.gif)
USS Thresher (SS-200)
Encyclopedia
, a Tambor-class
submarine
, was the first United States Navy
ship to be named for the thresher shark
. Her keel was laid down 27 May 1939 at the Electric Boat
Company of Groton, Connecticut
. She was launched
on 27 March 1940 sponsored by Mrs. Claude A. Jones, and commissioned
on 27 August 1940, with Lieutenant Commander William Lovett Anderson (Annapolis
, Class of 1926) in command.
on 25 October 1940 for engineering trials in Gravesend Bay, New York, and shakedown off the Dry Tortugas
.
She operated along the East Coast through the end of 1940 and into 1941. She set sail on 1 May 1941 for the Caribbean Sea
, en route for Pearl Harbor
, transiting the Panama Canal
on 9 May, stopping in San Diego, California
, through 21 May, and arriving at Pearl Harbor
on 31 May. She operated out of the Hawaiian Islands
into the fall of 1941, as tensions rose in the Far East and the U.S. prepared for war in both oceans.
Thresher and her sister-ship departed the Submarine Base Pearl Harbor on 31 October 1941 on a simulated war patrol north of Midway Island; both carried live torpedo
es. Tautog returned first; and, on 7 December, Thresher neared the Hawaiian Islands to end her cruise. Escorted by the destroyer
through Hawaiian waters lest she be mistaken for a hostile submarine, Thresher received word at 08:10 Pearl Harbor was under attack by Japanese aircraft.
Departing Pearl Harbor on 30 December 1941, Thresher headed for the Marshall
and Mariana Islands
. Reconnoitering Majuro, Arno
, and Mili
atolls from 9 January to 13 January 1942, she shifted to waters off Japanese-held Guam
in the early morning darkness of 4 February. A little before daybreak, a small freighter was sighted 7 miles (11.3 km) north of Agana Harbor and Thresher closed for the attack. She loosed a three-torpedo spread, holing the ship and sending it down by the bow and dead in the water. Thresher then fired another spread of torpedoes, but all missed. Upon returning to the scene one-half hour later the ship was gone and Thresher thought she had scored a kill; postwar accounting did not substantiate it.
While en route home to Pearl Harbor on 24 February, an overzealous Navy plane attacked Thresher but did no damage and the sub safely returned to port on 26 February.
ese home islands. There, she was to gather weather data off Honshū
for use by Admiral William Halsey's task force (the carriers and , then approaching Japan. Embarked in Hornet were 16 United States Army Air Forces
B-25 Mitchell
medium bombers, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle
, intended to attack Tokyo
on 18 April.
Warned by ULTRA of four Japanese submarines operating off Tokyo Bay, Thresher was detected by one of them and fired on, without damage.
On the morning of 10 April, Thresher sighted a large Japanese freighter. A three-fish spread was fired and all missed as the target escaped in the mist. When the target emerged from the murk, Thresher was not in a position to launch another attack and proceeded on her way.
A second target was sighted later that day, and this time the hunting was better. One torpedo broke the back of freighter Sado Maru (3,000 tons) off Yokohama
, sending it to the bottom in less than three minutes. The subsequent depth charge
attack was delivered by three or four patrol vessels (one of the most severe of the war), caused Thresher to lose depth control and she plunged to 400 feet (121.9 m) before control was regained. She then disobeyed orders and remained to assist Halsey.
On 13 April, running on the surface to recharge her batteries, Thresher took a wave over her conning tower. Water cascaded down the open hatch and rushed into the boat, shorting many electrical circuits. For a short time, there was a significant danger that chlorine gas would be released, but quick thinking and damage control prevented any hazard. Eventually, all shorts were repaired and the boat pumped out.
The next day, Thresher departed her assigned patrol area and turned her attention to gathering weather data. She conducted periscope patrols in the advance screen of Halsey's task force, searching for any enemy craft that could warn the Japanese homeland. She was detached from this duty on 16 April and, after evading two Japanese patrol planes, returned to Pearl Harbor on 29 April.
On 26 June 1942, Thresher commenced her fourth war patrol heading for waters between the Palau and the Marshall Islands. On 6 July one torpedo struck home during an attack on a tanker off Enijun Pass. The two surface escorts were soon joined by aircraft and, after a three-hour depth charging, Thresher was able to resume her search for other targets.
Three days later, midway between Kwajalein
and Wotje atolls, Thresher fired two topedoes at a 4,836 ton torpedo boat tender which caused tremendous explosions as the tender sank beneath the waves. Thresher withdrew from expected countermeasures. Within an hour, two depth charges shook the boat, and ten minutes later, a banging and clanking alerted her to the fact the Japanese were apparently bringing a large grapnel into play in an attempt to capture the boat.
Thresher was hooked and fought for her life. After applying full right rudder, she made a 10 minute high-speed run which shook her free from the giant hook. Then, as a depth charge exploded near her conning tower, the boat went into deeper water. Bending on rudder, Thresher left the enemy behind, with some 30-odd depth charges exploding in her wake. Shaken but not seriously damaged, Thresher made minor repairs as she headed for Truk to reconnoiter the passes leading into this enemy naval bastion.
Missing a freighter with torpedoes on the night of 20 July, Thresher surfaced in a rain squall before daybreak the next morning. The boat's sonar picked up the sound of screws, close and closing. Soon an enemy patrol craft came into view, on a collision course. Surprisingly, the Japanese chose not to ram, but instead put turned hard right, and came to a parallel course some 50 yards (45.7 m) away. Thresher went deep, while the enemy's guns fired close but ineffective salvoes into the water ahead of the disappearing boat.
After escaping to the Palaus, Thresher tangled with an enemy Q-ship
off Ambon
in the former Netherlands East Indies. The two torpedoes she fired at the enemy failed to explode, and the Q-ship
subjected Thresher to an eight depth charge salvo before giving up the attack. Since she had been reassigned to the Southwest Pacific Submarine Force, Thresher sailed away from this encounter en route to Australia
n waters and terminated her fourth war patrol at Fremantle
on 15 August.
s and departed Fremantle
on 15 September 1942, bound for the Gulf of Siam. She fired torpedoes at two freighters north of Lombok Strait
on 19 September but was unable to determine the results of her attacks. On the night of 25 September, luck again failed to smile on her as a single torpedo streaked beneath a large, high-speed target in the Sulu Sea
.
Thresher later surfaced at 23:00 and proceeded on a course which took her north to Pearl Bank. There, in the northernmost reaches of the Gulf of Siam, she made one of the first mine plants by a submarine in the Pacific War. These strategic mine fields laid by Thresher and her sisters in subsequent patrols, covered Japanese shipping lanes in areas of the Southwest Pacific Command previously unpatrolled by submarines. Later, these minefields filled the gap between patrol zones along the coastal waters of Malaya
, Siam, and Indochina
, when many boats were diverted to participate in the Solomon Islands
campaign.
