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USS Clamagore (SS 343)

- decommissioned -

Originally built as one of the BALAO - class submarines, the CLAMAGORE was the Navy's first submarine named after the blue parrot-fish found in the West Indies and Chesapeake Bay. The CLAMAGORE underwent the Guppy II conversion in 1948, and the Guppy III conversion in 1962, making her one of only nine submarines to receive the Guppy III conversion. Both decommissioned and stricken from the Navy list on June 27, 1975, the CLAMAGORE was donated as a museum on August 6, 1979, and was opened to the public on May 11, 1981. The submarine is located at Patriot's Point, Charleston, SC.

General Characteristics (as GUPPY III):Awarded: April 10, 1942
Keel laid: March 16, 1944
Launched: February 25, 1945
Commissioned: June 28, 1945
Decommissioned: June 27, 1975
Builder: Electric Boat Co., Groton, CT.
Propulsion system: four diesel engines, four electric motors
Propellers: two
Length: 322.2 feet (98.2 meters)
Beam: 27.2 feet (8.3 meters)
Draft: 15.4 feet (4.7 meters)
Displacement: Surfaced: approx. 1,975 tons     Submerged: approx. 2,870 tons
Speed: Surfaced: approx. 17 knots     Submerged: approx. 14 knots
Armament: ten 533 mm torpedo tubes (six forward, four aft)
Crew: 8 Officers, 72 Enlisted


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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS CLAMAGORE. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.




Official Decommissioning Crew List


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Accidents aboard USS CLAMAGORE:

DateWhereEvents
February 4, 1967off San Juan, Puerto Rico
USS CLAMAGORE collides with the catamaran MANGO off the harbor of San Juan.


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USS CLAMAGORE's Commanding Officers:


PeriodName
June 1945 - June 1946Commander Sam C. Loomis, Jr., USN
June 1946 - June 1947Commander Edward F. Steffanides, Jr., USN
June 1947 - June 1949Commander Walter L. Small, USN
June 1949 - June 1950Commander John F. Bauer, USN
June 1950 - June 1952Commander Thomas B. Denegre, Jr., USN
June 1952 - June 1954LCDR George F. Morin, USN
June 1954 - July 1956LCDR J. H. Beuscher, USN
July 1956 - September 1958LCDR Jack F. Heard, USN
September 1958 - August 1960Commander Arthur K. Keevil, USN
August 1960 - July 1963LCDR Howard L. Matthews, USN
July 1963 - June 1965LCDR Stanley B. Neander, USN
June 1965 - June 1967Commander William J. Gunn, USN
June 1967 - March 1969LCDR Donald M. Ulmer, USN
March 1969 - February 1971LCDR William G. Hine, USN
February 1971 - June 1973Commander Peter B. Boyne, USN
June 1973 - January 1975Commander Bruce J. Schick, USN
January 1975 - June 1975Commander Tracy M. Kosoff, USN


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History of USS CLAMAGORE:

USS CLAMAGORE was launched 25 February 1945 by Electric Boat Co., Groton, Conn.; sponsored by Miss M. J. Jacobs; and commissioned 28 June 1945, Commander S. C. Loomis, Jr., in command.

CLAMAGORE reported to Key West, her assigned base, 5 September 1945. She operated off Key West with various fleet units and with the Fleet Sonar School, voyaging on occasion to Cuba and the Virgin Islands until 5 December 1947, when she entered Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for moderinzation and installation of snorkel. CLAMAGORE returned to Key West 6 August 1948 and assumed local and Caribbean operations for the next 8 years, except for a tour of duty in the Mediterranean from 3 February to 16 April 1953.

CLAMAGORE called at New London and Newport early in 1957, returning to Key West 13 March. Between 23 September and 7 December she took part in NATO exercises in the North Atlantic, calling at Portsmouth, England, and Argentia, Newfoundland. On 29 June 1959, she arrived at Charleston, her new home port, and after a period of coastwise operations, sailed 5 April 1960 to join the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean for a tour of duty which continued until July, when the submarine returned to Charleston. For the remainder of 1960 CLAMAGORE operated off the east coast.

In 1961, CLAMAGORE participated in exercise UNITAS II joining South American naval forces training in the Caribbean and off South America. One year later, in 1962, the CLAMAGORE underwent the Guppy III conversion and, when completed, shifted home port to New London, Ct., in June 1963. For the remainder of her service life, the CLAMAGORE continued operations off the US east coast, in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean. The submarine was decommissioned at New London, Ct., 27 June 1975.


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