Drum Tour

Between the two world wars the geographical position of the United States determined the designs of the submarines of the USN. Separated from the other major naval powers by oceans, the USN focused on large submarines with tremendous range. As a consequence there were no small coastal submarines built for the USN, whose designs were significantly larger, excluding the medium size M Class, than almost all designs of the European powers and most Japanese designs. In the 1930s the P Class, Salmon/Sargo Class and T Class boats built in small numbers shaped the parameters of the deep ocean or Fleet Boat of the USN.

However, the definite USN Fleet Boat did not arrive until just before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. That design was the Gato Class. The boats were large at 311-feet 9-inches in length and displacing 1,825 tons (2,410 tons submerged). The four General Motors or Fairbanks Morse diesel engines produced 5,400 hp for 20.25 knots surfaced and the four Elliot or General Electric electric motors, producing 2,740 hp for a maximum of 8.75 knots submerged. It was the range and endurance that set these boats apart. Capable of missions up to 60 days, they had a maximum range of 11,800 miles at 10 knots surfaced. Six of the new design were included in the 1940 construction program, SS-212 through SS-217, followed shortly thereafter with another 67 boats added to the 1940 program, SS-218 through SS-284. The Gatos began to arrive just in the nick of time and the very first one to arrive was USS Drum SS-228.

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USS Drum was built by Electric Boat of Groton, Connecticut and was commissioned on November 1, 1941. Twenty Gatos were operational by June 1942 and 40 by the end of 1942. The Gato Class amounted to those first 73 boats. In 1942 a follow on design, an improved Gato was ordered and became the Balao Class. Because of their great range and endurance, the Gatos were almost exclusively employed in the Pacific.

In the first six months of World War Two, American submarine operations were generally not successful. Hampered by poor torpedoes and uncertain leadership, the Silent Service experienced significant growing pains. However, the Drum, on her first Empire patrol, provided a bright spot for the service. An Empire patrol meant operations in Japanese Home Island waters and could be categorized as high risk, high rewards operations. Her patrol started out under inauspicious circumstances. Like many other USN boats, she was attacked by trigger-happy American aircraft in home waters. Fortunately she was not damaged and set course for Japan. In April Drum was patrolling along the East Coast of Honshu.