While reconnoitering off Balikpapan
, Borneo
, and the Celebes
coast, Thresher sighted a tanker aground on a reef off Kapoposang Island in the Java Sea
. She soon surfaced for a deck gun attack and left the enemy ship with decks awash. The boat then returned to Fremantle on 12 November for refit.
Underway from Fremantle on 16 December 1942, she arrived off Soerabaya, Java, on 25 December. She intercepted a convoy of freighters, escorted by two destroyers, several subchasers, and two aircraft. Slipping past the escorts, Thresher sent five torpedoes towards the leading three ships. Two successive explosions followed. Rising to periscope depth, the boat observed the second ship in the column down by the bow, with her stern up in the air and her screws, still revolving, out of the water. A second ship lay dead in the water, enveloped in smoke. Escaping unscathed from this tangle with a coastal convoy, Thresher sighted an enemy aircraft carrier
the next night, but was picked up by escorts and held at bay for more than an hour while the tempting target faded into the night.
On the night of 29 December 1942, Thresher (now in the hands of William J. "Moke" Millican, Class of 1928) made contact with a 3,000-ton freighter. Just before midnight, she fired a spread of torpedoes at the cargoman; but all missed or ran too deep. Undaunted, she waited for the moonrise and then surfaced to use her deck gun. Outmaneuvering the enemy, who tried to ram her, Thresher scored eight hits in succession with her 5 inches (127 mm) main gun, where he probably sank in the shallow water, one of the few sunk entirely by deck guns.
Proceeding to the Flores Sea
, Thresher intercepted a three-ship convoy escorted by two anti-submarine vessels on 21 February. One of the sub's two torpedoes hit the stern of a transport. Thresher then evaded 13 depth charges before returning to periscope depth a little more than an hour later. She observed her target lying dead in the water while barges lighter
ed troops to an undamaged mate. As escorts searched the waters nearby, Thresher closed and torpedoed the second transport, which had stopped to transfer survivors. Two loud explosions reverberated in the background as the boat dived to avoid possible countermeasures.
The following day, Thresher returned to celebrate Washington's Birthday by finishing off the first transport which jack-knifed into a "
Thresher prowled for more game and came upon a tanker and a freighter on 2 March. A single torpedo hit on the 5,232-ton tanker and it sank. The freighter, sighting torpedo wakes, took evasive action to avoid being hit. Then, a nearby escort arrived on the scene and kept Thresher at bay while the target escaped. The boat subsequently concluded this patrol arriving at Fremantle on 10 March.
On her return to base, her skipper roundly criticized the torpedoes, especially the failure to sink the I-boat. Admiral Ralph W. Christie
denied it and relieved him.
, Borneo
, she sighted a three-ship convoy, escorted by a sole destroyer (Hokaze
) on the night of 30 June 1943. After an unrewarding try with a trio of torpedoes, Thresher dodged the escort's depth charging attack and returned for another attempt. Tracking with radar, Thresher set a tanker ablaze from stem to stern and scored hits on a 5,274-ton passenger freighter in the Makassar Strait
.
Heading for Tambu Bay on the morning of 5 July, Thresher tracked a tanker. Chasing her quarry along the Sulawesi
(Celebes) coast, the submarine lurked nearby until the escort left. Thresher then closed, loosed three torpedoes, and scored one hit on the bow of the enemy vessel. This blow failed to stop the tanker, which fired her guns to keep Thresher at bay as she escaped at high speed.
Four days later, Thresher arrived off Catmou Point, Negros Island. Under cover of darkness, the boat surfaced and delivered 500 pounds (226.8 kg) of stores and 40,000 rounds of ammunition to Filipino guerrillas. Receiving intelligence documents in return, Thresher got underway for a resumption of her patrol shortly before midnight on 9 July. She soon departed the Philippines and sailed via Midway Island and Pearl Harbor to the west coast for a major overhaul at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard
, Vallejo, California
.
. Prowling north of Truk, Thresher commenced tracking a five-ship convoy on the morning of 12 November and slipped past two escorts shortly before midnight.
She fired three torpedoes into a 4,862-ton transport. The next attack, another three torpedo spread, missed their mark. Escorting antisubmarine craft hunted in vain for the American attacker, dropping 20 depth charges in an harassing barrage.
south of Formosa. While cruising on the surface on 10 January 1944, Thresher sighted a pair of masts, low on the horizon, and quickly dove to avoid possible detection. Coming to periscope depth soon thereafter, she approached cautiously, keeping in mind the ship may have been the advance screen of a convoy. The contact proved to be a 150-ton trawler. Thresher battle-surfaced, commencing fire at 6000 yards (5,486.4 m); the trawler sank after Thresher expended 45 5 inches (127 mm) shells, 1,000 rounds of .50-caliber (12.7 mm); and 770 20 millimetre (0.78740157480315 in) rounds.
Thresher next set course for the Luzon Strait
, between Batan Island
and Luzon
, in the Philippines
. At 11:43 on 15 January, she came to the surface and spotted a Japanese aircraft carrier with an escorting destroyer soon thereafter. The boat submerged to periscope depth in time to observe two enemy destroyers rapidly approaching. With insufficient time to maneuver for a "down the throat" shot, Thresher went deep and rigged for silent running
. The destroyer churned overhead and dropped four depth charges, none close. After remaining overhead two hours, dropping between ten and fifteen more depth charges, the enemy finally turned away, leaving Thresher unscathed.
Again coming to periscope depth at 17:00, Thresher soon sighted a four-ship convoy at 12000 yards (10,972.8 m) with a single sub-chaser as escort. Surfacing at 19:11, Thresher began the chase, tracking the convoy by radar
. The three leading targets steamed in column, with the escort between the third and fourth merchantmen. Thresher maneuvered to the west to silhouette the targets against the rising moon. The convoy changed course at 21:55, giving Thresher an excellent setup for her stern tubes. At 22:07, the boat let fly from 1800 yards (1,645.9 m) with four torpedoes at the lead ship, a 6,960 ton freighter. Thresher observed two hits, and the vessel, its bow in the air, was observed in a sinking condition.
Thresher next fired three bow tubes at the second target, a 4,092 ton freighter. Three torpedoes struck the ship—evidently a tanker—and literally blew her to pieces. The cargo of oil burst into flames and illuminated the night as brightly as day.
The third ship started firing on Thresher with deck guns, passing down the port side at 800 yards (731.5 m). With the submarine now readily visible, and her stern tubes dry, Thresher dove as bullets from the approaching escort splashed nearby. Thresher counted some 20 explosions from depth charges before the patrol craft left an hour later. Upon surfacing, Thresher was again alone and set off to patrol along the Singapore
-to-Japan trade route.
