ARA Santa Fe
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| Missing image USS_Catfish;0833910.jpg Catfish (SS-339) underway, during her visit to the Far East, 1956. | |
| Career | Missing image Argentinajacksmall.png Argentine Navy Jack |
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| Laid down: | 1 January 1944 |
| Launched: | 19 November 1944 |
| Commissioned: | 19 March 1945 as USS Catfish; 1971 as ARA Santa Fe |
| Decommissioned: | 1982 |
| Fate: | captured by British during Falklands War, scuttled |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement, Surfaced: Submerged: | 1,526 tons (1550 t), 2,424 tons (2460 t) |
| Length: | 311.8 ft (95.0 m) |
| Beam: | 27.3 ft (8.3 m) |
| Draft: | 15.3 ft (4.6 m) |
| Depth limit: | 400 ft (120 m) |
| Speed, Surfaced: Submerged: | 20.25 knots (37 km/h) 8.75 knots (16 km/h) |
| Propulsion: | four 5400-hp diesel engines, four 2740-hp (2.0 MW) electric motors, two propellers |
| Submerged Endurance: | 48 hours at 2 knots |
| Patrol Endurance: | 75 days |
| Range: | 11,000 nmi. (20,000 km) surfaced at 10 knots |
| Complement: | 66 officers and enlisted |
| Armament: | ten 21" torpedo tubes, (six forward, four aft), 24 torpedoes, one 5"/25 deck gun, four machine guns |
The ARA Santa Fe was a submarine in the Armada Republica Argentina from 1971 to 1982.
The submarine was built during World War II by the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics and was launched on November 19, 1944. Commissioned into the US Navy, and named USS Catfish (SS-339), the submarine entered service in March 1945. As Catfish the submarine took part in the closing stages of the Pacific war against Japan. Afterwards she served in the US 7th fleet in the Pacific Ocean seeing service in the Korean War. In 1971, Catfish was decommissioned and sold to Argentina where she was renamed the ARA Santa Fe.
In 1982, the Santa Fe took part in the Falklands War alongside the ARA San Luis, the only two submarines in the Argentine Navy. The Santa Fe supported the Argentine invasion of South Georgia by landing marines on the island and stayed on station in the area as a large British task force approached the South Atlantic.
On April 23 the Royal Navy ships, HMS Brilliant; HMS Antrim; HMS Plymouth; and the ice patrol boat HMS Endurance were sent to retake the island of South Georgia with a detachment of Royal Marines and Special Boat Service commandos. The threat of Santa Fe forced the British ships to keep a distance as they landed troops on the island.
However the Santa Fe was spotted by Wasp helicopters from Endurance and a Lynx helicopter from Brilliant. The helicopters fired depth charges and torpedoes at the Santa Fe, damaging her badly enough to prevent her from submerging. The crew were forced to abandon the submarine and surrender to the British forces.
Later the Santa Fe was scuttled by the British.