USS Sturgeon (SS-187) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

USS Sturgeon (SS-187), a Salmon-class

Salmon class submarine

The United States Navy Salmon-class submarines were an important developmental step in the design of the "Fleet Submarine" concept during the 1930'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 second 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 sturgeon

Sturgeon

Sturgeon is the common name used for some 26 species of fish in the family Acipenseridae, including the genera Acipenser, Huso, Scaphirhynchus and Pseudoscaphirhynchus. The term includes over 20 species commonly referred to as sturgeon and several closely related species that have distinct common...

.

Her keel was laid down on October 27, 1936 by the Mare Island Navy Yard. 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 March 15, 1938 sponsored by Mrs. Charles S. Freeman; 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...

on June 25, 1938 with Lieutenant Commander A. D. Barnes in command.

1938 – 1941

Sturgeon completed builder's trials in Monterey Bay

Monterey Bay

Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean, along the central coast of California. The bay is south of San Francisco and San Jose, between the cities of Santa Cruz and Monterey....

and began her shakedown cruise on October 15, visiting ports in Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, Honduras

Honduras

Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...

, Panama

Panama

Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...

, Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

, Ecuador

Ecuador

Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...

, and Costa Rica

Costa Rica

Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....

before returning 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...

, on December 12, 1938. She was assigned to Submarine Squadron (SubRon) 6 and operated along the West Coast as far north as Washington. She made two squadron cruises to 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...

with the Pacific Fleet: from July 1 to August 16, 1939 and from April 1 to July 12, 1940. The submarine departed San Diego on November 5, 1940 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...

and operated from there until November 1941.

Sturgeon stood out of Pearl Harbor on November 10, headed for the Philippine Islands, and arrived at Manila Bay

Manila Bay

Manila Bay is a natural harbor which serves the Port of Manila , in the Philippines.The bay is considered to be one of the best natural harbors in Southeast Asia and one of the finest in the world...

on November 22. She was then attached to SubRon 2, Submarine Division (SubDiv) 22, United States Asiatic Fleet.

First patrol: December 1941

Sturgeon was moored in Mariveles Naval Section Base

Mariveles Naval Section Base

Mariveles Naval Base, in Mariveles, Bataan, the Philippines, was used by the US Navy's Asiatic Fleet. This base was located on the southern tip of the Bataan Peninsula and completed on July 22, 1941.-See also:*Military History of the Philippines...

on December 7, 1941 during the Japanese 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 put to sea the next afternoon to patrol an area between the Pescadores Islands and 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...

. A small tanker was sighted the afternoon of December 9, but it remained out of 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...

range.

The submarine found a convoy of five merchantmen accompanied by a cruiser

Cruiser

A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...

and several 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...

s on December 18. As she came to periscope depth within attack range of the cruiser

Cruiser

A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...

, she was sighted by one of the escorts approximately 250 yards (228.6 m) away. She started going deep but had only reached a depth of 65 feet (19.8 m) when the first depth charge

Depth charge

A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...

exploded, breaking numerous light bulbs but causing no serious damage. Sturgeon began silent running

Silent running (submarine)

Silent running is a stealth mode of operation for naval submarines. The aim is to evade discovery by passive sonar by eliminating superfluous noise: nonessential systems are shut down, the crew is urged to rest and refrain from making any unnecessary sound, and speed is greatly reduced to minimize...

and evaded the escorts.

On the evening of December 21, she sighted a darkened ship believed to be a large cargo carrier. A torpedo spread was fired from the stern tubes, but they all passed ahead of the ship due to an error in her estimated speed. The ship ended her first war patrol when she returned to Mariveles Bay on December 25.

Second patrol: December 1941 – March 1942

Sturgeon was at sea again on December 28, 1941 en route to the Tarakan

Tarakan Island

Tarakan is an island off the coast of East Kalimantan, Indonesia. It is a marshy island situated in the eastern Celebes Sea, off the northeastern coast of Borneo. The island occupies an area of .-Petroleum:...

area, off the coast of 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....

