Barb (SS-220)

Barb (SS-220) Barb (SS-220) was a United States Gato-class submarine that served during World War II with notable action in the Pacific Theater. She conducted multiple war patrols in the waters around Japan, Taiwan, and the East China Sea, earning distinction for surface gun engagements, torpedo attacks, and an innovative shore raid. Barb's commanding officers, crew, and operational successes linked her name with several prominent figures and events of the Pacific campaign.

Design and construction

Barb was built by the Electric Boat Company at the Groton, Connecticut shipyard, part of a wartime construction program that included contemporaries such as USS Silversides (SS-236), USS Wahoo (SS-238), USS Tang (SS-306), and USS Nautilus (SS-168). The Gato-class design, developed under the supervision of the Bureau of Ships and influenced by prewar studies at the Naval Research Laboratory, emphasized range and habitability for operations from bases like Pearl Harbor and Midway Atoll. Barb's propulsion arrangement incorporated General Motors diesel engines coupled to electric motors, similar to installations on USS Flasher (SS-249) and USS Harder (SS-257). Armament followed the class pattern with ten 21-inch torpedo tubes compatible with Mark 14 torpedo and improved fire control gear akin to systems on USS Cuttlefish (SS-171). During construction Barb received hull classification SS-220 and was launched amid events including the Attack on Pearl Harbor that reshaped United States Navy priorities.

Service history

Commissioned under Lieutenant Commander John D. Bulkeley-era submariners and later commanded by Lieutenant Commander James A. Scott, Barb transited from the Atlantic to the Pacific and operated from forward bases such as Midway Atoll, Pearl Harbor, Guam, Saipan, and Subic Bay. She participated in coordinated submarine wolfpack actions alongside boats like USS Flasher (SS-249), USS Tunny (SS-282), USS Rasher (SS-269), and USS Tilefish (SS-307), linking operations to task groups organized by Admiral Chester W. Nimitz and staffers from Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet (COMSUBPAC). Barb's patrols intersected major campaigns including the Philippine Sea, the Battle of Leyte Gulf logistics interdictions, and the later blockade operations supporting Iwo Jima and Okinawa preparations. Crewmembers trained with programs influenced by Naval Submarine School procedures and tactics developed from interchanges with British Royal Navy submarine officers and lessons from commanders like Dolphin-class veterans.

Notable patrols and actions

Barb's most famous war patrols included surface gun engagements against coastal shipping near Karafuto and novel raiding operations on the Japanese home islands. On one patrol Barb executed a daring shore raid led by a shore party that sabotaged a coastal railway near Higashi—an action later publicized in accounts tied to commanders such as Commander Eugene B. Fluckey of USS Barb (SS-220) fame and compared to raids by USS Nautilus (SSN-571) personnel. Barb sank numerous enemy vessels using Mark 14 torpedo attacks, deck gunfire, and demolition charges; her targets included freighters, tankers, and smaller coastal craft registered to shippingowners linked to ports like Kobe, Yokohama, Shimonoseki, and Kagoshima. These actions brought Barb into direct operational narratives alongside submarines such as USS Wahoo (SS-238), USS Haddo (SS-255), USS Albacore (SS-218), and USS Archerfish (SS-311). Notably, Barb deployed innovative tactics involving special operations coordination reminiscent of operations conducted by Office of Strategic Services detachments and later by Underwater Demolition Teams. Postwar analyses by Naval Historical Center historians and commentary by authors like Samuel Eliot Morison and Clay Blair assessed Barb's patrols in the broader context of the submarine campaign that disrupted Imperial Japanese Navy logistics and merchant marine movements.

Awards and citations

For her wartime performance Barb received multiple commendations tied to fleet awards and unit citations issued by the United States Navy and theater commanders. The submarine's successes contributed to battlegroup recognitions similar to honors conferred upon USS Tang (SS-306), USS Wahoo (SS-238), and USS Rasher (SS-269). Individual crew members earned decorations associated with the Navy Cross, Silver Star, and Presidential Unit Citation-era acknowledgments given to undersea veterans like those from Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet. Barb's patrol stars and campaign ribbons were recorded in the rolls maintained by the Bureau of Naval Personnel and commemorated in postwar veterans' organizations including the United States Submarine Veterans, Inc. and the American Legion.

Decommissioning and fate

After World War II Barb participated in postwar operations and training missions related to Operation Magic Carpet and fleet reductions overseen by the Chief of Naval Operations. She was decommissioned and placed in reserve at New London, Connecticut and later struck from the Naval Vessel Register before final disposition. In the postwar drawdown Barb joined numerous contemporaries such as USS Gato (SS-212), USS Robalo (SS-273), and USS Sculpin (SS-191) in being sold for scrap during the early Cold War era; her hulk was dismantled amid industrial activity in yards linked to firms like Bethlehem Steel and Thomson Marine.

Category:Ships built in Groton, Connecticut Category:Gato-class submarines Category:World War II submarines of the United States