View source for USS Baya

{{short description|Submarine of the United States}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}

{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[File:USS Baya (AGSS-318) in 1962.jpeg|300px|''Baya'' (AGSS-318), post-conversion in 1962.]]
|Ship caption=USS ''Baya'' (AGSS-318), post-conversion in 1962.
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1972}}
|Ship name=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[General Dynamics Electric Boat|Electric Boat Company]], [[Groton, Connecticut]]<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates">{{cite book
  | last = Friedman
  | first = Norman
  | title = U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History
  | publisher = [[United States Naval Institute]]
  | year = 1995
  | location = [[Annapolis, Maryland]]
  | pages = 285–304
  | isbn = 1-55750-263-3 }}</ref>
|Ship laid down=8 April 1943<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship launched=2 January 1944<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=20 May 1944<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship decommissioned=14 May 1946<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=yes
|Ship recommissioned=10 February 1948<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship decommissioned=30 October 1972<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=30 October 1972<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship fate=Sold for scrap, 12 October 1973<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass|Balao|submarine|4}} [[diesel-electric]] [[submarine]]<ref name="Register">{{cite book
  | last = Bauer
  | first = K. Jack
  |author2=Roberts, Stephen S.
   | title = Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775-1990: Major Combatants
  | publisher = Greenwood Press
  | year = 1991
  | location = [[Westport, Connecticut]]
  | pages = 275–280
  | isbn = 0-313-26202-0 }}</ref>
|Ship displacement=*1,526&nbsp;[[long ton|ton]]s (1,550&nbsp;[[tonne|t]]) surfaced<ref name="Register"/>
*2,424&nbsp;tons (2,463&nbsp;t) submerged<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship length={{convert|311|ft|9|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship beam={{convert|27|ft|3|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship draft={{convert|16|ft|10|in|abbr=on}} maximum<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship propulsion={{Fleet-boat-propulsion-late-GM-4-GE}}
|Ship speed=*{{convert|20.25|kn|km/h|0|lk=in}} surfaced<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs">''U.S. Submarines Through 1945'' pp. 305–311</ref>
*{{convert|8.75|kn|km/h|0}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship range={{convert|11000|nmi|km}} surfaced at 10 knots (19 km/h)<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship endurance=*48 hours at {{convert|2|kn|km/h}} submerged<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
*75 days on patrol
|Ship test depth={{convert|400|ft|m|-1|abbr=on}}<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship complement=10 officers, 70–71 enlisted<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-specs"/>
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament={{Fleet-boat-armament-5-inch}}
}}
|}

'''USS ''Baya'' (SS/AGSS-318)''', a [[Balao class submarine|''Balao''-class]] [[submarine]], was a ship of the [[United States Navy]] named for the [[Gulf grouper|baya]]. During [[World War II]], she completed five war patrols in the [[South China Sea]], [[Gulf of Siam]], [[Java Sea]], and [[Philippine Sea]] between 23 August 1944 and 25 July 1945. She sank four Japanese vessels totaling 8855&nbsp;[[gross register ton]]s, and shared credit with the submarine {{USS|Hawkbill|SS-366}} for sinking a Japanese 8,407-gross register ton [[Cargo liner|passenger-cargo ship]]. After World War II, she saw service as a research submarine during the [[Cold War]] and operated off [[Vietnam]] during the [[Vietnam War]].

==Construction and commissioning==
''Baya'' was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 2 January 1944 by [[Electric Boat]] Company, [[Groton, Connecticut]]; sponsored by Mrs. Charles C. Kirkpatrick, and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 20 May 1944.

==Service history==
=== World War II ===

Following a month of [[sea trials]] and training off the coast of [[New England]], ''Baya'' departed [[New London, Connecticut|New London]], Connecticut, on 25 June 1944. As she proceeded via the [[Panama Canal]] to [[Hawaii]], she continuously drilled and conducted exercises. She arrived at [[Pearl Harbor]], Hawaii, in August 1944 and carried out a final round of training there.

