Career
Ordered:
Laid down:	17 December 1942
Launched:	8 August 1943
Commissioned:	11 November 1943
Decommissioned:	28 June 1969
Fate:	Sunk as salvage trainer in Hawaii
Stricken:	28 June 1969
General Characteristics
Displacement:	1526 tons
Length:	311 feet 9 inches
Beam:	27 feet 3 inches
Draft:	17 feet
Propulsion:
Speed:	20.3 knots
Range:
Complement:	60 officers and men
Armament:	one four-inch gun, ten 21-inch torpedo tubes
Motto:

USS Bluegill (SS-242), a Gato-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the bluegill, a freshwater sunfish of the Mississippi River basin and Great Lakes. Her keel was laid down by the Electric Boat Company in Groton, Connecticut on 17 December 1942. She was launched on 8 August 1943 sponsored by Mrs. Cole, wife of Congressman W. Sterling Cole of New York, and commissioned on 11 November 1943, Lieutenant Commander Eric L. Barr, Jr., in command; and reported to the Pacific Fleet.

Bluegill’s war operations cover the period between 1 April 1944 and 21 June 1945 during which time she completed six war patrols in an area extending from New Guinea to Formosa and through the South China Sea and Java Sea. Bluegill sank ten Japanese vessels, totaling 46,212 tons, including the light cruiser Yubari on 27 April 1944 and a submarine chaser.

During January 1945 Bluegill made reconnaissances in support of American reoccupation of the Philippines. On 28 May she conducted a reconnaissance and bombardment of Pratas Island . Twelve men were landed and discovered that the island had recently been evacuated by the Japanese naval garrison. In a fitting ceremony on 29 May Bluegill raised the American flag on Pratas Island and proclaimed it to be "Bluegill Island."

Bluegill arrived at Pearl Harbor on 21 June 1945 from her last war patrol. She continued to serve with the Pacific Fleet until 1 March 1946 when she was placed out of commission in reserve at Mare Island Naval Shipyard.

Bluegill was recommissioned 3 May 1951 and reported to the Pacific Fleet for training duty. On 7 July 1952 she was placed out of commission in reserve and underwent conversion to a "killer" submarine. Conversion completed, she was given hull classification symbol SSK-242 and recommissioned 2 May 1953.

Twelve years of service go here.

Bluegill again saw wartime service during the Vietnam War. In 1965 she spent time in the Gulf of Tonkin, conducting reconnaissance and pilot rescue.

Bluegill was decommissioned and striken from the Naval Vessel Register on 28 June 1969. In 1971 she was sunk and moored to the bottom as a salvage trainer about two kilometers off Lahaina in 40 meters of water. For the next 13 years, her hulk was used for underwater rescue training.

In November 1984, after a month of prepatory work, the twin Edenton-class salvage and rescue ships Beaufort (ATS-2) and Brunswick (ATS-3) raised ex-Bluegill and towed her to deep water where she was sunk with military honors.

Bluegill received the Navy Unit Commendation for her first war patrol during which she sank Yubari. In addition, she was awarded four battle stars for World War II service.

References