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USS Seawolf (SS-197)
Encyclopedia
USS Seawolf (SS-197), a Sargo-class submarine
, was the second submarine
of the United States Navy
named for the seawolf
.
Her keel was laid down on 27 September 1938 by the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine
. She was launched
on 15 August 1939 sponsored by Mrs. Edward C. Kalbfus
and commissioned
on 1 December 1939, Lieutenant
Frederick B. Warder (Class of 1925) in command.
on 12 April 1940 for her shakedown cruise, which lasted until 21 June and took her as far south as the Panama Canal Zone
. Seawolf was next assigned to the Pacific Fleet
, home ported at San Diego, California
. In the autumn of 1940, she proceeded to Manila Bay
and operated from the Cavite Navy Yard.
began, the submarine readied for sea and was on her first war patrol from 8–26 December 1941.
Seawolf hunted Japanese shipping off San Bernardino Strait
. On 14 December, she fired a spread of torpedoes at Sanyo Maru in Port San Vicente. One torpedo hit, but did not explode. She promptly underwent her first depth charge
attack but suffered no damage.
Seawolf departed Manila
on 31 December 1941 for Australia
and arrived at Darwin
on 9 January 1942. She loaded 30-40 tons of .50-caliber (12.7 mm) antiaircraft ammunition for use by American forces on Corregidor
and sailed for Manila Bay
on 16 January. The submarine sighted seven Japanese freighters accompanied by four destroyer
s and a cruiser
on 21 January, but had no opportunity to fire any of the eight torpedoes that she had aboard. The ammunition was unloaded on 28–29 January at Corregidor. Seawolf then loaded torpedoes and passengers, and headed for Surabaya
, Java.
Seawolf sailed out of Surabaya on 15 February and began patrolling in the Java Sea
-Lombok Strait
area. On 19 February, she fired four torpedoes at two Japanese freighter-transports in the Badung Strait
. Damage to one was not ascertained, but the other was reported last seen down by the stern and listing to starboard. (However, Sagami Maru had been damaged by USAAF
air attack, not by Seawolfs torpedo.)
A week later, she fired her stern tubes at a freighter and watched one hit forward of the bridge before going deep to evade depth charges from an escorting destroyer at which she had also fired. In March, Seawolf was hunting between Java and Christmas Island
. On 1 April, she stealthily approached the anchorage at Christmas Island where the Japanese invasion force
lay at anchor. Seawolf fired a spread at . Though Seawolf was credited with a sinking at the time, only one torpedo hit, causing significant damage to the ship, although not harming any of the crew. Naka was forced to return to Japan for repairs and was out of the war for almost a year. Unaware she had hit her target, Seawolf then underwent 7½ hours of depth charge attacks. On 1 April, she attacked two cruiser
s. A violent explosion was heard, but no flames were seen. Seawolf ended her patrol on 7 April at Fremantle
and received the Navy Unit Commendation
.
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On her fifth patrol, from 12 May until 2 July (a total of 51 days at sea), Seawolf patrolled the Philippine Islands area. She attacked freighters on 20 May, 23 May, 12 June, 13 June, 15 June, and 28 June. On 13 June, she fired at two ships and her crew heard four explosions, but no sinkings were confirmed. Seawolf returned to Fremantle for three weeks before beginning her sixth war patrol.
Seawolf prowled the Sulu Sea
and Celebes Sea
from 25 July-15 September. She attacked a tanker on 3 August, sank Hachigen Maru on 14 August and Showa Maru 11 days later. She returned to Fremantle to refit and then hunted in the Davao Gulf
area from 7 October-1 December. Seawolf sank Gifu Maru on 2 November, Sagami Maru the next day, and Keiko Maru on 8 November. She ended her patrol at Pearl Harbor
en route to the West Coast.
Seawolf arrived at Mare Island
on 10 December 1942 and underwent an overhaul that lasted until 24 February 1943. She returned to Pearl Harbor
on 13 March, and on 3 April stood out for another patrol. She ended this patrol early, on 3 May, because she had expended all torpedoes on enemy shipping near the Bonin
Islands. On 15 April, she torpedoed Kaihei Maru, sank an old destroyer
now known as Patrol Boat Number 39 on 23 April; and sank two 75-ton sampan
s with her 3-in (76mm) gun.
