- USS Saury (SS-189)
USS "Saury" (SS-189), a "Sargo"-class
submarine , was the only ship of theUnited States Navy to be named for thesaury , a long-beaked relative of theflying fish found in the temperate zones of the Atlantic.Her keel was laid down on
28 June 1937 by theElectric Boat Company inGroton, Connecticut . She was launched on20 August 1938 sponsored by Mrs. James Paul Casbarian, who headed the Navy's Ships Names and Sponsors Office, and commissioned on3 April 1939 with Lieutenant G. W. Patterson, Jr., in command.Following commissioning, "Saury" conducted tests in the
New London, Connecticut , area and as far south asAnnapolis, Maryland , before visitingNew York City in late April for the1939 New York World's Fair . In mid-May, she conducted tests with experimental periscopes, then prepared for her shakedown cruise which, between26 June and26 August , took her from Newfoundland toVenezuela and thePanama Canal Zone and back to southernNew England . In September, she entered thePortsmouth Navy Yard inKittery, Maine , for post-shakedown overhaul.After overhaul and final trials, "Saury" got underway on
4 December for the West Coast. On12 December , she transited thePanama Canal and, nine days later, joined Submarine Division (SubDiv) 16 of Submarine Squadron (SubRon) 6, atSan Diego, California . Upkeep, exercises, and services as a target for surface units took her through March 1940. In April, she sailed west to participate inFleet Problem XXI , an eight-phased problem simulating an attack on the defense of theHawaii an area and the destruction of one fleet prior to the concentration of another.Based afterward at
Pearl Harbor , "Saury" conducted exercises in theHawaiian Islands and as far west asMidway Island until she returned to the West Coast in September for overhaul atMare Island . From March to October 1941, she operated out of bothPearl Harbor andSan Diego, California , then departed the former for her new base,Cavite ,Philippines .Assigned to SubDiv 21, SubRon 2, after
1 June 1941 , "Saury" arrived inManila Bay in mid-November. On8 December (7 December east of theInternational Date Line ), she got underway for her first war patrol.Clearing
Manila Bay , "Saury" moved north to search for and intercept ships of the Japanese invasion force. Lack of emergency identification systems and radio problems complicated her job. During the next two weeks, she patrolled nearVigan and along a north-south line at longitude 120 degrees East. Then, on21 December , she was ordered intoLingayen Gulf in response to a report fromsubmarine USS|Stingray|SS-186|3 of Japanese forces there.Prior to dawn on
22 December , she took up patrol duties offSan Fernando in the northern approaches to the gulf and moved south. At 0411, she sighted an enemydestroyer and, at 04:24, she fired. Although the "fish" headed "right at" the destroyer, there was no explosion. At 04:26, a second destroyer appeared; and, the hunter became the hunted. "Saury" commenced evasive tactics in the relatively shallow waters of the gulf.Depth charge s were dropped, but none within convert|1000|yd|-2 of the submarine. "Saury" continued on evasive courses, working her way to the northwest and out of the destroyer-patrolled area. By noon, she was clear. After dark, she moved back into the gulf, past the enemy patrol line betweenSan Fernando andCape Bolinao .At about 02:10 on
23 December , an enemydestroyer sighted "Saury". The submarine went to convert|120|ft|m|0. By 02:16, threedepth charge s had exploded within convert|200|yd|m|-2. Two moredepth charge s followed, but "Saury" escaped and continued to hunt for targets. Early afternoon brought more depth charging, but "Saury" was not damaged. On24 December , she sighted a transport, running fast and very close in shore. Thesubmarine was unable to close and attack.That evening brought a change in orders; and, in preparing to clear the area, "Saury" found herself between two enemy ships. She headed out "playing tag with enemy
destroyer s all night." The next evening, she was again closed by an enemy destroyer. She went to convert|140|ft|m|0 and evaded the enemy'sdepth charge s. On the night of27 December and28 December , she interrupted battery charging to avoid a division of enemy destroyers. On1 January 1942 , she sighted an enemy convoy, but was unable to close the range. On8 January , she received orders to proceed to theNetherlands East Indies .Moving south, "Saury" patrolled the
Basilan Strait area on11 January and12 January . By then, Tarakan had fallen and the submarine headed south to patrol the enemy'sDavao -Tarakan line. By16 January , she was convert|30|mi|km|-1 east of the Tarakan lightship; and, on18 January , she crossed theequator into the southern latitudes.On
