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USS Clamagore (SS 343)

Originally built as one of the BALAO - class submarines, the CLAMAGORE was the Navy's first submarine named after the blue parrot-fish found in the West Indies and Chesapeake Bay. The CLAMAGORE underwent the Guppy II conversion in 1948, and the Guppy III conversion in 1962, making her one of only nine submarines to receive the Guppy III conversion. Both decommissioned and stricken from the Navy list on June 27, 1975, the CLAMAGORE was donated as a museum on August 6, 1979, and was opened to the public on May 11, 1981. The submarine was located at Patriot's Point, Charleston, SC., and was open to the public until December 2021. Severe corrosion and a major ballast-tank leak made further preservation economically impractical, and on October 14, 2022 she was towed away for dismantling and recycling, ending more than four decades as a museum ship.

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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS CLAMAGORE. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.

• Click here to view the list.

Official Decommissioning Crew List

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• Click here to see which USS CLAMAGORE memorabilia are currently for sale on ebay.

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Accidents aboard USS CLAMAGORE:

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USS CLAMAGORE's Commanding Officers:

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History of USS CLAMAGORE:

USS CLAMAGORE was a BALAO-class fleet submarine built during the final phase of World War II. Her keel was laid by the Electric Boat Company at Groton, Connecticut, on March 16, 1944. CLAMAGORE was launched on February 25, 1945. Her sponsor was Miss Mary Jane Jacobs, daughter of Vice Admiral Randall Jacobs, then Chief of Naval Personnel. She was named for the Clamagore, a blue parrotfish found in Caribbean waters. The submarine was commissioned at the U.S. Naval Submarine Base at New London, Connecticut, on June 28, 1945, with Commander Samuel C. Loomis Jr. in command.

Following commissioning, CLAMAGORE conducted preliminary training in the Long Island Sound area. Her completion came just as the Pacific War was approaching its end, but the Navy initially prepared her for combat service. On August 10, 1945, she cleared New London and headed toward Panama for battle practice and torpedo training that was to be the final stage of preparation before deployment to the Pacific combat zone. Japan's surrender intervened before she could proceed to war. CLAMAGORE was consequently redirected to Key West, Florida, where she arrived on September 5, 1945.

At Key West, CLAMAGORE became part of Submarine Division 41 and was subsequently closely associated with Submarine Squadron Four. Her principal duties rapidly shifted from preparations for offensive submarine warfare to training and development of antisubmarine warfare. Key West was home to the Fleet Sonar School, and CLAMAGORE spent much of the next several years providing realistic submarine services for students, destroyers, aircraft, and other fleet units learning how to detect, classify, track, and attack submerged submarines. Her operations ranged from Florida through the Caribbean to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. Such duties acquired increasing importance as relations between the United States and the Soviet Union deteriorated and the large Soviet submarine force became one of the principal concerns of Western naval planning.

In January 1946, CLAMAGORE became flagship of Submarine Squadron Four, a responsibility she would retain for many years. Her routine of schoolship and antisubmarine training was interrupted on September 7, 1946, when she entered Portsmouth Naval Shipyard at Kittery, Maine, for overhaul. The work continued until December 10, after which she returned to operational duties from Key West.

The rapid development of submarine technology after World War II soon led to a much more extensive alteration. The wartime American fleet submarine had been designed to make long passages on the surface, submerging primarily for attack or evasion. Experience with advanced German submarines and postwar tactical studies demonstrated that future submarines needed to remain submerged for much longer periods, with higher underwater speed, greater battery endurance, and reduced hydrodynamic resistance. The U.S. Navy therefore developed the Greater Underwater Propulsion Power Program, or GUPPY.

On December 5, 1947, CLAMAGORE entered Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for conversion to the GUPPY II configuration. The conversion substantially altered the submarine's appearance and underwater capabilities. External features associated with wartime surface operations were removed or streamlined, the deck armament was eliminated, battery capacity was improved, and a snorkel installation was fitted. The snorkel allowed the diesel engines to operate while the submarine remained submerged at shallow depth, enabling her to recharge batteries and ventilate the boat without fully surfacing. The streamlined superstructure and sail reduced underwater resistance, while improved sonar and electrical equipment reflected the increasing emphasis on submerged rather than surface operation.

