Submarine Squadron 12 Key West

                                      Submarine Squadron 12
                                          Key West, Florida
                                                 1960-1964

doke@tampabay.rr.com

U.S.S. R-12 (SS-89)

The USS R-12 proceeded to sea from the U.S. Naval Station, Key West, Florida, early in the morning of 12 June 1943, for scheduled sound training operations. These exercises were conducted for approximately four hours in company with escorts while the R-12 proceeded to the diving point and made both a normal dive and ascent.
At the time of the loss of R-12 the submarine was underway to take up her position for a torpedo practice approach. She was rigged for dive, except the main induction was open and the batteries were ventilating into the engine room and the boat was riding the vents. The Commanding Officer was on the bridge in the act of turning the Officer of the Deck watch over to another officer when the collision alarm was sounded from below and the report that the forward battery compartment was flooding and word passed to the bridge. Although immediate orders were given to blow the main ballast and close the hatches, the ship sank in an estimated fifteen seconds from the time the alarm was sounded until the bridge was completely underwater.
R-12 was lost between 1220 and 1225 on 12 June 1943 at Latitude 24 degrees 24' 30'' North and Longitude 81 degrees 38' 30'' West in six hundred feet of water with the loss of forty two lives. The personnel on the bridge, two officers including the Commanding Officer, and three enlisted men, were the only survivors. Those missing consisted of four U.S. Naval Officers. two Brazilian Officers and thirty six U.S. Naval Enlisted Men.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                             USS BUSHNELL (AS-15)                                                                                                                                                    Length Overall - 530 1/2 Ft ; Beam - 73 Ft ;
                                                                            Draft - 25 Ft ; Displacement - 18,000 Tons Full Load ;
                                                                          Horsepower - 8,043 (Diesel Electric) ; Speed - 15 Knots.

THREADFIN (SS-410) CHOPPER (SS-342)

    THREADFIN (SS-410).   Commissioned 30 August 1944. Threadfin departed on her first
    patrol on Christmas day. During her relatively brief war career, she accounted for 12,000
    tons of shipping sunk or damaged. Threadfin is credited with an assist in the sinking of the
    Japanese Battleship YAMATO, which she sighted, reported and tracked until its ultimate
    destruction by carrier aircraft.
    CHOPPER (SS-342).   Chopper was commissioned May 25, 1945 at the Electric Boat Co.,
    Groton, Conn. She departed for the Pacific via Panama in July and was midway between
    Panama and the Philippine Islands when the war ended. She was converted from a Fleet
    type to Guppy type in September 1950.

TIRANTE (SS-420) TRUTTA (SS-421)

TIRANTE (SS-420). Tirante's action during World War II was short, but far from quiet. She accounted for 5 man-of-war and nineteen merchantmen to earn for herself the Presidential Unit Citation and for LCDR G.L. Street III, her commanding officer, the Congressional Medal of Honor.
TRUTTA (SS-421). Trutta also got a late start in the war, completing two war patrols
between March and July 1945. Trutta accounted for sixteen vessels

BALAO (AGSS-285) SEA CAT (SS-399)

    BALAO (AGSS-285).   Commissioned on 4 February 1943, Balao completed ten war
    patrols during World War II sinking an estimated 57,000 tons of shipping.
    SEA CAT (SS-399).   Built at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Sea Cat was commissioned
    16 May 1944. Sea Cat completed four war patrols, with approximately 18,000 tons of
    shipping to her credit, Sea Cat was one of the twelve submarines present in Tokyo Bay
    during the surrender ceremonies.

PICUDA (SS-382)

PICUDA (SS-382).   Built at the Portsmouth (N.H.) Naval Shipyard, Picuda was
    commissioned 16 October 1943. Picuda completed six patrols, sinking a total of 49,629
    tons of shipping. She was converted to Guppy IIA in 1952

ATULE (SS-403) SEA POACHER (SS-406)

ATULE (SS-403).   Commissioned 21 June 1944, Atule completed four war patrols with
    a total of 34,000 tons of shipping sunk. Decommissioned in 1947, Atule rejoined the fleet
    on 8 March 1951 having been converted to a Guppy IA.
    SEA POACHER (SS-406).   Sea Poacher completed four war patrols sinking 9 Japanese
    ships and destroying a radio station with gunfire. She has the distinction of being the only
    submarine to ever rescue a Blimp.

SPIKEFISH (SS-404) QUILLBACK (SS-424)

SPIKEFISH (SS-404).   Commissioned on 30 June 1944, Spikefish has been on continuous
   active duty since that date. Spikefish held the title of "The Worlds Divingest Submarine"
   completing over 10,000 dives.
   QUILLBACK (SS-424).   Originally laid down as "Trembler", December 1944. Quillback
   is credited with one successful war patrol

MACKEREL (SST-1) GRENADIER (SS-525)

USS MACKEREL (SST-1). and MARLIN (SST-2).   Built at the Electric Boat Co. and
    placed in service in 1953, these boats were specifically designed for the task of providing
    target and training services to ASW forces.
    GRENADIER (SS-525).   One ot the first submarines to be built after the end of World
    War II, Grenadier was commissioned 10 February 1951, at Boston, Massachusetts.

BARRACUDA (SST-3) PENGUIN (ASR-12)

   BARRACUDA (SST-3).   Was built by the Electric Boat Co. and commissioned in
   November 1951. The designation was changed from K-1 to T-3 in November 1959.
   PENGUIN (ASR-12).   Penguin was built at the Charleston Shipbuilding and Dry-dock Co.,
   and was commissioned 29 May 1944. She is continuously ready to perform any rescue or
   assistance mission which may be assigned.

