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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

Patch contributed by Mike Smolinski

Atule (SS-403) (AGSS-403)

Radio Call Sign: November - Juliet - Yankee - Alpha

Balao Class Submarine: Laid down, 25 November 1943, at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, ME.; Launched, 6 March 1944; Commissioned USS Atule (SS-403), 21 June 1944; Decommissioned, 8 September 1947; Laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, New London Group; Converted to a Guppy 1-A type submarine at US Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, NH in 1950; Recommissioned, 8 March 1951; Reclassified Auxiliary Submarine (AGSS-403), 1 October 1969; Decommissioned, 6 April 1970, at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia, PA.; Struck from the Naval Register, 15 August 1973; Final Disposition, sold to Peru under terms of the Security Assistance Program in July 1974, renamed Pacocha (S-48). She sank shortly after sunset on Aug. 26, 1988, about three miles from the port of Callao, eight miles northwest of Lima after a 412-ton Japanese fishing boat struck her by accident.
Atule earned four battle stars for World War II service.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced 1,526 t., Submerged 2,391 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 10 kts; Submerged Endurance, 48 hours at 2 kts; 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 single 40mm gun mount, one single 20mm gun mount, two .50 cal. machine guns; Patrol Endurance 75 days; Propulsion, diesel-electric reduction gear, Fairbanks Morse diesel engines, 5,400 HP, Fuel Capacity, 116,000 gal., four Elliot Motor Co. electric main motors with 2,740 shp, two 126-cell main storage batteries, two propellers.

Size	Image Description	Source
14k	Commemorative launch day badge from Atule's (SS-403) launching at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, ME., 6 March 1944.	Courtesy of James A Munroe in remembrance of his father Raymond L Munroe Sr. who worked at the yard during WW II and the Korean wars as a chauffeur.
63k	Atule (SS-403), circa 1944-45.	Courtesy of John Hummel.
35k	On 4 July 1946, Atule (SS-403) headed for the frozen north as a member of Operation "Nanook." The purpose of this mission was to assist in the establishment of advanced weather stations in the Arctic regions and to aid in the planning and execution of more extensive naval operations in polar and sub-polar regions. In company with Norton Sound (AV-11), Whitewood (AN-63), Alcona (AK-157), Beltrami (AK-162), and USCG Northwind (WAG-282), *Atule* was to transport supplies and passengers, conduct reconnaissance of proposed weather station sites, train personnel, and collect data on Arctic conditions.	USN photo courtesy of Artic Submarine Laboratory, text courtesy of DANFS.
34k	"A standard steam-type torpedo fired by the modern U.S. Navy Submarine Atule (SS-403) strikes the captured German Submarine *U-977*…..off Cape Cod, November 13 1946……It was sunk under a Tri-Party agreement between the U.S., Britain and Russia".	Photo & text courtesy of rubylane.com., inspired by Jim Corcoran.
44k	1952 photo of the Atule (SS-403) when she was assigned to Submarine Squadron 8 in New London, *Atule* conducted a shakedown cruise in the Caribbean and then participated in Fleet and NATO training exercises in the Atlantic and the Caribbean. On 9 February 1952, she departed New London for a tour of duty in the Mediterranean and participation in NATO Exercise "Grand Slam." During the deployment, she visited Gibraltar, Malta, and Marseilles, before arriving back in the United States on 29 March 1952.	Courtesy of USNI. Text courtesy of DANFS.
151k	Crew of the Atule (SS-403), circa 1956-7 at Groton CT. Will Emerich, Chief of the Boat, is in the front row at the far right hand side.	Photo i.d. and partial text courtesy of Capt. Eric Emerich, USMC. Photo courtesy of Thomas and Josephine McLoughlin.
62k	Crew family members of the Atule (SS-403), circa 1956-7 at Groton CT.	Courtesy of Thomas and Josephine McLoughlin,
92k	Atule (SS-403), Guantanemo Bay, Cuba, 1958.	Courtesy of Robert Marthaler, RM3 SS (1955-1958).
103k	Atule (SS-403), underway in Havana, Cuba, 1958.	Courtesy of Robert Marthaler, RM3 SS (1955-1958).
40k	Atule (SS-403), underway, date and place unknown.	Courtesy of George M. Arnold.
249k	Change of command at Subron 12 Key West Fla.in the 1960's aboard the Bushnell (AS-15). Barracuda (SST-3) upper right. Other boats there are Sea Cat (SS-399), Picuda (SS-382), Atule (SS-403), Sea Fox (SS-402), Threadfin (SS-410) & Chopper (SS-342).	Photo courtesy of John Hummel. Photo added 03/15/08.
103k	Atule (SS-403) at the Charleston Yard, 1966.	USN photo from the collection of Mr. Palmer Olliff, courtesy of Bob Hall & submitted by Fabio Pena.
74k	Atule (SS-403), rafting up to Thornback (SS-418), Guantanemo Bay, Cuba, 1966.	Courtesy of Lohman, submitted by George M. Arnold.
367k	Report on the loss of the Atule (SS-403).	Chicago Tribune article courtesy of David Carré CAPT, USN (RET)(former crew member).