The GUPPY II conversion was completed on July 19, 1948, and CLAMAGORE resumed operations from Key West on August 6. Her post-conversion duties remained strongly oriented toward antisubmarine warfare. She assisted destroyers and aircraft of the Atlantic Fleet in training and also supported the Operational Test and Evaluation Force in studies involving new weapons and equipment. Although most of her activity remained in waters off Florida and in the Caribbean, her operating area occasionally extended much farther north.

During the Fleet Tactical Exercises of 1949, CLAMAGORE received an unusual assignment when she was selected to serve as flagship for Vice Admiral Arthur W. Radford, Commander Task Fleet, and Rear Admiral James Fife Jr., Commander Submarine Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet. Her overall performance that year also earned the Submarine Squadron Four Battle Efficiency "E". Commander Walter L. Small, who had commanded CLAMAGORE since June 1947 and therefore overseen much of the GUPPY II conversion period, was succeeded by Commander John F. Bauer in June 1949.

Commander Thomas B. Denegre Jr. assumed command in June 1950. CLAMAGORE continued the intensive schedule of submarine and antisubmarine exercises from Key West and again achieved high competitive standing, receiving the Squadron Four Battle Efficiency "E" in 1951. Although the Korean War had increased the operational demands placed upon the U.S. Navy, CLAMAGORE did not deploy to Korean waters; her principal contribution remained Atlantic Fleet readiness and antisubmarine training.

In September 1952, while at Key West, CLAMAGORE was visited by Vice Admiral Renato de Almeida Guillobel, Secretary of the Brazilian Navy. Guillobel spent approximately 45 minutes aboard inspecting the submarine. The visit reflected the increasing emphasis on cooperation between the United States and Latin American navies, particularly in the field of antisubmarine warfare and defense of Western Hemisphere sea lanes.

Lieutenant Commander George F. Morin commanded CLAMAGORE from 1952 to 1954. On February 3, 1953 the submarine sailed from Norfolk for operations with the U.S. Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean. The deployment concentrated on antisubmarine warfare tactics and practice barrier patrols. Barrier operations involved attempting to detect submarines as they passed through defined geographical areas and were particularly relevant to NATO planning for containing Soviet submarines seeking access to the Atlantic or Mediterranean sea lanes. CLAMAGORE completed the deployment and returned to Key West on April 16, 1953.

After resuming her regular operating cycle, CLAMAGORE continued providing training services over an area extending from Guantanamo Bay and the Virgin Islands in the south to Argentia, Newfoundland, in the north. Guantanamo Bay and St. Thomas frequently served as temporary bases for periods of approximately one month during which she supported fleet antisubmarine training groups.

Lieutenant Commander Joseph H. Buescher assumed command in June 1954. CLAMAGORE's operational tempo remained high through the middle of the decade. During 1955, she made two substantial training deployments to Guantanamo Bay, the first from January 25 through April 25 and the second from August 22 through September 16. During these deployments, she provided submarine services to units of the Fleet Training Group. Other documented ports visited during 1955 included Havana, Cuba; Fort Lauderdale, Florida; and Pensacola, Florida.

In November 1955, CLAMAGORE entered Charleston Naval Shipyard to receive a new main storage battery. Battery condition was of fundamental importance to a diesel-electric submarine because submerged endurance, speed, and tactical flexibility depended directly upon the energy available from the batteries. The work was completed in February 1956, after which the submarine returned to Key West and resumed operations. During 1956, she visited Tampa, Mayport, and Miami, Florida, as well as Havana and Guantanamo Bay. Her performance resulted in Battle Efficiency awards in both 1955 and 1956.

In September 1956, CLAMAGORE entered Charleston Naval Shipyard again, this time for a regularly scheduled overhaul. The overhaul was completed in February 1957. After leaving the yard she proceeded to New London and Newport before returning to Key West. She then resumed Caribbean training, including another period at Guantanamo Bay.

