USS Guardfish (SS-217)
Encyclopedia
, a Gato-class
Gato class submarine
The United States Navy Gato class submarine formed the core of the submarine service that was largely responsible for the destruction of the Japanese merchant marine and a large portion of the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II...
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 first 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 guardfish, a voracious green and silvery fish with elongated pike-like body and long narrow jaws.
Guardfish was laid down by the Electric Boat Company at 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 there on 20 January 1942 (sponsored by Mrs. Edward J. Marquart), and commissioned at New London, Conn.
Naval Submarine Base New London
Naval Submarine Base New London is the United States Navy's primary submarine base, the "Home of the Submarine Force", and "the Submarine Capital of the World".-History:...
, 8 May 1942, Lt. Comdr. Thomas B. Klakring
Thomas B. Klakring
Thomas Burton Klakring was a United States Navy submarine commander during World War II.T. B. Klakring, the only child of Colonel and Mrs...
in command.
First and second war patrols, August – November 1942
After conducting shakedown out of New London, Guardfish departed that base 28 June 1942 for Pearl HarborPearl 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...
via 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...
, and arrived there 25 July to prepare for her first cruise. Her first war patrol was in the hitherto unpatrolled waters off northeast Honshū
Honshu
is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
. Guardfish departed Pearl Harbor 6 August 1942, sank a trawler 22 August, and two days later sank 3,114 ton cargo ship Seikai Maru off Kinkasan
Kinkasan
is a small sacred island in Miyagi Prefecture in north-eastern Japan. It is considered one of the Three Holiest Places of the Tōhoku region, along with Dewa Sanzan and Osorezan. It lies in the Pacific Ocean off the Oshika Peninsula....
Harbor. Evading escort vessels, she proceeded up the coast and found a convoy 2 September. Guardfish attacked the next day, sinking 5,253 ton Kaimei Maru and 1,118 ton cargo ship Tenyu Maru. Chita Maru, a 2,376 ton freighter, retreated into the harbor and anchored, but a remarkable long-range shot from Guardfish left her resting in the mud. Guardfish returned from her spectacularly successful first patrol to Midway
Midway Atoll
Midway Atoll is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, near the northwestern end of the Hawaiian archipelago, about one-third of the way between Honolulu, Hawaii, and Tokyo, Japan. Unique among the Hawaiian islands, Midway observes UTC-11 , eleven hours behind Coordinated Universal Time and one hour...
for refit 15 September 1942.
Guardfish departed Midway on her second war patrol 30 September and headed for the East China Sea
East China Sea
The East China Sea is a marginal sea east of China. It is a part of the Pacific Ocean and covers an area of 1,249,000 km² or 750,000 square miles.-Geography:...
. Surviving a violent attack by patrolling aircraft 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
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
as the convoy scattered. After evading pursuing aircraft and surface ships, Guardfish returned to Pearl Harbor 28 November 1942. For her outstanding success on these first two war patrols, Guardfish received a Presidential Unit Citation
Presidential Unit Citation (US)
The Presidential Unit Citation, originally called the Distinguished Unit Citation, is awarded to units of the Armed Forces of the United States and allies for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy on or after 7 December 1941...
.
Third, fourth, and fifth war patrols, January – August 1943
Moving her base of operations to the Truk area, Guardfish departed Pearl Harbor 2 January 1943 to patrol off the Japanese stronghold. She sank a Japanese patrol vessel (Patrol Boat No.1, the ex-destroyer ShimakazeJapanese destroyer Shimakaze (1920)
was a destroyer, built for the Imperial Japanese Navy immediately following World War I. In speed trials during commissioning, Shimakaze was clocked at , setting a new record for Japanese destroyers at that time. Advanced for their time, the Minekaze-class served as first-line destroyers through...
)12 January west of Kavieng
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 2000, it had a population of 10,600....
, and a 1,300 ton cargo ship the next day. Attacked by destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
Hakaze
Japanese destroyer Hakaze
was a destroyer, built for the Imperial Japanese Navy immediately following World War I. Advanced for their time, these ships served as first-line destroyers through the 1930s, but were considered obsolescent by the start of the Pacific War.-History:...
23 January, Guardfish sent her to the bottom with a well-placed torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
. Moving south toward Rabaul
Rabaul
Rabaul is a township in East New Britain province, Papua New Guinea. The town was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province until it was destroyed in 1994 by falling ash of a volcanic eruption. During the eruption, ash was sent thousands of metres into the air and the...
, slip attacked a largo convoy near Simpson Harbor, but was driven off by concentrated shore fire and escort attacks. Guardfish ended her third patrol by arriving at Brisbane, Australia, 15 February 1943.
Her fourth war patrol was conducted in the Bismarcks
Bismarck Archipelago
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.-History:...
, Solomons
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
, and New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
area, and Guardfish recorded no kills during this cruise, 9 March to 30 April 1943.
