- USS Bowfin (SS-287)
Infobox_nrhp | name =USS BOWFIN (submarine)
nrhp_type = nhl
caption =
location= 11 Arizona Memorial Dr.,Honolulu, Hawaii
lat_degrees = 21
lat_minutes = 22
lat_seconds = 25
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 157
long_minutes = 56
long_seconds = 30
long_direction = W
locmapin = Hawaii
area =
built =1942
architect=Portsmouth Navy Yard
architecture=
designated=January 14 ,1986 cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1840&ResourceType=Structure
title=BOWFIN, USS (Submarine)|accessdate=2008-07-04|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service]
added =November 16 ,1982 cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-01-23|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]
governing_body =United States Navy andNational Park Service
refnum=82000149USS "Bowfin" (SS/AGSS-287), "Balao"-class
submarine , was a ship of theUnited States Navy named for thebowfin , a voracious, predatory fish native to the Great Lakes, the Mississippi valley, and nearby waters. This dull green, but iridescent fish is little used for food or sport."Bowfin" was laid down by the
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard atKittery, Maine on23 July 1942 ; launched on7 December 1942 by Mrs. Jane Gawne, wife of Captain James Orville Gawne; and commissioned on1 May 1943 , Commander Joseph H. Willingham in command.First patrol
Following fitting out, the submarine proceeded via
Newport, Rhode Island , toNew London, Connecticut , her base for shakedown training. Early in July, she got underway for the Pacific war zone and, after transiting thePanama Canal and crossing the Pacific, reachedAustralia . Post-voyage repairs atBrisbane preceded her getting underway on19 August to move north and west along the Australian coast to Darwin. She topped off her fuel tanks at that port and sailed on the morning of25 August for her first war patrol.The warship reached the Mindanao Sea on
2 September , but plied its waters for more than three weeks without encountering any worthy targets. On24 September , she rendezvoused with USS|Billfish|SS-286|3 to conduct coordinated operations. The next day, the two submarines began tracking a six-shipconvoy and continued the chase for some five hours before "Bowfin" finally attained a suitable attack position. She then launched her six bowtorpedo es—four at a freighter and two at a trailing transport. Three exploded against the side of the first ship and both of those fired at the second struck home. The submarine immediately turned her fantail toward the convoy and emptied her stern tubes, sending four torpedoes in the direction of a tanker. Gunfire at herperiscope forced "Bowfin" to go deep and so prevented her from observing the progress of her last salvo, but her crew heard its torpedoes explode. When the submarine rose to periscope depth about an hour later, the 8,120-ton passenger-cargo ship "Kirishima Maru" was slowly sinking, the tanker was on fire, and the transport seemed to be settling by the stern. However, the two latter ships apparently were able to limp back to port, for the sinking of neither was confirmed by postwar study of Japanese records. Later in the day, members of "Bowfin"’s crew heard distant explosions and inferred that "Billfish" was going after the remnants of the convoy, a conclusion which proved to be correct, for their sister ship managed to damage two Japanese ships totaling about 12,000 tons. Although the still-unsatiated submarines continued to pursue the remaining enemy vessels as they fled during the night, the battered group of Japanese ships finally managed ta slip away in the darkness.The following morning, after "Bowfin"’s
radar had picked up an enemy plane also equipped with radar, the submarine was forced to submerge to avoid detection. Two days later, she came across a 1,400-ton inter-island steamer and shadowed her until reaching a firing position about three hours later. She then launched three torpedoes. One stopped before reaching the target, and the other two missed.On
30 September , as she left the Mindanao Sea, Bowfin chanced upon a diesel-propelledbarge carrying over 100 Japanese soldiers and opened fire on it with her 4-inch gun. When the target responded withmachine gun fire, the submarine’s 20-millimeter guns entered the fray. The battle came to an abrupt end when a 4-inch round struck the enemy’s magazine and blew apart the already sinking barge.On
2 October , as the submarine continued her retirement throughMakassar Strait toward Australia, she sighted aschooner offBalikpapan . Willingham fired two shots across the stranger’s bow but failed to bring her to, so he had her sunk with gunfire.Bowfin arrived at Fremantle on
10 October , ending a successful patrol. Rear Admiral Ralph W. Christie, who commanded American submarines in the area, was lavish in his praise of the submarine’s performance; he rewarded her commanding officer with the opportunity of heading a submarine division. To free him for the new role, Lt. Comdr.Walter Thomas Griffith relieved Willingham in command of "Bowfin" on26 October .Second patrol
Upon completion of refitting, "Bowfin" got underway on