On September 23, 1957, CLAMAGORE departed for an extended North Atlantic deployment to participate in antisubmarine warfare training with NATO forces. The exercise period took her into the central North Atlantic and included a visit to Portsmouth, England. On the return passage she stopped at Argentia, Newfoundland, before reaching Key West on December 7. The North Atlantic was central to NATO maritime strategy because reinforcement and resupply of Western Europe in a major war would depend heavily upon the transatlantic shipping routes. Soviet submarines were expected to pose a major threat to those routes, making multinational antisubmarine training a continuing priority.

Lieutenant Commander Jack F. Heard commanded CLAMAGORE from July 1956 until September 1958. In February 1958, the submarine participated in ASWEX 1-58. From June through August, she returned to Charleston Naval Shipyard for another battery renewal. During local operations from Key West that year, she made documented visits to Savannah, Georgia; Mobile, Alabama; Tampa, Florida; and Fort Lauderdale.

Commander Arthur K. Keevil assumed command in September 1958. From January through April 1959, CLAMAGORE continued local operations from Key West and made another training visit to Guantanamo Bay. In April, she participated in LANTBEX 1-59 before returning to Key West in June. On June 29, 1959, CLAMAGORE entered Charleston Naval Shipyard for overhaul. While she was in the yard, a major administrative change occurred. On July 29, the home port of Submarine Squadron Four was transferred from Key West to Charleston. The squadron was reorganized effective August 1, and CLAMAGORE, which had carried the squadron flag since January 1946, was relieved as flagship by USS DARTER (SS 576). The change ended more than 13 years during which CLAMAGORE had served as the squadron flagship.

Her Charleston overhaul was completed in December 1959, and CLAMAGORE joined Submarine Division 42 within Submarine Squadron Four. Her first operations after the yard period included barrier-patrol exercises with antisubmarine forces along the eastern seaboard as far north as New London. She subsequently supported the Operational Test and Evaluation Force in Florida waters and participated in project work off Bermuda.

On April 5, 1960, CLAMAGORE left Charleston for another deployment with the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean. The cruise was dominated by barrier-patrol and antisubmarine exercises involving surface ships and aircraft. Documented liberty ports included Cannes, France; Naples and Genoa, Italy; Valencia, Spain; and Rota, Spain. CLAMAGORE departed Rota on July 11 and returned to Charleston on July 23. She spent the remainder of 1960 conducting antisubmarine warfare exercises along the U.S. East Coast. Lieutenant Commander Howard L. Matthews Jr. assumed command in August.

During January and February 1961, CLAMAGORE participated in Operation Springboard in the Caribbean. Springboard was a recurring Atlantic Fleet winter training program that took advantage of the favorable weather and extensive operating areas around Puerto Rico and the Caribbean to conduct concentrated submarine, surface, and aviation training.

A substantially longer deployment began later in 1961 when CLAMAGORE participated in Operation UNITAS II from August through December. UNITAS was a multinational exercise series intended to improve cooperation and interoperability between the U.S. Navy and the navies of South America. During UNITAS II the participating force operated with the navies of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, and Uruguay. CLAMAGORE steamed around the southern portion of the South American continent and served as a submarine opponent for combined antisubmarine exercises.

The U.S. force included USS NORFOLK (DL 1), USS COURTNEY (DE 1021), USS HAMMERBERG (DE 1015), USS CROMWELL (DE 1014), CLAMAGORE, and maritime patrol aircraft. In Peruvian waters the American force arrived on September 13, 1961, and subsequently conducted several days of combined antisubmarine operations with Peruvian naval units. The wider UNITAS deployment allowed participating navies to practice submarine detection, tracking, communications, tactical maneuvering, and coordinated operations. It also served the broader U.S. policy of maintaining close military relations with Latin American countries during a period of heightened Cold War concern following the Cuban Revolution.