On 26 January, Thresher made radar contact with a small convoy
and soon spotted two ships steaming along beneath the overcast night skies. At 00:11, Thresher fired three bow torpedoes at a 1,266-ton freighter, then bent cleared the area. Her "fish" scored a bullseye, and the quarry disappeared within a minute. A second spread, 35 seconds after the first, claimed a 2,205-ton freighter. A third target made off to the south at high speed, "spraying the ocean with five-inch ammunition." Resuming the approach at 00:20, Thresher doggedly tailed the Japanese ship for four hours before reaching a favorable attack position. Firing her last torpedoes at 04:46, Thresher began to build up speed and had just commenced a turn when one torpedo struck the enemy ship, causing a tremendous explosion. The blast slowed the freighter, but its tremendous concussion stopped Thresher dead in the water. All four main engine overspeed trips were actuated; cork insulation flew; lights broke; clocks stopped; and water poured down the antenna trunk. By the time Thresher regained battle readiness, the enemy was too far away to encourage further pursuit. Well within the range of shore-based aircraft, Thresher quit the chase. Escorts, alerted to the fact an American submarine was prowling in the vicinity, arrived on the scene and conducted a three-hour long, futile, depth-charging.
On 28 and 29 January, Thresher patrolled the Formosa
-to-Palau route, in the Luzon Strait
, before returning via Midway Island to Pearl Harbor where she arrived on 18 February. There, Lieutenant Commander MacMillan was awarded the Navy Cross
for his aggressive action during the patrol.
Thresher went to sea again on 18 March 1944, departing Pearl Harbor
for the central Caroline Islands
. She remained on air-sea rescue ("lifeguard") station during American carrier strikes on Truk, bombarded Oroluk Atoll
on 11 April, and photographed islands in that group. The boat played "hide and seek" with numerous enemy aircraft and witnessed several American bombing raids on Truk. She sighted only two enemy ships and was unable to attack either, before she returned to Pearl Harbor on 8 May.
Over the succeeding days, the boats observed several planes but contacted only a few fishing vessels and small patrol craft. This drought of targets continued until 11 July, when Thresher made radar contact with a group of six ships steaming on the Formosa-Luzon route. As she changed course to intercept, she dispatched contact reports to the other boats. Guardfish and Apogon picked up the contact, but Piranha could not. Thresher deployed to a position 15000 yards (13,716 m) astern of the convoy, to trail the enemy group and be ready to pick off stragglers. Guardfish took the enemy's port flank, and Apogon maneuvered to the convoy's starboard quarter.
A Japanese escort latched on to Thresher, however, and trailed her, depriving her of a chance to attack the convoy. Meanwhile, Piranha managed to sink a 6,504-ton passenger/cargo ship. Apogon was rammed and forced to return to base for repairs.
Rendezvousing on 13 July, the remaining boats resumed the hunt. At 16:00 on 16 July, Thresher sighted smoke on the horizon. She surfaced and dispatched a contact report. After a cat-and-mouse period of some two hours, she noted the convoy consisted of six ships: a large tanker, three freighters, and two escorts.
Thresher closed beneath a clear and dark night sky. At 23:29, with the range to the near escort at 2000 yards (1,828.8 m), she commenced fire. Three torpedoes sped from the forward tubes toward the lead escort, three to the first freighter. Thresher then turned and emptied all four stern tubes at the second freighter. Four explosions were sighted and as Thresher departed at high speed, another six soon after.
Commencing a reload of her tubes at midnight (00.00 or 24.00), Thresher returned to the area and continued the attack on the convoy which consisted now of only three ships: a freighter, the oiler, and an escort. At 01:18, Thresher fired two bow tubes at the escort and three at the leading freighter; the sub then fired her stern tubes at the oiler. Soon thereafter, Thresher heard at least six explosions. The escort promptly began a depth charge barrage. Returning to periscope depth, Thresher found the convoy had remained stubbornly afloat. She began reloading her tubes again at 01.22 and returned to the chase.
While tube number six was still being reloaded, Thresher fired two other bow tubes at the freighter, two more at the oiler, and the remaining full one at the escort; she then swung about and fired one stern tube at the latter. Two torpedoes exploded at 02:46, and the cargo ship sank immediately. One minute later, two "fish" struck the oiler. A tremendous explosion lighted the entire sky, and the ship sank within 15 seconds.
While it could not be ascertained whether or not the last escort went down, the effect of two torpedo hits made it likely he had been heavily damaged. All torpedoes expended, Thresher headed for Midway. The boat claimed to have destroyed the entire convoy, but a port-war assessment confirmed only two cargo vessels, Sainei Maru (4,916 tons) and Shozan Maru (2,838 tons), and no escort. Thresher did, however, receive the Navy Unit Commendation
for the patrol.
and East China Sea
on her fourteenth war patrol. Six days later, while cruising on the surface, Thresher was battered by heavy seas which caused the boat to roll some 53 degrees from the vertical and produced waves up to 50 feet (15.2 m) high.
Rounding the southern tip of Kyūshū
, Thresher sighted several small craft before making contact with a minelayer and two subchasers on 10 September. Clearing the vicinity at high speed, Thresher headed for a new patrol area.
Thresher was twice frustrated on 13 September, when a large oiler passed far out of reach and a freighter, attacked with four torpedoes, refused to sink. An escorting aircraft harried the boat and prevented any further attacks.
At 15:31 on 18 September, Thresher sighted the masts, funnel and bridge of a ship on the horizon. After determining the enemy's base course and zigzag plan, Thresher surfaced and locked on the freighter with radar at 19:23. Another pip, an escort vessel, soon appeared on radar.
By 21:00, Thresher had maneuvered into position off the enemy's port bow and waited for the Japanese ships to make a zig which would place her at a desirable point for the attack. Thresher closed in for the kill and loosed four torpedoes as the group turned to the right. The Japanese, however, did not meet her prediction, and the first spread ran wide of its targets. Still undetected, Thresher quickly came about and fired four stern "fish" from 1200 yards (1,097.3 m). The second spread ran true, hitting 6,854-ton freighter Gyōkū Maru
. The explosions broke the cargoman's back, and she quickly slipped from sight. Thresher retired at high speed when she detected the presence of three additional ships closing rapidly.
Thresher reloaded and turned upon her pursuers, loosing a spread of torpedoes which barely missed. She evaded her hunters and shifted to waters off Manchuria
. The boat sighted only fishing craft until 26 August, when a large cargo vessel hove into sight at 09:44. Thresher surfaced at 13:15 and headed for the nearest point on the enemy's zigzag course. An hour later, the submarine spotted a floatplane on patrol, and hurriedly dived. As she went deep, one depth charge exploded nearby.
