USS Gudgeon: A WWII Boat of Firsts

USS Gudgeon in July 1941 (U.S. Navy)

 On December 11 1941, USS Gudgeon (SS-211) sailed from Pearl Harbor on the first American submarine offensive patrol of World War II. When she returning from her patrol some 51 days later, Gudgeon contributed two more impressive "firsts" for the U.S. Navy’s submarine fleet. She was the first American submarine to patrol along the Japanese coast itself, as her patrol area took her off Kyushu in the Japanese home islands, and became the first U.S. Navy submarine to sink an enemy warship during World War II, the Japanese submarine I-73.

While about 240 miles west of Midway Island, USS Gudgeon, commanded by Lt. Cmdr. (later Vice Admiral) Elton Grenfell, received a message advising him that three Japanese submarines would be passing through the area that Gudgeon was transiting during its return to Pearl Harbor.

A Japanese Type KD6 submarine like I-73 (from CombinedFleet.com)

On January 27 1942, Gudgeon’s sonar picked up propeller noise from the Japanese submarine I-73. The Japanese submarine was returning to Yokosuka from a patrol that had taken her deep into American waters, off the coast of California and Washington. Gudgeon, running submerged, spotted the surfaced enemy submarine and began its attack. I-73 was running on a straight course, not zigzagging, with many of her crewmen on deck. Lt Cmdr Grenfell fired three Mark 14 torpedoes from a range of 1,800 yards, scoring two hits*. I-73 sank with all hands at 28-24N, 178-35E, becoming the first enemy warship sunk by an American submarine during World War II.

* Post-attack analysis by the ComSubPac staff at Pearl Harbor indicated that Gudgeon’s unreliable Mark 14 torpedoes might have been duds. The theory holds that the I-73's crew spotted the wakes of the incoming torpedoes, panicked and dove with either their main induction valve or a hatch open, never to resurface.

Gudgeon conducted ten more successful war patrols, but was lost on her twelfth war patrol. Gudgeon was officially declared overdue and presumed lost on 7 June, 1944. Captured Japanese records shed no light on the manner of her loss, and it must remain one of the mysteries of the silent sea. It is believed Gudgeon was lost to an aerial attack 166 miles southeast of Iwo Jima on April 18, 1944.

During her three-year war career, Gudgeon sank 14 ships totaling over 71,372 tons, placing her 15th on the honor roll of American submarines. For her first seven war patrols Gudgeon received the Presidential Unit Citation and she earned 11 battle stars for World War II service.