Hull Number: SS-202
Last Captain: LCDR Albert Clark
Date Lost: Approximately 29 February 1944
Location: East China Sea
Fatalities: 81
Cause: ASW forces
Construction
Trout was a Tambor class submarine completed by the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard at Kittery, Maine in November of 1940.
Loss Narrative
For her 11th patrol, Trout left Pearl Harbor on 8 February 1944 and topped off fuel at Midway Island. She left Midway on 16 February and was never heard from again. Information available after the war indicates that Trout attacked a convoy, sinking one ship and damaging another on 29 February. Records also indicated that the IJN Asashimo, a destroyer, detected a submarine and, after dropping 19 depth charges, noted oil and debris rising to the surface. Since Trout was the only submarine in the area, this is assumed to be her sinking.
Prior History
After completing her shakedown tests Trout, along with the USS Triton (SS-201), departed New York City on 2 July 1941 headed to Panama, San Diego and Pearl Harbor. The two boats arrived in Hawaii on 4 August 1941. Trout conducted training operations until departing Pearl Harbor on 29 November 1941 for a simulated war patrol around Midway Island.
Since she was still at sea when Pearl Harbor was attacked, Trout had already begun her first war patrol. She noted Japanese destroyers firing at Midway Island but couldn’t get close enough to engage. She returned to her assigned patrol area but saw nothing further. She ended this first war patrol at Pearl Harbor on 20 December.
Her captain, LCDR Frank W. (Mike) Fenno, took Trout out on an unusual second patrol beginning on 12 January 1942. The mission was to deliver ammunition to MacArthur’s troops on Corregidor. After delivering her cargo, Trout needed ballast to replace the weight of the ammunition. The new ballast would be 20 tons of gold bars and silver coins which had been removed from banks in Manila. Trout then continued her patrol, sinking a converted gunboat and a small patrol craft. She returned to Pearl Harbor on 3 March 1942 to transfer her precious cargo to the cruiser USS Detroit (CL-8). However, the inventory came up one gold bar, or $14,500, short. A search of the submarine found the bar in the galley being used as a paperweight. The cook claimed not to know what his paperweight was made of.
Later in the war, LCDR Fenno would serve on the USS Pampanito (SS-383) , initially as a trainer for her first captain and then as a relief for LCDR Paul (Pete) Summers on Pampanito’s fourth war patrol.
Trout began her third patrol from Pearl Harbor on 24 March 1942. After a fuel stop at Midway Island, she arrived off the coast of Honshu two weeks later. Beginning on 11 April, she damaged a very large tanker, the Nishin Maru, and then damaged another tanker and a cargo ship. These last two beached themselves to prevent sinking. Trout then sank a patrol boat, and two freighters. Her very successful third patrol ended at Pearl Harbor on 17 May.
Four days later, Trout went to sea to join the other submarines of Task Group 7.1. The task group was the ring of submarines around Midway looking for the Japanese fleet headed that way. This was her fourth patrol, although Trout was not involved in the battle. She picked up two Japanese sailors floating on a raft and returned to Pearl Harbor on 14 June.
Trout began her fifth patrol on 27 August 1942 under the command of LCDR Lawson (Red) Ramage. (LCDR Ramage would later win the Medal of Honor as captain of the USS Parche [SS-384]). Trout’s patrol was in the area around Truk. She was detected and the Japanese dropped 45 depth charges, but Trout was not damaged. She then sank a small net-tender and damaged the Japanese carrier Taiyo with two torpedoes. Later Trout was badly damaged by aircraft bombs while at periscope depth. She had to terminate the patrol at Brisbane, Australia on 13 October.
On her sixth patrol, from 26 October to 13 November, Trout fired a spread of torpedoes at a Kongo class battleship but with no detonations. Trout set out on her seventh patrol on 11 January 1943. She fired a spread at a large tanker and damaged it with two hits. Despite serious damage, the tanker made it to safety. Trout sank two sampans with her deck gun. She thought she had also sunk a freighter. As Trout cleared the area, the maru’s stern was under water. Somehow, the maru survived, only to be sunk by the USS Pampanito (SS-383) in early 1945. Trout was credited with the sinking of a cargo vessel. On 7 February 1943, Trout again ran across the tanker Nishin Maru and, once more, was only able to damage it. One more sinking, of a converted gunboat, would complete the score for this patrol.
Trout’s eighth patrol assignment was to lay mines in the Api Passage. That was completed and Trout sank two sampans.
Trout began her ninth patrol on 26 May 1943 under a new captain, LCDR Clark. This patrol consisted of special missions. She landed six agents along with two tons of equipment on Basilan Island in the Philippines. Then she landed a six-man army team with supplies and ammunition at Labangan, Mindanao, also in the Philippines. Finally, she evacuated five officers from Mindanao. In between, she sank three small cargo ships with her deck gun and another with torpedoes.
