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USS Gar (SS-206)
Encyclopedia
USS Gar (SS-206), a Tambor-class
submarine
, was the only ship of the United States Navy
to be named for the gar
, a fish of the Lepisosteidae family.
Her keel was laid down by the Electric Boat
Company in Groton, Connecticut
. She was launched
on 7 November 1940 sponsored by Mrs. George T. Pettengill, wife of Rear Admiral Pettengill, and commissioned
at New London on 14 April 1941 with Lieutenant D. McGregor in command.
seaboard from Portsmouth, New Hampshire
, and New London, Connecticut
, Gar departed New London 24 November and transited the Panama Canal
on 3 December 1941 en route to San Diego, California
, where she arrived three days after the attack on Pearl Harbor
. She prepared for combat in the Mare Island Naval Shipyard
, then departed San Francisco, California
, on 15 January 1942 for Pearl Harbor
. Her maiden patrol, from 2 February to 28 March, was conducted around Nagoya and the Kii Channel
entrance to the Inland Sea of Japan. She torpedoed and sank the 1520-ton cargo ship Chichiubu Maru on 13 March.
, she fired on a supposed Q-ship
, which was not one in fact. Gar terminated her patrol at Fremantle
, Australia
. No sinkings were confirmed by JANAC postwar.
Her third war patrol, from 3 July to 21 August, took her to the South China Sea
and the Gulf of Siam, where her only contact was a hospital ship. Her fourth war patrol, from 17 September to 7 November, took her to the northernmost waters in the Gulf of Siam, where on 19 October she laid 32 mines in the entrances to Bangkok
. This was one of the strategic plants covering important Japanese shipping lanes previously patrolled by American submarines. Both patrols produced few contacts, thanks to timid patrolling, and no sinkings. Gar executive officer and third officer both requested transfers on her return, while her commanding officer received a "blistering" endorsement from his squadron commander and was relieved.
, Philippine Islands, via Borneo
. During her fifth, from 28 November to 19 January 1943, she drove freighter Heinan Maru onto the beach with six torpedo hits and scored hits on a seaplane tender. (Gar was credited with one ship of 600 tons by JANAC postwar.) Her sixth, from 9 February to 2 April, brought numerous contacts with targets which could not be closed to firing range because of vigilant enemy aircraft and antisubmarine patrol ships. During her seventh war patrol, from 23 April to 27 May 1943 off Manila, she sank five small craft with gunfire; torpedoed and sank 703-ton Japanese freighter Aso Maru south of the Negros Islands on 9 May, then six days later attacked a convoy west of Mindoro
, sinking 3197-ton passenger-cargo ship Moikai Maru and 4361-ton Indus Maru.
, where she torpedoed a 500-ton motorship which ran itself aground, the crew escaping into the jungle. (Gar was not given credit for it by JANAC.) En route from Fremantle to Pearl Harbor on her ninth war patrol, from 8 August to 13 September, Gar scouted off Timor
and scored hits on a freighter in Makassar Strait
. She then went in for overhaul in the Mare Island Navy Yard.
Gar returned to Pearl Harbor 30 November 1943, now in the hands of George W. Lautrup, Jr. (Class of 1934), to resume combat duty in the Pacific, based out of Freemantle. Her ninth patrol saw her credited with one ship of 4,000 tons (reduced to 1,000 tons in the postwar accounting).
, where on 20 January she sank the 5325-ton cargo ship Koyu Maru; damaged two ships of another convoy on 22 January; then attacked a third convoy the following day to sink the 3670-ton Taian Maru. She returned to Pearl Harbor.
Her 11th war patrol, from 3 March to 21 April, found her performing lifeguard duty for aviators making the first carrier-based air strikes on Palau. She saved eight aviators, one less than two miles (3 km) off the beach and within range of enemy gun emplacements.
Her 12th patrol, from 20 May to 5 July, was spent in the Bonin Islands area, where she made gunfire attacks on a convoy of Japanese sea trucks, leaving a small freighter raging in flames and dead in the water.
Her 13th patrol (now commanded by Maurice Ferrara, the first officer of the Class of 1937 to be given a submarine command), lasted from 14 August to 9 October and was largely taken up with lifeguard duty off Yap
supporting the combined fleet-shore operations that captured the Palau Islands. She also performed valuable reconnaissance work off Surigao Strait
. She bombarded installations on Yap 6 September through 8 September and ended her patrol at Brisbane
, Australia.
, Philippine Islands, on 23 November; picked up intelligence documents, and terminated her patrol in Mios Woendi
lagoon. On her 15th and final war patrol, from 4 December to 27 December, she landed 35 tons of supplies on the west coast of Luzon, near Duriagaos Inlet on 11 December, returning to Pearl Harbor with urgent intelligence documents including maps locating enemy gun emplacements, beach defenses, troop concentrations, and fuel and ammunition dumps on Luzon.
and Guam
, Marianas Islands. She departed Apra Harbor, Guam, on 7 August 1945, proceeding via Hawaii
, San Francisco, California
, and the Panama Canal
to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where she arrived 20 October. She decommissioned there 11 December 1945 and remained in reserve until September 1948, when she began an overhaul in the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
which lasted until through October. She was then transferred as a reserve training submarine for the 4th Naval District at Cleveland, Ohio
, arriving, via the Mississippi River
and the Chicago Canal, on 28 November 1948. She continued her reserve training until her name was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register
29 May 1959. The submarine was sold for scrapping 18 November 1959 to Acme Scrap Iron and Metal Company.
Gar received 11 battle stars for service in World War II
.