Staying under until 16:00, Thresher came to the surface and reacquired her target at 18:15. Tracking until sunset, she postulated the enemy vessel was bound for Daisei Gunto and an intercept course was plotted accordingly. Attacking from the bright moon side, Thresher fired two bow tubes, aiming one torpedo at the hull near the mainmast and one at the foremast. Both struck home, and the 1,468-ton freighter broke up and sank within a minute.
The following day, 26 September, Thresher came upon a 5,000-ton oiler and cut loose with four stern tubes from a range of 4000 yards (3,657.6 m). Those on the bridge saw the target disappear within a minute. Tubes dry, Thresher headed for Midway. En route, on 3 October, she sighted, tracked, and approached a small trawler. After sunset, Thresher surfaced and manned her deck guns. After firing 27 rounds of five-inch ammunition, the boat soon received close return fire which forced her to back off. Too dark to see the target, Thresher resumed her passage to Midway.
After fueling at Midway on 8 October, Thresher sailed for the Hawaiian Islands and arrived at Pearl Harbor on 12 October 1944. Following a lengthy refit, Thresher got underway on 31 January 1945 for the Marianas, in company with , , and . Remaining at Saipan
overnight on 12–13 February, the impromptu wolf pack pushed on toward its assigned patrol areas north of Luzon. However, only two of Threshers contacts developed into attacks. One failed due to the target's shallow draft; and the second contact evaded. Thresher did, however, conduct air-sea guard patrols; and conducted a shore bombardment of Basco Harbor, Batan Island
, on 28 March. The latter part of this patrol was conducted in company with Piranha and .
on 4 April 1945. Arriving at Pearl Harbor
20 days later, Thresher ended her active combat service, after fifteen war patrols. Undergoing a routine refit and voyage repairs, Thresher subsequently rendered target training services out of Pearl Harbor
and Eniwetok. She was operating out of the latter base on 15 August 1945 when the war in the Pacific ended.
Thresher cleared Eniwetok on 15 September, arrived at Pearl Harbor
on 22 September, and stood out to sea on 26 September. Making port at San Francisco, California
, on 4 October, the boat subsequently left the West Coast on 31 October. She transited the Panama Canal
on 10 November and arrived at Portsmouth, New Hampshire
, on 18 November. She was decommissioned there on 13 December 1945.
Thresher was recommissioned on 6 February 1946 to be used as a target during atomic bomb test at Bikini Atoll
in the Pacific. However, during the refurbishing, it was decided she had deteriorated beyond economical repair, and work was stopped. Thresher was decommissioned for the final time on 12 July 1946. She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register
on 23 December 1947, and on 18 March 1948 sold for scrap to Max Siegel of Everett, Massachusetts
.
Thresher received 15 battle stars and a Navy Unit Commendation
for World War II
service.
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 first 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...
ship to be named for the thresher shark
Thresher shark
Thresher sharks are large lamniform sharks of the family Alopiidae. Found in all temperate and tropical oceans of the world, the family contains three species all within the genus Alopias.-Taxonomy:...
. Her keel was laid down 27 May 1939 at 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 of 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 27 March 1940 sponsored by Mrs. Claude A. Jones, 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 27 August 1940, with Lieutenant Commander William Lovett Anderson (Annapolis
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
, Class of 1926) in command.
Sea trials
Following training and sea trials, Thresher got underway from New London, ConnecticutNew 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....
on 25 October 1940 for engineering trials in Gravesend Bay, New York, and shakedown off the Dry Tortugas
Dry Tortugas
The Dry Tortugas are a small group of islands, located at the end of the Florida Keys, USA, about west of Key West, and west of the Marquesas Keys, the closest islands. Still further west is the Tortugas Bank, which is completely submerged. The first Europeans to discover the islands were the...
.
She operated along the East Coast through the end of 1940 and into 1941. She set sail on 1 May 1941 for the Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
, en route 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...
, transiting 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 9 May, stopping in 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...
, through 21 May, and arriving at 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...
on 31 May. She operated out of the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
into the fall of 1941, as tensions rose in the Far East and the U.S. prepared for war in both oceans.
Thresher and her sister-ship departed the Submarine Base Pearl Harbor on 31 October 1941 on a simulated war patrol north of Midway Island; both carried live 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...
es. Tautog returned first; and, on 7 December, Thresher neared the Hawaiian Islands to end her cruise. Escorted by the 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...
through Hawaiian waters lest she be mistaken for a hostile submarine, Thresher received word at 08:10 Pearl Harbor was under attack by Japanese aircraft.
First and second patrols
Litchfield promptly set off to join American light forces departing from the harbor, leaving Thresher alone to conduct her first real war patrol. However, the destroyer was ordered back to escort; radio contact was established, and a rendezvous arranged, with Thresher. At the pre-appointed time, Thresher poked up her periscope to have a look, and noticed a destroyer—similar to Litchfield—approaching bows-on. Instead of a warm reception from friends, she got a hot reception from the destroyer's forward gunners, who opened fire on her as soon as her black conning tower broke the surface. Thresher immediately went deep to avoid. She again tried to enter the harbor on 8 December, but was driven off by depth-bombs from a patrol plane, before finally arrived to provide safe conduct for the boat at midday.Departing Pearl Harbor on 30 December 1941, Thresher headed for the Marshall
Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...
and Mariana Islands
Mariana Islands
The Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...
. Reconnoitering Majuro, Arno
Arno Atoll
Arno Atoll is a coral atoll of 133 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its total land area is only . Unlike most other atolls, Arno encloses three different lagoons, a large central one, and two smaller ones in the north and...
, and Mili
Mili Atoll
Mili Atoll is a coral atoll of 92 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. It is located approximately southeast of Arno Its total land area is making it the second largest of the Marshall Islands after Kwajalein. It encloses a...
atolls from 9 January to 13 January 1942, she shifted to waters off Japanese-held 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 4 February. A little before daybreak, a small freighter was sighted 7 miles (11.3 km) north of Agana Harbor and Thresher closed for the attack. She loosed a three-torpedo spread, holing the ship and sending it down by the bow and dead in the water. Thresher then fired another spread of torpedoes, but all missed. Upon returning to the scene one-half hour later the ship was gone and Thresher thought she had scored a kill; postwar accounting did not substantiate it.
While en route home to Pearl Harbor on 24 February, an overzealous Navy plane attacked Thresher but did no damage and the sub safely returned to port on 26 February.