====First war patrol====
''Baya'' embarked on her first war patrol on 23 August 1944, departing Pearl Harbor in company with the submarines {{USS|Becuna|SS-319}} and {{USS|Hawkbill|SS-366}}, with which she formed a [[Wolfpack (naval tactic)|coordinated attack group]]. After a brief stop at [[Saipan]] in the [[Mariana Islands]] for fuel, the three submarines proceeded to the [[Palau Islands]], where they joined two other coordinated attack groups in [[Military intelligence|intelligence]]-gathering missions in support of U.S. forces [[Mariana and Palau Islands campaign|invading the islands]]. The [[reconnaissance]] group shifted position several times as it gathered information for [[Admiral (United States)|Admiral]] [[William Halsey, Jr.]]'s [[United States Third Fleet]], but for the submarines on patrol, it proved to be only a month of fighting heavy seas while not encountering any Japanese ships.

During the night of 25 September 1944, while patrolling in [[Luzon Strait]], ''Baya'' submerged to avoid discovery by a Japanese airplane. She surfaced in rough seas about 30 minutes later. Her [[executive officer]], [[engineering officer]], and [[quartermaster]] were topside when a large wave crashed over ''Baya'''s stern, washing the three men overboard and flooding ''Baya'' through the [[conning tower]] hatch. ''Baya'' sank to a depth of {{convert|45|ft|0}} before the hatch was secured. Her crew, fortunately at battle stations already, drained the conning tower, surfaced, and recovered the men washed overboard within half an hour. Repairs took a few hours at most, and ''Baya'' soon returned to her patrol.

While prowling the [[South China Sea]] on 7 October 1944, ''Baya'' encountered the only significant contact of the patrol when her [[radar]] detected three Japanese ships, an 8,407-[[gross register ton]] [[Cargo liner|passenger-cargo ship]], later identified as ''Kinugasa Maru'', accompanied by two escorts, part of Japanese [[convoy]] HI-77. ''Baya'' and ''Hawkbill'', each aware of the other's presence in the area but unaware that they are attacking the same ship, both joined in an attack on the [[merchant ship]]. ''Hawkbill''′s first [[salvo]] of [[torpedo]]es missed, but ''Baya''′s scored two hits. On her next try, ''Hawkbill'' also struck home with two torpedoes and, seconds later, ''Kinugasa Maru'' exploded and disappeared. On 9 October 1944, ''Baya'' departed the South China Sea and headed for [[Fremantle]] in [[Western Australia]], where she arrived on 22 October 1944.

====Second war patrol====
After a short refit and training period, ''Baya'' got underway from Fremantle for her second war patrol, forming an attack group with the submarines {{USS|Cavalla|SS-244}} and {{USS|Hoe|SS-258}} in the South China Sea. In four separate incidents between 8 and 10 December 1944, ''Baya'' made contact with three Japanese [[destroyer]]s and a Japanese [[hospital ship]] but failed to achieve a suitable attack position on any of the destroyers, and the hospital ship enjoyed immunity from attack. After that series of contacts, ''Baya'' took station in a scouting line deployed off [[Mindoro]] in the [[Philippine Islands]] between 14 and 25 December 1944. While shifting to the west on 27 December 1944, ''Baya'' sighted a Japanese [[task force]] consisting of two [[heavy cruiser]]s and four destroyers attempting to retreat from the Philippines. She closed for an attack and fired a full spread of torpedoes at the leading heavy cruiser, but scored no hits. Soon thereafter, she received orders to proceed to [[Australia]], and she arrived at Fremantle on 12 January 1945.

====Third war patrol====
After refit alongside the [[submarine tender]] {{USS|Anthedon|AS-24}}, ''Baya'' put to sea once again on 19 February 1945 for her third war patrol, this time in company with the submarine {{USS|Hammerhead|SS-364}}, and proceeded to a patrol area in the South China Sea off [[Cap Varella]] on the coast of Japanese-occupied [[French Indochina]]. The submarines sighted no significant targets until 4 March 1945, when the five-ship Japanese convoy HI-98, consisting of the [[Tanker (ship)|tanker]] ''Palembang Mar''u, a [[cargo ship]], and three escorts, appeared on ''Baya''′s radar scope. Numerous [[sailboat]]s hampered ''Baya'' as she attempted to approach the targets, and a calm, moonlit sea gave the advantage to her adversaries. However, two of the six torpedoes that she fired struck ''Palembang Maru'', which exploded in a tremendous blaze. Two others hit the cargo ship, but Baya could not determine the extent of damage she caused because the escorts drove her deep with [[depth charge]]s.