Seawolf returned to Midway Island for refitting and departed that island on 17 May and headed for the East China Sea
. She ran into several large convoys as she prowled from Formosa
to Nagasaki. The submarine tracked a convoy of 11 ships and fired a spread of torpedoes at a large freighter on 6 June. One torpedo hit the target but proved to be a dud, and another passed under the freighter and hit an escort. Two weeks later, she fired a spread at four ships. One was hit in the stern and sank in approximately nine minutes. This was Shojin Maru loaded with troops. Seawolf returned to Midway Island on 8 July and, four days later, steamed into Pearl Harbor
.
Her next patrol was from 14 August-15 September. This patrol, in the East China Sea, was also ended prematurely due to firing all torpedoes. She sank 12,996 tons of enemy shipping, excluding two 75-ton sampans sunk by shellfire. Seawolf made contact with a six-ship convoy on her third day in the patrol area. She attacked day and night for three days before finally surfacing to sink Fusei Maru with her deck gun.
On Seawolfs 11th patrol, in the South China Sea
from 5 October-27 November, she sank Wuhu Maru, Kaifuku Maru, and damaged a 10,000-ton cargo ship. The submarine refitted at Pearl Harbor
, and on 22 December 1943, headed for the East China Sea
on what was to be her most lucrative patrol. She attacked a seven-ship convoy on the night of 10–11 January 1944 and sank three ships totaling 19,710 tons.
On 14 January, Seawolf fired her last four torpedoes at two merchant ships in a convoy, damaging one and sinking Yamatsuru Maru. She continued tracking the convoy while radioing its position to . Whale arrived on 16 January and promptly attacked, damaging one ship and sinking Denmark Maru. The next morning, Whale damaged another before action was broken off.
Seawolf (Commander Albert Marion Bontier) returned to Pearl Harbor on 27 January and sailed for San Francisco, California
two days later. After undergoing a major overhaul at Hunters Point
, the submarine headed west on 16 May. When she reached Pearl Harbor
, she was assigned the task of photographing Peleliu Island in the Palau Islands, in preparation for the forthcoming attack on that stronghold. She carried out this mission despite constant enemy air patrols from 4 June-7 July.
The submarine headed to Majuro
for voyage repairs and was rerouted to Darwin
. There, she received orders sending her on a special mission to Tawitawi, in the Sulu Archipelago
. The submarine approached to within 700 yards (640.1 m) of the beach, picked up a Captain Young and took him to Brisbane
.
Seawolf stood out of Brisbane on 21 September to begin her 15th war patrol under the command of Lieutenant Commander
A.M. Bontier. She reached Manus Island
on 29 September, refueled, and sailed the same day carrying stores and Army personnel to the east coast of Samar.
Seawolf and exchanged radar
recognition signals at 0756 on 3 October in the Morotai
area. Shortly thereafter, a 7th Fleet
task group was attacked by . was torpedoed and sunk, and began to search for the enemy.
Since there were four friendly submarines in the vicinity of this attack, they were directed to give their positions and the other three did, but Seawolf was not heard from. On 4 October, Seawolf again was directed to report her position, and again she failed to do so. One of two planes from sighted a submarine submerging and dropped two bombs on it even though it was in a safety zone for American submarines. The site was marked by dye. Rowell' s commanding officer knew he was in a safety lane, but, having failed to get word Seawolf was behind schedule, believed there was no U.S. submarine nearby and chose to attack. Rowell established sonar contact on the submarine, which then sent a series of dashes and dots which Rowell stated bore no resemblance to the existing recognition signals. Believing this an attempt to jam her sonar, Rowell attacked with Hedgehog
. The second attack was followed by underwater explosion
s, and debris rose to the surface.
Post-war examination of Japanese records shows no attack listed that could account for the loss of Seawolf. While it is possible Seawolf was lost to an operational casualty or as a result of an unrecorded enemy attack, it is more likely she was sunk by friendly fire
. 62 officers and men as well as 17 Army passengers were lost. She was the thirty-fourth U.S. submarine lost in the Pacific War, the second (after in the Caribbean
) to friendly fire.
On 28 December 1944, Seawolf was declared overdue from patrol and presumed lost. She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register
on 20 January 1945.
service. She ranked fourteenth in confirmed tonnage sunk (71,609 tons) and tied for seventh in confirmed ships sunk (with and ), according to the JANAC accounting postwar.
The contributions and sacrifices of Seawolf and her crew are officially commemorated in Seawolf Park
, located on Pelican Island, just north of Galveston, Texas.
Sargo class submarine
The Sargo-class submarines were the first US submarines to be sent into action after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, starting war patrols the day after the attack...
, was the second 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...