1 November and headed for theSouth China Sea . From time to time during this patrol, she again cooperated with "Billfish". On8 November , "Bowfin" picked up the trail of a group of five schooners. When she pulled within range of them, she opened fire with her 4-inch gun and sank three before bombs from a Japanese plane forced the submarine to dive and thus allowed the two surviving vessels to slip away. After staying down until the return of darkness, "Bowfin" surfaced and resumed patrolling. Ere long, she discovered and opened fire upon a large sailing ship which went down after suffering hits by two 4-inch shells. Two days later, she found her next victims, a pair of small steamers heading for Tawi-Tawi Bay, and set both afire with gunfire.Her luck was even better on the morning of
26 November while she was approaching the coast ofIndochina during a blinding rainstorm. Without prior knowledge that any other vessels were near, she unexpectedly found herself surrounded by Japanese shipping. After barely avoiding a collision with a tanker by backing all engines, she torpedoed and sank the 5,069-ton tanker "Ogurasan Maru" and then dispatched the 5,407-ton freighter "Tainan Maru". A few hours later, her torpedoes ended the career of "Van Vollenhoven", a 691-ton coastal cargo ship which the Japanese had taken from her French owners when they overran Indochina almost two years before. On28 November , after having sent a small passenger-cargo ship to the bottom with a single torpedo, "Bowfin" joined "Billfish" in attacking a convoy and quickly sank "Sydney Maru", a 5,425-ton freighter and "Tonon Maru", a 9,866-ton tanker.Meanwhile, one of the Japanese ships fired on "Bowfin" and scored hits which opened leaks in her starboard induction line which, while serious, did not prevent the submarine from getting off her last two torpedoes. Repair efforts upon the return of daylight slowed but did not completely stop the flooding, and "Bowfin" began her voyage back to Australia. En route to her base on
2 December , she came across a “two masted yacht...which...,” in Griffith’s words, “...looked like it might have been some planter’s yacht taken over by the Japs.” The submarine’s deck gun promptly destroyed this stranger; and, thereafter, Bowfin enjoyed an uneventful passage which brought her to Fremantle a week later. There, Rear Admiral Christie praised her performance as the “classic of all submarine patrols.”Third and fourth patrols
The submarine got underway on
8 January 1944 for her third war patrol. She proceeded through the Java, Banda, and Flores Seas to Makassar Strait where—on16 January —she encountered a small schooner; surfaced, and sank the sailing vessel with her deck gun. The following day, she came across a cargo ship and two escorts; but her attacks on these targets were frustrated by malfunctioning torpedoes. One from her first spread of four bow torpedoes hit and stopped the freighter, but the other three missed and two shots from her bow tubes detonated before reaching the target. After reloading her tubes, she returned to the convoy the following day and finished off the crippled cargo ship with four well-aimed torpedoes which sent the 4,408-ton "Shoyu Maru" to the bottom. She also managed to hit one of the escorts with two “fish,” but did not sink her.Out of torpedoes, "Bowfin" returned to Darwin for more and, while in port, picked up Rear Admiral Christie who remained on board the submarine for the rest of the patrol to check on torpedo performance, first hand, and to learn the secret of "Bowfin"’s remarkable success. The day after she returned to sea, the submarine put three torpedoes into a small cargo ship. Lt. Comdr. Griffith claimed that the target sank and his distinguished passenger confirmed the kill, but the sinking was not borne out by postwar examination of Japanese records—possibly because "Bowfin"’s alleged victim was too small to be listed. About daybreak on
28 January , Bowfin began trailing a large tanker; and she continued the chase until reaching striking range that evening. She then fired all six bow torpedoes; but, since the target simultaneously changed course, none struck home. After a rapid reload, she sent six more toward the tanker and, this time, two exploded against the side of the Japanese ship, sending towers of fire and smoke skyward. Nevertheless, the tanker remained afloat; and, as "Bowfin" closed to administer the coup de grace, the enemy ship began fighting back with her main battery and machine gun fire. Undaunted, the submarine kept up the attack and during the ensuing 20 minutes fired six more torpedoes: two misses, followed by a pair of hits, then a miss, and finally another hit. At this point the tanker’s fire was becoming more accurate and forced the submarine to dive. When she came up, the Japanese vessel was retiring from the scene and by dawn had disappeared over the horizon.The next day, "Bowfin" laid a minefield in Makassar Strait before beginning the voyage back to Australia. On
30 January , she came across a pair of small schooners which she destroyed with her 4-inch gun. The submarine moored at Fremantle on5 February and began preparations for her next mission.Fifth patrol
Underway on