. A tanker was sighted southwest of Subutu Island on January 17, 1942, but all three torpedoes missed and the ship escaped. On the night of January 22, Sturgeon was alerted by that a large convoy was headed her way 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....

. A few minutes later, her sonar

Sonar

Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...

picked up the pings of ships dead astern. She submerged and fired four torpedoes at a large ship, with two explosions following. The submarine was then subjected to a two and one-half hour depth charge attack by two destroyer

Destroyer

s which caused no damage.

She next sighted an enemy transport and four destroyer

Destroyer

s off Balikpapan

Balikpapan

Balikpapan is a seaport city on the eastern coast of the island of Borneo, Indonesia, in the East Kalimantan province, a resource-rich region well known for its timber, mining, and petroleum export products. Two harbors, Semayang and Kariangau , and the Sepinggan International Airport are the main...

on January 26. Sturgeon fired a spread from her forward tubes which resulted in a large explosion on the transport, and her screws stopped turning. No post-war record of a sinking could be found, but the transport was believed damaged. Three days later, she made two hits on a tanker.

On the morning of February 8, Sturgeon found herself on the track of an enemy invasion fleet headed toward Makassar City. She submerged to avoid detection by several destroyer

Destroyer

s and a cruiser

Cruiser

A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...

, as they passed overhead, but was able to report the movement of the convoy to Commander, Submarines Asiatic Fleet. The submarine retired from her patrol area two days later, when she was ordered to Java, Netherlands East Indies. She arrived at Soerabaja on February 13; but, as the Japanese were advancing upon that base, the ship proceeded to Tjilatjap. After embarking part of the Asiatic Fleet Submarine Force Staff, Sturgeon and sailed for Fremantle, Western Australia

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...

, on February 20, as escorts for and .

Third patrol: March – May 1942

Sturgeon remained there, from March 3 to March 15, when she departed to again patrol off Makassar City. On March 30, she sank the cargo ship Choko Maru. On April 3, one of her torpedoes caught a 750-ton frigate directly under the bridge, and she was officially listed as probably sunk. She then fired three torpedoes at a merchantman but missed. With one torpedo remaining in the bow tubes, she fired and hit the target abreast the foremast. When last seen, it was listing heavily to port and making for the Celebes

Sulawesi

Sulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. In Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger Indonesian populations.- Etymology :The Portuguese were the first to...

shore.

On April 6, she fired a spread at a tanker; but the range was so close that they failed to arm. The submarine was then depth charged by escorts but eluded them and patrolled off Cape Mandar in the Makassar Strait

Makassar Strait

. On April 22, a destroyer

Destroyer

's searchlight blinked to Sturgeon, and she went deep to avoid the subsequent two-hour depth charge attack. On April 28, the submarine sailed for 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...

. However, she interrupted her voyage on the night of April 30 in an attempt to rescue some Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

personnel reported on an island at the entrance of Cilacap

Cilacap

Cilacap is a regency in the southwestern part of Central Java province in Indonesia. Its capital is Cilacap, which is an municipality in its own right....

Harbor. A landing party under Lieutenant Chester W. Nimitz, Jr. entered the cove and examined it by searchlight but found only a deserted lean-to. She continued to Fremantle and arrived there on May 7.

Fourth patrol: June – July 1942

Sturgeon refitted and returned to sea, on June 5, to patrol an area west of Manila

Manila

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,...

. On June 25, she caught up with a nine-ship convoy before daylight, and fired three torpedoes at the largest ship and heard explosions. After some 21 depth charges were dropped by the escorts, she managed to escape with only a few gauges broken. On July 1, Sturgeon, captained by LT CMDR Wright, sank the 7,267-ton prisoner transport Montevideo Maru
Montevideo Maru
The Montevideo Maru was a Japanese auxiliary ship that was sunk in World War II, resulting in the drowning of a large number of Australian prisoners of war and civilians being transported from Rabaul...

off the coast of Luzon

Luzon

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...

