USS ''Shad'' (SS-235), 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 submarine and second vessel 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

shad The Alosidae, or the shads, are a family (biology), family of clupeiform fishes. The family currently comprises four genera worldwide, and about 32 species. The shads are Pelagic fish, pelagic (open water) schooling fish, of which many are anadr ...

, a fish of the

herring Herring are various species of forage fish, belonging to the Order (biology), order Clupeiformes. Herring often move in large Shoaling and schooling, schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate wate ...

family, common along coasts of the United States. The second ''Shad'' was laid down by the Portsmouth Navy Yard (in Kittery, Maine) on 24 October 1941. She was launched on 15 April 1942 (sponsored by Miss Priscilla Alden Dudley), and commissioned on 12 June 1942, with Lieutenant Commander Edgar J. MacGregor III (

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

class of 1930) in command.

Atlantic war patrols

Following shakedown off the

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

coast, ''Shad'' departed on a special patrol as a unit of Submarine Squadron (SubRon) 50 to a point off the coast of Mehdiya, French Morocco, to conduct

reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

in preparation for

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8–16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of securing victory in North Africa whil ...

, the Allied occupation of

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

. Upon completion, she sailed to Roseneath, Scotland, for repairs and further training. ''Shads second war patrol was conducted in the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay ( ) is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Point Penmarc'h to the Spanish border, and along the northern coast of Spain, extending westward ...

and Spanish coastal waters with other units of SubRon 50 under

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

command. Although most of the vessels she sighted were neutral Spanish ships, the submarine sank an enemy trawler, a barge, and severely damaged a destroyer escort before she returned to Roseneath for refit on 12 February 1943. With refitting completed, ''Shad'' departed

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

for her third war patrol on 7 March, again heading for the Bay of Biscay. During this mission, the submarine damaged the

blockade runner A blockade runner is a merchant vessel used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait. It is usually light and fast, using stealth and speed rather than confronting the blockaders in order to break the blockade. Blockade runners usua ...

''Pietro Orseolo'', before returning to Scotland on 12 April. ''Shad's'' fourth patrol, conducted in Norwegian waters, and fifth war patrol, conducted en route back to the United States, were uneventful.

Sixth war patrol

Following repairs in New London, the submarine was transferred to the Pacific front. Arriving at

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 7 September, ''Shad'' underwent two weeks of voyage repairs and then departed on 28 September, for her sixth war patrol, and her first against the

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese. This patrol was also the first American wolfpack, comprising ''Shad'', , and , commanded from ''Cero'' by

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 ...

Charles Momsen. Just before dawn on 22 October, ''Shad'' attacked 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 ...

of two

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 and three escorts. After firing 10

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 ...

es, she was forced to head for deeper water to evade the depth charging that followed. Although no positive evidence of any sinkings was found, a two-square mile oil slick confirmed the damage done by the submarine. Shortly after midnight on 27 October, ''Shad'' sighted another enemy convoy and moved in for the kill. Although she did not sink any of the enemy ships, the submarine damaged three

transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

s and a freighter before she was forced to leave the vicinity by an escorting

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 ...

. ''Shad'' then returned via Midway Atoll to Pearl Harbor, where she terminated her sixth patrol before sailing for the West Coast for overhaul at

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Seventh war patrol, August – October 1944

After returning to Pearl Harbor on 11 May 1944, ''Shad'' underwent further repair work and training before departing on 12 August for her seventh war patrol, which she conducted in waters surrounding the Japanese home islands. While off

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 30 August, the submarine attacked a heavily laden freighter escorted by two small patrol craft. Although evidence of one hit was noticed, exact results were unknown due to a severe counterattack that forced the submarine to leave the area, giving the freighter a chance to escape. On 16 September, ''Shad'' fired four torpedoes, damaging a large transport. Following this attack, the submarine endured two hours of steady depth charging. On 19 September, ''Shad'' torpedoed and sank escort ship ''Ioshima'', and as expected, was forced to endure another lengthy depth charging. On 22 September, ''Shad'' narrowly escaped destruction by maneuvering around two torpedoes, probably fired by an enemy submarine. One passed just under her bow and the other about ahead. After a

typhoon A typhoon is a tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere and which produces sustained hurricane-force winds of at least . This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, accounting for a ...

-racked passage from the patrol area, ''Shad'' terminated her seventh patrol at Midway on 1 October.

Eighth and ninth war patrols

''Shad'' spent her eighth war patrol as a unit of a coordinated attack group with and , in the area off the northeast coast of Formosa and in 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 ...

. Other than a few inconsequential contacts with small enemy vessels, the patrol was uneventful, and the submarine returned to Pearl Harbor on 5 January 1945. Following repair work and recuperation for the crew, ''Shad'' departed Pearl Harbor on 31 January for her ninth war patrol. She refueled at

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 12 February and then departed with and ''Thresher'' for another wolfpack to patrol the

Luzon Strait The Luzon Strait (Tagalog: ''Kipot ng Luzon'', ) is the strait between Luzon and Taiwan. The strait thereby connects the Philippine Sea to the South China Sea in the western Pacific Ocean. This body of water is an important strait for shipp ...

. During this patrol, the ''Shad'' attempted three attacks but all were thwarted. Twice the coming of dawn forced her to dive to evade enemy aircraft, and once patrolling escort ships forced her to leave the vicinity of an anticipated victim. On 5 March, ''Shad'' again was on the receiving end of an enemy torpedo attack, with three torpedoes passing just ahead of her bow. After this unproductive patrol, the submarine arrived at Apra Harbor,

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, on 30 March.

Tenth war patrol, August – October 1944

On her tenth war patrol, ''Shad'' operated as part of yet another coordinated attack group with , , and , this time in the

Yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In t ...

and East China Seas. On the night of 17 May, the submarine contacted a large freighter and two escorts. ''Shad'' fired three torpedoes and quickly got out of range. One torpedo hit forward on the freighter ''Chosan Maru'', blowing her bow completely off, and the target settled quickly to the bottom. The escorts gave chase, but ''Shad'' escaped and resumed patrol. On 7 June, ''Shad'' destroyed a small junk by gunfire, and later in the day, attacked and sank the 1,370-ton cargo ship, ''Azusa Maru''. With her torpedo store depleted, the submarine returned to Midway.

Eleventh war patrol and postwar service

On 11 July, ''Shad'' departed Midway on her 11th and final war patrol, consisting of lifeguard duty off Marcus Island. On 15 August, she received word of the cessation of hostilities and returned to Midway on 22 August. Upon completion of repairs, she returned to the United States, arriving at

New Orleans, Louisiana 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 20 September. Following the war, ''Shad'' was decommissioned and placed "in service, in reserve" and assigned to the Naval Reserve Training Center at Salem Maritime National Historic Site, within the 1st Naval District, to train naval reservists. The submarine continued in that duty until she was struck from the Navy List on 1 April 1960 and sold for scrap to Luria Brothers, Inc., of Kearney, New Jersey. ''Shad'' earned six battle stars 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.

References

External links

navsource.org: USS ''Shad''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shad (Ss-235) Gato-class submarines World War II submarines of the United States Ships built in Kittery, Maine 1942 ships