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USS Ling (SS-297)

1943 WORLD WAR 2

History

Ling (SS-297) was a late model of the Balao class, the result of an improved Gato class submarine, with a total of 77 produced. A key difference between the two boats is the upgraded pressure hull of the Balao class, using 7/8-inch steel plate instead of the 5/8-inch steel used in the Gato class. Improvements to the 1,500-ton submarine include a hull structure that increases the test depth of this class of submarines from the Gato-class 350 feet to 400 feet, and a significant increase in fuel capacity, which increases the patrol radius.

The change lies in the navy's philosophy of fighting the enemy and needing more of everything, weapons, fuel and food for the crew, so that the ship can reach the Pacific, the biggest battlefield of WW2.

Other USS Ling advances: new sophisticated electronics for target detection, torpedo data computer (TDC) for determining and setting the angle of torpedo launch, new Mark 18 electric torpedo and deep-sea thermometer for detecting cold water, Or thermocline, under which ships can glide to deflect enemy sonar signals, making spirits difficult to detect. These technological advancements provide the BALAO-class with reliability and combat survivability never experienced by submarines to date. In addition to the conning tower, there are eight waterproof compartments.

They feature four engine compartments, a diesel-electric gearbox, an auxiliary generator and four electric motors that generate 2,740 horsepower underwater and are powered by two 126-cell batteries. Underwater endurance is 2 knots for 48 hours. It has a range of 11,000 miles on 116,000 gallons of diesel fuel and a speed of 10 knots.

Patrol time is 75 days. The total number of submarines actually completed is disputed by five shipyards, making the Balao class the most-built submarine class ever built. They were built in Portsmouth, Manitowoc, Electric Boats, Mare Island and Cramp Shipyards.

The Spirit, which patrolled the Atlantic during wartime, was the last ship of the Barau Fleet to patrol the coast of the United States during the war. She was decommissioned 10/26/46 and launched with mothballs in the Atlantic Fleet. In 1960, she rejoined the Navy Reserve Training Fleet, anchored in Brooklyn, New York.

On June 28, 1972, USS Ling was on permanent display as a memorial in Hackensack, New Jersey, in the custody of the Naval Museum of New Jersey, for weekend visits.