USS Bonita (SSK-3): Difference between revisions

{{short description|Barracuda-class submarine of the US Navy}}

{{Other ships|USS Bonita}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}

|Ship image=USS Bonita (SSK-3).jpg

|Ship caption=''Bonita'' with the characteristic bulky sonar dome at her bow ([[Mare Island Naval Shipyard]])

{{Infobox ship career

|Ship country=[[United States]]

|Ship namesake= the [[bonito]], a name applied to various types of fish

|Ship builder=[[Mare Island Naval Shipyard]]<ref name="Register">{{Citation

| last1 = Bauer

| first1 = K. Jack

| title = Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775–1990: Major Combatants

| page = 284

|Ship laid down=19 May 1950<ref name="Register"/>

|Ship launched=21 June 1951<ref name="Register"/>

|Ship sponsor=

|Ship commissioned=11 January 1952<ref name="Register"/>

|Ship struck=1 April 1965<ref name="Register"/>

|Ship fate=Sold for scrap, 17 November 1966<ref name="Register"/>

|Ship class=[[United States Barracuda-class submarine (1951)|''Barracuda''-class]] [[diesel-electric]] [[Hunter-killer submarine]]

|Ship displacement=*765&nbsp;[[long ton|tons]] (777&nbsp;[[tonne|t]]) surfaced

*1,160&nbsp;tons (1179&nbsp;t) submerged

|Ship length={{convert|196|ft|1|in|m|abbr=on}} overall<ref name="Register"/>

|Ship beam={{convert|24|ft|7|in|m|abbr=on}}<ref name="Register"/>

|Ship propulsion=*3 × [[General Motors]] 8-268A [[diesel engines]], total {{convert|1050|shp|abbr=on}}

*2 × [[General Electric]] [[electric motor]]s

*1 × 126-[[Electrochemical cell|cell]] [[battery (electricity)|battery]]

*2 shafts<ref name="Friedman-SSK1">{{cite book

| last = Friedman

| first = Norman

| title = U.S. Submarines Since 1945: An Illustrated Design History

| publisher = [[United States Naval Institute]]

| year = 1994

| location = [[Annapolis, Maryland]]

| pages = 75–82, 241–242

| isbn = 1-55750-260-9 }}</ref>

|Ship speed=*13&nbsp;[[knot (unit)|knot]]s (24&nbsp;km/h) surfaced

*8.5&nbsp;knots (16&nbsp;km/h) submerged<ref name="Register"/>

|Ship range={{convert|9000|nmi|km|lk=in}}<ref>Friedman, p. 77</ref>

|Ship test depth={{convert|400|ft|m|abbr=on}}<ref name="Register"/>

|Ship complement=37 officers and men<ref name="Register"/>

|Ship armament=4 × [[American21-inch torpedo|21-inch (533 mm)]] [[torpedo tube]]s

'''USS ''Bonita'' (SSK-3/SS-552)''', a [[United States Barracuda-class submarine (1951)|''Barracuda''-class]] [[submarine]], was the fourth ship of the [[United States Navy]] to be named for the [[bonito]], a name applied to several types of fish, including the [[skipjack tuna]], (''Katsuwonus pelamis''), the [[Atlantic bonito]] (''Sarda sarda''), the [[lesser amberjack]] (''Seriola fasciata''), or the [[cobia]] (''Rachycentron canadum''). She was originally named '''USS ''K-3'' (SSK-3)'''.

The original contract for construction of ''K-3'' (SSK-3) was awarded to [[New York Shipbuilding Corporation]] of [[Camden, New Jersey]], but later transferred to [[Mare Island Naval Shipyard]] of [[Vallejo, California]], where her keel was laid down on 19 May 1950. She was [[ship naming and launching|launched]] as ''K-3'' on 21 June 1951, sponsored by Mrs. J.S. Clark, widow of Commander James S. Clark (who died while commanding {{USS|Golet|SS-361}}), and [[ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 11 January 1952.

The three SSK boats, {{USS|K-1|SSK-1|3}}, {{USS|K-2|SSK-2|3}}, and ''K-3'' (SSK-3), were equipped with the large BQR-4 bow-mounted [[sonar]] array as part of [[Project Kayo]], which experimented with the use of passive acoustics with low-frequency, bow-mounted sonar arrays. When the boat was rigged for [[Silent running (submarine)|silent running]], these arrays gave greatly improved convergence zone detection ranges against snorkeling submarines. The SSKs themselves were limited in their [[anti-submarine warfare]] (ASW) abilities by their low speed and their need to snorkel periodically to recharge their batteries, but the advances in sonar technology they pioneered were invaluable to the development of [[Nuclear submarine|nuclear-powered submarines]]. The class was developed as mobilization prototypes should large numbers of [[Soviet Navy|Soviet]] submarines based on the [[Type XXI submarine|Type XXI U-boat]] appear.

==Service history==

''K-3'' joined [[Submarine Squadron 7]] at [[Pearl Harbor]] on 15 May 1952 and performed experimental submarine duties, notably development of ASW tactics. In February 1955 she entered [[Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard]] for overhaul, emerging in September. She was renamed ''Bonita'' 15 December 1955. She made a cruise to [[Alaska]]n waters in August and September 1956.

In June 1957 she was reassigned to [[Submarine Squadron 5]] at [[San Diego]], California, for ASW training duties. In October she reported to [[San Francisco Naval Shipyard]] for overhaul and the installation of new electronics, returning to San Diego in January 1958.

In 1958, the Soviet threat changed from conventional to nuclear-powered submarines, and the SSK force was withdrawn from the SSK role. In April–June 1958 ''Bonita'' was used as a [[nuclear weapons testing]] target at [[Eniwetok]] in the South Pacific, part of [[Operation Hardtack I]]. Fortunately, this was designed as shock testing rather than destructive testing, and damage was light except to electronics.<ref>[http://navsource.org/archives/08/pdf/0855204a.pdf Firsthand account of nuclear testing by a ''Bonita'' crew member]</ref>

She was struck from the Naval Register on 1 April 1965, and sold for scrap on 17 November 1966.

{{reflist}}

* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08552.htm Photo gallery of USS ''Bonita'' at NavSource.org]

* {{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/b/bonita-iv.html}}

* [https://books.google.com/books?id=8NsDAAAAMBAJ&dq=1954+Popular+Mechanics+January&pg=cover "Cover Artwork of SSK-3"] ''Popular Mechanics'', August 1953.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonita (SSK-3)}}