CLAMAGORE returned from UNITAS II late in 1961. In May 1962, she entered Charleston Naval Shipyard for the most extensive modernization of her career: conversion to the GUPPY III configuration. GUPPY III represented the final major stage in the U.S. Navy's effort to keep World War II fleet submarines operationally relevant. Rather than simply upgrading batteries and streamlining the boat, the conversion physically enlarged the submarine. During the work, CLAMAGORE's hull was cut in two and a 15-foot section weighing approximately 35 tons was inserted forward of the control room. The new section provided additional space for modern electronics, sonar, and fire-control equipment. On July 2, 1962, the new hull section was ceremonially christened by Miss Ann Beshany, the 16-year-old daughter of Captain P. A. Beshany, Commander Submarine Squadron Four.

The conversion also gave CLAMAGORE the BQG-4 Passive Underwater Fire Control Feasibility System, commonly known as PUFFS. Three prominent hydrophone arrays were installed along the upper hull. By comparing the arrival of underwater sound at separated arrays, PUFFS allowed passive estimation of range to an acoustic source without requiring the submarine to transmit active sonar and reveal its presence. The enlarged fiberglass sail and the three characteristic PUFFS fins became the most recognizable features of CLAMAGORE's final configuration.

The GUPPY III conversion was completed in February 1963. On June 1, CLAMAGORE changed home port to New London and transferred from Submarine Squadron Four to Submarine Squadron Two. CLAMAGORE's performance around the conversion period remained strong. She earned the Submarine Division 42 Battle Efficiency "E" in 1962 and again in 1963, giving her the award for two consecutive years. Lieutenant Commander Stanley B. Neander assumed command in July 1963.

During January and February 1964, CLAMAGORE participated in Operation Springboard, visiting San Juan, Puerto Rico, and St. Croix in the Virgin Islands. In late May, she entered Portsmouth Naval Shipyard for another main-battery renewal. Leaving the shipyard in July, she returned to operational service and later crossed the Atlantic. In September 1964, she visited Portsmouth, England. Following an extended cruise, CLAMAGORE returned to New London in November. During 1964, she also received the Submarine Division Twenty-One Fire Control Excellence award.

CLAMAGORE began another important Atlantic operation in early April 1965, departing New London for a joint NATO exercise south of Iceland. British, Dutch, French, and American submarines and aircraft participated. The exercise reflected NATO's continuing focus on the Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom maritime approaches, through which Soviet submarines would have to pass when moving between northern bases and the wider North Atlantic. After completion of the exercise, CLAMAGORE visited Londonderry, Northern Ireland, in late May for the post-exercise conference and then returned to New London in June.

On July 23, 1965, CLAMAGORE entered Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for a major overhaul. The work included extensive repairs to her hydraulic systems, modernization of the fire-control system, overhaul of the main propulsion motors and generators, and installation of the Steinke escape system. The latter provided individual escape equipment intended to improve the chances of submariners escaping from a disabled submarine. The overhaul cost approximately $1.65 million and was completed on January 19, 1966.

After sea trials and fire-control exercises, CLAMAGORE deployed for approximately six weeks to the Caribbean for Operation Springboard. During this period, she provided exercise services to aircraft from the United States, Canada, and the Netherlands and fired numerous exercise torpedoes. She then spent approximately five weeks in local operating areas.

In June 1966, CLAMAGORE participated in North Atlantic Training Exercises and visited Portsmouth, England, for approximately one week. After returning to New London, she resumed weekly operations. From November 22 through the end of the year she remained moored at New London for upkeep and holiday leave.

January 1967, again found CLAMAGORE heading south for Operation Springboard in the Caribbean. During the exercise, she fired numerous torpedoes and provided submarine services for Atlantic Fleet destroyers and aircraft. She also visited ports in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. On February 3, 1967, CLAMAGORE became involved in a collision with the civilian vessel MANGO in San Juan Harbor, Puerto Rico. The incident subsequently became the subject of federal litigation, providing unusually detailed documentation of the submarine's movements in the harbor. Commander William J. Gunn was then commanding officer. The surviving court record also shows that CLAMAGORE had considerable previous experience operating in and out of San Juan.

