ARA Santa Fe (S-21)

	Catfish underway, during her visit to the Far East, 1956.
History
United States
Name	USS Catfish
Namesake	Catfish
Builder	Electric Boat Company, Groton, Connecticut
Laid down	6 January 1944
Launched	19 November 1944
Commissioned	19 March 1945
Decommissioned	1 July 1971
In service	World War II; Korean War;
Stricken	1 July 1971
Identification	SS-339
Fate	Transferred to Argentina, 1 July 1971
Argentina
Name	ARA Santa Fe
Namesake	Santa Fe
Acquired	1 July 1971
In service	Falklands War
Fate	Captured by British during Falklands War and scuttled
General characteristics (As completed)
Class and type	Balao-class diesel-electric submarine
Displacement	1,526 tons (1,550 t) surfaced; 2,424 tons (2,463 t) submerged;
Length	311 ft 9 in (95.02 m)
Beam	27 ft 3 in (8.31 m)
Draft	16 ft 10 in (5.13 m) maximum
Propulsion	4 × General Motors Model 16-278A V16 diesel engines driving electrical generators; 2 × 126-cell Sargo batteries; 4 × high-speed General Electric electric motors with reduction gears; 2 × propellers; 5,400 shp (4.0 MW) surfaced; 2,740 shp (2.0 MW) submerged;
Speed	20.25 knots (38 km/h) surfaced; 8.75 knots (16 km/h) submerged;
Range	11,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) surfaced at 10 knots (19 km/h)
Endurance	48 hours at 2 knots (3.7 km/h) submerged; 75 days on patrol;
Test depth	400 ft (120 m)
Complement	10 officers, 70–71 enlisted
Armament	10 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes; 6 forward, 4 aft; 24 torpedoes; 1 × 5-inch (127 mm) / 25 caliber deck gun; Bofors 40 mm and Oerlikon 20 mm cannon;
General characteristics (Guppy II)
Class and type	none
Displacement	1,870 tons (1,900 t) surfaced; 2,440 tons (2,480 t) submerged;
Length	307 ft (93.6 m)
Beam	27 ft 4 in (7.4 m)
Draft	17 ft (5.2 m)
Propulsion	Snorkel added; Batteries upgraded to GUPPY type, capacity expanded to 504 cells (1 × 184 cell, 1 × 68 cell, and 2 × 126 cell batteries); 4 × high-speed electric motors replaced with 2 × low-speed direct drive electric motors;
Speed	Surfaced:; 18.0 knots (33.3 km/h) maximum; 13.5 knots (25.0 km/h) cruising; Submerged:; 16.0 knots (29.6 km/h) for ½ hour; 9.0 knots (16.7 km/h) snorkeling; 3.5 knots (6.5 km/h) cruising;
Range	15,000 nm (28,000 km) surfaced at 11 knots (20 km/h)
Endurance	48 hours at 4 knots (7 km/h) submerged
Complement	9–10 officers; 5 petty officers; 70 enlisted men;
Sensors and ; processing systems	WFA active sonar; JT passive sonar; Mk 106 torpedo fire control system;
Armament	10 × 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes; (six forward, four aft); all guns removed;

ARA Santa Fe was an Argentine Balao-class submarine that was lost during the Falklands War. Built by the US during the Second World War, the ship operated in the United States Navy as USS Catfish (SS-339) until 1971 when she was transferred to the Argentine Navy. She served until 1982 when she was captured by the British at South Georgia after being seriously damaged and subsequently sank along a pier, with just her conning tower (sail) visible above the waterline. The submarine was raised, towed out of the bay and scuttled in deep water in 1985.

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