Third and fourth patrols
After refit, Thresher departed 23 March 1942 for a patrol area near the JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese home islands. There, she was to gather weather data off 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...
for use by Admiral William Halsey's task force (the carriers and , then approaching Japan. Embarked in Hornet were 16 United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
B-25 Mitchell
B-25 Mitchell
The North American B-25 Mitchell was an American twin-engined medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. It was used by many Allied air forces, in every theater of World War II, as well as many other air forces after the war ended, and saw service across four decades.The B-25 was named...
medium bombers, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle
Jimmy Doolittle
General James Harold "Jimmy" Doolittle, USAF was an American aviation pioneer. Doolittle served as a brigadier general, major general and lieutenant general in the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War...
, intended to attack Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
on 18 April.
Warned by ULTRA of four Japanese submarines operating off Tokyo Bay, Thresher was detected by one of them and fired on, without damage.
On the morning of 10 April, Thresher sighted a large Japanese freighter. A three-fish spread was fired and all missed as the target escaped in the mist. When the target emerged from the murk, Thresher was not in a position to launch another attack and proceeded on her way.
A second target was sighted later that day, and this time the hunting was better. One torpedo broke the back of freighter Sado Maru (3,000 tons) off Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
, sending it to the bottom in less than three minutes. The subsequent 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...
attack was delivered by three or four patrol vessels (one of the most severe of the war), caused Thresher to lose depth control and she plunged to 400 feet (121.9 m) before control was regained. She then disobeyed orders and remained to assist Halsey.
On 13 April, running on the surface to recharge her batteries, Thresher took a wave over her conning tower. Water cascaded down the open hatch and rushed into the boat, shorting many electrical circuits. For a short time, there was a significant danger that chlorine gas would be released, but quick thinking and damage control prevented any hazard. Eventually, all shorts were repaired and the boat pumped out.
The next day, Thresher departed her assigned patrol area and turned her attention to gathering weather data. She conducted periscope patrols in the advance screen of Halsey's task force, searching for any enemy craft that could warn the Japanese homeland. She was detached from this duty on 16 April and, after evading two Japanese patrol planes, returned to Pearl Harbor on 29 April.
On 26 June 1942, Thresher commenced her fourth war patrol heading for waters between the Palau and the Marshall Islands. On 6 July one torpedo struck home during an attack on a tanker off Enijun Pass. The two surface escorts were soon joined by aircraft and, after a three-hour depth charging, Thresher was able to resume her search for other targets.
Three days later, midway between Kwajalein
Kwajalein
Kwajalein Atoll , is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands . The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island. English-speaking residents of the U.S...
and Wotje atolls, Thresher fired two topedoes at a 4,836 ton torpedo boat tender which caused tremendous explosions as the tender sank beneath the waves. Thresher withdrew from expected countermeasures. Within an hour, two depth charges shook the boat, and ten minutes later, a banging and clanking alerted her to the fact the Japanese were apparently bringing a large grapnel into play in an attempt to capture the boat.
Thresher was hooked and fought for her life. After applying full right rudder, she made a 10 minute high-speed run which shook her free from the giant hook. Then, as a depth charge exploded near her conning tower, the boat went into deeper water. Bending on rudder, Thresher left the enemy behind, with some 30-odd depth charges exploding in her wake. Shaken but not seriously damaged, Thresher made minor repairs as she headed for Truk to reconnoiter the passes leading into this enemy naval bastion.
Missing a freighter with torpedoes on the night of 20 July, Thresher surfaced in a rain squall before daybreak the next morning. The boat's sonar picked up the sound of screws, close and closing. Soon an enemy patrol craft came into view, on a collision course. Surprisingly, the Japanese chose not to ram, but instead put turned hard right, and came to a parallel course some 50 yards (45.7 m) away. Thresher went deep, while the enemy's guns fired close but ineffective salvoes into the water ahead of the disappearing boat.
After escaping to the Palaus, Thresher tangled with an enemy 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...
off Ambon
Ambon Island
Ambon Island is part of the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. The island has an area of , and is mountainous, well watered, and fertile. Ambon Island consists of 2 territories: The main city and seaport is Ambon , which is also the capital of Maluku province and Maluku Tengah Ambon Island is part of the...
in the former Netherlands East Indies. The two torpedoes she fired at the enemy failed to explode, and the 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...
subjected Thresher to an eight depth charge salvo before giving up the attack. Since she had been reassigned to the Southwest Pacific Submarine Force, Thresher sailed away from this encounter en route to 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...
n waters and terminated her fourth war 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...
on 15 August.
Fifth and sixth patrols
After refit, Thresher loaded mineNaval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
s and departed 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...
on 15 September 1942, bound for the Gulf of Siam. She fired torpedoes at two freighters north of Lombok Strait
Lombok Strait
The Lombok Strait is a strait connecting the Java Sea to the Indian Ocean, located between the islands of Bali and Lombok in Indonesia. The Gili Islands are on the Lombok side....
on 19 September but was unable to determine the results of her attacks. On the night of 25 September, luck again failed to smile on her as a single torpedo streaked beneath a large, high-speed target in the Sulu Sea
Sulu Sea
The Sulu Sea is a body of water in the southwestern area of the Philippines, separated from the South China Sea in the northwest by Palawan and from the Celebes Sea in the southeast by the Sulu Archipelago. Borneo is found to the southwest and Visayas to the northeast.Sulu Sea contains a number of...
.
Thresher later surfaced at 23:00 and proceeded on a course which took her north to Pearl Bank. There, in the northernmost reaches of the Gulf of Siam, she made one of the first mine plants by a submarine in the Pacific War. These strategic mine fields laid by Thresher and her sisters in subsequent patrols, covered Japanese shipping lanes in areas of the Southwest Pacific Command previously unpatrolled by submarines. Later, these minefields filled the gap between patrol zones along the coastal waters of Malaya
British Malaya
British Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...
, Siam, and Indochina
Indochina
The Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...
, when many boats were diverted to participate in the Solomon Islands
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...
campaign.
While reconnoitering 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...
, 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....
, and 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...
coast, Thresher sighted a tanker aground on a reef off Kapoposang Island in the Java Sea
Java Sea
The Java Sea is a large shallow sea on the Sunda Shelf. It was formed as sea levels rose at the end of the last ice age. The Java Sea lies between the Indonesian islands of Borneo to the north, Java to the south; Sumatra to the west, and Sulawesi to the east...
. She soon surfaced for a deck gun attack and left the enemy ship with decks awash. The boat then returned to Fremantle on 12 November for refit.
Underway from Fremantle on 16 December 1942, she arrived off Soerabaya, Java, on 25 December. She intercepted a convoy of freighters, escorted by two destroyers, several subchasers, and two aircraft. Slipping past the escorts, Thresher sent five torpedoes towards the leading three ships. Two successive explosions followed. Rising to periscope depth, the boat observed the second ship in the column down by the bow, with her stern up in the air and her screws, still revolving, out of the water. A second ship lay dead in the water, enveloped in smoke. Escaping unscathed from this tangle with a coastal convoy, Thresher sighted an enemy 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...
the next night, but was picked up by escorts and held at bay for more than an hour while the tempting target faded into the night.
