View source for USS Spot

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

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[Image:USS Spot SS-413 July1944.jpg|300px|USS Spot at her berthing dock, one month before commissioned]]
|Ship caption=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1962}}
|Ship name=''Spot''
|Ship ordered=9 July 1942
|Ship builder=[[Mare Island Naval Shipyard]]<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=24 August 1943<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship launched=19 May 1944<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=3 August 1944<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship decommissioned=19 June 1946<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=yes
|Ship recommissioned=19 August 1961<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship decommissioned=12 January 1962<ref name="FriedmanSubs1-dates"/>
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=1 August 1975<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 reinstated=
|Ship identification=[[Hull classification symbol|Hull number]]: SS-413
|Ship fate=Transferred to [[Chile]], 12 January 1962<ref name="Register"/>

}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=title
|Ship country=Chile
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Chile|navy}}
|Ship name=''Simpson''
|Ship acquired=12 January 1962
|Ship commissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=1982
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship identification=[[Pennant number]]: SS-21
|Ship struck=
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship fate=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass|Balao|submarine|4}} [[diesel-electric]] [[submarine]]<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship displacement=*1,525&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|10|in|abbr=on}}<ref name="Register"/>
|Ship beam={{convert|27|ft|4|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-FM-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 ''Spot'' (SS-413)''' was a [[Balao class submarine|''Balao''-class]] [[submarine]] of the [[United States Navy]], named for the [[Spot croaker|spot]], a small [[Sciaenidae|sciaenoid]] food fish of the Atlantic coast, with a black spot behind its shoulders.

==Construction and commissioning==
''Spot'' was [[Keel-laying|laid down]] on 24 August 1943 by the [[Mare Island Navy Yard]] at [[Vallejo, California|Vallejo]], [[California]]. She was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 19 May 1944, sponsored by Mrs. A. A. Gieselmann, and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 3 August 1944, [[Commander (United States)|Commander]] William S. Post, Jr., in command.

==U.S. Navy service==

=== September–November 1944 ===

''Spot'' completed [[Fitting-out|fitting out]] at Mare Island on 18 September 1944 and moved to [[San Diego]] for [[Shakedown (testing)|shakedown]]. After a yard period, ''Spot'' departed for [[Hawaii]] and arrived at [[Pearl Harbor]] on 14 November 1944.

=== First patrol, December 1944 – January 1945 ===

Accompanied by {{USS|Balao|SS-285|3}}, ''Spot'' got underway for the [[Mariana Islands|Marianas]] on 4 December. They were joined by {{USS|Icefish|SS-367|3}} en route, and the trio arrived at [[Saipan]] on 15 December 1944.

Two days later, the [[Wolf pack (submarines)|hunter-killer group]] headed for the [[Yellow Sea]]. On 7 January 1945, ''Spot'' sank two small [[Commercial trawler|trawlers]] with her deck gun.<ref>[http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/USN-Chron/USN-Chron-1945.html Lists guard boat No.2 Nichiei Maru sunk by USS Spot]</ref> Four days later, she destroyed a small freighter by gunfire. On 13 January off Shanghai, the submarine sank two trawlers by shellfire, and she repeated the feat the next day. In a night sweep through the [[Elliott Islands]] on 18 and 19 January, ''Spot'' torpedoed a cargo ship and a [[Tanker (ship)|tanker]].<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/TheOfficialChronologyOfTheUSNavyInWorldWarII#page/n611/mode/2up/search/submarine+Spot Lists USA MARU 19 January 1945 by USS Spot]</ref>

As ''Spot'' came down the west coast of [[Korea]], she sighted a small ship and fired her last three torpedoes. All ran shallow and missed. With only 1,300 rounds of 20&nbsp;mm ammunition remaining, the submarine closed to {{convert|800|yd|m}} and opened fire. The enemy made an unsuccessful attempt to ram. No one manned the Japanese ship's machine gun atop her pilot house; her top deck was in shambles; and the ship was dead in the water but not sinking.<ref>[http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/USN-Chron/USN-Chron-1945.html lists merchant fishing boat Tokiwa Maru sunk by USS Spot January 20, 1945]</ref>

''Spot'' waited for an hour and then sent over a boarding party of seven men to plant demolition charges and search for intelligence material. After about ten minutes on board, the party had to abandon as the ship listed to port and sank by the stern. The boarding party was recovered and one Japanese prisoner taken. The submarine returned to [[Midway Atoll|Midway]] on 30 January for a refit and training period.

=== Second war patrol, February – March 1945 ===

On 24 February, ''Spot'' began her second war patrol which took her, {{USS|Queenfish|SS-393|3}}, and {{USS|Sea Fox|SS-402|3}} into the [[East China Sea]]. On the second night in her assigned patrol area, ''Spot'' expended all torpedoes attacking a Japanese [[convoy]]. They sank the passenger-cargo ship, ''Nanking Maru'', and damaged a freighter.<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/TheOfficialChronologyOfTheUSNavyInWorldWarII#page/n639/mode/2up/search/submarine+Spot "I komansan Maru" was beached; it was later attacked by US_B25 Bombers March 26, 1945]</ref> The attack was made in heavy weather and shallow water. ''Spot'' was surfaced and heading for deeper water but could not elude one of the escorts, the minesweeper ''W-17'', which closed to {{convert|4200|yd|m}} and opened fire. ''Spot'' manned her guns and returned the fire even though she was wallowing heavily in the rough seas. A lucky hit by her {{convert|5|in|mm|adj=on}} gun knocked out ''W-17''<nowiki/>'s forward gun and saved the submarine from almost certain disaster. ''Spot'' secured her guns, cleared the bridge, and submerged. The escort dropped a few [[depth charge]] patterns which caused no damage, and the submarine returned to [[Saipan]] on 23 March to reload.

