USS Bergall (SS-320)

USS Bergall (SS-320), a Balao-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the bergall, a small fish of the New England coast. Her keel was laid down by the Electric Boat Company in Groton, Connecticut. She was later sold to Turkey and operated as TCG Turgutreis (S 342) until scrapped in April 2000.

For other ships with the same name, see USS Bergall.

History
United States
Name: USS Bergall (SS-320)
Builder: Electric Boat Company, Groton, Connecticut[1]
Laid down: 13 May 1943[1]
Launched: 16 February 1944[1]
Commissioned: 12 June 1944[1]
Decommissioned: 17 October 1958[1]
Stricken: 1 February 1973[2]
Fate: Transferred to Turkey 18 October 1958, sold to Turkey 15 February 1973[1]
Turkey
Name: TCG Turgutreis (S 342)
Acquired: 17 October 1958
Decommissioned: 5 April 1983[3]
Out of service: 1977
Renamed: Ceryah Botu - 6
Fate: Served as yard craft at Gölcük Navy Yard after decommissioning. Scrapped, April 2000.[3]
General characteristics
Class and type: Balao-class diesel-electric submarine[2]
Displacement:
  • 1,526 tons (1,550 t) surfaced[2]
  • 2,424 tons (2,460 t) submerged[2]
Length: 311 ft 9 in (95.02 m) [2]
Beam: 27 ft 3 in (8.31 m) [2]
Draft: 16 ft 10 in (5.13 m) maximum[2]
Propulsion:
Speed:
  • 20.25 knots (37 km/h) surfaced[7]
  • 8.75 knots (16 km/h) submerged[7]
Range: 11,000 nm (20,000 km) surfaced at 10 knots (19 km/h)[7]
Endurance:
  • 48 hours at 2 knots (4 km/h) submerged[7]
  • 75 days on patrol
Test depth: 400 ft (120 m)[7]
Complement: 10 officers, 70–71 enlisted[7]
Armament:

The Bergall is the subject of an episode of the syndicated television anthology series, The Silent Service, which aired during the 1957–1958 season.

Operational history

USS Bergall
Two British naval officers examine what is left of the Japanese cruiser Myōkō's stern.

Bergall was launched on 16 February 1944 sponsored by Mrs. J. A. Elkins, and commissioned on 12 June 1944 with Lieutenant Commander J. M. Hyde in command.

Assigned to the Pacific Fleet, Bergall arrived at Pearl Harbor 13 August 1944. Operating out of Fremantle, Australia, the submarine made five war patrols between 8 September 1944 and 17 June 1945 in the South China Sea, Java Sea, Lombok Strait, and north of the Malay Barrier. During these patrols Bergall sank two merchantmen totaling 14,710 tons and one 740-ton frigate.

On 13 December 1944, Bergall engaged Japanese heavy cruiser Myōkō and both ships were damaged. Bergall had to end her patrol after being hit by a dud 8-inch shell; Myōkō sailed to Singapore and was never repaired.[8]

While patrolling off the Malay coast, 13 June 1945, she was damaged aft by an allied naval mine explosion and forced to retire to Subic Bay, Luzon, for emergency repairs, arriving 17 June. Proceeding home for permanent repairs, she arrived at Portsmouth Navy Yard on 4 August 1945.

Following repairs Bergall 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 from 4 December 1948 to 28 February 1949. On 11 July 1950 she transferred to New London, Connecticut, beginning her operations with the Atlantic Fleet with a Mediterranean Sea cruise.

During a fleet exercise on 1 November 1954, she collided with USS Norris (DD-859) while attempting to fire simulated torpedoes at a surface attack force.

On 26 September 1958, Bergall left the United States, entered the Mediterranean on 9 October, and arrived in İzmir, Turkey, on 15 October, where she was decommissioned on 17 October and transferred to the Turkish Navy, commissioned there as Turgutreis ("turgatrees").

Bergall received four battle stars during World War II.

TCG Turgutreis

Ex-Bergall was transferred, on loan, to Turkey on 17 October 1958, where she served as TCG Turgutreis (S 342). Her name was struck from the U.S. Naval Vessel Register on 1 February 1973, and she was sold to the Turkish government on 15 February 1973. Turgutreis served in the Turkish Navy until decommissioned on 5 April 1983. She was renamed Ceryan Botu - 6 and served as a yard craft and charging boat for her sisters at Gölcük Navy Yard until she was released from service in 1996. She was sold for scrap in April 2000.[3]

References
  1. Friedman, Norman (1995). U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute. pp. 285–304. ISBN 1-55750-263-3.
  2. Bauer, K. Jack; Roberts, Stephen S. (1991). Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775–1990: Major Combatants. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 275–280. ISBN 0-313-26202-0.
  3. Priolo, Gary P. (2007). "Bergall (SS-320)". NavSource Online. NavSource Naval History. Retrieved 13 December 2007.
  4. Bauer, K. Jack; Roberts, Stephen S. (1991). Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775–1990: Major Combatants. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 275–280. ISBN 978-0-313-26202-9.
  5. U.S. Submarines Through 1945 p. 261
  6. U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305–311
  7. U.S. Submarines Through 1945 pp. 305-311
  8. Cressman, Robert (2000). "Chapter VI: 1944". The official chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-149-3. OCLC 41977179. Retrieved 12 December 2007.

Further reading
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