Her tenth patrol was a transit from Fremantle to Hawaii. En route, she was to patrol in the Surigao and San Bernardino Strait where she sank a medium-sized cargo ship and a transport ship. After this, she ended the patrol on 4 October 1943 and headed to Pearl Harbor and then on to Hunters Point in San Francisco for a much-needed overhaul.
Trout was lost on her 11th war patrol. JANAC credited her with 12 sinkings for 37,144 tons total for her WW2 service.
Trout was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation for the combined patrols 2, 3 and 5. This was the highest award for bravery for a unit, such as a ship, rather than an individual.
Since she was still at sea when Pearl Harbor was attacked, Trout had already begun her first war patrol. She noted Japanese destroyers firing at Midway Island but couldn’t get close enough to engage. She returned to her assigned patrol area but saw nothing further. She ended this first war patrol at Pearl Harbor on 20 December.
Her captain, LCDR Frank W. (Mike) Fenno, took Trout out on an unusual second patrol beginning on 12 January 1942. The mission was to deliver ammunition to MacArthur’s troops on Corregidor. After delivering her cargo, Trout needed ballast to replace the weight of the ammunition. The new ballast would be 20 tons of gold bars and silver coins which had been removed from banks in Manila. Trout then continued her patrol, sinking a converted gunboat and a small patrol craft. She returned to Pearl Harbor on 3 March 1942 to transfer her precious cargo to the cruiser USS Detroit (CL-8). However, the inventory came up one gold bar, or $14,500, short. A search of the submarine found the bar in the galley being used as a paperweight. The cook claimed not to know what his paperweight was made of.
Later in the war, LCDR Fenno would serve on the USS Pampanito (SS-383) , initially as a trainer for her first captain and then as a relief for LCDR Paul (Pete) Summers on Pampanito’s fourth war patrol.
Trout began her third patrol from Pearl Harbor on 24 March 1942. After a fuel stop at Midway Island, she arrived off the coast of Honshu two weeks later. Beginning on 11 April, she damaged a very large tanker, the Nishin Maru, and then damaged another tanker and a cargo ship. These last two beached themselves to prevent sinking. Trout then sank a patrol boat, and two freighters. Her very successful third patrol ended at Pearl Harbor on 17 May.
Four days later, Trout went to sea to join the other submarines of Task Group 7.1. The task group was the ring of submarines around Midway looking for the Japanese fleet headed that way. This was her fourth patrol, although Trout was not involved in the battle. She picked up two Japanese sailors floating on a raft and returned to Pearl Harbor on 14 June.
Trout began her fifth patrol on 27 August 1942 under the command of LCDR Lawson (Red) Ramage. (LCDR Ramage would later win the Medal of Honor as captain of the USS Parche [SS-384]). Trout’s patrol was in the area around Truk. She was detected and the Japanese dropped 45 depth charges, but Trout was not damaged. She then sank a small net-tender and damaged the Japanese carrier Taiyo with two torpedoes. Later Trout was badly damaged by aircraft bombs while at periscope depth. She had to terminate the patrol at Brisbane, Australia on 13 October.
On her sixth patrol, from 26 October to 13 November, Trout fired a spread of torpedoes at a Kongo class battleship but with no detonations. Trout set out on her seventh patrol on 11 January 1943. She fired a spread at a large tanker and damaged it with two hits. Despite serious damage, the tanker made it to safety. Trout sank two sampans with her deck gun. She thought she had also sunk a freighter. As Trout cleared the area, the maru’s stern was under water. Somehow, the maru survived, only to be sunk by the USS Pampanito (SS-383) in early 1945. Trout was credited with the sinking of a cargo vessel. On 7 February 1943, Trout again ran across the tanker Nishin Maru and, once more, was only able to damage it. One more sinking, of a converted gunboat, would complete the score for this patrol.
Trout’s eighth patrol assignment was to lay mines in the Api Passage. That was completed and Trout sank two sampans.
Trout began her ninth patrol on 26 May 1943 under a new captain, LCDR Clark. This patrol consisted of special missions. She landed six agents along with two tons of equipment on Basilan Island in the Philippines. Then she landed a six-man army team with supplies and ammunition at Labangan, Mindanao, also in the Philippines. Finally, she evacuated five officers from Mindanao. In between, she sank three small cargo ships with her deck gun and another with torpedoes.
Her tenth patrol was a transit from Fremantle to Hawaii. En route, she was to patrol in the Surigao and San Bernardino Strait where she sank a medium-sized cargo ship and a transport ship. After this, she ended the patrol on 4 October 1943 and headed to Pearl Harbor and then on to Hunters Point in San Francisco for a much-needed overhaul.
Trout was lost on her 11th war patrol. JANAC credited her with 12 sinkings for 37,144 tons total for her WW2 service.
Trout was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation for the combined patrols 2, 3 and 5. This was the highest award for bravery for a unit, such as a ship, rather than an individual.
Submarine Photo
Captain Photo
LCDR Albert Clark