Allied Warships

Manta (SS-299)

Submarine of the Balao class

USS Manta after the war.

Navy	The US Navy
Type	Submarine
Class	Balao
Pennant	299
Built by	Cramp Shipbuilding Co. (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.)
Ordered	24 Dec 1941
Laid down	15 Jan 1943
Launched	7 Nov 1943
Commissioned	18 Dec 1944
End service	6 Dec 1965
History	Decommissioned 10 June 1946. Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet. Recommissioned 2 August 1949. Decommissioned 6 December 1955. Laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Assigned to Naval Reserve training in 1960 in the 3rd Naval District. Stricken 30 June 1967. Sunk as an aircraft target off Norfolk, Virginia 16 July 1969.

Commands listed for USS Manta (299)

Please note that we're still working on this section
and that we only list Commanding Officers for the duration of the Second World War.

	Commander	From	To
1	T/Lt.Cdr. Edward Peter Madley, USN	18 Dec 1944

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Notable events involving Manta include:

The page dealing with the wartime history of USS Manta was created in July 2023.

[No deck logs of this submarine are currently available to us so therefore some details, particularly regarding trials and exercises, might be missing on this page.]

18 Dec 1944
USS Manta (T/Lt.Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN) is commissioned at the Portsmouth Navy Yard.

23 Jan 1945
USS Manta (T/Lt.Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN) started a shakedown and training period in the Portsmouth, New Hampshire area.

3 Feb 1945
USS Manta (T/Lt.Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN) changed her starboard propeller while in dock at the Portsmouth Navy Yard.

6 Feb 1945
USS Manta (T/Lt.Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN) conducted exercises in/off Casco Bay with USS Trippe (T/Cdr. C.R. Kear, Jr., USN).

11 Feb 1945
USS Manta (T/Lt.Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN) departed Portsmouth, New Hampshire for Newport, Rhode Island where she arrived later the same day. At Newport she is to conduct her torpedo discharge trials. She was escorted until the Cape Cod Canal by USS Swasey (Lt.Cdr. H.A. White, USNR).

17 Feb 1945
Having completed her torpedo trials, USS Manta (T/Lt.Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN) departed Newport, Rhode Island and arrived at New London, Connecticut.

11 Mar 1945
USS Manta (Lt.Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN) departed New London, Connecticut for the Portsmouth Navy Yard .

11 Mar 1945
Having not passed her sound trials, USS Manta (T/Lt.Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN) departed New London for the Portsmouth Navy Yard to undergo repairs.

12 Mar 1945
USS Manta (T/Lt.Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN) arrived at the Portsmouth Navy Yard from New London.

22 Mar 1945
USS Manta (T/Lt.Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN) departed the Portsmouth Navy Yard for New London where she arrived the following day.

27 Mar 1945
USS Manta (T/Lt.Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN) departed from New London bound for the Panama Canal Zone.

6 Apr 1945
USS Manta (T/Lt.Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN) arrived in the Panama Canal Zone.

8 Apr 1945
USS Manta (T/Lt.Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN) conducted exercises in the Gulf of Panama with USS MacLeish (Lt. D.S. Cramer, USNR), USS Coronado (Cdr. N.W. Sprow, USCG), USS Ogden (Lt.Cdr. K.C. Tharp, USCGR), USS PC-1221 (Lt. W.D. Cowell, USNR) and USS SC-1299 (Lt.(jg) I. Wilson, 2nd, USNR).

9 Apr 1945
USS Manta (T/Lt.Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN) conducted exercises in the Gulf of Panama with USS MacLeish (Lt. D.S. Cramer, USNR), USS Coronado (Cdr. N.W. Sprow, USCG), USS Ogden (Lt.Cdr. K.C. Tharp, USCGR), USS PC-1221 (Lt. W.D. Cowell, USNR) and USS SC-1299 (Lt.(jg) I. Wilson, 2nd, USNR).