. On July 5, she scored hits on a tanker in a convoy northbound from Manila. Her patrol ended on July 22 when she arrived at Fremantle for refit.

It was later discovered that Montevideo Maru had been carrying over a thousand Australia

Australia

n POWs and civilian internees from 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...

New Guinea. 1140 (including 88 Japanese crew) were killed while 18 survived. Some of the Japanese including the ship's captain made it to the Philippines but most, including the captain, were killed by local guerrillas. This loss of Australian lives is the worst maritime disaster in Australian history. Only one eyewitness account has ever emerged. After 60 years the sole surviving Japanese sailor described the "death cries" of trapped Australians going down with the ship while others sung Auld Lang Syne

Auld Lang Syne

"Auld Lang Syne" is a Scots poem written by Robert Burns in 1788 and set to the tune of a traditional folk song . It is well known in many countries, especially in the English-speaking world; its traditional use being to celebrate the start of the New Year at the stroke of midnight...

Fifth patrol: September – October 1942

Sturgeon stood out of port, on September 4, to begin her fifth war patrol in an area between Mono Island

Mono Island

Mono Island is the largest island of the Treasury Islands, Solomon Islands, at .- Geography :Mono island is a volcanic island in the northwest of the Solomon Islands. It is separated by the Blanche Harbour from Stirling Island and the other coral islands surrounding it. The village of Falamai is...

and the Shortland Islands

Shortland Islands

The Shortland Islands are group of islands belonging to the Western Province of the Solomon Islands, at . Named by John Shortland, they lie in the extreme northwest of the country's territory, close to the island of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. The largest island is Shortland Island...

in the Solomon Islands group. On September 11, she began patrolling west 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...

to intercept enemy shipping between Rabaul

Rabaul

, Buka

Buka Island

Buka Island is the second largest island in the Papua New Guinean province of Bougainville.- History :Buka was first occupied by humans in paleolithic times, some 30,000 years ago...

, and Faisi

Faisi

Faisi is a small island in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands.-History:During World War II it was first island in the Solomons which was occupied by Japanese forces.-Geography:...

. The submarine fired four torpedoes at a large cargo ship, on September 14, but missed with all.

Three days later, she fired a spread at a tanker with two apparent hits. At 0536 hours on October 1, Sturgeon sighted the 8,033-ton aircraft ferry Katsuragi Maru. A spread of four torpedoes was fired and resulted in three hits which sent the ship to the bottom. An escort depth charged the submarine for a while and then broke off to rescue survivors. Sturgeon moved south of Tetipari Island and patrolled there until she returned to 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...

on October 25 for repairs and refit.

Sixth patrol: November 1942 – January 1943

Sturgeon returned to sea and began patrolling in the Truk area on November 30. She fired four torpedoes at a maru on December 6 and observed one hit. She missed hitting targets on December 9 and December 18. The ship withdrew from the area on December 25, 1942 and arrived at Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor

on January 4, 1943. She was in the yard from January 14 to May 11 for an overhaul.

Seventh and eighth patrols: June – October 1943

Sturgeon’s seventh war patrol began on June 12 and ended at Midway Island on August 2. She sighted seven worthwhile targets but was able to attack only one. That occurred on July 1 when she fired a spread at a freighter and heard two hits, causing possible damage. The next patrol, from August 29 to October 23, was equally unrewarding, and she returned to Pearl Harbor.

Ninth patrol: December 1943 – January 1944

On December 13, 1943, Sturgeon sailed for Japanese home waters. She sighted a seven-ship convoy with four escorts on January 11, 1944. Finding an overlapping target, she fired four torpedoes, and the cargo ship Erie Maru went to the bottom. The submarine was forced to go deep to avoid a depth charge attack and was unable to regain contact with the convoy. Five days later, she attacked a freighter Akagi Maru and a destroyer

Destroyer

Suzutsuki

Japanese destroyer Suzutsuki

was an Akizuki-class destroyer of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Her name means "Clear Moon ".On 6–7 April 1945, Suzutsuki escorted from the Inland Sea on her attack mission against the Allied forces fighting on Okinawa. Her bow was torn off by a torpedo from aircraft of Task Force 58, but survived...

in Bungo Channel

Bungo Channel

The is a strait separating the Japanese islands of Kyūshū and Shikoku. It connects the Pacific Ocean and Seto Inland Sea. The narrowest part of this channel is the Hōyo Strait....