On 27 March 1945, ''Spot'' resumed her patrol. On 31 March 1945, she was on the surface in the [[Philippine Sea]] {{convert|425|nmi}} southeast of [[Kagoshima]], [[Kyushu]], [[Japan]] at {{coord|29|14|N|137|18|E}} when she sighted a [[destroyer]] that offered no recognition signals. ''Spot'' maneuvered to close when the destroyer turned towards her and increased its speed. When the range was approximately {{convert|5,500|yd|m|sigfig=2}}, the destroyer opened fire. ''Spot'' fired a recognition flare that the destroyer answered with a second [[salvo]]. As ''Spot'' submerged, another salvo straddled her conning tower. After ''Spot'' reached a depth of {{convert|450|ft|0}}, she and the destroyer exchanged recognition signals and the destroyer discontinued its attack. The destroyer was later identified as {{USS|Case|DD-370}}, which reported firing fifteen {{convert|5|in|mm|0|adj=on}} rounds. ''Spot'' suffered no damage or casualties in this [[friendly fire]] incident.<ref>Hinman & Campbell, pp. 278–280.</ref>

=== Third and fourth war patrols, April – July 1945 ===

During the first week of April, ''Spot'' guarded the approaches to [[Kii Suido]]. After aircraft from the [[Fast Carrier Task Force]] sank [[battleship]] [[Japanese battleship Yamato|''Yamato'']], a [[cruiser]], and four destroyers in the East China Sea on 7 April, the submarine patrolled in that area. She hunted off the China coast and then conducted a reconnaissance of [[Kokuzan To]], off Korea and decided to shell a radio station on the northwest tip of the island. On the evening of 25 April, she surfaced and began the bombardment which hit an oil storage area, several barracks, and set the radio station on fire. ''Spot'' returned to the [[Mariana Islands]] on 4 May for refit.

''Spot'' began her last war patrol on 2 June and performed lifeguard services off the coast of [[Honshū]] until 23 June. She then patrolled in the [[East China Sea|East China]] and [[Yellow Sea]]s, sinking two [[junk (ship)|junks]] by gunfire before returning to Saipan on 18 July. The submarine sailed for Hawaii the next day.

''Spot'' arrived at Pearl Harbor on 29 July for an extended overhaul and was still there when hostilities ceased. She sailed for [[San Diego]] on 27 August and provided services for [[antisubmarine warfare]] units there from 3 September 1945 to 2 March 1946. The ship then sailed to San Francisco to prepare for inactivation. She was decommissioned at the [[Mare Island Naval Shipyard]] on 19 June and attached to the [[Pacific Reserve Fleet]].

=== Honors and awards ===
''Spot'' received four [[battle star]]s for [[World War II]] service.

== Chilean Navy service ==
{{unreferenced section|date=May 2016}}

In January 1961, ''Spot'' was towed to Pearl Harbor for modernization in preparation for transfer to the [[Chilean Navy]].  A streamlined [[Sail (submarine)|sail]] was added but, unusually for a post-World War II submarine, her [[deck gun]] was retained.

The Chilean crew reported aboard later in 1961 for training, and on 12 January 1962, ''Spot'' was loaned to that government under the Military Assistance Loan Program. She was renamed '''''Simpson'' (SS-21)''', in honor of Chilean [[admiral]] [[Robert Winthrop Simpson]] (1799–1877). The submarine arrived in Chile on 23 April 1962.

On 1 August 1975 the submarine was sold outright to Chile, and struck from the US [[Navy Directory]]. In 1980, ''Simpson'' was used extensively by director [[Kinji Fukasaku]] in the disaster film ''[[Fukkatsu no hi]]'' (titled in English''[[Virus (1980 film)|Virus]]'' and ''Day of Resurrection'').  The film features spectacular footage of ''Simpson'' operating in the [[Antarctic]].

''Simpson'' was significant for being one of the last submarines to have a deck gun; she was disposed of by the Chilean Navy in 1982.

==Citations==

{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/s16/spot.htm|http://hazegray.org/danfs/submar/ss413.txt}}

==References==
{{reflist}}
* [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}}.

==External links==
{{Commons category|USS Spot (SS-413)}}
*{{navsource|08/08413|Spot}}
*[http://www.pigboats.com/ww2/spot.html Kill record: USS ''Spot'']
*[https://archive.today/20130410035545/http://www.armada.cl/prontus_armada/site/artic/20090706/pags/20090706210042.html armada.cl: ''Simpson'']

{{Balao class submarine|others}}
{{Chilean submarines}}
{{March 1945 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spot (Ss-413)}}
[[Category:Balao-class submarines]]
[[Category:Ships built in Vallejo, California]]
[[Category:1944 ships]]
[[Category:World War II submarines of the United States]]
[[Category:Balao-class submarines of the Chilean Navy]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in March 1945]]
[[Category:Friendly fire incidents of World War II]]