Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive

Patch on left courtesy of Darryl Baker, other patches courtesy of Mike Smolinski

Tirante (SS-420)

Radio Call Sign: November - Kilo - Sierra - Kilo

Unit Awards, Campaign and Service Medals and Ribbons

Presidential Unit Citation

Tench Class Submarine: Laid down, 28 April 1944, at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, ME.; Launched, 9 August 1944; Commissioned USS Tirante (SS-420), 6 November 1944; Decommissioned, 6 July 1946, at New London, CT.; Laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet; Reactivated for "Guppy II-A" modernization at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, ME; Recommissioned, 26 November 1952; Decommissioned, 1 October 1973, at Key West, FL., and simultaneously struck for the Naval Register; Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 21 March 1974, to Union Minerals and Alloys, New York, NY. Struck from the Naval Register 11 April 1974. Tirante received two battle stars and a Presidential Unit Citation for her World War II service.

Specifications: Displacement, Surfaced: 1,570 t., Submerged: 2,416 t.; Length 311' 8"; Beam 27' 2"; 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 Fairbanks Morse main generator diesel engines, 5,400 hp, Fuel Capacity, 113,510 gals, two General Electric main motors, 2,740 hp, two 126-cell main storage batteries, two propellers.

Size	Image Description	Source
54k	Tirante (SS-420) sliding down the launching ways at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, ME. 9 August 1944.	Courtesy of submarinesailor.com
46k	Front cover & menu for the Commissioning party of the Tirante (SS-420), 3 November 1944.	Photo courtesy of Ron & Charles Wallis.
55k	Plank owners list for the Commissioning party of the Tirante (SS-420), 3 November 1944.	Photo courtesy of Ron & Charles Wallis.
53k	Tirante (SS-420) crew and family commissioning party photo, 6 November 1944.	Courtesy of Ron & Charles Wallis.
191k	"Periscope on Target!" Tirante's (SS-420) skipper squats to spot a maru in shallow channel. Tracking, he feeds information to the fire control party. Range, target speed, track angle and similar data goes to the TDC. Then, "Fire one!" sends a torpedo on the way. A strike! The target slowly sinks from view."	Drawing by Lt. Cmdr. Fred Freemen, courtesy of Theodore Roscoe, from his book "U.S. Submarine Operations of WW II", published by USNI.
34k	Tirante (SS-420) in June 1945 wearing Ms 32/9SS camoflage scheme.	Courtesy of The Floating Drydock, "Fleet Subs of WW II" by Thomas F. Walkowiak.
75k	Tirante (SS-420) picking up a downed USAAF pilot (circled), within sight of the coast of Kyushu, after a 1945 air strike over Japan.	USN photo courtesy of The American Submarine by Norman Polmar & contributed by Robert Hurst.
33k	Tirante (SS-420) returning from her second war patrol off Guam on 19 July 1945. Photo is signed by Lt. Comdr. George L. Street III.	Courtesy of Ron & Charles Wallis.
21k	Lt. Comdr. George L. Street III. Rank and organization: Commander, U.S. Navy, Tirante (SS-420). Place and date: Harbor of Quelpart Island, off the coast of Korea, 14 April 1945. Entered service at. Virginia. Born: 27 July 1913, Richmond, Va. Other Navy awards: Navy Cross, Silver Star with 1 Gold Star. Citation. For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as commanding officer of the *Tirante* during the first war patrol of that vessel against enemy Japanese surface forces in the harbor of Quelpart Island, off the coast of Korea, on 14 April 1945. With the crew at surface battle stations, Comdr. (then Lt. Comdr.) Street approached the hostile anchorage from the south within 1,200 yards of the coast to complete a reconnoitering circuit of the island. Leaving the 10-fathom curve far behind he penetrated the mined and shoal-obstructed waters of the restricted harbor despite numerous