"My Father was a Subby" US WWII SUBMARINE SS399 SeaCat

"My Father was a Subby"

US WWII SUBMARINE SS399 SeaCat

This Song was written by Me to Honor My Father Robert "Porky" Coleman was Radioman 3rd Class when he boarded SeaCat SS399 upon its Commissioning till after 1946 when he then joined the US Coast Guard and retired as Commander and was Commander of the St. Louis Missouri District in 1976-78.

This is a Video Tribute to All who have Served in the 'Silent Service' and especially to My Father.

Overview

Type/Class: Balao-class fleet submarine, U.S. Navy. Built at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (Kittery, Maine); laid down 30 Oct 1943, launched 21 Feb 1944, commissioned 16 May 1944.

WWII service: Four war patrols (1944–45) in the Pacific; in Tokyo Bay for the formal Japanese surrender on 2 Sep 1945; credited with 3 battle stars.

Postwar: Atlantic Fleet boat based mainly from Key West, redesignated AGSS-399 (30 Sep 1949) for experimental work, converted to Fleet Snorkel and reverted to SS-399 (1952). Decommissioned 2 Dec 1968, struck same day; sold for scrap 18 May 1973.

Commanding officers (WWII)
Cdr. Rob Roy McGregor – 16 May 1944 to 8 Jan 1945.
Lt. Cdr. Richard Harwood Bowers – 8 Jan 1945 to Nov 1945.

Builder’s specs (as commissioned)
Length 311 ft 6 in; beam 27 ft 3 in; test depth 400 ft.

Power: four Fairbanks-Morse opposed-piston diesels → generators; four electric motors; two shafts.

Armament (WWII): 10 × 21-in torpedo tubes (24 torpedoes), 5-inch/25 deck gun, 40 mm and 20 mm AA.

Complement: ~10 officers, 70–71 enlisted.

War patrols:

1st patrol (late 1944) – South China Sea with Pampanito (SS-383), Pipefish (SS-388), Searaven (SS-196); fired on two large merchantmen (postwar Japanese records did not confirm sinkings). Refit at Guam.

2nd patrol (Feb–Mar 1945) – East China Sea with Segundo (SS-398) and Razorback (SS-394); damaged a ~300-ton ship by gunfire; claimed a ~2,000-ton sinking (not supported by Japanese records). Ended at Midway.

3rd patrol (Apr–Jun 1945) – Yellow Sea; sank/smashed about 400 tons of small craft by gunfire; recovered two survivors for interrogation; to Pearl Harbor for upkeep.

4th patrol (Aug 1945) – Sortied toward the Kurils; hostilities ceased en route; ordered into Tokyo Bay and present at the surrender on 2 Sep 1945.

Tokyo Bay, 2 September 1945 (SubRon 20 alongside USS Proteus AS-19)
Sea Cat was one of twelve U.S. submarines present for the surrender. The twelve recorded are: Archerfish (SS-311), Cavalla (SS-244), Gato (SS-212), Haddo (SS-255), Hake (SS-256), Muskallunge (SS-262), Pilotfish (SS-386), Razorback (SS-394), Runner (SS-476), Sea Cat (SS-399), Segundo (SS-398), Tigrone (SS-419).

The famous NHHC photograph (NH 90519) shows Proteus with Submarine Squadron 20 tied up in Tokyo Bay, with the submarines and commanding officers listed in the caption.

(For context, official Pacific Fleet rosters dated 1 May 1945 list SEA CAT — Lt. Cdr. R. H. Bowers under ComSubRon 20 (Capt. L. S. Parks).

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