On the night of 29 December 1942, Thresher (now in the hands of William J. "Moke" Millican, Class of 1928) made contact with a 3,000-ton freighter. Just before midnight, she fired a spread of torpedoes at the cargoman; but all missed or ran too deep. Undaunted, she waited for the moonrise and then surfaced to use her deck gun. Outmaneuvering the enemy, who tried to ram her, Thresher scored eight hits in succession with her 5 inches (127 mm) main gun, where he probably sank in the shallow water, one of the few sunk entirely by deck guns.
Seventh patrol
After arriving back in Fremantle on 10 January 1943, the boat got underway 15 days later for her seventh war patrol, with four torpedoes short of a normal load. At 11:00 on 14 February, Thresher made contact with a Japanese I-boat east of Thwartway Island. She launched two torpedoes; one was a dud, and the other exploded on the ocean bottom. Turning north and firing deck guns, Threshers adversary soon disappeared over the horizon.Proceeding to the Flores Sea
Flores 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 ....
, Thresher intercepted a three-ship convoy escorted by two anti-submarine vessels on 21 February. One of the sub's two torpedoes hit the stern of a transport. Thresher then evaded 13 depth charges before returning to periscope depth a little more than an hour later. She observed her target lying dead in the water while barges lighter
Lighter (barge)
A lighter is a type of flat-bottomed barge used to transfer goods and passengers to and from moored ships. Lighters were traditionally unpowered and were moved and steered using long oars called "sweeps," with their motive power provided by water currents...
ed troops to an undamaged mate. As escorts searched the waters nearby, Thresher closed and torpedoed the second transport, which had stopped to transfer survivors. Two loud explosions reverberated in the background as the boat dived to avoid possible countermeasures.
The following day, Thresher returned to celebrate Washington's Birthday by finishing off the first transport which jack-knifed into a "
V" shape and sank within three minutes.Thresher prowled for more game and came upon a tanker and a freighter on 2 March. A single torpedo hit on the 5,232-ton tanker and it sank. The freighter, sighting torpedo wakes, took evasive action to avoid being hit. Then, a nearby escort arrived on the scene and kept Thresher at bay while the target escaped. The boat subsequently concluded this patrol arriving at Fremantle on 10 March.
On her return to base, her skipper roundly criticized the torpedoes, especially the failure to sink the I-boat. Admiral Ralph W. Christie
Ralph Waldo Christie
Ralph Waldo Christie was an admiral in the United States Navy who played a pivotal role in the development of torpedo technologies...
denied it and relieved him.
Eighth patrol
Her eighth war patrol (commanded by Harry Hull, Class of 1932), lasting 4 April to 23 May 1943, was uneventful, but her ninth saw the boat score another kill. Off BalikpapanBalikpapan
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...
, 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....
, she sighted a three-ship convoy, escorted by a sole destroyer (Hokaze
Japanese destroyer Hokaze
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:...
) on the night of 30 June 1943. After an unrewarding try with a trio of torpedoes, Thresher dodged the escort's depth charging attack and returned for another attempt. Tracking with radar, Thresher set a tanker ablaze from stem to stern and scored hits on a 5,274-ton passenger freighter in the 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....
.
Heading for Tambu Bay on the morning of 5 July, Thresher tracked a tanker. Chasing her quarry along the Sulawesi
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...
(Celebes) coast, the submarine lurked nearby until the escort left. Thresher then closed, loosed three torpedoes, and scored one hit on the bow of the enemy vessel. This blow failed to stop the tanker, which fired her guns to keep Thresher at bay as she escaped at high speed.
Four days later, Thresher arrived off Catmou Point, Negros Island. Under cover of darkness, the boat surfaced and delivered 500 pounds (226.8 kg) of stores and 40,000 rounds of ammunition to Filipino guerrillas. Receiving intelligence documents in return, Thresher got underway for a resumption of her patrol shortly before midnight on 9 July. She soon departed the Philippines and sailed via Midway Island and Pearl Harbor to the west coast for a major overhaul at 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...
, Vallejo, California
Vallejo, California
Vallejo is the largest city in Solano County, California, United States. The population was 115,942 at the 2010 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area on the northeastern shore of San Pablo Bay...
.
Tenth patrol
Newly refitted, Thresher departed the west coast on 8 October 1943 and arrived at Pearl Harbor one week later; she commenced her tenth war patrol on 1 November, bound for the waters north of the Caroline IslandsCaroline Islands
The Caroline Islands are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia in the eastern part of the group, and Palau at the extreme western end...
. Prowling north of Truk, Thresher commenced tracking a five-ship convoy on the morning of 12 November and slipped past two escorts shortly before midnight.
She fired three torpedoes into a 4,862-ton transport. The next attack, another three torpedo spread, missed their mark. Escorting antisubmarine craft hunted in vain for the American attacker, dropping 20 depth charges in an harassing barrage.
Eleventh and twelfth patrols
Thresher’s 11th war patrol (this one under command of Duncan C. MacMillan, Class of 1926) took her to 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...
south of Formosa. While cruising on the surface on 10 January 1944, Thresher sighted a pair of masts, low on the horizon, and quickly dove to avoid possible detection. Coming to periscope depth soon thereafter, she approached cautiously, keeping in mind the ship may have been the advance screen of a convoy. The contact proved to be a 150-ton trawler. Thresher battle-surfaced, commencing fire at 6000 yards (5,486.4 m); the trawler sank after Thresher expended 45 5 inches (127 mm) shells, 1,000 rounds of .50-caliber (12.7 mm); and 770 20 millimetre (0.78740157480315 in) rounds.
Thresher next set course for the Luzon Strait
Luzon Strait
The Luzon Strait is the strait between the island country of Taiwan and Luzon island of the Philippines. The strait thereby connects the Philippine Sea to the South China Sea in the western Pacific Ocean....
, between Batan Island
Batan Island
Batan island is the main island of the Batanes Province in the Philippines, part of the Batanes Islands group and the Luzon Volcanic Arc. It is home to the provincial capital Basco. The island is known chiefly for Mount Iraya....
and 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...
, in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. At 11:43 on 15 January, she came to the surface and spotted a Japanese aircraft carrier with an escorting destroyer soon thereafter. The boat submerged to periscope depth in time to observe two enemy destroyers rapidly approaching. With insufficient time to maneuver for a "down the throat" shot, Thresher went deep and rigged for 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...