After returning north in March, CLAMAGORE entered Portsmouth Naval Shipyard for another battery renewal. The work continued until early May. She then returned to New London for weekly operations and a pre-deployment upkeep period.

In early July 1967, CLAMAGORE departed for another approximately four-month deployment with the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean. The cruise included both Sixth Fleet and NATO operations. Documented ports visited during the deployment included Athens, Greece; Palma de Mallorca, Spain; Malta; and Naples, Italy. By this period, the Soviet Navy had established a much more substantial and persistent Mediterranean presence, making submarine surveillance and multinational antisubmarine warfare an increasingly significant element of Sixth Fleet activity.

Lieutenant Commander Donald M. Ulmer assumed command in June 1967 shortly before the deployment. Ulmer's connection to the boat was unusual: he had previously served aboard CLAMAGORE as an enlisted sailor, earned his submarine qualification, and then received an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy in 1949 before eventually returning to command the same submarine.

CLAMAGORE returned to New London in the autumn of 1967. From November through early January 1968, she conducted weekly operations from New London, interrupted by holiday leave and upkeep and a weekend visit to New York City.

From January 22 through February 1, 1968, CLAMAGORE participated in SUBASWEX 1-68 in the Gulf of Maine. Other submarines involved included USS DACE (SSN 607), USS SEAWOLF (SSN 575), USS TENCH (SS 417), and USS STURGEON (SSN 637). The exercise was conducted in support of Submarine Development Group Two and brought together both nuclear-powered and conventional submarines with markedly different underwater performance and acoustic characteristics. CLAMAGORE's quiet battery-powered operation made her a useful comparison and opposition platform during such development work.

During the later 1960s, CLAMAGORE continued Atlantic Fleet submarine and antisubmarine operations from New London. She became associated with Submarine Squadron Eight as organizational assignments changed. Although nuclear-powered attack submarines were steadily taking over the principal front-line missions of the U.S. submarine force, modernized diesel-electric boats remained particularly valuable as opposition submarines. Their ability to shut down diesel engines and operate quietly from batteries produced an acoustic target significantly different from a nuclear submarine and remained relevant because most foreign submarine fleets still relied heavily on conventional propulsion.

Lieutenant Commander William G. Hine assumed command in March 1969. CLAMAGORE continued exercises, training services, and East Coast and Caribbean operations through 1969 and 1970. Commander Peter B. Boyne assumed command in February 1971. CLAMAGORE continued to serve as an antisubmarine training target and exercise submarine. Beginning on November 1, 1971, she conducted antisubmarine warfare exercises with USS DAVIS (DD 937), USS CHARLES F. ADAMS (DDG 2), and USS FISKE (DD 842) during a U.S. Naval Destroyer School training cruise. The surface ships subsequently proceeded to Halifax, Nova Scotia, before returning to Narragansett Bay on November 12.

CLAMAGORE remained in service through 1972 as the number of conventional U.S. submarines continued to decline. By this stage, nuclear propulsion had transformed the Navy's operational submarine force, providing sustained underwater speed and essentially eliminating the endurance limitations imposed by storage batteries. Diesel boats such as CLAMAGORE nevertheless remained useful for training against quiet conventional targets and for missions that did not require the performance of a nuclear attack submarine.

In 1973, CLAMAGORE underwent what became her final major overhaul or refit. Later that year, under Commander Bruce J. Schick, who assumed command in June, she participated in UNITAS XIV. This brought CLAMAGORE back to South American waters approximately twelve years after her participation in UNITAS II. She again supplied the submarine component for multinational exercises involving U.S. and South American naval forces. The UNITAS series combined military training with naval diplomacy. Participating ships operated sequentially with regional navies, practicing communications, tactical maneuvering, antisubmarine warfare, and other coordinated procedures while visiting South American ports.