28 February 1944 , the submarine headed for theCelebes Sea . On10 March , she sighted a convoy of four ships screened by a couple of escorts. Bowfin fired six bow tubes, but four of the torpedoes exploded prematurely. Japanese planes forced Griffith to dive and thus prevented anyone on board from observing the fate of the two other torpedoes. During the ensuing action in which the escorts searched for the submarine and she in turn strove to hide at some 350 feet below the surface, a chain dragged by one of the Japanese hunters scraped across "Bowfin"’s hull. Meanwhile,depth charge explosions—more than twoscore—shook the submarine severely but did no debilitating damage. When Griffith dared to rise to the surface, he saw a freighter down by the stern being taken under tow. Despite the efforts of the enemy escorts and of five circling Japanese aircraft, Bowfin attacked the convoy but could not follow the progress of her torpedoes because one of them had boomeranged and threatened her by running in a circular pattern. She dived to escape the danger and did not come up again until the next day. She attacked the freighter again, but the Japanese escorts drove her down once more. Later that day, she rose to periscope depth, found the damaged ship alone, and finished the 4,470-ton "Tsukikawa Maru" off with four well-aimed torpedoes.The submarine then began looking for the rest of the convoy, caught up with it well after dark, and fired her remaining torpedoes, but none scored. She then headed back to Darwin for more, and stood out to sea again on
15 March with a fresh supply. Three days later, she emptied her bow tubes while attacking a small convoy, but all six either ran under their targets or missed wide of their marks. The inevitable depth charge barrage followed, but proved to be equally ineffective. When "Bowfin" attacked again later that day she fired four torpedoes—all of which were wasted.She did better on the night of
24 March when, at the end of a long chase, she attacked a five-ship convoy in the Celebes Sea, sinking two freighters—5,139-ton "Shinkyo Maru" and 5,395-ton "Bengal Maru". She also damaged a third ship but could not finish her off for want of torpedoes. As a result, she headed back to Darwin where she arrived on1 April .Sixth and seventh patrols
There, Comdr. John H. Corbus relieved Lt. Comdr. Griffith in command of the submarine which got underway again on
24 April and headed for thePalau s. Although this sixth patrol proved to be her longest in both time and distance, she only managed to put two torpedoes into a freighter on14 May , and it refused to sink. She performed lifeguard duty before heading via Midway forPearl Harbor where she arrived on21 June .On
16 July , "Bowfin" leftHawaii and headed for theRyukyu Islands . She encountered no worthwhile targets until9 August when she sighted four ships heading for the harbor at Minami Daito. She trailed them into port and, after they had moored, fired her bow torpedoes, blowing up two and damaging a third. A stray torpedo hit a dock, sending a bus careering into the water. However, no sinkings were confirmed by Japanese records—again possibly because of the small size of the alleged victims. An authenticated kill came off theTokara Islands on22 August when she attacked a convoy, hit several ships, claimed several kills including two destroyers, but apparently only sank the 6,754-ton transport "Tsushima Maru " carrying 1,484 civilians, including 767 schoolchildren. On28 August , she set a little trawler afire with her 4-inch gun. However, since she had futilely fired her last four torpedoes at this target before surfacing, the submarine headed via Midway and Pearl Harbor for the west coast of the United States. She reachedSan Francisco, California , on21 September and entered the Mare Island Navy Yard for overhaul.At the end of the yard work, Comdr. Alexander K. Tyree relieved Comdr. Corbus on
16 December 1944 ; and, later that day, the submarine got underway westward back across the Pacific. Following training in Hawaiian waters, she headed for a station near the Japanese home islands south ofHonshū where she performed lifeguard services for American planes—both naval and Army—raiding strategic enemy targets in Japan. On17 February , Bowfin attacked two Japanese subchasers and sank the 750-ton "Coast Defense Vessel No. 56" with torpedoes and then survived a 26-depth-charge attack by her victim’s consort which had herself barely escaped destruction when some of "Bowfin"’s torpedoes exploded prematurely. The submarine later sank a Japanese sea truck with one torpedo. On19 March about 15 miles south ofShikoku , she rescued the pilot and gunner of a downedtorpedo bomber . The submarine soon set a course for the Marianas and ended the patrol upon her arrival atGuam on25 March .Eighth patrol and ninth patrols
Underway on
23 April for her eighth war patrol, the submarine plied the waters north of Honshū andHokkaidō . Her first kill came on1 May when two of her torpedoes sank the 2,719-ton transport "Chowa Maru". A week later, she overtook, torpedoed, and destroyed an 880-ton freighter "Daito Maru No. 3"; but, that proved to be the last score of the patrol. After a fortnight of futile searching for targets, she arrived atApra Harbor , Guam, for refit.While training for her ninth and final patrol of the war, Bowfin rescued a Marine Corps pilot whose fighter had crashed. She got underway on
