Hull Number: SS-248
Last Captain: LCDR Earle Schneider
Date Lost: 12 October 1943
Location: Likely in the Atlantic Ocean off Panama
Fatalities: 76
Cause: Uncertain
Construction
Dorado was a Gato class submarine completed by the Electric Boat Company at Groton, CT in August of 1943.
Loss Narrative
Dorado had just completed sea trials and was en-route to the Pacific. A PBM Mariner attacked a submarine in that area but maintained that it was not the Dorado. They had been monitoring the submarine for some time and the crew was certain it was a German U-boat. They believed it was outside the safety lane and 90 degrees off the expected course. If the Mariner did not attack the Dorado, the cause of the loss of the boat is even less certain. It could have been mines that had recently been laid by the U-214, or an operational loss. Although it is not definite, the loss of Dorado seems more likely due to friendly fire.
Dorado was lost during her initial transit from the Electric Boat Company to Pearl Harbor, TH. She never made it into combat.
Dorado was lost during her initial transit from the Electric Boat Company to Pearl Harbor, TH. She never made it into combat.
Submarine Photo