''Baya'' emerged from the encounter unscathed and then shifted her attention to the [[Camranh Bay]] area off French Indochina. Two hours before the start of the [[Watch system|midwatch]] on 20 March 1945, she contacted a single Japanese ship, the auxiliary [[netlayer]] ''Kainan Maru'', leaving [[Phan Rang Bay]]. Just after midnight, she fired a three-torpedo salvo from her [[stern]] [[torpedo tube]]s and scored one hit that sank ''Kainan Maru''. Later that morning, ''Baya'' fired another stern tube salvo at a convoy of two [[escort destroyer]]s and a [[submarine chaser]] leaving Phan Rang Bay, but her luck did not hold. Her torpedoes missed and she had to dive to avoid the resulting depth charge counterattack that shook her up. Ordered to the newly liberated [[Subic Bay]] on [[Luzon]] in the Philippines, ''Baya'' arrived there on 27 March 1945 for repairs and a refit alongside the submarine tender {{USS|Howard W. Gilmore|AS-16}}.

====Fourth war patrol====
''Baya'' got underway with ''Cavalla'' on 20 April 1945 for her fourth war patrol, again assigned a patrol area off Camranh Bay, where, besides routine submerged patrolling, she and ''Cavalla'' were assigned lifeguard duties in support of air strikes against [[Saigon]]. On 29 April 1945, a [[United States Army Air Forces]] [[Consolidated B-24 Liberator|B-24 Liberator]] [[bomber]] which mistook her for a Japanese submarine dropped a bomb which exploded about {{convert|1500|yd|sigfig=3}} ahead of ''Baya'' while ''Baya'' was operating approximately {{convert|15|nmi}} east-northeast of [[Long Hải (township)|Pulo Cecil de Mer]], French Indochina, at {{coord|10|34|N|109|09|E}}. ''Baya'' suffered no damage or casualties.<ref>Hinman & Campbell, p. 20.</ref>

On 2 May 1945, ''Baya'' joined the submarine {{USS|Lagarto|SS-371}} in the [[Gulf of Siam]] just north of [[Singapore]]. The next night, she began tracking a Japanese convoy made up of two [[gasoline]] tankers and two escorts. ''Baya'' maneuvered into position and fired her [[Bow (ship)|bow]] tubes, but the attack proved unsuccessful. The leading escort, a [[minelayer]], gave chase, but ''Baya'' quickly eluded her pursuer. The following day, ''Baya'' rendezvoused with ''Lagarto'' to plan a coordinated attack on the convoy. The convoy's unusually alert escorts frustrated the efforts of the two submarines, and no opportunities for attack presented themselves that day. Early the next morning ''Lagarto'' tried to attack the convoy from a position {{convert|12|nmi}} away from ''Baya''. Afterward, ''Baya'' attempted to contact ''Lagarto'' but her calls went unanswered. ''Lagarto'' was never heard from agan, and Japanese records indicated that the minelayer {{ship|Japanese minelayer|Hatsutaka||2}} sank a submarine in that location at that time. ''Lagarto'' was lost with all hands.