10 Apr 1945
USS Manta (T/Lt.Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN) conducted exercises in the Gulf of Panama with USS MacLeish (Lt. D.S. Cramer, USNR), USS McCormick (Lt. T.J. Moriarty, USNR), USS Coronado (Cdr. N.W. Sprow, USCG), USS Ogden (Lt.Cdr. K.C. Tharp, USCGR), USS PC-1221 (Lt. W.D. Cowell, USNR) and USS SC-1299 (Lt.(jg) I. Wilson, 2nd, USNR).

11 Apr 1945
USS Manta (T/Lt.Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN) conducted exercises in the Gulf of Panama with USS MacLeish (Lt. D.S. Cramer, USNR), USS McCormick (Lt. T.J. Moriarty, USNR), USS San Pedro (Lt.Cdr. H.L. Sutherland, USCGR), USS Coronado (Cdr. N.W. Sprow, USCG), USS Ogden (Lt.Cdr. K.C. Tharp, USCGR), USS PC-1221 (Lt. W.D. Cowell, USNR) and USS SC-1299 (Lt.(jg) I. Wilson, 2nd, USNR).

12 Apr 1945
USS Manta (T/Lt.Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN) and USS Quillback (T/Lt.Cdr. R.P. Nicholson, USN) conducted exercises in the Gulf of Panama with USS MacLeish (Lt. D.S. Cramer, USNR).

15 Apr 1945
The amphibious attack transports USS Mathews (Cdr. C.A. Thorwall, USNR), USS Seminole (Cdr. J.H. Budd, USNR), and the submarines USS Manta (T/Lt.Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN) and USS Quillback (T/Lt.Cdr. R.P. Nicholson, USN) departed Balboa, Panama Canal Zone. They were all to proceed to Pearl Harbour. The submarines remained in company and exercising with the attack transports until 1410U/25.

1 May 1945
USS Manta (T/Lt.Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN) and USS Quillback (T/Lt.Cdr. R.P. Nicholson, USN) both arrived at Pearl Harbour from Balboa, Panama Canal Zone. At Pearl Harbour they were taken in hand for voyage repairs which was to be followed by a final training period.

8 May 1945
USS Manta (T/Lt.Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN) conducted exercises off Pearl Harbour.

9 May 1945
USS Steelhead (Lt.Cdr. R.B. Byrnes, USN), USS Manta (T/Lt.Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN) and USS Skate (T/Cdr. R.B. Lynch, USN) conducted exercises off Pearl Harbour with USS Pruitt (Lt. D.B. Harby, USNR), USS Coolbaugh (Lt.Cdr. S.T. Hotchkiss, USNR) and USS Loeser (Lt.Cdr. J. Proctor, USNR).

10 May 1945
During 10 and 11 May 1945, USS Manta (T/Lt.Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN) conducted exercises off Pearl Harbour. These included night exercises.

13 May 1945
During 13/14 May 1945, the following submarines conducted tactical exercises off Pearl Harbour; USS Dace (T/Cdr. O.R. Cole, Jr., USN), USS Lapon (T/Lt.Cdr. D.G. Baer, USN), USS Redfin (T/Lt.Cdr. C.K. Miller, USN), USS Devilfish (T/Lt.Cdr. S.S. Mann, Jr., USN), USS Manta (T/Lt.Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN) and USS Thornback (T/Cdr. E.P. Abrahamson, USN).

They were attacking a dummy convoy of 13 (other source says 16) transports which were escorted by the destroyer USS Chew (Lt.Cdr. J.J. Mannion, USNR), destroyer minelayer USS Pruitt (Lt. D.B. Harby, USNR), destroyer escorts USS Whitman (Lt. E.A. Sandor, USNR), USS Coolbaugh (Lt.Cdr. S.T. Hotchkiss, USNR), USS Darby (Lt.Cdr. M.W. Martin, USNR) and USS PC-782 (Lt.(jg) R.L. Essick, USNR).

15 May 1945
USS Manta (T/Lt.Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN) conducted exercises off Pearl Harbour.