19 January , the Japanese landed atSandakan inNorth Borneo , and "Saury" arrived atBalikpapan to fuel and provision. The next day, the submarine departed, fueled but not provisioned. After patrolling towardCape William ,Sulawesi (Celebes), she took up station in the approaches toBalikpapan .On
23 January , as other Allied units moved intoMakassar Strait to delay the Japanese, "Saury" shifted north to theKoetai River Delta (Mahakam) in hopes of impeding enemy shipping moving south toBalikpapan . On the morning of24 January , she was illuminated, forced to go deep, and was unable to attack.After the Japanese took
Balikpapan , "Saury" was ordered to patrol offCape William . On27 January , she moved toward Java. On30 January , she rendezvoused with a Dutch patrol vessel offMeinderts Reef , thence proceeded throughMadura Strait to Surabaya (Soerabaja).On
9 February , as the Japanese were taking Makassar, "Saury" departed Surabaya (Soerabaja) for her second war patrol. The submarine headed east to patrol along the north coasts of theLesser Soendas . On13 February , she headed north-northwest for a three-day patrol betweenKabaena andSalajar off theSulawesi (Celebes) coast. From there, she moved southwest to patrol the entrance toLombok Strait . On the night of19 February and20 February , she received word of the Japanese landing onBali ; sighted her first enemy ships of the patrol; and commenced 18 hours of submerged evasive tactics to avoid enemydestroyer s'depth charge s. On24 February , she shifted northward to an area southeast ofSepandjang Island where she sighted and attacked, unsuccessfully, an enemy convoy.From
26 February to8 March , "Saury" patrolled fromMeinderts Reef toKangean Island , the eastern entrance to Madura Strait. However, the Japanese moved onSurabaya (Soerabaja) from the north and west. Batavia and Surabaya fell. On9 March , "Saury" began making her way toAustralia . The submarine arrived at Fremantle on17 March . Hertorpedo es, Mark 14s, had not damaged the enemy.On
28 April , "Saury" cleared Fremantle for her third war patrol, but, three days later, a crack in the after trim tank caused her to return toAustralia . On7 May , she again departed Fremantle and headed north. By14 May , she was offTimor ; and, by16 May , she was in theFlores Sea , en route to theBanda Sea and the easternSulawesi (Celebes) coast. On18 May , offWowoni , she fired threetorpedo es at an enemy cargo-passenger ship without effect. She remained in the area for two days to intercept enemy traffic toKendari ; then moved north to hunt inGreyhound Strait and theMolucca Passage . On23 May and24 May , she was offKema , whence she rounded North Cape to patrol offManado on the tip of northern Sulawesi.On
26 May , "Saury" commenced hunting in the easternCelebes Sea . On28 May , she sighted and fired on a merchantman which had been converted into a seaplane carrier but again was unsuccessful.On
8 June , thesubmarine turned south and began retracing her route through theMolucca Passage andGreyhound Strait . From12 June to14 June , she again patrolled offKendari . On15 June , she searchedBoeton Passage ; then moved into theFlores Sea , whence she headed viaTimor forAustralia . "Saury" returned to Fremantle on28 June .On
2 July , she sailed for Albany where tests were to be conducted on the Mark 14torpedo . On18 July , "Saury" fired four torpedoes at a net 850 to convert|900|yd|m|-2 away. The torpedoes were set for ten feet. The first passed through an area from which the net had been torn during the night. The other three penetrated the net at convert|21|ft|m|0.From
23 July to25 July , "Saury" escortedsubmarine tender USS|Holland|AS-3|3 back to Fremantle, then prepared for her fourth war patrol which would take her back to thePhilippines .Sailing at the end of the month, "Saury" transited
Lombok Strait on6 August and, by16 August , was running up theIloilo -Manila sea lane. On17 August , she investigatedAmbulong Strait andMangarin Bay . On18 August , she moved up theMindoro Coast toCape Calavite , whence she took up station west ofCorregidor .On
20 August , thesubmarine moved into the presumed enemy convoy route. The next day, she sighted and attempted to close a tanker; then shifted her patrol to a line five miles (8 km) off the coast.On