patrolling vessels and in defiance of 5 shore-based radar stations and menacing aircraft. Prepared to fight it out on the surface if attacked, Comdr. Street went into action, sending 2 torpedoes with deadly accuracy into a large Japanese ammunition ship and exploding the target in a mountainous and blinding glare of white flames. With the *Tirante* instantly spotted by the enemy as she stood out plainly in the flare of light, he ordered the torpedo data computer set up while retiring and fired his last 2 torpedoes to disintegrate in quick succession the leading frigate and a similar flanking vessel. Clearing the gutted harbor at emergency full speed ahead, he slipped undetected along the shoreline, diving deep as a pursuing patrol dropped a pattern of depth charges at the point of submergence. His illustrious record of combat achievement during the first war patrol of the *Tirante* characterizes Comdr. Street as a daring and skilled leader and reflects the highest credit upon himself, his valiant command, and the U.S. Naval Service.	Photo courtesy of the Medal of Honor website via Bill Gonyo. Photo added 03/02/09.
47k	Officers of the Tirante (SS-420) pose on deck, circa 1945. CDR. Street is second on the right on the bottom row.	Photo courtesy Ron & Charles Wallis.
57k	"Cast off all lines!" Tirante (SS-420) under way for patrol.	USN photo courtesy of Theodore Roscoe, from his book "U.S. Submarine Operations of WW II", published by USNI.
35k	Crew of the Tirante (SS-420), take a dip in the Pacific, circa 1945. Charles Wallis never did take a dip, he told Lt. Comdr. George L. Street III:" SIR IV'E MADE IT 41/2 YEARS AND I AM NOT ABOUT TO LOSE OUT TO A SHARK".	Photo courtesy of Ron & Charles Wallis.
87k	Sub qualification test for the Tirante (SS-420).	Photo courtesy of Ron & Charles Wallis.
49k	Tirante (SS-420) slids up to port in the Potamac River at Washington D.C., Oct. 1945.	Courtesy of John Hummel & Ron & Charles Wallis.
59k	Sec. of the Navy James Forrestal presents the crew of the Tirante (SS-420) with the PUC (Presidential Unit Citation) when the boat was moored at the Washington Navy Yard in October 1945.	Photo courtesy of Ron & Charles Wallis, text courtesy of DANFS.
49k	Forward torpedo room of the Tirante (SS-420), circa 1945, with Charles Wallis (USN retired) in the foreground.	Photo courtesy of Ron & Charles Wallis.
73k	War record of the Tirante (SS-420).	Photo courtesy of chinfo web site, submitted by Darryl Baker.
113k	Tirante (SS-420) underway, after Guppy II-A" modernization at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, ME; 26 November 1952; place unknown.	US Navy photo.
34k	Tirante (SS-420) bow on view underway, circa 1952.	Courtesy of John Hummel.
54k	Tirante (SS-420) underway, circa mid 1950's.	Courtesy of George M. Arnold.
119k	At Marseille, France for 1958, Christmas. The Tirante (SS-420) and the Redfin (SS-272) are pictured from outboard to inboard.	Submitted by Laurent LaMarche.
55k	Bid Farewell. Tirante (SS-420) departs two days earlier after overall at Charleston, S.C. 18 Sept. 1970.	Photo courtesy of Robert Hall via Fabio Peña.
45k	Newspaper text from the Charleston, S.C. Naval Shipyard, 18 Sept. 1970.	Photo courtesy of Robert Hall via Fabio Peña.
122k	Father & son Thomas Sireci Sr. from the Tirante (SS-420) & Jr from the America (CVA-66) met on board the *Tirante* during a Sixth Fleet operational deployment when they were brought together by their respective commanding officers.	USN photo & text courtesy of the Key West Citizen, pg. 8, 2 December 1971.
387k	Article from the Miami Herald, from sometime in September, or early October, 1973. A brief history of the Key West base,Amberjack (SS-522) and her last operation are mentioned in it. Tirante (SS-420) and Bonita (SST-3) with the Bushnell (AS-15) appear in the background.	Photo & text courtesy of the Miami Herald, submitted by Mike Keating.