Editing Balao-class submarine (section)

==Service history==
===World War II===
[[File:Shinano photo.jpg|thumb|left|''Shinano'' underway during sea trials in Tokyo Bay]]

The ''Balao''s began to enter service in mid-1943, as the many problems with the [[Mark 14 torpedo]] were being solved. They were instrumental in the Submarine Force's near-destruction of the [[Imperial Japan|Japanese]] merchant fleet and significant attrition of the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]]. One of the class, {{USS|Archerfish|SS-311|2}}, brought down what remains the largest warship sunk by a submarine, the {{ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Shinano||2|up=yes}} (59,000 tons). {{USS|Tang|SS-306|2}}, the highest-scoring of the class, sank 33 ships totaling 116,454 tons, as officially revised upward in 1980.<ref>O'Kane 1989, p. 458</ref>

Nine ''Balao''s were lost in World War II, while two US boats were lost in postwar accidents. In foreign service, one in Turkish service was lost in a collision in 1953, one in Peruvian service was lost in a collision in 1988, and {{USS|Catfish|SS-339|2}} was sold to the Argentinian Navy. She was renamed the ARA ''Santa Fe'' (S-21) and was lost in the 1982 [[Falklands War]] after being damaged, when she sank while moored pierside. ''Santa Fe'' was refloated and disposed of a few years after the war by being taken out to deep water and scuttled.

Additionally, {{USS|Lancetfish|SS-296|2}}, commissioned but incomplete and still under construction, flooded and sank pierside at the [[Boston Navy Yard]] on 15 March 1945, after a yard worker mistakenly opened the inner door of an aft [[torpedo tube]] that already had the outer door open. No personnel were lost in the accident and she was raised, decommissioned, and never completed or repaired.<ref name="Register"/><ref>Friedman through 1945, p. 297</ref><ref>Silverstone, p. 199</ref> Her 42 days in commission is the record for the shortest commissioned service of any USN submarine. Postwar, she was laid up in the [[United States Navy reserve fleets|Reserve Fleet]] until stricken in 1958 and scrapped in 1959.
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===''Balao'' class losses===

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:97%;"
!Name and hull number
! Date
! width="50%" | Notes
|-
|{{USS|Cisco|SS-290}}
|28 September 1943
|Lost to air attack and gunboat ''Karatsu'' (ex-{{USS|Luzon|PG-47|6}}) 
|-
|{{USS|Capelin|SS-289}}
|December 1943
|Cause of loss unknown, possibly naval mine or attack by the {{ship|Japanese minelayer|Wakataka||2|up=yes}}
|-
|{{USS|Escolar|SS-294}}
|17 October - 13 November 1944
|Probably lost to enemy [[Naval mine|mine]]
|-
|{{USS|Shark|SS-314}}
|24 October 1944
|Attacked by the {{ship|Japanese destroyer|Harukaze|1922|2|up=yes}}
|-
|{{USS|Tang|SS-306}}
|25 October 1944
|Sunk by a circular run of own torpedo
|-
|{{USS|Barbel|SS-316}}
|4 February 1945
|Air attack 
|-
|{{USS|Kete|SS-369}}
|March 1945
|Cause of loss unknown, possibly to mine or enemy action
|-
|{{USS|Lagarto|SS-371}}
|3 May 1945
|Attacked by {{ship|Japanese minelayer|Hatsutaka||2|up=yes}}
|-
|{{USS|Bullhead|SS-332}}
|6 August 1945
|Sunk by Japanese air attack by a [[Mitsubishi Ki-51]]
|-
|{{USS|Cochino|SS-345}}
|26 August 1949
|Accidental fire 
|-
|[[USS Blower (SS-325)|TCG ''Dumlupinar'' (D-6)]] (formerly {{USS|Blower|SS-325}})
|4 April 1953 
|In Turkish service, lost in collision with MV ''Naboland''
|-
|{{USS|Stickleback|SS-415}}
|28 May 1958 
|Collision with {{USS|Silverstein|DE-534}}
|-
|{{ship|ARA|Santa Fe|S-21}} (formerly {{USS|Catfish|SS-339}})
|25 April 1982 
|In Argentine service, disabled by helicopter attack, sank pierside, and was captured by ground forces during [[Operation Paraquet]] - the British recapture of [[South Georgia Island|South Georgia]] during the Falklands War. After the war, she was scuttled in deep water.
|-
|{{ship|BAP|Pacocha|SS-48}} (formerly {{USS|Atule|SS-403}})
|26 August 1988 
|In Peruvian service, lost in collision with Japanese fishing trawler ''Kiowa Maru''
|-
|}