''Baya'' shifted her patrol to the [[Java Sea]], where on 13 May 1945 off [[Rembang Regency|Rembang]], [[Java]], she attacked a three-ship convoy consisting of the tanker ''Yosei Maru'', the tanker ''Enoshima Maru'' – which she misidentified as a cargo ship – and an escort bound for [[Palembang]], [[Sumatra]]. She chose ''Yosei Maru'' as her first target and scored three hits with a spread of six torpedoes. She then aimed her stern tubes at the escort, and believed she scored two hits. To make a clean sweep, she fired her two remaining torpedoes at ''Enoshima Maru'' and retired, leaving ''Yosei Maru'' sinking and, her crew believed, the other two ships severely damaged. The guard boat ''No.17 Shonan Maru'' carried out an unsuccessful counterattack on ''Baya''. Although ''Baya'' claimed to have sunk ''Enoshima Maru'', the latter had, in fact, escaped unscathed. On 18 May 1945, ''Baya'' reached Fremantle for a refit alongside the submarine tender {{USS|Clytie|AS-26}}.

====Fifth war patrol====

A fire in the maneuvering room delayed the start of ''Baya''′s fifth war patrol, but after the completion of repairs, she got underway on 20 June 1945. At the beginning of the patrol, she operated south of [[Cape Selatan]] in support of [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] [[Battle of Balikpapan (1945)|landings]] at [[Balikpapan]], [[Borneo]]. On 27 June 1945, she intercepted a single Japanese minelayer but her torpedoes missed. On 29 and 30 June 1945, ''Baya'' and the submarine {{USS|Capitaine|SS-336}} conducted a coordinated gun attack on five Japanese small craft. Heavy return fire ended this engagement before ''Baya'' could add another sinking to her record.

Baya performed lifeguard duties in the Java Sea during the first half of July 1945 and then continued her patrol in that same area. On 16 July 1945, she torpedoed and sank the Japanese [[Ōtori-class torpedo boat|''Ōtori''-class]] [[torpedo boat]] {{ship|Japanese torpedo boat|Kari|1937|2}}, then en route from [[Surabaya]], Java, to [[Ambon, Maluku|Ambon]] with two torpedoes; two [[Commissioned officer|officers]], 22 men, and one civilian passenger who survived ''Kari''′s sinking ultimately reached [[Masalamo Besar]] on 18 July. After an unsuccessful gun attack on another Japanese [[patrol craft]], ''Baya'' received orders to proceed to Subic Bay on 26 July 1945. She reached Subic Bay on 31 July 1945 and moored alongside ''Anthedon''. She was at Subic Bay when [[Surrender of Japan|hostilities with Japan ended]] on 15 August 1945.

====End of war====

Two weeks after Japan's capitulation, ''Baya'' departed Subic Bay bound for [[San Francisco]], [[California]], which she reached on 24 September 1945, passing under the [[Golden Gate Bridge]] as part of Admiral Halsey's symbolic end-of-war parade. Shortly thereafter she began inactivation, remaining in the San Francisco area, and on 14 May 1946 she was [[Ship decommissioning|decommissioned]] and placed in [[Reserve fleet|reserve]] at [[Mare Island Navy Yard]] at [[Mare Island]], California.

=== Research submarine ===

''Baya'' was converted to an electronics experimental submarine and recommissioned on 10 February 1948. All torpedo loading and stowage equipment was removed at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard to make room for [[Naval Electronics Laboratory]] (NEL) personnel and equipment. Reclassified as an auxiliary research submarine, '''AGSS-318''', on 12 August 1949, ''Baya'' conducted experiments for NEL [[San Diego California|San Diego]], California. She participated in local operations near San Diego and served with a joint American-Canadian task force gathering scientific data off western [[Canada]] in November and December 1948. During July–September 1949 she made a cruise to the [[Arctic]] to gather valuable scientific data in the [[Bering Sea]] and [[Chukchi Sea]].

