USS Toro (SS-422)

USS Toro (SS-422) was a unique Tench-class submarine named after various fish referred to as "toro", including the cowfish, catalufa, and cavallo. This was the only vessel of the United States Navy that carried this name.

The journey of the USS Toro (SS-422) began at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine, where its keel was laid on 27 May 1944. The submarine saw daylight when it was launched on 23 August 1944, with Mrs. Alan G. Kirk bestowing the honor as its sponsor. A few months later, on 8 December 1944, the submarine was commissioned.

Following its completion on 26 December 1944, USS Toro (SS-422) underwent a series of training exercises. These took place across various locations like Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Newport, Rhode Island, and New London, Connecticut. The submarine then made its way to Key West, Florida, by 11 February 1945. While there, USS Toro (SS-422) provided services to the Fleet Sonar School. By the end of February, it departed Key West alongside the submarine Bumper (SS-333) for the Panama Canal Zone. This was followed by a week of intense training. Both submarines then embarked on a journey to Hawaii, reaching Pearl Harbor on 1 April.

USS Toro (SS-422) soon began its first war patrol. It set sail for this mission on 10 May after a short halt at Saipan. Once in its designated area south of Shikoku and east of Kyūshū, the submarine encountered occasional Japanese planes. One significant incident occurred on 18 May, when after detecting a transmission on Japanese submarine radar frequency, the Toro tried to close in on the source but failed.

While patrolling Bungo Suido, the submarine often acted as a lifeguard during airstrikes on the Japanese islands. One notable rescue occurred on 25 May when USS Toro (SS-422) saved three Army aviators: Charles Smith, Howard Stein, and Robert Canova. A day later, while on a surface patrol, the submarine narrowly missed a torpedo from an unseen attacker.

By 14 June, USS Toro (SS-422) concluded its patrols in Bungo Suido and set course for the Mariana Islands. Five days later, it anchored at Apra Harbor.

For its second war patrol, after refitting with the submarine tender Fulton (AS-11), USS Toro (SS-422) set off from Guam on 14 July. On 25 July, in an unfortunate case of mistaken identity, the USS Toro (SS-422) was mistakenly targeted by the USS Colahan (DD-658) and barely managed to evade the attack by diving deep.

Throughout the patrol, USS Toro (SS-422) continued its lifeguard duties, rescuing several aviators, including three British ones. On 1 August, it transferred these British fliers to the submarine Gabilan (SS-252). On 5 August, USS Toro (SS-422) managed to rescue two more Army aviators after sighting smoke on the horizon.

As World War II reached its climax in August, the submarine contributed by destroying several naval mines south of Honshū. By 27 August, the USS Toro (SS-422) reached Midway Island.

Post-war, the submarine's journey took it through Pearl Harbor, the Panama Canal, and eventually to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where preparations for inactivation began. By 7 February 1946, it was decommissioned and placed in reserve at Atlantic Reserve Fleet, New London. However, on 13 May 1947, it was recommissioned. The submarine underwent several operations, including sinking the captured German submarine U-530 with a torpedo on 28 November 1947.

By 28 January 1950, USS Toro (SS-422) became part of the Submarine Development Group 2. For over a decade, it was engaged in various training, type training, and antisubmarine warfare exercises. In July 1962, it was redesignated as an auxiliary submarine and, on 22 November 1962, made its 11,000th dive in Long Island Sound.

However, by February 1963, the end was near for the USS Toro (SS-422). It was ordered to Philadelphia for demilitarization. It was decommissioned on 11 March 1963 and removed from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 April 1963.

There was a proposal to sink the USS Toro (SS-422) near the location of the lost submarine Thresher (SSN-593) to study currents around the wreck. However, this plan was shelved, and the submarine was eventually sold and scrapped. As a lasting tribute, its nameplate is displayed at the Freedom Park.

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