The USS Bass (SS-164), originally designated V-2 (SF-5), was a Barracuda-class submarine and one of the "V-boats" constructed for the United States Navy in the 1920s. Her keel was laid at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, and she was launched on December 27, 1924, with Mrs. Douglas E. Dismukes as her sponsor. Commissioned on September 26, 1925, V-2 was designed to meet a fleet requirement for a 21-knot (39 km/h) surface speed, enabling operations alongside contemporary battleships. The vessel was powered by two Busch-Sulzer direct-drive 6-cylinder 2-cycle main diesel engines, each producing 2,250 horsepower, supplemented by two auxiliary diesel engines of 1,000 horsepower each, which primarily charged her batteries. The initial propulsion system included electric motors for submerged operation, though her early design faced challenges that were not fully resolved until around 1939, when a pure diesel-electric transmission became standard for later fleet submarines. Prior to her 1940 recommissioning, her auxiliary diesels were replaced with MAN-designed 6-cylinder 4-cycle engines, which improved her operational capacity. Throughout her service, the USS Bass operated along the Atlantic coast, Caribbean, and Pacific, including time based in San Diego, the Hawaiian Islands, and the Canal Zone. She was renamed Bass on March 9, 1931, and her hull classification was changed from SF-5 to SS-164 in July of that year. She was decommissioned in reserve in June 1937 but was recommissioned in September 1940 at Portsmouth, becoming part of the Atlantic Fleet. During World War II, Bass was assigned to Submarine Squadron 3 and conducted four war patrols off Panama. In August 1942, she suffered a fatal internal fire that resulted in the deaths of 26 crew members. After a series of overhaul and experimental activities, including secret testing off Block Island, she was decommissioned on March 3, 1945. The USS Bass was then expended as a target in March 1945, sinking off the coast of Rhode Island. Her wreck, located at approximately 155 feet, is now a popular SCUBA diving site, with mapping in 2019 revealing the vessel in two parts, resting on her side. The USS Bass holds maritime significance as a representative of early US submarine design and operational history through the interwar period and World War II.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.