![]() ![]() The third patrol left Brisbane 1 st September 1943 again under Lt. This was Peto’s first successful patrol, as deemed by the naval staff. The Peto fired five torpedoes at enemy vessels, achieving three hits: one naval auxiliary ship sank (2000 tons) and one tanker to limped away damaged (10000 tons). This patrol was from 10 th June 1943 to 4 th August 1943, lasting a total of 52 days at sea. Nelson in the Truk-Rabaul area from Brisbane. Overall, the first mission was deemed unsuccessful by naval staff. She returned to port for rearmament and refit on the 20 th of May 1943. In the Pellews-Rabaul area, the Peto fired three torpedoes at Japanese shipping, claiming one possible torpedo hit. The goals were to reconnoiter Greenwich Island, hunt both the Truk-Rabaul shipping lanes and the Pelews-Rabaul shipping lanes. She left Brisbane on 2 nd of April 1943 for her first combat patrol under the command of Lieutenant Commander William T Nelson. This required the sub to be put on a special barge on the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers after commissioning on November 21 st, 1942 and then recommissioned after reaching New Orleans around January of 1943. However, she was made in a shipyard on a freshwater river connected to a Great Lake, a way to reach the ocean was needed. The USS Peto served exclusively in the Pacific theater of World War Two, undergoing 10 combat patrols from bases in Brisbane, Australia and Pearl Harbor. The 3”/50 gun would have a barrel length of 3 inches multiplied by 50, meaning 150 inch (12.5 feet) long barrel. US Navy gun naming convention names the gun by caliber and the barrel length in multiples of the caliber. A single 40 millimeter Bofors antiaircraft gun was installed on the eighth patrol, which also could be used to attack small surface targets. The 4”/50 gun was short lived, being replaced for the 7th through 10th patrols with a 5 inch/25 caliber deck gun. The sixth patrol featured a 4 inch/50 caliber deck gun instead of the dual purpose 3”/50 the 4”/50 could not be used against aircraft. This was used frequently to dispose of anti-shipping mines on numerous patrols. The Oerlikon was fed by a 60 cartridge drum magazine making it useful for anti aircraft, small boats and for antipersonnel. The fourth patrol was just after some modifications to the pilot house on the conning tower which allowed the use and installation of a 20 millimeter Oerlikon automatic cannon. After the first patrol, the 3”/50 caliber gun was moved forward of the conning tower. The first five patrols had a 3 inch/50 caliber dual purpose gun for anti aircraft use and surface action. 50 caliber could be mounted depending on the conning tower space or hand held, along with various handheld crew weapons stored in the hull. The two types of “fish” were Peto’s primary offensive weapons of the war, accounting for all but one of her kills. The standard torpedo was the Mark 14 which was replaced in later patrols with the electrically driven Mk 18 torpedos. ![]() The hull was equipped with ten torpedo tubes of 21 inch diameter, in the configuration of six in the bow and four in the stern. The main and stealthy option was located in the hull of the Peto and other Gato class submarines. ![]() Accommodations aboard the Peto were quite cramped as it has a surface displacement of only 1,526 tons and housed a crew of six officers and 54 enlisted men for patrols up to 75 days in length (SS-265.Įach patrol had varied weapon load outs. Floating on the surface, the Peto drew slightly more than 15 feet (SS-265). The specifications of the Peto were similar to other submarines of the Gato class of fleet submarines: length of 311 feet, 9 inches and a beam of 27 feet, 3 inches. Specifications and Armament USS Peto on a special dry dock. The sponsor, Mrs Emanual A Lofquist, broke the launching Champagne bottle on the bow of USS Peto on Ap( USS PETO (SS 265)). She was the first submarine ever to be launched sideways. The reason for the sideways launch was constraints, primarily the water depth and width of the river. After 10 months of labor, she was launched sideways, in the Great Lakes ship builders’ tradition, into the Manitowoc River. The USS Peto was laid down on the 18 th of June in 1941, months before the infamous attack on Pearl Harbor in December of 1941 ( USS PETO (SS 265)). They made a total of 28 submarines of the Gato class and Balao class submarines for the war effort. Amazingly, the men and women working on the sub managed to finish 288 days before the date specified in the contract for delivery. It was Manitowoc’s first time building a submarine. The shipyard was located on Lake Michigan in the port city of Manitowoc, Wisconsin. The SS-265 USS Peto was the first United States Gato class submarine built by a freshwater shipyard, the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company. Launching of the Peto (Harry Burns, photographer for Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co, ) ![]()
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