Perch: A Short Lesson in Metamorphosis
by Chuck Elliott, END/FN (SS), ASSP-313For those of us "Pre-Nuke" submariners who happened as I to study the "PERCH SS 313" in sub-school, no one could have been more surprised than I when I became a crew member during the Korean war as she came through Pearl Harbor on her way back to San Diego after a patrol.
As I was to find out later she was decommissioned in 1947 and underwent a dramatic conversion at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard. She was stripped of her torpedo tubes fore and aft, as well as the two main engines in the forward engine room, leaving only the two mains and the "dinky" in the after room; all to accommodate the team of UDT (frogmen) and Marine Recon Platoon she was to carry; hence the change from SS to A.S.S.P. (Auxiliary Submersible Ship Personnel). (They were the bravest and craziest people I ever met but they thought we were nuts too.)
She was also fitted with a 16 X 36 ft. hanger aft which housed rubber boats, out-board motors, a "Skimmer" (speedboat), and from time to time a small Bell helicopter. A pilot, co-pilot and crew chief would come aboard. we could surface rollout the helicopter, launch it and dive within 5 minutes! An electrically heated "dip-stick" was in the engine of the helicopter to keep the engine oil warm prior to launch. The door of the "Hanger" weighed 11 tons and when fully opened put a 10 degree starboard list on the boat.
She was also equipped with Snorkel and 3 CO2 "scrubbers", (the precursor to what the "Nukes" have today, I'm sure). For those who never saw her or had the good fortune to have served aboard her, as I did, she looked "Pregnant", ungainly and dangerous. Some called her a "Freak".
We had to get used to a quick dive stern first, (because of the hanger) but once decks were awash she went down properly, and like a rock! Something forgotten in "Metamorphosis" was an increase in fresh water and sanitary tank capacity!! We were making fresh water from our second day out and with 100/120 aboard need I say more?
With only two main engines we were constantly making repairs and had to borrow spares from a Coast Guard Cutter in Kodiak, Alaska.
She was one-of-a-kind, and I'm proud to have served on her.
Note: Perch earned combat pins in both Korea and Viet Nam.
If you have any comments for the author, he can be reached at CE918vlt187pc@aol.com
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