17 May 1945
USS Manta (T/Lt.Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN) conducted exercises off Pearl Harbour.

18 May 1945
USS Manta (T/Lt.Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN) conducted exercises off Pearl Harbour.

19 May 1945
USS Manta (T/Lt.Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN) conducted exercises off Pearl Harbour.

28 May 1945
For the daily positions of USS Malta during her 1st war patrol see the map below.

28 May 1945
USS Apogon (T/Cdr. A.C. House Jr., USN) and USS Manta (T/Lt.Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN) departed from Pearl Harbor for their 7th war patrol and 1st war patrol respectively. They were both ordered to patrol off the Kuril Islands. En-route to the patrol area they were to call at Midway to top of with fuel.

They were escorted out until 2000VW/28, by USS PC-486 (Lt. R.B. Whitney, USNR).

1 Jun 1945
Around 0930X/1, USS Apogon (T/Cdr. A.C. House Jr., USN) and USS Manta (T/Lt.Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN) arrived at Midway from Pearl Harbour.

2 Jun 1945
Around 1300Y/2, having completed voyage repairs, fuelling and storing, USS Manta (T/Lt.Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN) departed Midway for her patrol area.

10 Jun 1945
At 0110K/10, USS Manta (T/Lt.Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN) arrived in her patrol area.

17 Jun 1945
At 2245K/17, off La Pérouse Strait, in position 45°36'N, 143°47'E, USS Manta (T/Lt.Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN) sighted a transport. It was subsequently identified as Russian.

18 Jun 1945
At 1002K/18, off La Pérouse Strait, in position 45°35'N, 143°08'E, USS Manta (T/Lt.Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN) sighted a transport. It was subsequently identified as Russian.

Another transport was sighted at 2350K/18, in position 45°39'N, 143°49'E. Again it was subsequently identified as Russian.

19 Jun 1945
At 1340K/19, off La Pérouse Strait, in position 45°39'N, 143°06'E, USS Manta (T/Lt.Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN) sighted a transport. It was subsequently identified as Russian.

Another transport was sighted at 2110K/19, in position 45°39'N, 143°13'E. Again it was subsequently identified as Russian.

27 Jun 1945
At 0903, in position 45°39'N, 143°06'E, USS Manta (T/Lt.Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN) reported seeing a submarine periscope. None of the other American submarines operating in the Kuriles area reported this so the periscope, if genuine, might have been from a Russian submarine. [As far as we know no Japanese submarines operated in this area at this time.]

11 Jul 1945
At 0230K/11, USS Manta (T/Lt.Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN) departed her patrol area for Midway.

15 Jul 1945
Around 1015Y/15, USS Manta (T/Lt.Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN) ended her 1st war patrol at Midway. She is then taken in hand for a tender refit by USS Bushnell (T/Capt. H.C. Fish, USN). Refit was completed on 30 July 1945 and had included a docking. Excercises were carried out of Midway between 3 and 6 August 1945 with the focus on lifeguard duties.

8 Aug 1945
At 1800Y/8, USS Manta (T/Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN) departed Midway for her 2nd war patrol. Before proceeding to her patrol area off Japan she was first to top off with fuel at Saipan.

For the daily positions of USS Malta during her 2nd war patrol see the map below.

16 Aug 1945
At 0200K/16, USS Manta (T/Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN) receives a signal ordering her to proceed to Guam instead of Saipan.

17 Aug 1945
At 0905K/17, USS Manta (T/Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN) arrived at Guam from Midway.

1 Sep 1945
The submarine tender USS Fulton (T/Capt. A.R. St. Angelo, USN) and the submarines USS Manta (T/Lt.Cdr. E.P. Madley, USN), USS Dentuda (T/Lt.Cdr. E.E. Conrad, USN), USS Argonaut (T/Cdr. J.S. Schmidt, USN) and USS Diablo (T/Cdr. G.G. Matheson, USN) departed Guam for Pearl Harbour where they arrived on 10 September 1945.