===Notable submarines===
* '''{{USS|Tang|SS-306|2}}''' was second on the list of number of ships sunk with 33 and first on the list of tonnage with 116,454. Her third war patrol was the most successful of any U.S. submarine with 10 ships for 39,100 tons. Sunk in the [[Taiwan Strait]] by a circular run of her own torpedo, her skipper [[Richard O'Kane]] and eight others escaped; some escaped the submerged wreck with the only known successful use of the [[Momsen lung|Momsen Lung]]. ''Tang''{{'}}s survivors were imprisoned by the Japanese for the rest of the war. After his release following the Japanese surrender, Richard O'Kane was awarded the [[Medal of Honor]] for his actions commanding ''Tang'' during the convoy battles of 24 and 25 October 1944.
* [[USS Archerfish (SS-311)|'''''Archerfish''''']] sank the aircraft carrier [[Japanese aircraft carrier Shinano|''Shinano'']]. ''Shinano'' is the largest ship sunk by a submarine. Commander Enright was awarded the [[Navy Cross]].
* '''''[[USS Batfish (SS-310)|Batfish]]''''' is preserved as a museum ship in [[Oklahoma]]. She is famous for sinking three Japanese submarines, ''[[Japanese submarine Ro-55 (1944)|RO-55]]'', [[Japanese submarine Ro-112|''RO-112'']], and ''[[Japanese submarine Ro-113|RO-113]]'' in a 3 day time span. She is the only US submarine to have sunk 3 ships in a 72 hour period. She also sank the destroyer ''[[Japanese destroyer Samidare (1935)|Samidare]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Franco |first=Samantha |date=2022-07-28 |title=How Veterans Saved a WWII-Era Submarine By Moving It to a Soybean Field in Oklahoma |url=https://www.warhistoryonline.com/ships/uss-batfish.html |access-date=2024-11-23 |website=warhistoryonline |language=en}}</ref>
* ''[[USS Redfish (SS-395)|'''Redfish''']]'' participated in the destruction of two Japanese aircraft carriers. On December 9th, she was part of a [[Wolfpack (naval tactic)|submarine wolfpack]] which damaged the aircraft carrier ''[[Japanese aircraft carrier Jun'yō|Junyō]]'' beyond repair, then just 10 days later she torpedoed and sank the aircraft carrier ''[[Japanese aircraft carrier Unryū|Unryū]]''. After the war, ''Redfish'' became something of a movie star, playing the role of [[Jules Verne]]'s ''Nautilus'' in the [[Walt Disney]] film ''[[20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954 film)|20,000 Leagues Under the Sea]],'' then played the part of the fictional submarine USS ''Nerka'' in the 1958 motion picture ''[[Run Silent, Run Deep]]''. She capped her film career by making several appearances in the popular black-and-white television series ''The Silent Service''.
* '''''[[USS Sealion (SS-315)|Sealion]]''''' launched a torpedo attack which sank the Japanese battleship ''[[Japanese battleship Kongō|Kongō]]'' and the destroyer ''[[Japanese destroyer Urakaze (1940)|Urakaze]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Historic Naval Sound and Video |url=https://www.maritime.org/sound/ |access-date=2024-11-23 |website=www.maritime.org}}</ref>
* '''''[[USS Blackfin|Blackfin]]''''' sank the Japanese destroyer ''[[Japanese destroyer Shigure (1935)|Shigure]]''. Up to that point, ''Shigure'' was seen as a fortune ship, having survived the entirety of the [[Solomon Islands campaign]] without losing a single man in combat, and in turn served in several naval battles, which included helping to sink the submarine [[USS Growler (SS-215)|USS ''Growler'']] and being the only Japanese ship of her formation to survive the battles of [[Battle of Vella Gulf|Vella Gulf]] and [[Battle of the Surigao Strait|Surigao Strait]]. Her actions were heavily publicized, and her sinking was a huge blow to Japanese morale.<ref>{{Cite web |title=IJN Shigure: Tabular Record of Movement |url=http://www.combinedfleet.com/shigur_t.htm}}</ref>