|
EMAIL
|
|
|
TODAY IN U.S. SUBMARINE HISTORY HOME |
1907 - future Fleet Admiral Chester William Nimitz returned to the U. S. in 1907 and was ordered to duty under instruction in submarines, the branch of the service in which he spent a large part of his sea duty. His first submarine was USS PLUNGER (later A-1) (SS-2). He successively commanded USS SNAPPER (later C-5) (SS-16), USS NARWHAL (later D-1) (SS-17) and USS E-1 (ex-SKIPJACK) (SS-24) until 1912. On 20 March of that year, Nimitz, then a Lieutenant, and commanding officer of the submarine E-1 (ex-SKIPJACK), was awarded the Silver Lifesaving Medal by the Treasury Department for his heroic action in saving W.J. Walsh, Fireman second class, USN, from drowning. A strong tide was running and Walsh, who could not swim, was rapidly being swept away from his ship. Lieutenant Nimitz dove in the water and kept Walsh afloat until both were picked up by a small boat.
1909 - USS F-1 (ex-CARP) (SS-20) gasoline explosion in drydock.
1942 - PCU GROWLER (SS-215) commissioned USS GROWLER (SS-215) at the Electric Boat Company, Groton, CT.
1942 - PCU SCORPION (SS-278) keel laid as SCORPION at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, ME.
1945 - USS LANCETFISH (SS-296) sunk alongside Boston Navy Yard pier when torpedo tube flood valve left open.
1945 - departing Guam on March 1, 1945, USS KETE (SS-369) and Lt. Cmdr. Edward Ackerman headed for her second patrol in the vicinity of the Nansei Shoto (island chain). In addition to performing a normal patrol, KETE had orders to submit special weather reports, and to carry out rescue service during an air strike by carrier based planes.
On the night of March 10, 1945, KETE reported having sunk three medium sized freighters on the previous night. She reported on the night of March 14th that she had fired four torpedoes which missed a small enemy cable laying vessel, and that she had only three torpedoes remaining aboard. In view of the small number of torpedoes left, KETE was directed to depart her area on March 20th, and proceed to Pearl Harbor for refit, stopping at Midway en route for fuel. On March 19th, she acknowledged receipt of these orders. On March 20th she sent in a special weather report. This was the last message received from her. At normal cruising speed she should have arrived at Midway about March 31, 1945. When she was neither sighted nor heard from by April 16, 1945, she was reported as presumed lost.
Japanese information concerning antisubmarine attacks gained since the end of the war gives no positive evidence to what happened to KETE; none of the attacks on U.S. submarines occurring within the period from March 20th to March 31st 1945, was made in a position in which KETE was likely to be.
There were a few mine lines in the Nansei Shoto Chain but since KETE was already east of the islands at the time of her last message on March 20th and was heading home, loss through a mine is considered highly improbable. It is known that a number of enemy submarines were in the area through which KETE was required to pass en route to Midway. RO-41 was sunk east of Okinawa by an U.S. destroyer on March 23, 1945, and two other Japanese submarines were sunk southeast of Okinawa near this date. Conditions attendant to KETE’s loss suggest a likelihood that one of these submarines might have torpedoed and sunk her and been unable to report the attack before being sunk. Thus, KETE must be considered probably a loss due to an unreported enemy attack. She is credited with sending three medium freighters, totaling 12,000 tons, to the bottom on this last patrol. During her first patrol, conducted in the East China Sea, KETE encountered no enemy targets.
Eighty-seven men were lost with KETE that day.
She was the forty-seventh U.S. submarine loss of World War II.
KETE received one battle star for World War II service.
1965 - PCU GEORGE BANCROFT (SSBN-643) launched at the Electric Boat Division, General Dynamics Corporation, Groton, CT.
1965 - PCU WILL ROGERS (SSBN-659) keel laid as WILL ROGERS at the Electric Boat Division, General Dynamics Corporation, Groton, CT.
1989 - USS WILL ROGERS (SSBN-659) onboard fire in the Atlantic.
1993 - USS GRAYLING (SSN-646) collided with a Russian Delta IV Class missile submarine in the Barents Sea near Murmansk. There were no injuries but U.S. leadership was infuriated by the risks taken.
1993 - USS LA JOLLA (SSN-701) collided with a Torpedo Retriever.
|
|
Welcome aboard! The hyperlinks on any given hull number will take you to a page of more links for that boat or an interesting link if no page of links is available.
These are events for all United States Navy commissioned and some noncommissioned submarines and submersibles.
Sources of major events are at least double verified or the entry doesn't make the cut.
For comments or suggestions use the EMAIL link to your left.
|
|