Following UNITAS XIV, CLAMAGORE continued Atlantic and Caribbean activities during 1974. Her remaining service was increasingly centered on training rather than the broader operational commitments undertaken earlier in her career. Maintaining an extensively modified World War II submarine was becoming progressively less economical as the nuclear submarine force expanded and spare parts, specialized maintenance, and trained support personnel for the remaining GUPPY boats became more difficult to sustain.

Commander Tracy M. Kosoff assumed command in January 1975 and became CLAMAGORE's final commanding officer. The submarine was at that time scheduled for eventual transfer to Turkey. That plan, however, was overtaken by the U.S. arms embargo imposed on Turkey following the 1974 Cyprus crisis. As a result, CLAMAGORE was not transferred abroad.

CLAMAGORE was decommissioned on June 12, 1975. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on June 27. Together with USS TIGRONE (AGSS 419), which remained in service until later that month, CLAMAGORE was among the last World War II-built diesel submarines to leave active U.S. Navy service. Her active career had lasted almost exactly 30 years. During that time CLAMAGORE earned seven Battle Efficiency "E" awards: in 1949, 1951, 1955, 1956, 1962, 1963, and 1965.

With the proposed Turkish transfer cancelled, CLAMAGORE was placed in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard reserve fleet. She remained there for several years rather than being scrapped. In 1979, the submarine was transferred to the State of South Carolina for preservation. She was subsequently prepared for display and towed to Patriots Point at Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, arriving in May 1981. CLAMAGORE opened to the public at Patriots Point in November 1981. She joined the aircraft carrier USS YORKTOWN (CV 10) and destroyer USS LAFFEY (DD 724) as part of the museum complex opposite Charleston.

On June 29, 1989, CLAMAGORE was designated a National Historic Landmark. At that time, she was regarded as the only surviving American GUPPY III submarine. CLAMAGORE remained open to visitors at Patriots Point for more than four decades. Maintaining an elderly steel submarine continuously afloat in salt water, however, gradually became an increasingly serious preservation problem. Corrosion affected the pressure hull, superstructure, ballast tanks, and other structural areas, and meaningful restoration would eventually have required extensive dry-docking and replacement of deteriorated steel. On January 24, 2012, CLAMAGORE was temporarily moved from her long-established berth with tug assistance. By this period, Patriots Point was already confronting the increasing cost of preserving the submarine. Various proposals for her long-term future were subsequently investigated.

One possibility involved converting CLAMAGORE into an artificial reef. On January 10, 2017, the Palm Beach County Commission in Florida approved funding associated with a proposal to prepare the submarine for reefing off Florida. The plan would have required extensive environmental cleaning and preparation before intentionally sinking the vessel. The proposal attracted opposition from former submariners and preservation advocates who wished to retain CLAMAGORE as a historic vessel. Attempts to find an affordable preservation solution continued, but the submarine's physical condition deteriorated. The costs involved in dry-docking, repairing, and preserving her had risen into the millions of dollars, while reefing also proved more expensive and complicated than originally anticipated.

By 2021 deterioration had become particularly serious. CLAMAGORE was closed to visitors in December after a major leak developed in a main ballast tank. Significant hull wasting had occurred, and compressed air had to be supplied periodically to the affected ballast tank to maintain the submarine safely afloat. The scale of the work required for comprehensive restoration was estimated at approximately $10 million, far beyond the funding available for the project.

The State of South Carolina subsequently provided money for disposal. In 2022, an emergency procurement process resulted in a contract of approximately $1.5 million for dismantling and recycling the vessel. Before removal from Patriots Point, equipment and material considered appropriate for preservation were removed. Preparations included taking away portions of the superstructure and removing the submarine's 504 battery cells. On October 14, 2022, CLAMAGORE was towed away from Patriots Point for the last time. Tugs moved the stripped hull from Charleston toward Norfolk, Virginia, for the final stages of dismantling and recycling. The departure ended approximately 41 years of museum display at Patriots Point and more than 77 years of continuous existence since the submarine's commissioning.

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USS CLAMAGORE Image Gallery:

The photos below were taken by me on February 5, 2009, during a visit to the USS CLAMAGORE museum at Mount Pleasant, SC.

			Click here for more Photos.

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