USS Sargo (SS-188)
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USS ''Sargo'' (SS-188), the
lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships that are all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very comple ...
of her class of
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 sargo fish.


Construction and commissioning

''Sargo''′s
keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...
was laid on 12 May 1937 by the
Electric Boat An electric boat is a powered watercraft driven by electric motors, which are powered by either on-board battery packs, solar panels or generators. While a significant majority of water vessels are powered by diesel engines, with sail power ...
Company in 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 on 6 June 1938, sponsored by Mrs. Catherine V. Nimitz, the wife of
Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
(later
Fleet Admiral An admiral of the fleet or shortened to fleet admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to field marshal and marshal of the air force. An admiral of the fleet is typically senior to an admiral. It is also a generic ter ...
)
Chester W. Nimitz Chester William Nimitz (; 24 February 1885 – 20 February 1966) was a fleet admiral in the United States Navy. He played a major role in the naval history of World War II as Commander in Chief, US Pacific Fleet, and Commander in Chief, ...
, and commissioned on 7 February 1939.


Sargo batteries

The ''Sargo'' was the first vessel equipped with a new lead-acid battery designed by the
Bureau of Steam Engineering The Bureau of Steam Engineering was a bureau of the United States Navy, created by the act of 5 July 1862, receiving some of the duties of the former Bureau of Construction, Equipment and Repair. It became, by the Naval Appropriation Act of 4 June ...
(BuEng) to resist battle damage, based on a suggestion by her commissioning
commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...
, Lieutenant E. E. Yeomans. It quickly became known as the "Sargo battery". Instead of a single hard rubber case, it had two concentric hard rubber cases with a layer of soft rubber between them. This was to prevent
sulfuric acid Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen, ...
leakage in the event one case cracked during depth-charging. Leaking sulfuric acid would be capable of corroding steel, burning the skin of crew members it came into contact with, and if mixed with any seawater in the bilges it would generate poisonous
chlorine gas Chlorine is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate between ...
. This remained the standard battery design until replaced with Sargo II and GUPPY batteries in submarines upgraded under the
Greater Underwater Propulsion Power Program The Greater Underwater Propulsion Power Program (GUPPY) was initiated by the United States Navy after World War II to improve the submerged speed, maneuverability, and endurance of its submarines. (The "Y" in the acronym was added for pronouncea ...
after
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 ...
. Each battery's capacity was slightly increased by installing 126
cells Cell most often refers to: * Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life * Cellphone, a phone connected to a cellular network * Clandestine cell, a penetration-resistant form of a secret or outlawed organization * Electrochemical cell, a d ...
instead of 120; this also raised the nominal voltage from 250
volt The volt (symbol: V) is the unit of electric potential, Voltage#Galvani potential vs. electrochemical potential, electric potential difference (voltage), and electromotive force in the International System of Units, International System of Uni ...
s to 270 volts, which has been standard in US usage ever since, including the backup batteries of
nuclear submarine A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor, but not necessarily nuclear-armed. Nuclear submarines have considerable performance advantages over "conventional" (typically diesel-electric) submarines. Nuclear propulsion ...
s.


Pre-war service

After shakedown along the eastern seaboard of
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
, ''Sargo'' departed
Portsmouth, New Hampshire Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on ...
, in July 1939 for duty with the Pacific Fleet. Transiting 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 ...
, she arrived at
San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
, in mid-August. She operated in the eastern and mid-Pacific for the next two years, including a practice 40-day war patrol between
Midway Island Midway Atoll (colloquial: Midway Islands; ; ) is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. Midway Atoll is an insular area of the United States and is an unorganized and unincorporated territory. The largest island is Sand Island, which has housi ...
and the
Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The territory consists of 29 c ...
in the fall of 1941. She departed
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 ...
on 23 October 1941, arrived in
Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
on 10 November, and was there when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December.


