Turgutreis (S-342) underway with the mountains of the Mediterranean in the background. Photo courtesy of Y.M.Umar,CPO (Ret.),Turkish Navy.

View the Bergall (SS-320)
DANFS history entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway
Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation
Fleet Reserve Association

Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
Section IV Bergall (SS-320),Mine Damage Gulf of Siam, 13 June 1945
bergall.org. Homepage
Guppy Submarines
Ep-21 (1) - Victory At Sea ~ Full Fathom Five - HQ

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