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...
named for the seawolf
Seawolf
Seawolf or Sea-wolf can refer to:*Sea wolf, a common name for the South American Sea Lion*Seawolf , a marine fish-Armaments:, two Royal Navy ships...
.
Her keel was laid down on 27 September 1938 by the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine
Kittery, Maine
Kittery is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 9,543 at the 2000 census. Home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery includes Badger's Island, the seaside district of Kittery Point, and part of the Isles of Shoals...
. 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 15 August 1939 sponsored by Mrs. Edward C. Kalbfus
Edward C. Kalbfus
Admiral Edward Clifford Kalbfus , nicknamed "Old Dutch", was a four-star admiral in the United States Navy who was commander of the Battle Force of the United States Fleet from 1938 to 1939 and President of the Naval War College from 1934 to 1936 and 1939 to 1942.-Early career:He was born in Mauch...
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 1 December 1939, Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Frederick B. Warder (Class of 1925) in command.
Inter-War Period
After fitting out, Seawolf departed Portsmouth, New HampshirePortsmouth, 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 12 April 1940 for her shakedown cruise, which lasted until 21 June and took her as far south as the Panama Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
. Seawolf was next assigned to the Pacific Fleet
United States Pacific Fleet
The United States Pacific Fleet is a Pacific Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources under the operational control of the United States Pacific Command. Its home port is at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii. It is commanded by Admiral Patrick M...
, home ported at 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...
. In the autumn of 1940, she proceeded to 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...
and operated from the Cavite Navy Yard.
World War II
When war with 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...
began, the submarine readied for sea and was on her first war patrol from 8–26 December 1941.
Seawolf hunted Japanese shipping off San Bernardino Strait
San Bernardino Strait
The San Bernardino Strait is a strait in the Philippines. It separates the Bicol Peninsula of Luzon island from the island of Samar in the south.-Filipinos and San Bernardino Strait:...
. On 14 December, she fired a spread of torpedoes at Sanyo Maru in Port San Vicente. One torpedo hit, but did not explode. She promptly underwent her 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...
attack but suffered no damage.
Seawolf departed 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 31 December 1941 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...
and arrived at Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
on 9 January 1942. She loaded 30-40 tons of .50-caliber (12.7 mm) antiaircraft ammunition for use by American forces on Corregidor
Corregidor
Corregidor Island, locally called Isla ng Corregidor, is a lofty island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in southwestern part of Luzon Island in the Philippines. Due to this location, Corregidor was fortified with several coastal artillery and ammunition magazines to defend the entrance of...
and sailed for 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 16 January. The submarine sighted seven Japanese freighters accompanied by four 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 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...
on 21 January, but had no opportunity to fire any of the eight torpedoes that she had aboard. The ammunition was unloaded on 28–29 January at Corregidor. Seawolf then loaded torpedoes and passengers, and headed for Surabaya
Surabaya
Surabaya is Indonesia's second-largest city with a population of over 2.7 million , and the capital of the province of East Java...
, Java.
Seawolf sailed out of Surabaya on 15 February and began patrolling 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...
-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....
area. On 19 February, she fired four torpedoes at two Japanese freighter-transports in the Badung Strait
Badung Strait
Badung Strait is a strait between the Indonesian islands of Bali and Nusa Penida. It is about 60 km long and 20 km wide.In February 1942, the battle of Badung Strait was fought here....
. Damage to one was not ascertained, but the other was reported last seen down by the stern and listing to starboard. (However, Sagami Maru had been damaged by USAAF
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....
air attack, not by Seawolfs torpedo.)
A week later, she fired her stern tubes at a freighter and watched one hit forward of the bridge before going deep to evade depth charges from an escorting destroyer at which she had also fired. In March, Seawolf was hunting between Java and Christmas Island
Christmas Island
The Territory of Christmas Island is a territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean. It is located northwest of the Western Australian city of Perth, south of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and ENE of the Cocos Islands....
. On 1 April, she stealthily approached the anchorage at Christmas Island where the Japanese invasion force
Battle of Christmas Island
The Battle of Christmas Island, was a small engagement which began on 31 March 1942, during World War II. Because of a mutiny by Indian soldiers against their British officers, Japanese troops were able to occupy Christmas Island without any resistance...
lay at anchor. Seawolf fired a spread at . Though Seawolf was credited with a sinking at the time, only one torpedo hit, causing significant damage to the ship, although not harming any of the crew. Naka was forced to return to Japan for repairs and was out of the war for almost a year. Unaware she had hit her target, Seawolf then underwent 7½ hours of depth charge attacks. On 1 April, she attacked two 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...
s. A violent explosion was heard, but no flames were seen. Seawolf ended her patrol on 7 April 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...
and received 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...