War patrols under Tyrell D. Jacobs

The next day (under the command of the torpedo specialist Lieutenant Commander Tyrell D. Jacobs, Annapolis Class of 1927), This submarine got underway for her first war patrol, one that took her along the east coast of
French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China), officially known as the Indochinese Union and after 1941 as the Indochinese Federation, was a group of French dependent territories in Southeast Asia from 1887 to 1954. It was initial ...
and to the
Netherlands East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...
. Off the major Japanese base at
Cam Ranh Bay Cam Ranh Bay () is a deep-water bay in Vietnam in Khánh Hòa Province. It is located at an inlet of the South China Sea situated on the southeastern coast of Vietnam, between Phan Rang and Nha Trang, approximately 290 kilometers (180 miles) nor ...
, ULTRA intercepts directed her to three
cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...
s on 14 December, but the ''Sargo'' was unable to gain position to attack when they appeared as scheduled. Expecting a
convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...
, she went in closer, and that night detected a freighter, firing one torpedo; it prematured eighteen seconds later. Confidence in the Mark VI torpedo exploder shaken, she switched to
contact pistol A naval mine is a self-contained explosive weapon placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Similar to anti-personnel and other land mines, and unlike purpose launched naval depth charges, they are deposited and left ...
afterward.Blair, p.140. On 24 December, she found two freighters, firing two torpedoes at one, one at the other, from about , scoring no hits. Temporarily losing depth control, she broached, and the target turned away; ''Sargo'' fired two stern tubes at , with no more success. The next day, she sighted a pair of merchantmen, but was unable to gain firing position. Some time afterward, she came on two more merchantmen and fired two stern torpedoes at the rearmost of them, from closer yet, ; both again missed. By now frustrated, after eight torpedoes with zero results, when two additional merchantmen came in view an hour later, ''Sargo'' took extra pains to get it right, pursuing for fifty-seven minutesBlair, p.141. and making certain TDC bearings matched perfectly before firing two torpedoes at each ship, at an average of 1000 yards; all missed. After her skipper discovered the torpedoes were running too deep, and correcting the problem, ''Sargo'' detected a target at dusk on 26 December losing, then regaining, contact, and running ahead, so be able to get good position. Then weather intervened, and the ships escaped. A few days afterward, a big, slow tanker gave ''Sargo'' another opportunity, and again, the approach was meticulous, firing one torpedo at a close . It missed. In exasperation, ''Sargo'' signaled headquarters, questioning the
Mark 14 Mark 14 is the fourteenth chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It contains the plot to kill Jesus, his anointing by a woman, the Last Supper, predictions of his betrayal, and Peter the Apostle's three deni ...
's reliability on an open radio circuit. On 20 January 1942, she assisted in the rescue of the crew of ''S-36'' after she ran aground on Taku Reef in the
Makassar Strait Makassar Strait () is a strait between the islands of Borneo and Sulawesi in Indonesia. To the north it joins the Celebes Sea, while to the south it meets the Java Sea. To the northeast, it forms the Sangkulirang Bay south of the Mangkalihat P ...
. ''Sargo'' remained surfaced, relaying distress messages to friendly aircraft and surface ships. After the rescue by the Dutch merchant ship ''Siberote'', ''Sargo'' headed for
Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...
, and arrived at
Soerabaja Surabaya is the capital city of East Java Provinces of Indonesia, province and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. Located on the northeastern corner of Java island, on the Madura Strai ...
on 25 January. Here, she offloaded all her reload torpedoes (keeping only those in her tubes)Blair, p.174. and three-inch ammunition, and took on one million rounds of .30-caliber ammunition desperately needed by Allied forces in the
Philippines 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 ...
. She sortied 5 February, avoiding the usual traffic lanes, and arrived in Polloc Harbor nine days later. After delivering her vital cargo to
Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...
, she returned to
Soerabaja Surabaya is the capital city of East Java Provinces of Indonesia, province and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. Located on the northeastern corner of Java island, on the Madura Strai ...
with 24
Boeing B-17 The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...
specialists from
Clark Field Clark is an English language surname with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland, ultimately derived from the Latin ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educated ...
on board. Sailing from Soerabaja with 31 passengers from
Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...
on 25 February, she headed for
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. On 4 March 1942 she was one day out of
Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...
,
Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
, when a
Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...
Lockheed Hudson The Lockheed Hudson is a light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built by the American Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. It was initially put into service by the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and ...
patrol bomber A maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), also known as a patrol aircraft, maritime reconnaissance aircraft, maritime surveillance aircraft, or by the older American term patrol bomber, is a fixed-wing aircraft designed to operate for long durations over ...
mistook her for a Japanese submarine and attacked her at 13:38 while she was on the surface at .Hinman & Campbell, pp. 226–229. As she crash-dived, two bombs exploded as she reached a depth of and lifted her
stern The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. O ...
out of the water. She went out of control and plunged to a depth of before her crew could stop her dive, then rose rapidly and broached spectacularly. She again submerged, and a second pair of bombs exploded. One of them detonated over her
conning tower A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armoured, from which an officer in charge can conn (nautical), conn (conduct or control) the vessel, controlling movements of the ship by giving orders to those responsible for t ...
as she passed a depth of , destroying the optics in both of her
periscope A periscope is an instrument for observation over, around or through an object, obstacle or condition that prevents direct line-of-sight observation from an observer's current position. In its simplest form, it consists of an outer case with ...
s, damaging her conning tower door, conning tower upper hatch, and most of her lights and gauges, and knocking out all electrical power for 90 seconds. She remained submerged until after nightfall and arrived safely at Fremantle on 5 March 1942.


