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USS ''Guardfish'' (SS-217), a ''Gato''-class
submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...
, was the first ship of the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
to be named for the guardfish.


Construction and commissioning

''Guardfish'' was
laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...
by the
Electric Boat Company Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...
at Groton,
Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
. She was launched there on 20 January 1942, sponsored by Mrs. Edward J. Marquart, and commissioned at
Naval Submarine Base New London Naval Submarine Base New London is the primary United States Navy East Coast submarine base, also known as the "Home of the Submarine Force." It is located in Groton, Connecticut directly across the Thames River from its namesake city of New L ...
New London, Connecticut, on 8 May 1942, Lieutenant Commander Thomas B. Klakring in command.


First and second war patrols, August – November 1942

After conducting shakedown out of New London, ''Guardfish'' left that base on 28 June 1942 for
Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...
via the
Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...
, and arrived there on 25 July to prepare for her first cruise. Her first war patrol was in previously unpatrolled waters off northeast
Honshū , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the seventh-largest island in the world, and the second-most populous after the Indonesian ...
. ''Guardfish'' left Pearl Harbor on 6 August 1942, sank a trawler on 22 August, and two days later sank 3,114 ton
cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's List of seas, seas and Ocean, oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. ...
''Seikai Maru'' off
Kinkasan is a small island in Miyagi Prefecture in north-eastern Japan. It lies in the Pacific Ocean approximately one kilometer off the Oshika Peninsula. Geography Kinkasan is in area, and its highest point is the pyramid-shaped Mount Kinka, which st ...
Harbor. Evading escort vessels, she proceeded up the coast and found a convoy on 2 September. ''Guardfish'' attacked the next day, sinking 5,253 ton ''
Kaimei Maru ''Kaimei Maru'' was a cargo steamship. She was launched in Hong Kong in 1919 as ''War Bomber'', a War Standard ship for the UK Shipping Controller. Soon after she was completed, Lloyd Royal Belge bought her, renamed her ''Pionier'', and regist ...
'' and 1,118 ton cargo ship ''Tenyu Maru''. ''Chita Maru'', a 2,376 ton freighter, retreated into the harbor and anchored, but a long-range shot from ''Guardfish'' left her beached in the mud. ''Guardfish'' returned from her successful first patrol to Midway for refit on 15 September 1942. ''Guardfish'' left Midway on her second war patrol on 30 September and headed for the
East China Sea The East China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. China names the body of water along its eastern coast as "East Sea" (, ) due to direction, the name of "East China Sea" is otherwise ...
. Surviving an attack by patrolling aircraft on 19 October, ''Guardfish'' closed a seven-ship convoy 21 October, sinking a 4,000-ton freighter and 6,362 ton ''Nichiho Maru'' north of
Formosa Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The island of Taiwan, formerly known to Westerners as Formosa, has an area of and makes up 99% of the land under ROC control. It lies about across the Taiwan Strait f ...
as the convoy scattered. After evading pursuing aircraft and surface ships, ''Guardfish'' returned to Pearl Harbor on 28 November 1942. For her success on these first two patrols, ''Guardfish'' received a Presidential Unit Citation.


Third, fourth, and fifth war patrols, January – August 1943

Moving her base of operations to the Truk area, ''Guardfish'' left Pearl Harbor on 2 January 1943 to patrol off the Japanese stronghold. She sank Japanese patrol ''Boat No.1'' (the former
destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...
) on 12 January west of
Kavieng Kavieng is the capital of the Papua New Guinean province of New Ireland and the largest town on the island of the same name. The town is located at Balgai Bay, on the northern tip of the island. As of 2009, it had a population of 17,248. Kavi ...
, and a 1,300 ton cargo ship the next day. Attacked by the
destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...
on 23 January, ''Guardfish'' sank her with a well-placed
torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...
. Moving south toward
Rabaul Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province ...
, she attacked a large convoy near Simpson Harbor, but was driven off by concentrated shore fire and escort attacks. ''Guardfish'' ended her third patrol by arriving at
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
, Australia on 15 February 1943. Her fourth war patrol was conducted in the
Bismarcks The Bismarck Archipelago (, ) is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and is part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. Its area is about . History The first inhabitants of the archipelag ...
, Solomons, and
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...
area, and ''Guardfish'' recorded no kills on this cruise, 9 March to 30 April 1943. Leaving Brisbane for the same waters on 25 May 1943, ''Guardfish'' sank the transport and
hell ship A hell ship is a ship with extremely inhumane living conditions or with a reputation for cruelty among the crew. It now generally refers to the ships used by the Imperial Japanese Navy and Imperial Japanese Army to transport Allied prisoners of w ...
, '' Suzuya Maru'', and damaged another before being forced to dive by aircraft on 13 June. She picked up a surveying party on the west coast of Bougainville on 14 July and returned to Brisbane for refit on 2 August 1943.