24 August , the submarine again closedManila Bay . At 06:45, she sighted masts; but heavy rain soon moved in and obscured the target. At 09:52, she fired two torpedoes. Her periscope began vibrating, hindering visibility and precluding the firing of two more torpedoes. At 09:54, an explosion was heard and the target, a small tanker, was seen to take on a five-degree list to port. "Saury" proceeded to convert|200|ft|m|-1 to avoid detection by enemy air patrol units. At about 10:47, a bomb exploded close by thesubmarine .Depth charge s followed and, at 11:50 and 11:52, two more bombs exploded.The hunt for the
submarine continued through the afternoon. At 18:10, the sounds of propellers and pinging died out. At 1921, "Saury" surfaced, started recharging and headed out to sea on her three available engines. An hour later, she was sighted by an enemydestroyer , which closed in fast. "Saury" submerged, and her elusive tactics were again successful.The next night, she sighted another enemy warship a
destroyer or a torpedo boat. Thesubmarine , badly in need of a charge, did not attack.29 August brought extremely poor weather. On31 August , she sighted a hospital ship. On3 September , the day she headed south, the weather began to clear.On
7 September , "Saury" received orders to patrol offMakassar City and, while surfaced on the night of11 September , she sighted a cargoman. At 20:58, she sent threetorpedo es at the target. At 21:00, an explosion rocked the target. Flames enveloped the center of the ship. Its superstructure and deck cargo blazed. Eighteen minutes later, the target blew up. Japanese records identified the victim as the 8,606-ton aircraft ferry, "Kanto Maru".On
17 September , "Saury" clearedLombok Strait and headed forExmouth Gulf where she delivered excess fuel to a barge; thence continued on to Fremantle, arriving on23 September .From
24 September to18 October , she underwent upkeep and repairs. She then shifted toBrisbane whence she departed on31 October for her fifth war patrol. Her 27-day patrol was conducted off western and northernNew Britain where she had 27 contacts; was able to develop four; and fired 13 torpedoes, of which only one was a possible hit.On
21 December , "Saury" arrived atPearl Harbor and, on29 December , she moored atMare Island . During her ensuing overhaul, she received abathythermograph and a high periscope."Saury" returned to
Pearl Harbor on16 April 1943 and, on7 May , she departed for her sixth war patrol which would take her into theEast China Sea to operate off the northernRyukyu Islands and in the coastal waters ofKyūshū . During the patrol, she would also test the effectiveness of the high periscope in daytime attacks and the usefulness of the bathythermograph in locating thermal layers to hide in.On
11 May , "Saury" topped off on fuel and lubricating oil atMidway Island , then continued west. On19 May , she ran into the edges of atyphoon . On20 May , "the bottom dropped out of the barometer," but, the next day, the storm abated. On25 May , the submarine entered her assigned area and headed towardAmami Ōshima , a naval base some convert|200|mi|km|-2 south of the industrial port ofKagoshima on southernKyūshū .Patrolling to the west of the island, "Saury" sighted her first enemy maru soon after 09:00 on
26 May ; but the ship was too distant to catch. About an hour later, she abandoned the approach; then sighted a five-ship convoy on the port quarter. At 10:30, she fired tubes one, two, and three. One minute and 44 seconds later, a torpedo exploded against the stern of a transport. Nine seconds after that, another hit broke the target's back and sent debris high into the air. The 2,300-ton "Kagi Maru" went under. At 10:34, "Saury" went deep. By 10:38, ninedepth charge s had been dropped, but none was close.On the afternoon of
28 May , "Saury", patrolling on the surface with her high periscope in operation, sighted the masts of a steamer and moved to intercept. Fourteen minutes later, at 16:43, she submerged. At 17:24, she fired four torpedoes at the target, the unescorted, empty, 10,216-ton tanker, "Akatsuki Maru". Three missed, one hit. The tanker's speed had been underestimated. The tanker dropped twodepth charge s. "Saury" fired six moretorpedo es. Four scored and the tanker went under.In the late afternoon of
29 May , "Saury", again on the surface and using the high periscope, sighted smoke about fourteen miles (21 km) off. At 19:13, she submerged and began tracking a convoy of four cargo ships and three tankers. At 20:58, she surfaced and attacked. Japanese records show that she sank "Takamisan Maru", 1,992 tons, and "Shoko Maru", 5,385 tons.On
30 May , "Saury" headed back toMidway Island . On7 June , her number four main engine went out of commission. The next day, she arrived at Midway; and, on13 June , she moored atPearl Harbor for repairs and refit.A month later, on