. Suzutsuki was hit by two torpedoes which blew off the bow and stern. Sturgeon was pinned down all afternoon by Hatsuzuki's

Japanese destroyer Hatsuzuki

was an Akizuki-class destroyer of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Her name means "New Moon " or " August".In October 1944 Hatsuzuki was part of the Northern Force commanded by Admiral Ozawa Jisaburo, in the Japanese attack on the Allied forces supporting the invasion of Leyte...

counterattacks and cleared the area at 1855. Two attacks were made on a four-ship convoy on January 24. One hit was registered on a maru from the first attack while the spread fired at the other merchantman sent the Chosen Maru to the bottom. Two days later, she made a fruitless attack on two freighters, and the submarine returned to Pearl Harbor, via Midway, for refit.

Tenth patrol: April – May 1944

Sturgeon’s next assignment was in the Bonin Islands area from April 8 until May 26 and included plane guard duty near Marcus Island during aircraft carrier

Aircraft carrier

An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...

strikes there. On May 10, she attacked a convoy of five merchant ships and two escorts. She made two hits on a small freighter before the escorts and an enemy plane forced the submarine to go deep. Sturgeon finally came to periscope depth and trailed the convoy until the next morning when she made an end-around run and fired four torpedoes at a freighter. Three hits put Seiru Maru under in two minutes. The submarine swung around and fired her bow tubes at another ship. Two hits were recorded; and, when last seen, the target was dead in the water, smoking heavily. The submarine began plane guard duty on May 20 and rescued three airmen before heading for Midway two days later.

Eleventh patrol: June – August 1944

Sturgeon sailed for the Nansei Shoto on June 10 to begin her last war patrol. Only two worthy contacts were made, and they were heavily escorted. The first was an eight-ship convoy which she attacked on June 29. Four torpedoes were fired at a large ship. Four hits on the 7,089-ton passenger-cargo troopship Toyama Maru
Toyama Maru
Toyama Maru was a 7,089-ton Japanese troop transport during World War II. On June 29, 1944, Toyama Maru was transporting over 6,000 men of the Japanese 44th Independent Mixed Brigade when she was torpedoed and sunk by the submarine USS Sturgeon...

sent her up in flames and to the bottom. On July 3, Sturgeon sighted a nine-ship convoy accompanied by air cover and numerous small escorts. She registered three hits on the cargo ship Tairin Maru that blew her bow off and holed her side. She rolled to starboard and sank. The submarine went deep and avoided the 196 depth charges and aerial bombs that were rained down upon her. She evaded the escorts and returned to Pearl Harbor on August 5.

1944 – 1948

Sturgeon was routed to California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

for an overhaul and arrived at 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 August 15. On December 31, 1944, the ship shifted to San Diego and sailed on January 5, 1945 for the East Coast. She arrived at New London on January 26, and was assigned to SubRon 1. Sturgeon operated in Block Island Sound

Block Island Sound

Block Island Sound is a strait in the open Atlantic Ocean, approximately wide, separating Block Island from the coast of Rhode Island in the United States...

as a training ship until October 25. She entered the Boston Navy Yard

Boston Navy Yard

The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. Established in 1801, it was officially closed as an active naval installation on July 1, 1974, and the property was...

on October 30 and was decommissioned on November 15, 1945. Sturgeon was struck 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...

on April 30, 1948 and sold to Interstate Metals Corporation, of New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, on June 12 for scrap.

Sturgeon received ten battle stars for 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...

service.

External links

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