USS Muskallunge (SS-262)
Background
USS Muskallunge (SS-262) was an American-built Gato-class submarine that served in the U.S. Navy between 1943 and 1957 before it was transferred to the Brazilian Navy, where it was renamed Humaitá (S14) and served between 1957 and 1968. Muskallunge was built at the Electric Boat Company in Groton, Connecticut. Construction began on April 7, 1942, and it was commissioned on March 15, 1943.
Muskallunge had an overall length of 95.02 meters, a beam of 8.31 meters, a draft of 5.18 meters, a test depth of 90 meters, and a displacement of 1,525 tons surfaced and 2,424 tons submerged. It was equipped with 10 21-inch torpedo tubes, 6 forward and 4 aft, and could carry 24 torpedoes. It also had one 3-inch deck gun and a Bofors 40-millimeter cannon.
During World War II, Muskallunge took part in seven war patrols in the Pacific Theater, between September 1943 and January 1944, April and December 1944, and April and August 1945. After the war, the U.S. Navy retained Muskallunge in its Atlantic Reserve Fleet from 1947 to 1957. In January 1957, the United States loaned the submarine to the Brazilian military as part of the Military Assistance Program. Reclassified as Humaitá, it served with Brazilian forces until its return to the United States in March 1968. On July 9, 1968, Muskallunge was used as a live-fire target for USS Tench and sank off Long Island, New York.
Exploration
NOAA Ocean Exploration explored Muskallunge on June 26, 2021, during a shakedown expedition aboard NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer. Remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Deep Discoverer — equipped with an Insite Pacific Pacific Zeus Plus camera capable of collecting high-definition footage — was used to document the site, which is at a depth of approximately 635 meters and broken into two large sections: the bow section, which is approximately 60 meters long, and the stern section, which is approximately 30 meters long.
Modeling
This model of Muskallunge is based on the ROV dive footage from timestamps 14:45 to 16:35 for the bow section and 17:45 to 19:00 for the stern section. This footage was exported into 9,169 images using VLC Player. The footage collected during exploration of Muskallunge was not intended for photogrammetry. So, to address alignment issues, individual models were made for the starboard and port sides of the stern section and then stitched together in Rhinoceros 8 and uploaded to Construkted Reality.
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Photogrammetry model of USS Muskallunge (SS-262) developed by Raymond Phipps, NOAA Ocean Exploration explorer-in-training, July 4, 2023. Model courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, 2021 ROV Shakedown.
Published October 17, 2024