. The destroyer churned overhead and dropped four depth charges, none close. After remaining overhead two hours, dropping between ten and fifteen more depth charges, the enemy finally turned away, leaving Thresher unscathed.
Again coming to periscope depth at 17:00, Thresher soon sighted a four-ship convoy at 12000 yards (10,972.8 m) with a single sub-chaser as escort. Surfacing at 19:11, Thresher began the chase, tracking the convoy by radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
. The three leading targets steamed in column, with the escort between the third and fourth merchantmen. Thresher maneuvered to the west to silhouette the targets against the rising moon. The convoy changed course at 21:55, giving Thresher an excellent setup for her stern tubes. At 22:07, the boat let fly from 1800 yards (1,645.9 m) with four torpedoes at the lead ship, a 6,960 ton freighter. Thresher observed two hits, and the vessel, its bow in the air, was observed in a sinking condition.
Thresher next fired three bow tubes at the second target, a 4,092 ton freighter. Three torpedoes struck the ship—evidently a tanker—and literally blew her to pieces. The cargo of oil burst into flames and illuminated the night as brightly as day.
The third ship started firing on Thresher with deck guns, passing down the port side at 800 yards (731.5 m). With the submarine now readily visible, and her stern tubes dry, Thresher dove as bullets from the approaching escort splashed nearby. Thresher counted some 20 explosions from depth charges before the patrol craft left an hour later. Upon surfacing, Thresher was again alone and set off to patrol along the Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
-to-Japan trade route.
On 26 January, Thresher made radar contact with a small convoy
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, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
and soon spotted two ships steaming along beneath the overcast night skies. At 00:11, Thresher fired three bow torpedoes at a 1,266-ton freighter, then bent cleared the area. Her "fish" scored a bullseye, and the quarry disappeared within a minute. A second spread, 35 seconds after the first, claimed a 2,205-ton freighter. A third target made off to the south at high speed, "spraying the ocean with five-inch ammunition." Resuming the approach at 00:20, Thresher doggedly tailed the Japanese ship for four hours before reaching a favorable attack position. Firing her last torpedoes at 04:46, Thresher began to build up speed and had just commenced a turn when one torpedo struck the enemy ship, causing a tremendous explosion. The blast slowed the freighter, but its tremendous concussion stopped Thresher dead in the water. All four main engine overspeed trips were actuated; cork insulation flew; lights broke; clocks stopped; and water poured down the antenna trunk. By the time Thresher regained battle readiness, the enemy was too far away to encourage further pursuit. Well within the range of shore-based aircraft, Thresher quit the chase. Escorts, alerted to the fact an American submarine was prowling in the vicinity, arrived on the scene and conducted a three-hour long, futile, depth-charging.
On 28 and 29 January, Thresher patrolled the 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...
-to-Palau route, in the Luzon Strait
Luzon Strait
The Luzon Strait is the strait between the island country of Taiwan and Luzon island of the Philippines. The strait thereby connects the Philippine Sea to the South China Sea in the western Pacific Ocean....
, before returning via Midway Island to Pearl Harbor where she arrived on 18 February. There, Lieutenant Commander MacMillan was awarded the Navy Cross
Navy Cross
The Navy Cross is the highest decoration that may be bestowed by the Department of the Navy and the second highest decoration given for valor. It is normally only awarded to members of the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps and United States Coast Guard, but can be awarded to all...
for his aggressive action during the patrol.
Thresher went to sea again on 18 March 1944, departing 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...
for the central Caroline Islands
Caroline Islands
The Caroline Islands are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia in the eastern part of the group, and Palau at the extreme western end...
. She remained on air-sea rescue ("lifeguard") station during American carrier strikes on Truk, bombarded Oroluk Atoll
Oroluk Atoll
Oroluk Atoll is an atoll belonging to Pohnpei State in the Micronesia.-Description:Oroluk Atoll stretches from the northwest to the southeast with a length of about and an average width of . The lagoon's surface is roughly ....
on 11 April, and photographed islands in that group. The boat played "hide and seek" with numerous enemy aircraft and witnessed several American bombing raids on Truk. She sighted only two enemy ships and was unable to attack either, before she returned to Pearl Harbor on 8 May.
Thirteenth patrol
On 14 June 1944, Thresher headed out for her 13th war patrol. 25 June, she joined a "wolfpack" that also included , , and . Nicknamed the "Mickey Finns" and under the overall command of Captain William V. "Mickey" O'Regan (flying his flag in Guardfish), the group picked up "ditching signals" from a downed aircraft that afternoon and changed course to investigate. Arriving in the vicinity on 27 June, they found only a drop tank and no trace of plane or pilot.Over the succeeding days, the boats observed several planes but contacted only a few fishing vessels and small patrol craft. This drought of targets continued until 11 July, when Thresher made radar contact with a group of six ships steaming on the Formosa-Luzon route. As she changed course to intercept, she dispatched contact reports to the other boats. Guardfish and Apogon picked up the contact, but Piranha could not. Thresher deployed to a position 15000 yards (13,716 m) astern of the convoy, to trail the enemy group and be ready to pick off stragglers. Guardfish took the enemy's port flank, and Apogon maneuvered to the convoy's starboard quarter.
A Japanese escort latched on to Thresher, however, and trailed her, depriving her of a chance to attack the convoy. Meanwhile, Piranha managed to sink a 6,504-ton passenger/cargo ship. Apogon was rammed and forced to return to base for repairs.
Rendezvousing on 13 July, the remaining boats resumed the hunt. At 16:00 on 16 July, Thresher sighted smoke on the horizon. She surfaced and dispatched a contact report. After a cat-and-mouse period of some two hours, she noted the convoy consisted of six ships: a large tanker, three freighters, and two escorts.
Thresher closed beneath a clear and dark night sky. At 23:29, with the range to the near escort at 2000 yards (1,828.8 m), she commenced fire. Three torpedoes sped from the forward tubes toward the lead escort, three to the first freighter. Thresher then turned and emptied all four stern tubes at the second freighter. Four explosions were sighted and as Thresher departed at high speed, another six soon after.
Commencing a reload of her tubes at midnight (00.00 or 24.00), Thresher returned to the area and continued the attack on the convoy which consisted now of only three ships: a freighter, the oiler, and an escort. At 01:18, Thresher fired two bow tubes at the escort and three at the leading freighter; the sub then fired her stern tubes at the oiler. Soon thereafter, Thresher heard at least six explosions. The escort promptly began a depth charge barrage. Returning to periscope depth, Thresher found the convoy had remained stubbornly afloat. She began reloading her tubes again at 01.22 and returned to the chase.
