Submarine
| Patrol 1 |
 |
 |
 |
|
USS Bowfin (SS-287) - Patrol 1 Secret Mission
USS Bowfin traveled from Brisbane to Darwin to Liaugan Bay (northern Mindanao, east of Iligan Bay) to the South China Sea to Liaugan Bay to Fremantle, Western Australia for refit by USS Pelias (AS-14). USS Bowfin and USS Billfish (SS-286), commanded by CDR Frederick C. Lucas, Jr., made a coordinated, submerged attack on a large convoy on 25 September. Of the five ships assigned to her, Bowfin sank a cargo ship and a tanker, and set another tanker on fire. Bowfin's attack on 27 September on an inter-island steamer failed due to approaching darkness and radical target maneuvers. Two small vessels (one carrying about 100 enemy soldiers) were sunk on 30 September and a 2-masted schooner was sunk on 2 October, all by 4" 50-caliber gunfire during the end-of-patrol return voyage through the Celebes Sea. Two secret missions were accomplished during this first patrol. The first secret mission involved delivering medical supplies, radio transmitters, ammunition, money, etc., to Philippine guerrilla fighters after rendezvousing with them close offshore in Liaugan Bay, Mindanao. The second secret mission occurred on a return voyage from the South China Sea at the same Liaugan Bay location. Bowfin took aboard nine guerrillas, selected by their superior officers, to be transported to Australia. One of the guerrillas was Edward M. Kuder, a well-known superintendent of schools on Mindanao. Another was Samuel C. Grashio, a U.S. Army Air Corps fighter pilot prior to his capture on Bataan. Grashio had survived the infamous "Death March" to be confined in three different Japanese prison camps before finally escaping from the Davao Penal Colony with a group of 10 P.O.W.s and two Philippine convicts and then joining the guerrillas. USS Bowfin was underway for 14,430 miles during her first patrol. Commanding Officer Willingham and higher authorities believed USS Bowfin sank 23,753 tons (three large vessels plus two small craft). The post-war Joint Army-Navy Assessment Committee (JANAC) credited USS Bowfin with sinking only 8,120 tons (one large vessel of that tonnage plus two small craft). For this patrol, CDR Willingham was awarded a second gold star in lieu of his third Navy Cross, and the boat was awarded the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation. |
Secrets of the Sub
| The Very First Sub Ever |
The First Submarine EverThere were many countries around the world developing submarines in the 17th and 18th century both for wartime use and for commercial purposes. In the United States, we say the Turtle, developed by a Yale University professor, David Bushnell, was our first submarine. Designed to deliver an underwater mine with a timed fuse, it's original purpose was to break the blockade of the British Navy in New York harbor in 1776, during the War of Independence. Almost a hundred later the Confederate States Ship Hunley with a crew of nine men braved the waters of Charleston, South Carolina harbor to attack and sink the Union Ship USS Housitanic. The weapon used was a mine mounted on a spar jutting from the bow of the submarine. Again, the purpose was to break the blockade of a harbor but within 40 years, the United States started the submarine explosion with the Simon Lake, SS-1, in 1900 , designed as a scouting ship for America's emerging battle fleets. In less than 20 years, the first world war would see the island nation of Great Brritain brought to her knees by German commerce raiding submarines and submarines , large and small being developed by many nations. |
