abstract
| - USS Chopper (SS/AGSS/IXSS-342), a Balao-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the chopper, a bluefish common in the rivers of the Mississippi Valley. Her keel was laid down by the Electric Boat Company in Groton, Connecticut. She was launched on 4 February 1945 sponsored by Mrs. G. S. Beebe, and commissioned on 25 May 1945 with Lieutenant Commander S. Filipone in command. Chopper sailed from New London, Connecticut on 4 July 1945 for Pearl Harbor, where she lay from 21 September-24 October. On 30 October, she arrived at San Diego, California, her assigned home port. She sailed on 2 January 1946 for the Philippines, where she trained and offered local services until 11 May, when she returned to San Diego and began local operations. Her next deployment — a simulated war patrol to China — took place from 28 July-9 November 1947. After west coast operations through 1948, she departed San Diego on 14 March 1949 for her new home port, Key West, Florida, arriving on 4 April. Operations in Florida waters and the Caribbean Sea were conducted until 15 September 1950, when she entered the Electric Boat Company yards for modernization. She returned to Key West for fleet exercises and training 23 May 1951. Chopper departed Key West, Florida on 7 January 1952 for a tour of duty in the Mediterranean Sea until 20 May. She resumed local operations, then joined in North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) operations in the Atlantic from 12 September-14 October. Frequent trips to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and local operations continued until 25 May 1959, when she sailed to join in special exercises in the Mediterranean before returning to Key West on 9 August. Through 1960, she continued operations off Florida and in the Caribbean Sea, often acting as target for surface ships in training.
|