
USS Bang, a 1526-ton Balao class submarine built at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, was commissioned in December 1943. She went to the Pacific in February 1944 to join the war against Japan, beginning the first of her six war patrols in March. This cruise, into the Luzon Strait area, produced the sinking of three enemy ships. Bang's second patrol was made in support of the June 1944 Saipan invasion and continued on to the Formosa area, where she attacked many Japanese ships but gained no confirmed sinkings. Her third and fourth combat patrols, off Japan and Formosa in August-September and October-December 1944, were productive, with a total of five ships falling to her torpedoes. Two final cruises, during January-February and March-May 1945, generated no sinkings, but did result in the rescue of a Navy aviator who had ditched at sea.
In May 1945 Bang was sent back to the East Coast for overhaul, which was followed by postwar operations in the Atlantic. She was decommissioned in February 1947 and remained in reserve until the Korean War crisis brought her back into commission in February 1951. During 1952 Bang received a "Guppy IIA" modernization that streamlined her appearance and greatly improved her underwater performance. Thereafter, the submarine continued operations and training work as part of the Atlantic Fleet, making occasional deployments to the Mediterranean Sea and northern European waters through the rest of the 1950s and during the 1960s. USS Bang was transferred to Spain at the beginning of October 1972, a loan that was converted to a sale in November 1974. As the Spanish Navy's Cosme Garcia, she had nearly another decade of active service before being stricken in June 1982.
This page features, and provides links to, all the views we have concerning USS Bang (SS-385).
For other images related to this submarine, see:
| If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.
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Photo #: NH 86619 USS Bang (SS-385) Underway, circa 1946. This is a halftone reproduction. Courtesy of John Hummel, 1978. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 86KB; 740 x 600 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 83676 USS Bang (SS-385) In port, dressed with flags, circa 1945-1946. Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1975. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 81KB; 740 x 485 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 93498 USS Proteus (AS-19) At Midway Naval Base between 14 and 28 May 1944. The submarines alongside are (from left to right): U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 83KB; 740 x 530 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 78978 USS Bang (SS-385) Underway in a harbor during the 1950s, following her "GUPPY" conversion. Courtesy of Commander Donald J. Robinson, USN(MSC), 1974. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 100KB; 740 x 495 pixels |
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Photo #: USN 1035973 USS Bang (SS-385) Underway on 6 June 1958. Official U.S. Navy Photograph. Online Image: 85KB; 740 x 610 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system as Photo # 428-N-1035973. |
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Photo #: NH 98696 USS Bang (SS-385) Underway in June 1965. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Online Image: 122KB; 740 x 600 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 98699 USS Bang (SS-385) "Stands out" in San Juan harbor, Puerto Rico, prior to coming alongside at the San Juan Naval Station, during Operation "Springboard". A U.S. Coast Guard SA-16 "Albatross" is on the water beyond Bang's stern. Photograph by PHC "CJ" Wiitala, USN, released 14 March 1968 by Tenth Naval District Public Affairs Office. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Online Image: 110KB; 740 x 615 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 98697 USS Bang (SS-385) Preparing to tie up alongside USS Chivo (SS-341) at San Juan Naval Station, Puerto Rico, during Operation "Springboard". Bang's Commanding Officer, Commander R.J. Carlin, is giving orders from atop her sail. Photograph by PHC "CJ" Wiitala, USN, released 14 March 1968 by Tenth Naval District Public Affairs Office. The bow of a Canadian Ojibwa class submarine is visible in the lower left, and a U.S. Coast Guard SA-16 "Albatross" amphibian is flying low in the center background. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Online Image: 114KB; 600 x 765 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 98698 USS Bang (SS-385) Comes alongside USS Chivo (SS-341) at San Juan Naval Station, Puerto Rico, during Operation "Springboard". A Canadian Ojibwa class submarine is in the foreground. Photograph by PHC "CJ" Wiitala, USN, released 14 March 1968 by Tenth Naval District Public Affairs Office. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Online Image: 124KB; 600 x 765 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 98800 USS Bang (SS-385) Underway, May 1972. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Online Image: 82KB; 740 x 570 pixels |
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In addition to the images presented above, the National Archives appears to hold other views of USS Bang (SS-385). The following list features some of these images:
The images listed below are NOT in
the Naval Historical Center's collections.
DO NOT try to obtain them using the procedures described in our
page "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions".
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USS Bang (SS-385) underway at low speed off Boone Island, New Hampshire, 24 November 1952, following her "Guppy IIA" modernization. Starboard bow surface view. As in 80-G-644331, but port bow surface view, rather toward the broadside, with land visible in the distance. As in 80-G-644331, but starboard quarter surface view, with the submarine making little, if any, speed.
Reproductions of these images should be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system for pictures not held by the Naval Historical Center. The images listed in this box are NOT in the Naval Historical Center's collections. DO NOT try to obtain them using the procedures described in our page "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions". |
For other images related to this submarine, see:
| If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Page made 9 September 2003