USS Tang (SS-306)

USS Tang (SS-306)
Ship name	USS Tang (SS-306)
Ship namesake	Tang (a reef fish)
Ship type	Balao-class submarine
Operator	United States Navy
Builder	Cramp Shipbuilding Company / Mare Island Naval Shipyard
Laid down	10 March 1943
Launched	16 August 1943
Commissioned	24 December 1943
Decommissioned	18 October 1945
Fate	Lost by accidental torpedo circular run, 24 October 1944; wreck discovered 1999
Awards	Presidential Unit Citation; Navy Cross recipients among crew

USS Tang (SS-306) was a Balao-class submarine of the United States Navy that conducted aggressive war patrols in the Pacific Ocean during World War II. Built for submarine warfare against the Imperial Japanese Navy, Tang achieved notable sinkings before being lost in one of the most infamous peacetime-technical tragedies: a torpedo circular run. The boat's career combined tactical innovation, celebrated commanders, and a postwar legacy that influenced submarine design, commemoration, and salvage operations.

Design and Construction

Tang was laid down in March 1943 under a Maritime Commission contract at the Cramp Shipbuilding Company yard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and completed at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in California. As a Balao-class submarine, she featured a strengthened pressure hull derived from earlier Gato-class submarine designs, enabling a test depth greater than predecessors. Tang carried diesel-electric propulsion furnished by General Motors and Westinghouse Electric Corporation-manufactured components, four bow 4-inch/50 caliber gun mounts in the class layout, and a standard load of Mark 14 and Mark 18 torpedo types used in the Pacific War.

Her sensor suite included SJ surface-search radar and SD air-search radar systems produced by RCA, and radar-warning gear from Bell Labs-era developments. Fire control drew upon the Mark 1 Fire Control Computer lineage adapted for submarine torpedo salvoes. Tang's complement of officers and enlisted men trained at Submarine School in New London, Connecticut and at Pacific Fleet submarine bases before deploying to forward areas.

Service History

Tang conducted multiple war patrols from bases including Pearl Harbor, Midway Atoll, and Subic Bay. Under aggressive commanders, she executed night surface attacks, coordinated wolfpack operations with other submarines, and exploited intelligence from Ultra-adjacent sources and signals intercepted by Station HYPO and FRUMEL-supported efforts. Tang's patrols contributed to the interdiction of merchant shipping and combatant vessels supplying Japanese Empire garrisons across the South China Sea, East China Sea, and approaches to Formosa.

Notable successes included the sinking of several freighters and a series of attacks during major campaigns such as operations around Leyte Gulf and the Philippine Sea. Tang employed daring surface tactics against armed convoys, often at night, using radar-directed torpedo attacks that reflected evolving submarine doctrine pioneered by commanders like those of Charles "Swede" Momsen-era trainees. The submarine received the Presidential Unit Citation for exemplary performance during multiple patrols, and crew members earned decorations such as the Navy Cross and Silver Star for valor.

Commanding Officers and Crew

Tang's most famous commanding officer was Lieutenant Commander Richard H. O'Kane, a decorated submarine officer who later received the Medal of Honor for actions in other boats; during Tang's most successful patrols she was commanded by Commander Richard H. O'Kane's contemporaries and subordinates who had trained under the Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet traditions. Officers and petty officers aboard included veterans of Pearl Harbor-era submarine school classes and men who later served in postwar Naval Reserve and civilian maritime industries.

The crew embodied the tight hierarchy and technical expertise of submarine service: sonar operators trained on SD radar and passive sonar, torpedomen versed in maintenance of Mark 14 torpedo systems, and machinist mates responsible for General Motors diesel engines. Enlisted sailors received individual commendations and unit awards; several later participated in reunion associations and veterans' organizations preserving Tang's history.

Loss and Wreckage

On 24 October 1944, during her sixth war patrol near the entrance to Macao and off the Formosa approaches, Tang fired a spread of Mark 18 electric torpedoes at a Japanese convoy. One torpedo malfunctioned and ran in a circular course, striking Tang amidships and detonating her own weapon. The explosion flooded the torpedo room and bow sections, sinking the submarine. Of Tang's crew, nine men were killed in the incident; thirty-two survivors, including Lieutenant Commander Richard O'Kane-era officers and petty officers who were aboard at times, were captured by Imperial Japanese Navy forces and endured POW imprisonment for the remainder of the war.

Decades later, marine archaeologists and explorers located Tang's wreck in 1999 by Deep Ocean Expeditions and teams using side-scan sonar, ROV surveys, and submersible operations coordinated with institutions such as NOAA and private research firms. The wreck site lies in deep water; recovery operations were constrained by depth, salvage technology limits, and legal frameworks like the Sunken Military Craft Act (United States), resulting in largely non-intrusive documentation and memorialization.

Legacy and Commemoration

Tang's operational record influenced postwar United States Navy submarine tactics, torpedo safety procedures, and the development of more reliable torpedo guidance systems, affecting designs adopted in the early Cold War era and in subsequent classes such as GUPPY-modified boats. Memorials include plaques and museum displays curated by organizations like the USS Tang Submarine Museum association and exhibits at naval museums honoring submarine warfare history, including artifacts contributed to the National Museum of the United States Navy.

Tang's story appears in numerous histories of World War II, submarine warfare analyses, and biographies of notable submariners. Annual commemorations by veterans' groups and inclusion on lists of lost United States Navy vessels ensure ongoing public awareness. The wreck site remains a protected military grave under U.S. policy and international practice, and Tang's tactical lessons continue to be cited in professional literature produced by Naval War College scholars and submarine sustainment communities.

Category:Submarines of the United States Navy Category:Balao-class submarines Category:World War II submarines of the United States