Description

USS BALAO SUBMARINE

FULLY BUILT AND READY TO DISPLAY, QUALITY SHIP MODEL

Dimension approx.: 39″ L x 4″ W x 10″ H
This beautiful model is already built, NOT a kit.

USS Balao (SS-285) and the Balao-Class Submarine History
The USS Balao (SS-285) was the lead ship of the Balao-class submarines, a U.S. Navy design built between 1942 and 1946 that became the largest submarine class in U.S. history, with 120 completed Wikipedia. The Balao class was an improved version of the earlier Gato class, featuring a thicker, higher-strength pressure hull made of high-tensile steel, which increased test depth from 300 ft to 400 ft (about 120 m) Wikipedia+1. This design change, along with streamlined superstructures and improved internal layouts, made the Balao class more rugged and capable in wartime operations worldwar1-2.com.

Design and Capabilities
Type: Diesel-electric fleet submarine

Length: 311 ft 6–10 in

Displacement: 1,526 tons surfaced; 2,391–2,424 tons submerged

Propulsion: 4 diesel engines + 2×126-cell batteries; 4 high-speed electric motors

Speed: 20.25 knots surfaced; 8.75 knots submerged

Range: 11,000 nmi at 10 knots surfaced

Armament: 10 × 21-inch torpedo tubes (6 forward, 4 aft), 24 torpedoes; 1 × 5-inch deck gun; Bofors 40 mm and Oerlikon 20 mm cannons Wikipedia

USS Balao’s Service History
Commissioned: 4 February 1943 at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Maine NHHC

WWII Service: Deployed to the Pacific, based at Brisbane, Australia, and Pearl Harbor. Patrolled for enemy ships, rescued downed airmen, and supported U.S. naval operations until Japan’s surrender NHHC.

Postwar: Decommissioned August 1946; recommissioned March 1952 as a training ship for antisubmarine and special deployment forces, serving at Key West, Florida, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba NHHC.

Cultural Role: Starred as the “pink submarine” in the 1959 film Operation Petticoat NHHC.

Cold War: In April 1960, simulated a disabled submarine to test the “Steinke Hood” escape device. Patrolled the western Atlantic during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 NHHC.

Decommissioning: 11 July 1963; hulk sunk off northern Florida on 6 September 1963. Her fairwater remains on display at the Washington Navy Yard NHHC.

Broader Balao-Class Role
The Balao class was central to U.S. submarine operations in WWII, contributing heavily to the destruction of Japanese merchant shipping and naval forces Naval Encyclopedia. Many were later modernized under the GUPPY program, exported to allies, and served in multiple navies for decades Naval Encyclopedia.

In summary: The USS Balao was both a symbol of U.S. submarine innovation in WWII and a long-serving training and patrol vessel in the Cold War, embodying the evolution of American submarine design and naval strategy.