While tube number six was still being reloaded, Thresher fired two other bow tubes at the freighter, two more at the oiler, and the remaining full one at the escort; she then swung about and fired one stern tube at the latter. Two torpedoes exploded at 02:46, and the cargo ship sank immediately. One minute later, two "fish" struck the oiler. A tremendous explosion lighted the entire sky, and the ship sank within 15 seconds.
While it could not be ascertained whether or not the last escort went down, the effect of two torpedo hits made it likely he had been heavily damaged. All torpedoes expended, Thresher headed for Midway. The boat claimed to have destroyed the entire convoy, but a port-war assessment confirmed only two cargo vessels, Sainei Maru (4,916 tons) and Shozan Maru (2,838 tons), and no escort. Thresher did, however, receive the Navy Unit Commendation
Navy Unit Commendation
The Navy Unit Commendation of the United States Navy is an award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944...
for the patrol.
Fourteenth patrol
Upon completion of voyage repairs (and with John R. Middleton, Jr., Class of 1935, now at the helm), Thresher stood out of Midway on 23 August 1944, bound for the Yellow SeaYellow Sea
The Yellow Sea is the name given to the northern part of the East China Sea, which is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It is located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula. Its name comes from the sand particles from Gobi Desert sand storms that turn the surface of the water golden...
and 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:...
on her fourteenth war patrol. Six days later, while cruising on the surface, Thresher was battered by heavy seas which caused the boat to roll some 53 degrees from the vertical and produced waves up to 50 feet (15.2 m) high.
Rounding the southern tip of Kyūshū
Kyushu
is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....
, Thresher sighted several small craft before making contact with a minelayer and two subchasers on 10 September. Clearing the vicinity at high speed, Thresher headed for a new patrol area.
Thresher was twice frustrated on 13 September, when a large oiler passed far out of reach and a freighter, attacked with four torpedoes, refused to sink. An escorting aircraft harried the boat and prevented any further attacks.
At 15:31 on 18 September, Thresher sighted the masts, funnel and bridge of a ship on the horizon. After determining the enemy's base course and zigzag plan, Thresher surfaced and locked on the freighter with radar at 19:23. Another pip, an escort vessel, soon appeared on radar.
By 21:00, Thresher had maneuvered into position off the enemy's port bow and waited for the Japanese ships to make a zig which would place her at a desirable point for the attack. Thresher closed in for the kill and loosed four torpedoes as the group turned to the right. The Japanese, however, did not meet her prediction, and the first spread ran wide of its targets. Still undetected, Thresher quickly came about and fired four stern "fish" from 1200 yards (1,097.3 m). The second spread ran true, hitting 6,854-ton freighter Gyōkū Maru
SS Gyōkū Maru
was a cargo ship that was built in 1941 as Empire Dragon by Hong Kong & Whampoa Dock Co Ltd, Hong Kong for the Ministry of War Transport...
. The explosions broke the cargoman's back, and she quickly slipped from sight. Thresher retired at high speed when she detected the presence of three additional ships closing rapidly.
Thresher reloaded and turned upon her pursuers, loosing a spread of torpedoes which barely missed. She evaded her hunters and shifted to waters off Manchuria
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
. The boat sighted only fishing craft until 26 August, when a large cargo vessel hove into sight at 09:44. Thresher surfaced at 13:15 and headed for the nearest point on the enemy's zigzag course. An hour later, the submarine spotted a floatplane on patrol, and hurriedly dived. As she went deep, one depth charge exploded nearby.
Staying under until 16:00, Thresher came to the surface and reacquired her target at 18:15. Tracking until sunset, she postulated the enemy vessel was bound for Daisei Gunto and an intercept course was plotted accordingly. Attacking from the bright moon side, Thresher fired two bow tubes, aiming one torpedo at the hull near the mainmast and one at the foremast. Both struck home, and the 1,468-ton freighter broke up and sank within a minute.
The following day, 26 September, Thresher came upon a 5,000-ton oiler and cut loose with four stern tubes from a range of 4000 yards (3,657.6 m). Those on the bridge saw the target disappear within a minute. Tubes dry, Thresher headed for Midway. En route, on 3 October, she sighted, tracked, and approached a small trawler. After sunset, Thresher surfaced and manned her deck guns. After firing 27 rounds of five-inch ammunition, the boat soon received close return fire which forced her to back off. Too dark to see the target, Thresher resumed her passage to Midway.
After fueling at Midway on 8 October, Thresher sailed for the Hawaiian Islands and arrived at Pearl Harbor on 12 October 1944. Following a lengthy refit, Thresher got underway on 31 January 1945 for the Marianas, in company with , , and . Remaining at 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...
overnight on 12–13 February, the impromptu wolf pack pushed on toward its assigned patrol areas north of Luzon. However, only two of Threshers contacts developed into attacks. One failed due to the target's shallow draft; and the second contact evaded. Thresher did, however, conduct air-sea guard patrols; and conducted a shore bombardment of Basco Harbor, Batan Island
Batan Island
Batan island is the main island of the Batanes Province in the Philippines, part of the Batanes Islands group and the Luzon Volcanic Arc. It is home to the provincial capital Basco. The island is known chiefly for Mount Iraya....
, on 28 March. The latter part of this patrol was conducted in company with Piranha and .
End of active duty
Clearing her patrol station, Thresher nested alongside for voyage repairs before pushing on for OahuOahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
on 4 April 1945. Arriving at 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...
20 days later, Thresher ended her active combat service, after fifteen war patrols. Undergoing a routine refit and voyage repairs, Thresher subsequently rendered target training services out of 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 Eniwetok. She was operating out of the latter base on 15 August 1945 when the war in the Pacific ended.
Thresher cleared Eniwetok on 15 September, arrived at 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...
on 22 September, and stood out to sea on 26 September. Making port 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 4 October, the boat subsequently left the West Coast on 31 October. She 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 10 November and arrived at 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...
, on 18 November. She was decommissioned there on 13 December 1945.
Thresher was recommissioned on 6 February 1946 to be used as a target during atomic bomb test at Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll is an atoll, listed as a World Heritage Site, in the Micronesian Islands of the Pacific Ocean, part of Republic of the Marshall Islands....
in the Pacific. However, during the refurbishing, it was decided she had deteriorated beyond economical repair, and work was stopped. Thresher was decommissioned for the final time on 12 July 1946. 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...
on 23 December 1947, and on 18 March 1948 sold for scrap to Max Siegel of Everett, Massachusetts
Everett, Massachusetts
Everett is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, near Boston. The population was 41,667 at the 2010 census.Everett is the last city in the United States with a bicameral legislature, which is composed of a seven-member Board of Aldermen and an 18-member Common Council...
.
Thresher received 15 battle stars and a Navy Unit Commendation
Navy Unit Commendation
The Navy Unit Commendation of the United States Navy is an award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944...
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.