Allied Warships

Atule (SS-403)

Submarine of the Balao class


USS Atule as completed.

NavyThe US Navy
TypeSubmarine
ClassBalao 
Pennant403 
Built byPortsmouth Navy Yard (Kittery, Maine, U.S.A.) 
Ordered 
Laid down25 Nov 1943 
Launched6 Mar 1944 
Commissioned21 Jun 1944 
End service6 Apr 1970 
Loss position
 
HistoryDecommissioned 8 September 1947.
Laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.
Recommissioned 8 March 1951.
Decommissioned 6 April 1970.
Stricken 15 August 1973.
Transferred to Peru in July 1974 being renamed Pacocha (S 48). 

Commands listed for USS Atule (403)

Please note that we're still working on this section.

CommanderFromTo
1Cdr. John Howard Maurer, USN21 Jun 1944Aug 45 ?

You can help improve our commands section
Click here to Submit events/comments/updates for this vessel.
Please use this if you spot mistakes or want to improve this ships page.

Noteable events involving Atule include:


9 Oct 1944
With her trials and training completed USS Atule (Lt.Cdr. John H. Maurer) departs Pearl Harbour for her 1st war patrol. She is ordered to patrol in the Philippines.

21 Oct 1944
USS Atule (Lt.Cdr. John H. Maurer) refuels at Saipan, and departs the next day.

1 Nov 1944
USS Atule (Lt.Cdr. J.H. Maurer) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese sinks troop transport Asama Maru (16975 GRT) in Luzon Strait, in position 20º09'N, 117º38'E. (see map)

21 Nov 1944
USS Atule (Lt.Cdr. J.H. Maurer) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese minesweeper W 38 (648 tons) south-west of Formosa in position 21º21'N, 119º45'E. (see map)

25 Nov 1944
USS Atule (Lt.Cdr. J.H. Maurer) attacks Japanese convoy MATA-34. At 0125 hrs, firing at overlapping targets, torpedoes and sinks the Japanese merchant cargo ship Manju Maru (7266 GRT, carrying 1300 military personnel) and the escorting patrol boat #38 ex DD Yomogi, 935 ts, SE of Sabtang Island, Luzon in position 20º14'N, 121º40'E. Of the passengers in Manju maru, over 700 were killed in the sinking. (see map)

11 Dec 1944
USS Atule (Lt.Cdr. J.H. Maurer) ends her 1st war patrol at Majuro.

6 Jan 1945
USS Atule (Lt.Cdr. J.H. Maurer) departs Majuro for her 2nd war patrol. She is ordered to patrol in the Yellow Sea.

24 Jan 1945
USS Atule (Lt.Cdr. J.H. Maurer) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese merchant cargo ship Taiman Maru No.1 (6888 GRT) in the Yellow Sea in position 36º47'N, 123º59'E. (see map)

7 Mar 1945
USS Atule (Lt.Cdr. J.H. Maurer) ends her 2nd war patrol at Midway.

2 Apr 1945
USS Atule (Lt.Cdr. J.H. Maurer) departs Midway for her 3rd war patrol. She is ordered to patrol south of Honshu, Japan.

11 Apr 1945
USS Atule (Lt.Cdr. John H. Maurer) refuels at Guam, and departs the next day.

30 May 1945
USS Atule (Lt.Cdr. J.H. Maurer) ends her 3rd war patrol at Pearl Harbour.

3 Jul 1945
USS Atule (Lt.Cdr. J.H. Maurer) departs Pearl Harbour for her 4th war patrol. She is ordered to patrol east of Honshu and Hokkaido.

13 Aug 1945
USS Atule (Lt.Cdr. J.H. Maurer) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese corvette Kaibokan No.6 (740 tons) and torpedoes and damages the Japanese corvette Kaibokan No.16 (740 tons) east of Hokkaido, Japan in position 42º16'N, 142º12'E. (see map)

25 Aug 1945
USS Atule (Lt.Cdr. J.H. Maurer) ends her 4th war patrol at Pearl Harbour.

13 Nov 1946
The German submarine U-977 was interned at Mar del Plata, Argentina on 17 August 1945 after a 66-day submerged trip from Norway. The U-boat was handed over to the USA in Boston on 13 November 1945. She was torpedoed off Massachusetts on 13 November 1946 during torpedo trials by USS Atule (Cdr. J.H. Maurer).

Return to the Allied Warships section