In April 1953, ''Baya'' began an overhaul at the [[Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard]] at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and, upon completing it, resumed her duties in support of underwater electronics research, which occupied her throughout 1954 and for most of 1955. Between July and October 1955 she was deployed to Pearl Harbor for further experimental research. In December 1955 she commenced an overhaul at the [[Hunters Point Naval Shipyard]] in San Francisco to update her capabilities for NEL testing. [[File:USS Baya (AGSS-318 with removable sonar test tank in 1957.jpg|thumb|left|''Baya'' in 1957, after her first rebuild, with large fairwater abaft her conning tower.]]
[[File:USS Baya NEL.jpg|thumb|left|USS Baya shown during her [[Naval Electronics Laboratory]] (NEL) duties. The vessel in the upper part of the photo is the NEL [[Oceanography|oceanographic]] [[research ship]] {{USS|Rexburg}}.]]
''Baya'' was used as a [[testbed]] for two early [[sonar]] [[transducer]] arrays which markedly changed her appearance.  The first arrangement of 196 transducers in a 14×14 array was attached to the former [[gun mount]] abaft the [[conning tower]], facing [[Port and starboard|starboard]] and surrounded by a [[Fairwater (submarine)|fairwater]] resembling a second conning tower. She then operated from San Diego and Pearl Harbor for the rest of her career. She conducted a one-day cruise to film an episode of the 1958–1961 television show ''[[Sea Hunt]]'', starring [[Lloyd Bridges]].

After the first array and fairwater were removed, ''Baya'' was completely reworked at Mare Island Naval Shipyard during 1958 and 1959 to test a second array, called [[LORAD]] (for "LOng RAnge Detection"). The forward torpedo tubes were removed and replaced by a blunt bow containing the forward-facing transducer array. A [[mushroom anchor]] was installed in the bottom of the hull; and a {{convert|23|ft|adj=on}} section was added between the former forward torpedo room and the forward battery compartment, with quarters for twelve scientists. These modifications increased her overall length to {{convert|330|ft|0}}, and her submerged [[Displacement (ship)|displacement]] to approximately 2,600&nbsp;tons. Her maximum speed was reduced to {{convert|10.5|kn|km/h|0}}.[http://www.subnet.com/FLEET/ss318.htm]<ref>{{cite book  | last = Friedman | first = Norman | title = U.S. Submarines Since 1945: An Illustrated Design History | publisher = [[United States Naval Institute]] | year = 1994 | location = [[Annapolis, Maryland]] | pages = 65–68 | isbn = 1-55750-260-9 }}</ref>

''Baya'' served in the [[Vietnam War]] zone for two months in 1966 in conjunction with [[sonar]] research operations for NEL and in submerged visibility studies for the [[Naval Oceanographic Office]]. In 1968, she commenced a series of tests for the [[Operational Test and Evaluation Force]], Pacific, and the [[Naval Undersea Warfare Center]]. In 1971, she performed research in the [[Gulf of Alaska]] before returning to San Diego in December 1971. In April 1972, she made one last cruise to Pearl Harbor to conduct sonar experiments before returning to San Diego.

==Decommissioning and disposal==
''Baya'' was decommissioned and struck from the [[Naval Register]] on 30 October 1972. She was sold on 12 October 1973 for scrapping.

==Honors and awards==
*{{ribbon devices|number=4|type=service-star|ribbon=Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} [[Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal]] with four [[battle star]]s for [[World War II]] service
*[[File:World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg|106px]] [[World War II Victory Medal]]
*{{ribbon devices|number=2|type=service-star|ribbon=Vietnam Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} [[Vietnam Service Medal]] with two [[battle star]]s for [[Vietnam War]] service

{{clear}}

== References ==
===Citations===
{{reflist}}
{{refbegin}}
*{{DANFS|https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/b/baya-i.html}}

===Bibliography===
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=hkupDwAAQBAJ&dq=LApon+raton&pg=PA181 Hinman, Charles R., and Douglas E. Campbell. ''The Submarine Has No Friends: Friendly Fire Incidents Involving U.S. Submarines During World War II''. Syneca Research Group, Inc., 2019.] {{ISBN|978-0-359-76906-3}}.
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|USS Baya (SS-318)}}
*{{navsource|08/08318|Baya}}
*[http://www.ussbaya.com   USS Baya Homepage: USS ''Baya'']
*[http://www.pigboats.com/ww2/baya.html  Kill record: USS ''Baya'']

{{Balao class submarine}}
{{April 1945 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baya (SS-318)}}
[[Category:Balao-class submarines]]
[[Category:World War II submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Cold War submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships built in Groton, Connecticut]]
[[Category:1944 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in April 1945]]
[[Category:Friendly fire incidents of World War II]]