Departing Brisbane for the same waters 25 May 1943, Guardfish sank 201 ton freighter Suzuya Maru and damaged another before being forced to dive by aircraft 13 June. She picked up a surveying party on the west coast of Bougainville
Bougainville Island
Bougainville Island is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville of Papua New Guinea. This region is also known as Bougainville Province or the North Solomons. The population of the province is 175,160 , which includes the adjacent island of Buka and assorted outlying islands...
14 July and returned to Brisbane for refit 2 August 1943.
Sixth and seventh war patrols, August 1943 – February 1944
Guardfish departed Brisbane for her sixth war patrol 24 August 1943, landing a reconnoitering party on Bougainville and then moving into cruising waters. She sank 5,460 ton Kasha Maru 8 October and subsequently spent two days as lifeguard ship during the air strikes on Rabaul. Guardfish embarked another reconnoitering party 19 October at TulagiTulagi
Tulagi, less commonly Tulaghi, is a small island in the Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Florida Island. The town of the same name on the island Tulagi, less commonly Tulaghi, is a small island (5.5 km by 1 km) in the Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Florida...
, landed them on Bougainville, and took vital soundings in Empress Augusta Bay
Empress Augusta Bay
Empress Augusta Bay is a major bay on the western side of the island of Bougainville, in Papua New Guinea, at . It is a major subsistence fishing area for the people of Bougainville. It is named after Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein, wife of German Emperor William II.In November 1943, the...
before re-embarking the Marine party 28 October. These important missions were carried out a scant two days before the American landings at Bougainville. Guardfish reached Brisbane, closing out her sixth patrol, 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
Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...
, Guardfish began her seventh war patrol 27 December 1943, sinking 10,024 ton oiler Kenyo Maru 14 January 1944. She then closed Truk and sank destroyer Umikaze
Japanese destroyer Umikaze
was the seventh of ten s, and the first to be built for the Imperial Japanese Navy under the Circle Two Program .-History:...
1 February during 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, 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...
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 1 June. She then joined submarines , , and to form the famous 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 auxiliaryAuxiliaries
An auxiliary force is a group affiliated with, but not part of, a military or police organization. In some cases, auxiliaries are armed forces operating in the same manner as regular soldiers...
Mantai Maru, 2,838 ton cargo ship Hizan Maru, and 5,215 ton cargo ship Jinsan Maru southwest of Formosa 17 July. After damaging another freighter 18 July, Guardfish sank 5,872 ton Teiryu Maru the next day, barely escaping the attacks of her escort vessels. She arrived at Midway for refit 31 July 1944, and for her outstanding performance on the eighth patrol was awarded a second Presidential Unit Citation.
Putting to sea as a member of another wolf pack 23 August 1944, Guardfish and the other submarines, Thresher and , had a 40-minute surface gun battle with sampan
Sampan
A sampan is a relatively flat bottomed Chinese wooden boat from long. Some sampans include a small shelter on board, and may be used as a permanent habitation on inland waters. Sampans are generally used for transportation in coastal areas or rivers, and are often used as traditional fishing boats...
s 2 September. On 25 September Guardfish attacked and sank 873 ton cargo ship Miyakawa Maru #2 in the Sea of Japan
Sea of Japan
The Sea of Japan is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, between the Asian mainland, the Japanese archipelago and Sakhalin. It is bordered by Japan, North Korea, Russia and South Korea. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no tides due to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific...
, her cruising ground for this patrol. Guardfish returned to Pearl Harbor 24 October 1944.
Tenth, eleventh, and twelfth war patrols, November 1944 – June 1945
Guardfish departed 26 November for her 10th war patrol to cruise in the "Convoy College" area of the South China SeaSouth 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...
, with yet another wolf pack. She recorded no sinkings during this cruise, but nearing 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...
in the early morning darkness of 24 January she mistook the American salvage ship , for a Japanese I class submarine and torpedoed her. Guardfish succeeded in rescuing all but 6 of her crew of 79 from the sea, and terminated her patrol at Guam 26 January 1945.
Guardfishs 11th war patrol was spent watching for enemy fleet units attempting to escape from the Inland Sea of Japan by way of the Kii Suido between Shikoku
Shikoku
is the smallest and least populous of the four main islands of Japan, located south of Honshū and east of the island of Kyūshū. Its ancient names include Iyo-no-futana-shima , Iyo-shima , and Futana-shima...
and Honshū
Honshu
is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
. Departing Saipan
Saipan
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...
on this duty 27 February, she found no ships but rescued two downed aviators 19 March before returning to Midway 11 April 1945.
Guardfish departed Midway 8 May 1945 on her 12th and last war patrol, and was assigned lifeguard station for the ever-increasing air attacks on the Japanese mainland. She sank a small trawler with gunfire 16 June, and arrived back at Pearl Harbor 26 June 1945.
Post-war service
The veteran submarine served with the training command after her return to HawaiiHawaii
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...
, 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 12 September and arriving at New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
16 September. Guardfish arrived at New London 6 November and decommissioned there 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
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...
1 June 1960. Appropriately, this ship, one of the most successful of 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...
submarines, performed her last service as a target ship for a new submarine torpedo. and sank her with the newly developed torpedoes off New London 10 October 1961.