Sixth and seventh war patrols, August 1943 – February 1944

''Guardfish'' left Brisbane for her sixth war patrol on 24 August 1943, landing a reconnoitering party on Bougainville and then moving into cruising waters. She sank the 5,460 ton ''Kasha Maru'' on 8 October and subsequently spent two days as lifeguard ship during the air strikes on Rabaul. ''Guardfish'' embarked another reconnoitering party on 19 October at
Tulagi Tulagi, less commonly known as Tulaghi, is a small island in Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Ngella Sule. The town of the same name on the island (pop. 1,750) was the capital of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate from 1896 t ...
, landed them on Bougainville, and took vital soundings in
Empress Augusta Bay Empress Augusta Bay is a bay on the western side of the island of Bougainville Island, within the Autonomous Region of Bougainville in northeastern Papua New Guinea. It is a subsistence fishing area for the people of Bougainville. History ...
before re-embarking the Marine party on 28 October. These important missions were carried out two days before the American landings at Bougainville. ''Guardfish'' reached Brisbane, completing her sixth patrol on 3 November 1943. On 3 December 1943 ''Guardfish'' was damaged in a collision with an unknown tanker. Turning to the shipping lanes between Truk and
Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomons by area and the second- ...
, ''Guardfish'' began her seventh war patrol on 27 December 1943, sinking 10,024 ton oiler ''Kenyo Maru'' on 14 January 1944. She then closed Truk and sank the destroyer on 1 February in an attack on a convoy. After serving briefly as lifeguard ship off Truk she arrived at Pearl Harbor 18 February and from there returned to
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
for repairs nine days later.


Eighth and ninth war patrols, June – October 1944

''Guardfish'' again put to sea from San Francisco and arrived at Pearl Harbor on 1 June. She then joined submarines , , and to form the coordinated attack group known as the "Mickey Finns", commanded by Captain W. V. O'Regan in ''Guardfish''. The submarines patrolled the shipping lanes around Formosa with spectacular success, ''Guardfish'' sinking 5,863 ton
auxiliary Auxiliary may refer to: In language * Auxiliary language (disambiguation) * Auxiliary verb In military and law enforcement * Auxiliary police * Auxiliaries, civilians or quasi-military personnel who provide support of some kind to a military se ...
''Mantai Maru'', 2,838 ton cargo ship ''Hizan Maru'', and 5,215 ton cargo ship ''Jinsan Maru'' southwest of Formosa on 17 July. After damaging another freighter 18 July, ''Guardfish'' sank the cargo ship ''
Teiryu Maru SS ''Teiryu Maru'' was a steam cargo ship that was launched in England in 1914 as ''Northwestern Miller''. Furness, Withy & Co managed her until 1927, when Norddeutscher Lloyd bought her and renamed her ''Augsburg''. In 1940 the Japanese gover ...
'' the next day, barely escaping the attacks of her escorts. She arrived at Midway for refit on 31 July 1944, and for her performance on the eighth patrol was awarded a second Presidential Unit Citation. Sailing the
Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it ...
as a member of another wolf pack on 23 August 1944, ''Guardfish'' and the submarines, ''Thresher'' and , had a 40-minute surface gun battle with
sampan A sampan is a relatively flat-bottomed wooden boat found in East, Southeast, and South Asia. It is possibly of Chinese or Austronesian origin. Some sampans include a small shelter on board and may be used as a permanent habitation on in ...
s on 2 September. On 25 September ''Guardfish'' attacked and sank 873 ton cargo ship ''Miyakawa Maru #2'' and returned to Pearl Harbor on 24 October 1944.


