USS Bugara SS-331

The bugara is a multi-colored fish found off the coast of California. The USS Bugara SS-331 is the only ship to have served the U.S. Military to have carried the name. The submarine was built by the Electric Boat Company out of Groton, Connecticut and launched on July 2, 1944. She was commissioned into the Navy on November 15, 1944.

Built as a Balao-class submarine, the USS Bugara measured 311 feet long and 27 feet wide. Her displacement measured 1,526 tons when floating on the surface and 2,424 tons when submerged. The sub had four V16 diesel engines, made by General Motors, which drove electrical generators. These generators supplied power to four, high speed electric motors, built by General Electric and two 126 cell Sargo batteries.

The sub had two propellers that could drive it along at speeds of up to 20.25 knots on the surface and 8.75 knots when under the water. For actions against the enemy, she had 10 torpedo tubes. Her payload included up to 24 torpedoes. She also had one five-inch 25 caliber gun and four machine guns on her deck for engaging the enemy from the surface. Her crew consisted of 10 officers and 70 to 71 enlisted personnel.

During World War II

Since she was built so close to the end of World War II, the Bugara only performed three war time tours. All three of them took place in the Java Sea, the Flores Sea, the South China Sea and the Gulf of Siam. They all took place between February and August of 1945.

Her first two patrols were completely uneventful. The third, however, more than made up for the first two. This last patrol took place in the Gulf of Siam. As the war was winding down, naval targets became scarce. However, the Bugara found and destroyed a total of 57 small boats during that last patrol. In all but two cases, the ships were boarded by the crew of the sub and the native sailors removed and set ashore with their belongings.

One of the strangest incidents involved a Japanese ship that was being crewed by Chinese sailors. The ship was under attack by Malay pirates. The Bugara maneuvered itself into position and then boarded the Japanese boat. Once the Chinese crew were secured aboard the sub, the Bugara sank it. They then proceeded to take care of the pirates and dropped the crew off, safe and sound. In total, the ships that were sunk by the sub during its last patrol totaled 5,284 tons.

After World War II

The Bugara arrived in Fremantle, Australia on August 17, 1945 to complete her final war patrol. From there, she made her way to Subic Bay in the Philippines and operated from there for the rest of 1945. She left that side of the Pacific and returned to San Diego, California in January of 1946. After some minor repairs were completed, she made way to Pearl Harbor, reaching Hawaii in May.

She received an overhaul at the Pearl Harbor Navy Shipyard and then in the fall of 1946, made a training cruise through the Bering Sea. After that mission was completed, she returned to California and sat in a yard until March 1948.

In July of that year, she took a cruise to Yokosuka, Japan, passing through Guam, Melbourne, Buckner Bay, and Tsingtao. She returned to Hawaii in August and spent a year operating out of Pearl Harbor. In August 1949, she was in San Francisco where she received an overhaul. She returned to Pearl Harbor in January of 1950 and then was based there until December 1954. Twice during that time, she was assigned missions to support war activities taking place in Korea. She returned to the continental U.S. in December 1954.

Since she was built so close to the end of World War II, the Bugara only performed three war time tours. All three of them took place in the Java Sea, the Flores Sea, the South China Sea and the Gulf of Siam. They all took place between February and August of 1945. Her first two patrols were completely uneventful. The third, however, more than made up for the first two. This last patrol took place in the Gulf of Siam. As the war was winding down, naval targets became scarce. However, the Bugara found and destroyed a total of 57 small boats during that last patrol. In all but two cases, the ships were boarded by the crew of the sub and the native sailors removed and set ashore with their belongings.

One of the strangest incidents involved a Japanese ship that was being crewed by Chinese sailors. The ship was under attack by Malay pirates. The Buraga maneuvered itself into position and then boarded the Japanese boat. Once the Chinese crew had been secured aboard the sub, the Buraga sank it. They then proceeded to take care of the pirates and dropped the crew off, safe and sound. In total, the ships that were sunk by the sub during its last patrol totaled 5,284 tons.

The Buraga arrived in Fremantle, Australia on August 17, 1945, to complete her final war patrol. From there, she made her way to Subic Bay in the Philippians and operated from there for the rest of 1945. She left that side of the Pacific and returned to San Diego, California in January of 1946. After some minor repairs were completed, she made way to Pearl Harbor, reaching Hawaii in May. She received an overhaul at the Pearl Harbor Navy Shipyard and then, in the fall of 1946, made a training cruise through the Bering Sea. After that mission was completed, she returned to California and sat in a yard until March of 1948.

In July of that year, she took a cruise to Yokosuka, Japan, passing through Guam, Melbourne, Buckner Bay, and Tsingtao. She returned to Hawaii in August and spent a year operating out of Pearl Harbor. In August of 1949, she was in San Francisco, where she received an overhaul. She returned to Pearl Harbor in January of 1950 and then was based there until December of 1954. Twice during that time, she was assigned missions to support war activities taking place in Korea. She returned to the continental U.S. in December of 1954.

Until she was decommissioned in October of 1970, she took part in a wide variety of training missions and fleet exercises. Once she had been decommissioned, she was to enter storage. Unfortunately, on June 1, 1971, as she was being towed to the yard, the Buraga was accidentally swamped and sank. She had received three Battle Stars for her service during World War II.

One of the concerns that still exist today for sailors who lived and worked on the USS Buraga is the likelihood of asbestos exposure. As with many of the ships and subs built for and by the U.S. Navy, asbestos had been used extensively as an insulator. The dust that is produced by asbestos containing materials contains millions of microscopic fibers that cause damage to the human body. There are two primary asbestos related diseases, namely asbestosis and mesothelioma, which can result from asbestos exposure. It can take as long as fifty years for these diseases to show up. If you have questions about either of these diseases or about asbestos exposure in general, please contact us for more information.

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