Submarine
| Patrol 5 |
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USS Bowfin (SS-287) - Patrol 5 Tough Luck USS Bowfin traveled from Fremantle to the Palau area, then to Midway, and finally, to Pearl Harbor for refit by Fulton. Enemy targets were scarce. On 14 May USS Bowfin torpedoed and sank a freighter in a three-ship convoy, after which she again received a severe depth charge attack. Before Bowfin departed Midway for Pearl Harbor, she offered support with lifeguard duties for the first U.S. air strike on Palau Island. USS Bowfin was underway for 15,014 miles during her fifth patrol. Commanding Officer Corbus and higher authorities believed Bowfin sank 6,500 tons (one large vessel). Although the patrol was declared "successful," JANAC did not credit the sinking to USS Bowfin. |
Secrets of the Sub
| Submarine Rescues |
Submarine RescuesA critical task performed by the US submarine force during World War II, was the rescuing of downed pilots and air crews; They were so efficient at it, that they rescued 520 US airmen from the Pacific Ocean waters. One of those rescued, went on to become President of the United States.
Former US President George H. W. Bush Sr. He was rescued by the USS Finback after being shot down while he was on an air strike mission over Chichi Shima in the Bonin Islands during 2 September 1944.
Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Commander Richard H. O'Kane (center), poses with the twenty-two aircrewmen that Tang rescued off Truk during the carrier air raids there on 29 April-1 May 1944. The photograph was taken upon Tang's return to Pearl Harbor from her second war patrol, in May 1944. |