Tenth, eleventh, and twelfth war patrols, November 1944 – June 1945

''Guardfish'' left on 26 November 1944 for her 10th war patrol to cruise in the "Convoy College" area of the
South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...
, with yet another wolf pack. She recorded no sinkings on this cruise, but nearing
Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...
in the early morning of 24 January 1945 she mistook the U.S. Navy
rescue and salvage ship Rescue and salvage ships (hull classification symbol ARS) are a type of military salvage tug. They are tasked with coming to the aid of stricken vessels. Their general mission capabilities include combat salvage, lifting, towing, retraction of grou ...
, for a Japanese I class submarine. She fired a torpedo which struck ''Extractors starboard side, causing her to capsize and sink at , within five minutes. Six crew were killed, and the remainder were rescued by ''Guardfish''. This action ended the patrol. ''Guardfishs 11th war patrol was spent watching for enemy fleet units attempting to escape from the
Inland Sea An inland sea (also known as an epeiric sea or an epicontinental sea) is a continental body of water which is very large in area and is either completely surrounded by dry land (landlocked), or connected to an ocean by a river, strait or " arm of ...
of Japan by way of the
Kii Suido The , also called the Kii Strait, is a strait separating the Japanese island of Shikoku from the Kii Peninsula on the main island of Honshū. This strait connects the Seto Inland Sea, Inland Sea with the Pacific Ocean. The name of the strait de ...
between
Shikoku is the smallest of the List of islands of Japan#Main islands, four main islands of Japan. It is long and between at its widest. It has a population of 3.8 million, the least populated of Japan's four main islands. It is south of Honshu ...
and
Honshū , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the seventh-largest island in the world, and the second-most populous after the Indonesian ...
. Leaving
Saipan Saipan () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...
on this duty on 27 February, she found no ships but rescued two downed aviators on 19 March before returning to Midway on 11 April 1945. ''Guardfish'' left Midway on 8 May 1945 on her 12th and final war patrol, and was assigned lifeguard station for the ever-increasing air attacks on the Japanese mainland. She sank a small trawler by gunfire on 16 June, and arrived back at Pearl Harbor on 26 June 1945.


Post-war service

The veteran submarine served with the training command after her return to
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
, helping to train surface ships in the newest antisubmarine warfare tactics until 25 August 1945. She then sailed for the United States, transiting the Panama Canal on 12 September and arriving at
New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
on 16 September. ''Guardfish'' arrived at New London 6 November and decommissioned there on 25 May 1946. ''Guardfish'' remained inactive until 18 June 1948, when she was placed "in service" for duty as a Naval Reserve Training Ship at New London. Declared surplus to Navy needs, she was stricken from the
Naval Vessel Register The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...
on 1 June 1960. This ship, one of the most successful of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
submarines, performed her final service as a target ship for a new submarine torpedo. sank her with the newly developed torpedoes off New London on 10 October 1961.


Honors and awards

* Presidential Unit Citation, two awards, one for her first and second war patrols, and a second for her eighth war patrol. * Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with 11
battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or service period. T ...
s for
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
service Of about 250 American submarines which conducted combat patrols in World War II, ''Guardfish'' ranked 13th in total tonnage sunk (72,424 tons) and tied for eighth in number of ships sunk with 19.


In the media

''Guardfish'' was the subject of an article in the 14 December 1942 edition of ''TIME'' magazine. The article, titled Battle of the Pacific: A Day at the Races''Time'' Magazine Archives and written by an embedded Times staff writer (Clay Blair?), describes the ''Guardfish'', either the 1st or 2nd war patrol and Commander Klakring's famed sneak into Tokyo Bay; Close enough to watch the horse races through the periscope. Excerpt from article – ''It was a Sunday afternoon. Lieut. Commander Thomas Burton Klakring had run his submarine smack up to Japan's shore. Klakring raised his periscope. There was a big seaside town, a race track and a race, which "the whole town" had turned out to see. Klakring & crew placed some bets, "but we were just a little too far away to be sure which horse won." Anyhow, they were there to provide more exciting diversion for the people of Japan.'' ''Guardfish'' life on patrol was predominately displayed in the much longer article, featured in the 15 March 1943 publication of ''LIFE'' magazine.''LIFE'' magazine archives The article is titled West to Japan. US sub patrols the Japanese Coast, watches Horse-races and sinks 70,000 tons of Japanese shipping. By John Field. The article is over 4,000 words and depicts life aboard a submarine, both exciting and mundane. Byline: "This story has 50 heros and one heroine. The heros are the officers and men of an American submarine. The heroine is the ship herself. More than 300 ft. long, with ten
torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
s and a surface speed of better than 20 knots, she was commissioned about a year ago. Since that day, she has led an exciting and secret life. On one cruise, to the shores of Japan itself, she sank 70,000 tons of (enemy) shipping. This is the story of that cruise." ''Guardfish'' was the subject of one episode of the syndicated television series ''The Silent Service''


See also

*
List of most successful American submarines in World War II A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...


References

*


Bibliography

*http://content.time.com/time/archive/ 14 December 1942 *http://life.time.com/ 15 March 1943
Hinman, Charles R., and Douglas E. Campbell. ''The Submarine Has No Friends: Friendly Fire Incidents Involving U.S. Submarines During World War II''. Syneca Research Group, Inc., 2019.
.


External links

*
hazegray.org: USS ''Guardfish''

''TIME'' magazine archives: Dec. 14, 1942''LIFE'' magazine archive: March 15, 1943
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guardfish (SS-217) Gato-class submarines World War II submarines of the United States Ships built in Groton, Connecticut 1942 ships Friendly fire incidents of World War II Maritime incidents in January 1945 Maritime incidents in 1961 Ships sunk as targets Shipwrecks of the Connecticut coast