                           ALL THE BOATS LISTED ABOVE WERE ATTACHED TO
                    SUBMARINE SQUADRON 12 IN KEY WEST, FLORIDA IN THE
                                                                      1960's

REMEMBER THE OLD STERN?

    U.S.S. Bushnell is the second ship to be named for David Bushnell whose "Turtle", invented
    and built in 1776 and employed against the British Fleet in the Revolutionary War, is generally
    regarded as the first successful submarine.
    The first Bushnell was typical of our earlier submarine tenders. Converted in 1919 from a
    yacht, she took care of her submarines as well as she could but she was not adequate for a
    task of constantly growing complexity.
    The present Bushnell, the fifteenth submarine tender to join the U.S. Navy, is the third of a
    class designed in 1941 specifically to tend submarines. She was built from the keel up for this
    one purpose, and as a result is a complete floating repair base, normally displacing about
    15,000 tons. She has built into her hull over twenty shops for the repair of every item of
    machinery and equipment found in a submarine. Her great fuel tanks can supply her flotilla of
    subs and herself for months. Her holds and storerooms are designed to carry ample quantities
    of fresh and frozen as well as canned and dry foods, tropical and arctic clothing, general stores,
    and spare parts so necessary to make repairs at sea. Her magazines hold huge quantities of
    torpedoes and gun ammunition for re-arming her submarines.
    On 10 April 1943, the Bushnell was placed in commission under the command of Commander
    C.T. Bonny, USN. After shaking down off the California coast, she sailed for Pearl Harbor,
    arriving on 3 July 1943. Submarine Squadron 14 was formed under the command of Captain
    John B. Longstaff with the Bushnell as tender and headquarters for the Squadron and Division
    Staffs.
    From July until September 1943, the Bushnell loaded fuel and material and departed for
    Majuro Atoll in the Marshall Island Group. Majuro became a regular submarine operating
    base, although entirely dependent on the tender, as there were no facilities ashore. Her stay
    at Majuro lasted until 31 January 1945.
    On 5 February 1945, the Bushnell arrived at Pearl Harbor for a much needed docking and in
    May was again loaded and sailed to Midway Island to refit submarines arriving there from war
    patrols. She was thus engaged until hostilities ceased.
    In order to evaluate correctly the part played by the Bushnell during the war it is necessary to
    consider the accomplishments of the submarines which she kept in repair. Squadron 14, which
    was tended by the Bushnell, sank 145 enemy ships totaling 325,000 tons, and damaged 75
    other vessels totaling 525,000 tons.
    After the war, the Bushnell continued to act as a repair vessel throughout the period of
    demobilization and reorganization of the submarine force. In April, 1945, the commission
    pennant of U.S.S. Bushnell came down and the ship was officially placed in an inactive status.
    With the outbreak of the Korean conflict, the Bushnell received reactivating orders in the
    latter part of 1951, and was once again made ready to serve the fleet.
    In 1952 she steamed away from the Pacific coast and arrived at Key West to serve the
    submarines operating in this area.
    With the exception of recreation cruises and quarterly operations, the Bushnell remained in
    Key West.
    On 2 January 1959, Bushnell stood by off the coast of Cuba during the revolution, returning
    to port on 6 January 1959.
    Bushnell was now due for a yard overhaul period. She sailed for Norfolk Naval Shipyard,
    Portsmouth, Virginia on 11 July 1959, completed sea trials on 21 September and a successful
    refit training period in Guantanamo Bay on 23 October 1959. The highlight of this period was
    a two-day "Haitian Holiday" at Port-au-Prince.
    In January 1960, Bushnell held underway training and visited the Caribbean port of Ciudad
    Trujillo, Dominican Republic.
    On 1 July 1961, Bushnell was awarded the coveted Navy "E" for battle efficiency. This award
    is made by commander Submarine Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet to the outstanding units of the
    force. Bushnell achieved this honor for the first time and has brought recognition to the "southern
    most deep draft ship in Continental United States."
    Successive training periods have taken the Bushnell to the southern ports of New Orleans,
    Mobile, Fort Lauderdale and to the colorful port of Kingston, Jamaica.
    In July 1962 Bushnell was again awarded the battle efficiency Navy "E". A hash mark indicating
    a consecutive award was proudly painted under the existing "E". In addition Bushnell was
    awarded the coveted Red "E" for efficiency in engineering.
    This same month Bushnell was ordered to the Charleston Naval Shipyard for overhaul and
    conversion. Completion of the Frame II conversion on 4 January 1963, gave Bushnell the
    capability to service the Navy's most modern nuclear submarines.
    After a short load out period, Bushnell engaged in a short period of concentrated refresher
    exercises with the Fleet Training Group in Guantanamo Bay Cuba. Upon completion she
    returned to her home port at Key West, Florida to provide headquarters for the Submarine
    Commander as well as servicing the submarines of Submarine Squadron Twelve.

From Terry McCoy: In reading your informative web site, I found something that needs correction.    The Bushnell was active refitting submarines in April 1945 in Midway Island, still the 14th Squadron. I know this because I was there, was transferred to USS Apogon mid June 1945 for her eighth and last war patrol. Bushnell returned to San Diego after the war, was sent to Pearl Harbor Jan. 1, 1946 with a squadron of twelve submarines. Of these twelve, USS Apogon/USS Skate was sent to the Bikini Atoll for A-bomb tests. I, myself, was transferred back to the States
for discharge. So Bushnell was still active in March of 1946, according to my personal knowledge.
    Bill McCoy
    Ex-submariner,
    USS Apogon