USS ''Pargo'' (SS-264), 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 pargo, a fish of the genus ''

Lutjanus ''Lutjanus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, snappers belonging to the Family (biology), family Lutjanidae. They are found in the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. They are predation, predatory fish usually ...

'' found in the West Indies.

Construction and commissioning

''Pargo'' 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 ...

on 21 May 1942 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. ...

; launched 24 January 1943, sponsored by Miss Belle W. Baruch; and commissioned on 26 April 1943, Lieutenant Commander Ian C. Eddy in command.

First and second war patrols, August – December 1943

Following

shakedown Shakedown or Shake Down may refer to: * Shakedown (continuum mechanics), a type of plastic deformation * Shakedown (testing) or a shakedown cruise, a period of testing undergone by a ship, airplane or other craft before being declared operational ...

and training ''Pargo'' sailed 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 ...

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 ...

, arriving 23 July 1943. The first of her eight war patrols began 18 August and took her into 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 ...

where she twice attacked the enemy, inflicting undetermined damage to several ships before returning to Pearl Harbor 6 October. After refitting ''Pargo'' sailed 30 October in company with and in a wolf-pack. The efforts of the three were well directed against the open sea area northwest of the

Marianas The Mariana Islands ( ; ), also simply the Marianas, are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly Volcano#Dormant and reactivated, dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean ...

where ''Pargo'' sank two freighters, ''Manju Maru'' and ''Shoko Maru'' totaling 7,810 tons, on 29 and 30 November.

Third, fourth, and fifth war patrols, March – October 1944

''Pargo'' next underwent overhaul and received a new engine at

Mare Island Naval Shipyard The Mare Island Naval Shipyard (MINSY or MINS) was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean and was in service 142 years from 1854 to 1996. It is located on Mare Island, northeast of San Francisco, in Vallejo, Califor ...

. On 5 March 1944 she was underway for Pearl Harbor and 25 March began her third war patrol. Her mission, to destroy enemy ships in the

Philippine The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

and

Celebes Sea The Celebes Sea ( ; ) or Sulawesi Sea (; ) of the western Pacific Ocean is bordered on the north by the Sulu Archipelago and Sulu Sea and Mindanao Island of the Philippines, on the east by the Sangihe Islands chain, on the south by Sulawes ...

s areas was carried out with several attacks, one of which sank an ex-net tender. ''Pargo'' began refitting at Fremantle, Australia 24 May. Underway 13 June for the Celebes Sea, ''Pargo'' noted fewer ships present in the area. She scored well again, however, damaging several and sinking a 5,236 ton cargo ship, ''Yamagibu Maru''. ''Griffin'' (AS-13) refitted ''Pargo'' at Fremantle to prepare her for her next patrol. From 3 September to 7 October she ranged 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 ...

, pressing her attacks to damage several Japanese ships and to sink two more, including a

minelayer A minelayer is any warship, submarine, military aircraft or land vehicle deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for ins ...

. 24 August 1944 LCDR David B. Bell took command of the USS Pargo over from CDR Ian C. Eddy.

Sixth and seventh war patrols, October 1944 – March 1945

On 28 October ''Pargo'' sailed from western Australian waters in company with for her sixth patrol. From

Exmouth Gulf Exmouth Gulf is a Bay, gulf in the North West Australia, north-west of Western Australia. It lies between North West Cape and the main coastline of Western Australia. It is considered to be part of the Pilbara Coast and Northwest Shelf, and t ...

she continued alone into the South China Sea where she found that increased allied air activity had further diminished use of the shipping lanes. She sank tanker ''Yuho Maru'' off

Brunei Bay Brunei Bay () is on the northwestern coast of Borneo island, in Brunei and Malaysia. It is located east of Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. It is the ocean gateway to the isolated Temburong District of Brunei, separated from the rest of Brunei by th ...

26 November. Following this action she received from escorts the worst depth charging of her career, but escaped without serious damage, and returned to Australia 21 December. Replenishment and retraining ensued, and on 15 January 1945 ''Pargo'' got underway for the

Indo-China Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as Indochina and the Indochinese Peninsula) is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to th ...

coast. Six days out she launched a night

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 ...

attack that damaged several ships. On 10 February she again engaged the enemy and ten days later blew up

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 ...

''Nokaze''. ''Pargo'' then sailed via

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 ...

and Pearl Harbor to Mare Island for a modernization overhaul which lasted from 25 March to 17 June.

Eighth war patrol, July – September 1945

The submarine's eighth and final patrol spanned the 42-day interval from 14 July to 9 September. Transiting the

minefields A land mine, or landmine, is an explosive weapon often concealed under or camouflaged on the ground, and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets as they pass over or near it. Land mines are divided into two types: anti-tank mines, whic ...

Tsushima Straits or Eastern Channel (; ''Dongsuro'') is a channel of the Korea Strait, which lies between Korea and Japan, connecting the Sea of Japan, the Yellow Sea, and the East China Sea. The strait is the channel to the east and southeast of Tsushima Isl ...

, she entered 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 ...

where she attacked a six-ship convoy. She made her last sinking on 8 August, the passenger-cargo ship ''Rashin Maru'', to total nine for the war. After Japanese capitulation, ''Pargo'' remained in the mine-filled waters until after the peace terms were signed and then sailed for

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 ...

. Returning to Pearl Harbor with the knowledge that she had contributed materially to the victory in the Pacific, Pargo assumed post-war duties as part of the squadron based there. She was decommissioned 12 June 1946 and was assigned to train Naval Reservists in the

13th Naval District United States Naval Districts is a system created by the United States Navy to organize military facilities, numbered sequentially by geographic region, for the operational and administrative control of naval bases and shore commands in the Unit ...

where she remained until 1 June 1960 when her name was struck from the

Navy List A Navy Directory, Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a co ...

. ''Pargo'' was sold 17 April 1961. ''Pargo'' received eight

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. All eight of her war patrols were designated as "successful". She is credited with having sunk a total of 27,983 tons of enemy shipping. See for other ships of the same name.

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pargo (SS-264) Gato-class submarines World War II submarines of the United States Ships built in Groton, Connecticut 1943 ships