.
Seawolf prowled 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...
and Celebes Sea
Celebes Sea
The Celebes Sea of the western Pacific Ocean is bordered on the north by the Sulu Archipelago and Sulu Sea and Mindanao Island of the Philippines, on the east by the Sangihe Islands chain, on the south by Sulawesi, and on the west by Kalimantan in Indonesia...
from 25 July-15 September. She attacked a tanker on 3 August, sank Hachigen Maru on 14 August and Showa Maru 11 days later. She returned to Fremantle to refit and then hunted in the Davao Gulf
Davao Gulf
Davao Gulf is a gulf found in Mindanao in the Philippines. It has an area of 308,000 hectares. Davao Gulf cuts into the island of Mindanao from Celebes Sea. It is surrounded by all four provinces in the Davao Region. The largest island in the gulf is Samal Island. Davao City, on the gulf's west...
area from 7 October-1 December. Seawolf sank Gifu Maru on 2 November, Sagami Maru the next day, and Keiko Maru on 8 November. She ended her patrol 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...
en route to the West Coast.
Seawolf arrived at Mare Island
Mare Island
Mare Island is a peninsula in the United States alongside the city of Vallejo, California, about northeast of San Francisco. The Napa River forms its eastern side as it enters the Carquinez Strait juncture with the east side of San Pablo Bay. Mare Island is considered a peninsula because no full...
on 10 December 1942 and underwent an overhaul that lasted until 24 February 1943. She returned to 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 13 March, and on 3 April stood out for another patrol. She ended this patrol early, on 3 May, because she had expended all torpedoes on enemy shipping near the Bonin
Bonin
Bonin may refer to:People*Adolf von Bonin , Prussian Fieldmarshal*Arturo Bonin , Argentinian actor*Bogislaw von Bonin , German officer and journalist*Charlotte Bonin, a professional Italian triathlete...
Islands. On 15 April, she torpedoed Kaihei Maru, sank an old 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...
now known as Patrol Boat Number 39 on 23 April; and sank two 75-ton sampan
Sampan
A sampan is a relatively flat bottomed Chinese wooden boat from long. Some sampans include a small shelter on board, and may be used as a permanent habitation on inland waters. Sampans are generally used for transportation in coastal areas or rivers, and are often used as traditional fishing boats...
s with her 3-in (76mm) gun.
Seawolf returned to Midway Island for refitting and departed that island on 17 May and headed for the East China Sea
East China Sea
The East China Sea is a marginal sea east of China. It is a part of the Pacific Ocean and covers an area of 1,249,000 km² or 750,000 square miles.-Geography:...
. She ran into several large convoys as she prowled from 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 Nagasaki. The submarine tracked a convoy of 11 ships and fired a spread of torpedoes at a large freighter on 6 June. One torpedo hit the target but proved to be a dud, and another passed under the freighter and hit an escort. Two weeks later, she fired a spread at four ships. One was hit in the stern and sank in approximately nine minutes. This was Shojin Maru loaded with troops. Seawolf returned to Midway Island on 8 July and, four days later, steamed into Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
.
Her next patrol was from 14 August-15 September. This patrol, in the East China Sea, was also ended prematurely due to firing all torpedoes. She sank 12,996 tons of enemy shipping, excluding two 75-ton sampans sunk by shellfire. Seawolf made contact with a six-ship convoy on her third day in the patrol area. She attacked day and night for three days before finally surfacing to sink Fusei Maru with her deck gun.
On Seawolfs 11th patrol, in the South China Sea
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
from 5 October-27 November, she sank Wuhu Maru, Kaifuku Maru, and damaged a 10,000-ton cargo ship. The submarine refitted 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...
, and on 22 December 1943, headed for the East China Sea
East China Sea
The East China Sea is a marginal sea east of China. It is a part of the Pacific Ocean and covers an area of 1,249,000 km² or 750,000 square miles.-Geography:...
on what was to be her most lucrative patrol. She attacked a seven-ship convoy on the night of 10–11 January 1944 and sank three ships totaling 19,710 tons.
On 14 January, Seawolf fired her last four torpedoes at two merchant ships in a convoy, damaging one and sinking Yamatsuru Maru. She continued tracking the convoy while radioing its position to . Whale arrived on 16 January and promptly attacked, damaging one ship and sinking Denmark Maru. The next morning, Whale damaged another before action was broken off.