War patrols under Richard V. Gregory

During March, amid the panic over potential Japanese invasion of Australia, ''Sargo'' (now commanded by Richard V. Gregory, Class of 1932) was detailed to guard Darwin's approaches.Blair, p.192. Nothing materialized. On 8 June, ''Sargo'' put to sea for her fourth patrol, conducted in the
Gulf of Siam The Gulf of Thailand (), historically known as the Gulf of Siam (), is a shallow inlet adjacent to the southwestern South China Sea, bounded between the southwestern shores of the Indochinese Peninsula and the northern half of the Malay Peninsula. ...
off
Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...
. She attacked only one target, a small tanker, with only three torpedoes, but failed to score, then returned to Australia on 2 August. The fifth war patrol, from 27 August to 25 October, was in the
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 ...
and
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 ...
. In a submerged attack off
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
,
French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China), officially known as the Indochinese Union and after 1941 as the Indochinese Federation, was a group of French dependent territories in Southeast Asia from 1887 to 1954. It was initial ...
, on 25 September, she fired two torpedoes at the 4,472-ton cargo ship ''Teibo Maru''. When these did not sink the target, three more were fired; all missed, including one
circular Circular may refer to: * The shape of a circle * ''Circular'' (album), a 2006 album by Spanish singer Vega * Circular letter (disambiguation), a document addressed to many destinations ** Government circular, a written statement of government pol ...
, which exploded off her stern, presaging another deadly failing of the Mark 14. ''Sargo'' then surfaced and finished off the crippled freighter with gunfire.


War patrols under Edward S. Carmick

On 29 November, she departed
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 ...
and conducted her sixth patrol (now commanded by Edward S. Carmick, Class of 1930) ''en route'' 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 ...
. On the last day of 1942, she made a submerged attack on an enemy tanker off Tingwon Island, firing a spread of four torpedoes. Heavy explosions were heard, accompanied by grinding noises usually associated with a
ship breaking Ship breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship scrapping, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships either as a source of Interchangeable parts, parts, which can be sol ...
up. JANAC did not confirm the sinking. She arrived at Pearl Harbor on 21 January 1943 and proceeded to
San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, California, San ...
for a three-month overhaul in the
Mare Island Navy Yard 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 ...
. Returning to Hawaii on 10 May, she departed on 27 May for her seventh patrol which took her to the Truk-
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 ...
-
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 ...
shipping lanes. On 13 June, she intercepted a three-ship convoy, escorted by a subchaser. That night, she made a submerged attack, sinking the passenger-cargo ship ''Konan Maru'' southeast of
Palau Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands ...
. The next day, she fired torpedoes at another of the cargo ships but could not learn the results of her attack, since she was forced to dive to escape the subchaser's
depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon designed to destroy submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited ...
s. ''Sargo'' arrived at
Midway Island Midway Atoll (colloquial: Midway Islands; ; ) is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. Midway Atoll is an insular area of the United States and is an unorganized and unincorporated territory. The largest island is Sand Island, which has housi ...
on 9 July, where she was credited with one ship sunk for 6,600 tons (reduced postwar to 5,200). She departed Midway on 1 August for her eighth war patrol, again at Truk and in the
Mariana Islands The Mariana Islands ( ; ), also simply the Marianas, are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, between the 12th and 21st pa ...
. She made no contacts and returned to Pearl Harbor on 15 September for refit.