13 July , the submarine departedHawaii on her seventh war patrol. On21 July , her number four main engine again went out of commission, and remained out for the duration of the patrol. Poor weather then slowed her westward progress still further; and, on the night of30 July , while half way betweenIwo Jima andOkinawa , she made her first contact of the patrol.The contact was made by radar at about 22:25. "Saury" set a course to intercept the targets, two large warships and a
destroyer . At 03:03 on31 July , "Saury" submerged. At 03:25, she turned to attack; losing, regaining, losing, and then regaining depth control. By then, the targets had passed firing bearing. A few seconds later, at 03:38, the sound operator reported a bearing of 180 degrees relative. Almost simultaneously, the periscope revealed adestroyer with a zero degree angle on the bow. The commanding officer ordered "Saury" deep. A few seconds later, two jolts shook "Saury". She took on a five-degree list to port. She continued to go deeper, then retired to the east. Nodepth charge s were heard. "Saury" remained at 175 to convert|200|ft|m|-1 all day. At 20:20, she surfaced. Her periscope shears were bent 30 degrees from the vertical to starboard. All equipment mounted therein was damaged. Both periscopes and both radars were out of commission. "Saury" had been blinded.Temporary repairs were made; and, at 04:03 on
1 August , "Saury" headed home, arriving atMidway Island on8 August and atPearl Harbor on12 August . Her patrol had ended before she had reached her assigned area but she was credited with causing damage to an enemydestroyer .During repair and refit, "Saury" was given an enlarged
conning tower , new periscope shears, and new radar equipment. Her number four engine was completely overhauled. On4 October , she was ready for sea.On her eighth and ninth war patrols,
4 October to26 November 1943 and21 December 1943 to14 February 1944 , "Saury" inflicted no damage. Much of the latter patrol was spent in fighting extremely bad weather in theEast China Sea , during which proper navigational positions were unobtainable. At the end of that patrol, one day out of Midway, she was swamped by an oversized swell while her hatches were open. The wave overtook "Saury" from the quarter, pushed her over to a 40 degree list to port; turned her 140 degrees from her course; and sent green water through the conning tower hatch and main induction. Electrical equipment grounded out and small fires were started but quickly extinguished. Auxiliary power was restored in half an hour, but repairs to main control required almost a full day, and repairs to the master gyro took even longer."Saury" arrived at
Pearl Harbor fromMidway Island on21 February and continued on toMare Island where she underwent overhaul and re-engining during March and April. On16 June , she returned toPearl Harbor , and on29 June , she departed on her tenth war patrol.On
3 July , she topped off atMidway Island . On5 July , a cracked cylinder liner forced her back to Midway for repairs, and, on6 July , she headed out again. On11 July , another cylinder liner cracked, but she continued on toward her assigned area,San Bernardino Strait in thePhilippines , which she entered on18 July .On
4 August , the submarine shifted north in hope of better hunting, and, on6 August , she sighted an unescorted freighter. However, the glassy sea, unlimited visibility, and enemy, land-based, patrol planes combined against her, and she broke off the attack. Four days later, she departed the area, arriving atMajuro on23 August .From
20 September to29 November 1944 , "Saury" conducted her eleventh and last war patrol. She patrolled in theNansei Shoto area from20 September to4 November , rescuing a downed pilot ofVF-8 but sinking no enemy ships as she hunted in the wake of the fast carrier forces. After stopping atSaipan from5 November to10 November , she proceeded on the second phase of the patrol, an anti-patrol vessel sweep north of theBonin Islands . Extremely poor weather again interfered, but on18 November , she damaged a tanker. On29 November , she returned toPearl Harbor .For the remainder of the war, "Saury" served in the
Hawaii an area as a target and trainingsubmarine . On19 August 1945 , she sailed forSan Francisco, California , and inactivation. "Saury" was decommissioned on22 June 1946 , and her name was struck from theNaval Vessel Register on19 July . She was sold and delivered to the Learner Company ofOakland, California , in May 1947, and was scrapped the following October."Saury" earned seven
battle star s duringWorld War II .References
*DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/s6/saury.htm
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.