Tambor class submarine
The Tambor class submarine was a United States Navy submarine design, used primarily during World War II. It was the USN's first practical fleet submarine and formed the core of the United States Pacific submarine fleet at the time of the US entry into World War II.-Design history:Early U.S...
submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
, was the only ship of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
to be named for the gar
Gar
In American English the name gar is strictly applied to members of the Lepisosteidae, a family including seven living species of fish in two genera that inhabit fresh, brackish, and occasionally marine, waters of eastern North America, Central America, and the Caribbean islands.-Etymology:In...
, a fish of the Lepisosteidae family.
Her keel was laid down by the Electric Boat
Electric boat
While a significant majority of water vessels are powered by diesel engines, with sail power and gasoline engines also remaining popular, boats powered by electricity have been used for over 120 years. Electric boats were very popular from the 1880s until the 1920s, when the internal combustion...
Company in Groton, Connecticut
Groton, Connecticut
Groton is a town located on the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 39,907 at the 2000 census....
. She was launched
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
on 7 November 1940 sponsored by Mrs. George T. Pettengill, wife of Rear Admiral Pettengill, and commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
at New London on 14 April 1941 with Lieutenant D. McGregor in command.
First War Patrol
After shakedown training along the New EnglandNew England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
seaboard from Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire in the United States. It is the largest city but only the fourth-largest community in the county, with a population of 21,233 at the 2010 census...
, and New London, Connecticut
New London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States.It is located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, southeastern Connecticut....
, Gar departed New London 24 November and transited the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
on 3 December 1941 en route to San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, where she arrived three days after the attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
. She prepared for combat in the Mare Island Naval Shipyard
Mare Island Naval Shipyard
The Mare Island Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located 25 miles northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates the peninsula shipyard from the main portion of the...
, then departed San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, on 15 January 1942 for Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
. Her maiden patrol, from 2 February to 28 March, was conducted around Nagoya and the Kii Channel
Kii Channel
The is a strait separating the Japanese Home Islands of Honshū and Shikoku. This channel connects the Inland Sea with the Pacific Ocean....
entrance to the Inland Sea of Japan. She torpedoed and sank the 1520-ton cargo ship Chichiubu Maru on 13 March.
Second, third, and fourth war patrols
During her second war patrol, from 19 April to 8 June, she fired on a freighter off Kwajalein atoll, which her commanding officer believed hit, but the ship did not sink. West of TrukChuuk
Chuuk — formerly Truk, Ruk, Hogoleu, Torres, Ugulat, and Lugulus — is an island group in the south western part of the Pacific Ocean. It comprises one of the four states of the Federated States of Micronesia , along with Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap. Chuuk is the most populous of the FSM's...
, she fired on a supposed Q-ship
Q-ship
Q-ships, also known as Q-boats, Decoy Vessels, Special Service Ships, or Mystery Ships, were heavily armed merchant ships with concealed weaponry, designed to lure submarines into making surface attacks. This gave Q-ships the chance to open fire and sink them...
, which was not one in fact. Gar terminated her patrol at Fremantle
Fremantle, Western Australia
Fremantle is a city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. No sinkings were confirmed by JANAC postwar.
Her third war patrol, from 3 July to 21 August, took her to the South China Sea
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
and the Gulf of Siam, where her only contact was a hospital ship. Her fourth war patrol, from 17 September to 7 November, took her to the northernmost waters in the Gulf of Siam, where on 19 October she laid 32 mines in the entrances to Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
. This was one of the strategic plants covering important Japanese shipping lanes previously patrolled by American submarines. Both patrols produced few contacts, thanks to timid patrolling, and no sinkings. Gar executive officer and third officer both requested transfers on her return, while her commanding officer received a "blistering" endorsement from his squadron commander and was relieved.
Fifth, sixth, and seventh war patrols
Now in the hands of Philip D. Quirk (Class of 1932), Gars fifth, sixth and seventh war patrols were conducted largely in approaches to ManilaManila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
, Philippine Islands, via Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
. During her fifth, from 28 November to 19 January 1943, she drove freighter Heinan Maru onto the beach with six torpedo hits and scored hits on a seaplane tender. (Gar was credited with one ship of 600 tons by JANAC postwar.) Her sixth, from 9 February to 2 April, brought numerous contacts with targets which could not be closed to firing range because of vigilant enemy aircraft and antisubmarine patrol ships. During her seventh war patrol, from 23 April to 27 May 1943 off Manila, she sank five small craft with gunfire; torpedoed and sank 703-ton Japanese freighter Aso Maru south of the Negros Islands on 9 May, then six days later attacked a convoy west of Mindoro
Mindoro
Mindoro is the seventh-largest island in the Philippines. It is located off the coast of Luzon, and northeast of Palawan. The southern coast of Mindoro forms the northeastern extremum of the Sulu Sea.-History:...