War patrols under Philip W. Garnett and post-war fate

On her ninth war patrol (now commanded by Philip W. Garnett, Class of 1933),Blair, p.939. 15 October to 9 December, ''Sargo'' operated off
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 ...
and in the
Philippine Sea The Philippine Sea is a List of seas#Marginal seas by ocean, marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean, Western Pacific Ocean east of the list of islands of the Philippines, Philippine Archipelago (hence the name) and the List of seas#Largest seas ...
. On 9 November, she torpedoed the cargo ship, ''Tago Maru'', southeast of Formosa, and finished off the stricken ship with gunfire. Steaming north, she torpedoed and sank the passenger ship, ''Kosei Maru'' two days later east of
Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...
. Afterwards, she picked up a Japanese soldier, clinging to floating debris, survivor of another sinking. ''Sargo'' returned to Pearl Harbor on 9 December 1943, credited with two ships for 15,900 tons; postwar, it was 6,400. ''Sargo''’s tenth patrol, 26 January to 12 March 1944, was conducted north of the
Palau Islands Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands, w ...
. Despite ULTRA alerting her, she failed to be in position to intercept Admiral
Koga Koga may refer to: Places Japan * Koga, Ibaraki (古河) * Koga, Fukuoka (古賀) * Koga Domain Elsewhere * Koga, a town in Tanzania * Koga (crater) on Mars Other uses * Koga (surname) * Kōga-ryū, a school of ninjutsu * Koga clan, Jap ...
when he appeared. Still, she made four attacks and fired all her torpedoes.Blair, p.571. She sank the transports ''Nichiro Maru'' (6,500 tons) on 17 February and ''Uchide Maru'' (5,300 tons) on 29 February; this time, the wartime credit, one ship of 7,000 tons, remarkably, increased.Blair, p.942. After refit in Pearl Harbor, the veteran submarine departed on her eleventh war patrol on 7 April, along the southern coasts of
Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa and the other Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regio ...
,
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 ...
. On 26 April, she torpedoed and sank the cargo ship ''Wazan Maru'' in
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 ...
, approaching
Osaka Bay Osaka Bay (大阪湾 ''Ōsaka-wan'' ) is a bay in western Japan. As an eastern part of the Seto Inland Sea, it is separated from the Pacific Ocean by the Kii Channel and from the neighbor western part of the Inland Sea by the Akashi Strait. I ...
. She returned to Pearl Harbor on 26 May and steamed east to the west coast of the United States for a major overhaul at Mare Island Navy Yard. Returning to Hawaii in September, ''Sargo'' got underway for her 12th patrol on 13 October and operated off the
Bonin Islands The Bonin Islands, also known as the , is a list of islands of Japan, Japanese archipelago of over 30 subtropical and Island#Tropical islands, tropical islands located around SSE of Tokyo and northwest of Guam. The group as a whole has a total ...
and
Ryukyu Islands The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Geography of Taiwan, Taiwan: the Ryukyu Islands are divided into the Satsunan Islands (Ōsumi Islands, Ōsumi, Tokara Islands, Tokara and A ...
. Two trawlers were damaged by ''Sargo''’s three-inch (76 mm) deck gun and machine guns. On arrival at
Majuro Atoll Majuro (; Marshallese: ' ) is the capital and largest city of the Marshall Islands. It is also a large coral atoll of 64 islands in the Pacific Ocean. It forms a legislative district of the Ratak (Sunrise) Chain of the Marshall Islands. The at ...
,
Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The territory consists of 29 c ...
, on 7 December 1944, she was assigned to training submarine crews until 13 January 1945, when she proceeded to
Eniwetok Atoll Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; , , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with its 296 people (as of 2021) forms a leg ...
. There she acted as a target for ASW training. As the war ended, she returned ''via'' Hawaii to the United States, arriving at Mare Island on 27 August. Decommissioned on 22 June 1946, 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 19 July 1946. Her hulk was sold for scrap on 19 May 1947 to the Learner Company of
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
.


Honors and awards

* Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with 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 *
Philippine Presidential Unit Citation The Philippine Presidential Unit citation BadgeThe AFP Adjutant General, ''Awards and Decorations Handbook'', 1997, OTAG, p. 65. is a unit decoration of the Republic of the Philippines. It has been awarded to certain units of the United States ...
(
Republic of the Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of 7,641 islands, with a total area of roughly 300,000 square kilometers, which ar ...
)


Notes


References

* * Blair, Clay, Jr. ''Silent Victory''. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1975.
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.
. * Lenton, H.T. ''American Submarines''. New York: Doubleday & Co., 1973.
"''Sargo'' Stories" by Bart Bartholomew at SubmarineSailor.com


External links



#[http://www.ssn583.com/ThisNThat/Video.htm Photos & video of dedication of memorial to the crew of USS Sargo (SS-188) from the crewmen of nuclear-powered USS Sargo (SSN-583) at the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas] #National Museum of the Pacific War, The National Museum of the Pacific War - Wikipedia page (includes link to official museum website)
Kill record: USS ''Sargo''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sargo (SS-188) Sargo-class submarines World War II submarines of the United States Ships built in Groton, Connecticut 1938 ships Maritime incidents in March 1942 Friendly fire incidents of World War II