Seawolf (Commander Albert Marion Bontier) returned to Pearl Harbor on 27 January and sailed for 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...
two days later. After undergoing a major overhaul at Hunters Point
Hunters Point
Hunters Point refers to the following places:*Bayview-Hunters Point, San Francisco**Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, another name for the San Francisco Naval Shipyard*Hunters Point, Queens, New York City**Hunterspoint Avenue...
, the submarine headed west on 16 May. When she reached 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...
, she was assigned the task of photographing Peleliu Island in the Palau Islands, in preparation for the forthcoming attack on that stronghold. She carried out this mission despite constant enemy air patrols from 4 June-7 July.
The submarine headed to Majuro
Majuro
Majuro , is a large coral atoll of 64 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. The atoll itself has a land area of and encloses a lagoon of...
for voyage repairs and was rerouted to Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
. There, she received orders sending her on a special mission to Tawitawi, in the Sulu Archipelago
Sulu Archipelago
The Sulu Archipelago is a chain of islands in the southwestern Philippines. This archipelago is considered to be part of the Moroland by the local rebel independence movement. This island group forms the northern limit of the Celebes Sea....
. The submarine approached to within 700 yards (640.1 m) of the beach, picked up a Captain Young and took him 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...
.
Seawolf stood out of Brisbane on 21 September to begin her 15th war patrol under the command of Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
A.M. Bontier. She reached Manus Island
Manus Island
Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest island of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth largest island in Papua New Guinea with an area of 2,100 km², measuring around 100 km × 30 km. According to the 2000 census, Manus Island had a...
on 29 September, refueled, and sailed the same day carrying stores and Army personnel to the east coast of Samar.
Seawolf and exchanged 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...
recognition signals at 0756 on 3 October in the Morotai
Morotai
Morotai Island Regency is a regency of North Maluku province, Indonesia, located on Morotai Island. The population was 54,876 in 2007.-History:...
area. Shortly thereafter, a 7th Fleet
United States Seventh Fleet
The Seventh Fleet is the United States Navy's permanent forward projection force based in Yokosuka, Japan, with units positioned near Japan and South Korea. It is a component fleet force under the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of the forward-deployed U.S. fleets, with...
task group was attacked by . was torpedoed and sunk, and began to search for the enemy.
Since there were four friendly submarines in the vicinity of this attack, they were directed to give their positions and the other three did, but Seawolf was not heard from. On 4 October, Seawolf again was directed to report her position, and again she failed to do so. One of two planes from sighted a submarine submerging and dropped two bombs on it even though it was in a safety zone for American submarines. The site was marked by dye. Rowell
Hedgehog (weapon)
The Hedgehog was an anti-submarine weapon developed by the Royal Navy during World War II, that was deployed on convoy escort warships such as destroyers to supplement the depth charge. The weapon worked by firing a number of small spigot mortar bombs from spiked fittings...
. The second attack was followed by underwater explosion
Underwater explosion
An underwater explosion, also known as an UNDEX, is an explosion beneath the surface of water. The type of explosion may be chemical or nuclear...
s, and debris rose to the surface.
Post-war examination of Japanese records shows no attack listed that could account for the loss of Seawolf. While it is possible Seawolf was lost to an operational casualty or as a result of an unrecorded enemy attack, it is more likely she was sunk by friendly fire
Friendly fire
Friendly fire is inadvertent firing towards one's own or otherwise friendly forces while attempting to engage enemy forces, particularly where this results in injury or death. A death resulting from a negligent discharge is not considered friendly fire...
. 62 officers and men as well as 17 Army passengers were lost. She was the thirty-fourth U.S. submarine lost in the Pacific War, the second (after in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
) to friendly fire.
On 28 December 1944, Seawolf was declared overdue from patrol and presumed lost. 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 20 January 1945.
Honors and awards
Seawolf received 13 battle stars for World War IIWorld 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. She ranked fourteenth in confirmed tonnage sunk (71,609 tons) and tied for seventh in confirmed ships sunk (with and ), according to the JANAC accounting postwar.
The contributions and sacrifices of Seawolf and her crew are officially commemorated in Seawolf Park
Seawolf Park
Seawolf Park is a memorial to , a United States Navy Sargo-class submarine mistakenly sunk by U.S. Navy forces in 1944 during World War II. It is located on Pelican Island , just north of Galveston, Texas, in the United States....
, located on Pelican Island, just north of Galveston, Texas.