29 May and pointed her bow back toward the enemy homeland. One of nine submarines protected by newly developed mine-detectingsonar and sent into theSea of Japan , she carefully threaded her way through the dangerous minefields ofTsushima Strait which guarded this previously sacrosanct maritime heart of the Japanese Empire, but found little enemy shipping. Nevertheless, she wasted neither of her two attackable contacts: the first, the 1,898-ton transport "Shinyo Maru" took four torpedoes before sinking on11 June ; and the second, the 887-ton freighter "Akiura Maru" met a similar fate on13 June .The submarine left the Sea of Japan by
La Pérouse Strait (Soya Misaki) and headed for Hawaii. She reached Pearl Harbor on Independence Day and began preparations to return to action. Early in August, Bowfin sailed for the Marianas, her staging point for her 10th war patrol. However, while en route, she received word of Japan’s capitulation. As a result, she reversed course and returned to Hawaii and, then, headed for the Panama Canal on her way to the east coast of the United States. Bowfin arrived at Tompkinsville, Staten Island, New York, on21 September 1945 . She served in the Atlantic Fleet until decommissioned at New London on12 February 1947 and placed in reserve.Post-war
Reactivated because of the Navy’s need to expand the fleet to support the
United Nations ’ struggle to repel communist aggression inKorea , the submarine was recommissioned on27 July 1951 and, following shakedown training, sailed for the Pacific. After arriving atSan Diego, California on6 October , she worked from that port for the next two years, devoting her time to training operations and local exercises. The nominal ending of hostilities in Korea in the summer of 1953 reduced the Navy’s need for active submarines and prompted "Bowfin"’s second inactivation. She arrived at San Francisco on8 October 1953 and was placed out of commission, in reserve, at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard on22 April 1954 . The warship remained there until moving toSeattle, Washington , on1 May 1960 to replace USS|Puffer|SS-268|3 as the Naval Reserve training submarine there and to begin a bit over a decade’s service. Her name was finally struck from the Navy list on1 December 1971 , and she was taken back to Pearl Harbor, where she now serves as a memorial."Bowfin" was declared a
National Historic Landmark in 1986.citation|title=PDFlink| [http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Text/82000149.pdf National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: USS Bowfin] |32 KB|date=February 19, 1982 |author=Thomas J. Hartey |publisher=National Park Service and PDFlink| [http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Photos/82000149.pdf "Accompanying nine photos, exterior and interior, from 1982 and 1984"] |32 KB]References
unken enemy vessels
*The passenger-cargo ship "
Kirishima Maru " on25 September 1943
*The tanker "Ogurasan Maru " and cargo ship "Tainan Maru " on26 November 1943 cite book | url = http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/USN-Chron/| title = The official chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II | chapter = Chapter V: 1943 | chapterurl = http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/USN-Chron/USN-Chron-1943.html | first = Robert | last = Cressman | location = Annapolis, Maryland | publisher = Naval Institute Press | year = 2000 | isbn = 9781557501493 | oclc = 41977179 | accessdate = 2007-11-28 ]
*TheVichy France cargo ship "Van Vollenhoven " on26 November [http://www.bowfin.org USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park ] ] or27 November 1943
*The passenger-cargo ship "Sydney Maru " and the 9,866-ton tankerTonan Maru on28 November 1943
*A pair ofschooner s she destroyed with her 4 inch gun on30 November (1943)
*The cargo ship "Shoyu Maru " on17 January 1944
*The cargo ship "Tsukikawa Maru " on10 March 1944
*The cargo ships "Shinkyo Maru " and "Bengal Maru " on24 March 1944
*The passenger-cargo ship "Tsushima Maru " on22 August 1944
*Assisted USS|Aspro|SS-309|3 in the sinking of the 4,500-ton cargo ship "Bisan Maru " on14 May 1944
*Thefrigate "Coastal Defense Vessel No. 56 " on17 February 1945
*The passenger-cargo ship "Chowa Maru " on1 May 1945
*The cargo ship "Daito Maru " No. 3 on8 May 1945
*The passenger-cargo ship "Shinyo Maru " No. 3 on11 June 1945
*The cargo ship "Akiura Maru " on13 June 1945 The sinking of "Tsushima Maru" was tragic, as that ship was evacuating more than 850 children to Nagasaki from
Naha when it was sunk off the coast ofAkusekijima Island .A pier that contained a crane and a bus were also sunk at
Minami Daito harbour on the sixth patrol of the Bowfin. A total of 13 small vessels were sunk by the Bowfin's deck guns.ee also
*USS "Arizona" Memorial — visiting the "Bowfin"
References
*DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/b8/bowfin-i.htm|http://hazegray.org/danfs/submar/ss287.htm
External links
* [http://www.hnsa.org/ships/bowfin.htm HNSA Web Page: USS Bowfin]
* [http://www.navpublishing.com/subtour4.htm U.S. Submarines in World War II]
*
* [http://www.rddesigns.com/ww2/bowfin.html Sinkings by boat: USS "Bowfin"]
* [http://www.bowfin.org/ The USS "Bowfin" Museum and Park]
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