, sinking 3197-ton passenger-cargo ship Moikai Maru and 4361-ton Indus Maru.
Eighth and ninth war patrols
Her eighth war patrol, from 18 June to 23 July, was spent patrolling the Flores SeaFlores Sea
The Flores Sea covers 93,000 square miles of water in Indonesia.- Geography :The seas that border the Flores Sea are the Bali Sea , Java Sea , and the Banda Sea ....
, where she torpedoed a 500-ton motorship which ran itself aground, the crew escaping into the jungle. (Gar was not given credit for it by JANAC.) En route from Fremantle to Pearl Harbor on her ninth war patrol, from 8 August to 13 September, Gar scouted off Timor
Timor
Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, north of the Timor Sea. It is divided between the independent state of East Timor, and West Timor, belonging to the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. The island's surface is 30,777 square kilometres...
and scored hits on a freighter in Makassar Strait
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.The Mahakam River of Borneo empties into the strait....
. She then went in for overhaul in the Mare Island Navy Yard.
Gar returned to Pearl Harbor 30 November 1943, now in the hands of George W. Lautrup, Jr. (Class of 1934), to resume combat duty in the Pacific, based out of Freemantle. Her ninth patrol saw her credited with one ship of 4,000 tons (reduced to 1,000 tons in the postwar accounting).
Tenth, eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth war patrols
Her tenth war patrol, out of Freemantle from 16 December 1943 to 9 February 1944, was conducted off PalauPalau
Palau , officially the Republic of Palau , is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Philippines and south of Tokyo. In 1978, after three decades as being part of the United Nations trusteeship, Palau chose independence instead of becoming part of the Federated States of Micronesia, a...
, where on 20 January she sank the 5325-ton cargo ship Koyu Maru; damaged two ships of another convoy on 22 January; then attacked a third convoy the following day to sink the 3670-ton Taian Maru. She returned to Pearl Harbor.
Her 11th war patrol, from 3 March to 21 April, found her performing lifeguard duty for aviators making the first carrier-based air strikes on Palau. She saved eight aviators, one less than two miles (3 km) off the beach and within range of enemy gun emplacements.
Her 12th patrol, from 20 May to 5 July, was spent in the Bonin Islands area, where she made gunfire attacks on a convoy of Japanese sea trucks, leaving a small freighter raging in flames and dead in the water.
Her 13th patrol (now commanded by Maurice Ferrara, the first officer of the Class of 1937 to be given a submarine command), lasted from 14 August to 9 October and was largely taken up with lifeguard duty off Yap
Yap
Yap, also known as Wa'ab by locals, is an island in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean. It is a state of the Federated States of Micronesia. Yap's indigenous cultures and traditions are still strong compared to other neighboring islands. The island of Yap actually consists of four...
supporting the combined fleet-shore operations that captured the Palau Islands. She also performed valuable reconnaissance work off Surigao Strait
Surigao Strait
Surigao Strait is a body of water in the Philippines located between the islands of Mindanao and Leyte. This strait connects the Bohol Sea with Leyte Gulf and is regularly crossed by ferries that transport goods and people between Visayas and Mindanao...
. She bombarded installations on Yap 6 September through 8 September and ended her patrol at Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Australia.
Fourteenth and Fifteenth War Patrols
On her 14th war patrol, from 3 November to 30 November, Gar landed 16 men and 25 tons of supplies at Santiago Cove, LuzonLuzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
, Philippine Islands, on 23 November; picked up intelligence documents, and terminated her patrol in Mios Woendi
Mios Woendi
Mios Woendi is the name of an island and was a forward base for United States Navy during World War II. The US Navy code word for the base located in Schouten Islands, was Stinker...
lagoon. On her 15th and final war patrol, from 4 December to 27 December, she landed 35 tons of supplies on the west coast of Luzon, near Duriagaos Inlet on 11 December, returning to Pearl Harbor with urgent intelligence documents including maps locating enemy gun emplacements, beach defenses, troop concentrations, and fuel and ammunition dumps on Luzon.
End of World War II and fate
After overhaul in the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, Gar put to sea 2 April 1945 to serve the remainder of the war as a target trainer for antisubmarine ships at SaipanSaipan
Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...
and Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
, Marianas Islands. She departed Apra Harbor, Guam, on 7 August 1945, proceeding via Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, and the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where she arrived 20 October. She decommissioned there 11 December 1945 and remained in reserve until September 1948, when she began an overhaul in the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard , often called the Portsmouth Navy Yard, is a United States Navy shipyard located in Kittery on the southern boundary of Maine near the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It is used for remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships...
which lasted until through October. She was then transferred as a reserve training submarine for the 4th Naval District at Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, arriving, via the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
and the Chicago Canal, on 28 November 1948. She continued her reserve training until her name was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register
Naval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register 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 the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
29 May 1959. The submarine was sold for scrapping 18 November 1959 to Acme Scrap Iron and Metal Company.
Gar received 11 battle stars for service in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.