March Lost Boats

Bynick

USS Perch (SS-176)

Lost on March 3,1942 near Java with no immediate loss of life, while on her 1st war patrol. She survived 2 severe depth chargings in less than 200 feet of water by 3 Japanese destroyers. The crew abandoned ship and scuttled her. Of the 59 officers and men taken prisoner, 53 survived the war and six died as POWs

Class: SS 1
Commissioned: 11/19/1936
Launched: 3/9/1936
Builder: Electric Boat Co (General Dynamics)
Length: 301 Beam: 25
#Officers: 5 #Enlisted: 45
Fate: Had to be scuttled on 3 Mar 42 because of Japanses anti-submarine attempts. The sixty-one man Perch crew were taken to illegal interrogation camp at Ofuna, Japan and were forced to work mines untill the close of WWII. Six men died as Prisoners of War.

USS Grampus (SS-207)

Lost on March 5,1943 with the loss of 71 officers and men, on her 6th war patrol. She was lost in Vella Gulf, sunk after engaging 2 Japanese Destroyers.

Class: SS 198
Commissioned: 5/23/1941
Launched: 12/23/1940
Builder: Boston Navy Yard
Length: 307 Beam: 27
#Officers: 6 #Enlisted: 54
Fate: In company with USS Grayback, Grampus departed Brisbane, Australia on her 6th war patrol from which she failed to return, the manner of her loss still remains a mystery today. 71 men lost.

USS H-1 (SS-28)

Lost on March 12, 1920 with the loss of 4 men as they tried to swim to shore after grounding on a shoal off Santa Margarita Island, off the coast of Baja California, Mexico. Vestal (AR-4), pulled H-1 off the rocks in the morning of 24 March, only to have her sink 45 minutes later in some 50 feet of water. She was originally named the USS Seawolf before becoming H-1.

Class: SS H
Commissioned: 12/1/1913
Launched: 5/6/1913
Builder: Union Iron Works
Length: 150 Beam: 16
#Officers: 1 #Enlisted: 23
Fate: As H-1 made her way up the coast, the submarine went aground on a tricky shoal off Santa Margarita Island, CA. Four men, including the Commanding Officer, LCDR. James R. Webb, were killed as they tried to reach shore.

USS Triton (SS-201)

Lost on March 15,1943 with the loss of 74 men. She was sunk north of the Admiralty Islands during a fight with 3 Japanese Destroyers. Triton was the 1st boat to engage the enemy in December 1941 off Wake Island, sinking 9 ships, 1 submarine and a destroyer.

Class: SS 198
Commissioned: 8/15/1940
Launched: 3/25/1940
Builder: Portsmouth Navy Yard
Length: 307 Beam: 27
#Officers: 6 #Enlisted: 54
Fate: Triton was reported overdue and presumed lost with 74 men.

USS Kete (SS-369)

Lost on March 20,1945 with the loss of 87 officers and men at the end of her 2nd war patrol. Probably sunk near Okinawa, by a Japanese submarine that itself was subsequently lost.

Class: SS 285
Commissioned: 7/31/1944
Launched: 4/9/1944
Builder: Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co
Length: 312 Beam: 27
#Officers: 10 #Enlisted: 71
Fate: While steaming eastward, she went in a weather report from a position south of Colnett Strait. Scgheduled to arrive Midway by 31 March, she was neither seen nor heard from again. 87 men lost.

USS F-4 (SS-23)

Lost on March 25, 1915 with the loss of 21 men. She foundered 1.5 miles off of Honolulu when acid corrosion of the lead lining of the battery tank let seawater into the battery compartment, causing loss of control. She was raised in August 1915.

Class: SS F
Commissioned: 5/3/1913
Launched: 1/6/1912
Builder: Seattle Construction & Drydock Co
Length: 143 Beam: 15
#Officers: 1 #Enlisted: 21
Fate: The remains of F-4 were buried as fill in a trench off the Submarine Base, Pearl Harbor, HI.

USS Tullibee (SS-284)

Lost on March 26,1944 with the loss of 79 officers and men, on her 4th war patrol. It’s believed she was a victim of a circular run by one of her own torpedoes. The lookout was the only survivor and he survived the war as a Japanese prisoner.

Class: SS 212
Commissioned: 2/15/1943
Launched: 11/11/1942
Builder: Mare Island Navy Yard
Length: 307 Beam: 27
#Officers: 6 #Enlisted: 54
Fate: (Cont’d) About 2 minutes later, the submarine was rocked by a violent explosion. Apparently, one of Tullibee’s own torpedoes ran a circular course and sank the submarine that had launched it. 79 men lost. 1 survived.

USS Trigger (SS-237)

Lost on March 26,1945 with the loss of 89 officers and men, on her 12th war patrol. She was lost during a combined attack by Japanese antisubmarine vessels and aircraft. Trigger ranked 7th in total tonnage sunk and tied for 8th in number of ships sunk.

Class: SS 237
Commissioned: 1/31/1942
Launched: 10/22/1941
Builder: Mare Island Navy Yard
Length: 312 Beam: 27
#Officers: 6 #Enlisted: 54
Fate: Postwar Japanese records showed a Japanese aircraft detected and bombed a submarine. Surface ships were then guided to the spot and delivered an intensive depth charging. After two hours, a large oil slick appeared.

Similar Posts