Allied Warships

Lancetfish (SS-296)

Submarine of the Balao class

USS Lancetfish sliding down the ways 15 August 1943.

Navy	The US Navy
Type	Submarine
Class	Balao
Pennant	296
Built by	Cramp Shipbuilding Co. (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.)
Ordered	24 Dec 1941
Laid down	15 Dec 1942
Launched	15 Aug 1943
Commissioned	12 Feb 1945
End service	24 Mar 1945
History	USS Lancetfish (T/Cdr. Ellis Burton Orr, USN) accidentally flooded through a torpedo tube and sank on 15 March 1945. She was raised 8 days later and decommissioned on 24 March 1945. Assigned to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet in uncompleted condition, she was transferred to the 1st Naval District 27 February 1947 and was assigned to the New London Group 9 December 1952. Her name was struck from the Naval Register 9 June 1958. Lancetfish was sold for scrapping on 20 August 1959.

Commands listed for USS Lancetfish (296)

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and that we only list Commanding Officers for the duration of the Second World War.

	Commander	From	To
1	T/Cdr. Ellis Burton Orr, USN	12 Feb 1945	24 Mar 1945

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Notable events involving Lancetfish include:

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

12 Feb 1945
USS Lancetfish (T/Cdr. E.B. Orr, USN) is commissioned at the Boston Navy Yard where she had arrived on 19 May 1944 for further outfitting.

15 Mar 1945
USS Lancetfish (T/Cdr. E.B. Orr, USN), which was still at the Boston Navy Yard, sank by accident while alongside a pier.

A shipyard worker opened No.10 torpedo tube not knowing that the outer door was already open opened and seawater started flooding the submarine which sank in about 42 feet of water.

23 Mar 1945
At the Boston Navy Yard, USS Lancetfish (T/Cdr. E.B. Orr, USN) is raised.

24 Mar 1945
USS Lancetfish (T/Cdr. E.B. Orr, USN) is decommissioned at the Boston Navy Yard. She was paid off into reserve as repair costs were deemed to be too high.