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NavSource Online: Submarine Photo Archive
Patches contributed by Mike Smolinski

Toro (SS-422) (AGSS-422)

Radio Call Sign: November - Kilo - Sierra - Quebec
Tench Class Submarine: Laid down, 27 May 1944, at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, ME.; Launched, 23 August 1944; Commissioned USS Toro (SS-422), 6 December 1944; Decommissioned, 7 February 1946, at New London, CT.; Laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Thames River, New London, CT.; Recommissioned, 13 May 1947; Redesignated Auxiliary Research Submarine (AGSS-422) in July 1962; Decommissioned 11 March 1963, at the Atlantic Reserve Fleet Philadelphia Group; Struck from the Naval Register, 1 April 1963; Final Disposition, Sold for scrapping to North American Smelting Co. in Bordentown, NJ. Toro received two battle stars for her World War II service.
Partial data submitted by Ron Reeves, HTC, USNR (ret.)

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.
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Toro 34k Commemorative launch day badge from Toro's (SS-422) launching at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, ME., 23 August 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.
Toro 80k Toro (SS-422), port side view underway, date and location unknown. Photo courtesy of John Hummel.
Toro 35k Postwar view of the Toro (SS-422). All deck guns have been removed and a few new pieces of electronic gear. USN photo courtesy of subnet.
Toro 75k Postwar view of the Toro (SS-422). USN photo.
Toro 29k Commemorative postal cover issued with a picture of the Toro (SS-422) in the inset, 1952. 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.
Groton 226k Busy piers at lower base in Groton shows a few SSKs, 1957.
From left to right, unidentifed sub,
Toro (SS-422),
Irex (SS-482),
unidentifed sub,
Trout (SS-566),
Bergall (SS-320),
Sea Owl (SS-405),
Cavalla (SS-244),
& Remora (SS-487), & Piper (SS-409).
The rest of the subs are too far away for positive identification.		 Text courtesy of Dave Johnston. Photo i.d. courtesy of Mike Brood. USN photo courtesy of Submarine Force Library, courtesy of Ken Hart.
Toro 153k The Toro (SS-422) moored dockside at Pier 8, West of the Boston Naval Shipyard. She is zebra-striped and prepared for sinking after the nuclear-submarine Thresher (SSN-593) was lost in 1963. The ship on the opposite side of Pier 8 is Leahy (DLG-16).
It was hoped that by observing the fall of the Toro, the Navy scientists could better understand the movement of a submarine falling out of control through the depths. All wooden deck structure, cables, and other materials that might break loose were cut away. However, she was not used in the experiment and was later sold for scrapping. 		USN photo courtesy of The American Submarine, by Norman Polmar & submitted by Robert Hurst. Photo identity courtesy of Stephen P. Carlson, Preservation Specialist,Boston NHP, Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston.
Toro 104k The Toro (SS-422) moored dockside at Pier 8, West of the Boston Naval Shipyard. The ship on the opposite side of Pier 8 is Leahy (DLG-16). USN photo # 14452-1, from the Boston National Historical Park Collection, NPS Cat. No. BOSTS-14452, courtesy of Stephen P. Carlson, Preservation Specialist, Boston NHP, Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston. Photo added 05/23/08.
Toro 128k The Toro (SS-422) moored dockside at Pier 8, West of the Boston Naval Shipyard. USN photo # 14452-3, from the Boston National Historical Park Collection, NPS Cat. No. BOSTS-14452, courtesy of Stephen P. Carlson, Preservation Specialist, Boston NHP, Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston. Photo added 05/23/08.
Toro 98k Bow view of the Toro (SS-422) at Pier 8 West of the Boston Naval Shipyard. USN photo # 14452-2, from the Boston National Historical Park Collection, NPS Cat. No. BOSTS-14452, courtesy of Stephen P. Carlson, Preservation Specialist, Boston NHP, Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston. Photo added 05/23/08.
Toro 269k The Toro (SS-422) moored next to Billfish (SS-286) at Pier 1W at the South Boston Annex in Mar. 1964. USN photo # 16255-165, from the Boston National Historical Park Collection, NPS Cat. No. BOSTS-16255, courtesy of Stephen P. Carlson, Preservation Specialist, Boston NHP, Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston. Photo added 05/23/08.
View the Toro (SS-422)
DANFS history entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway Web Site.
Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation
Fleet Reserve Association
Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
Guppy Submarines
Tench Class Submarines
Full Fathom Five, U.S. Submarine War Against Japan

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