Hull Number: SS-211
Last Captain: LCDR Robert Bonin
Date Lost: Unsure, between 7 April and 12 May 1944
Location: In the Marianas or near Iwo Jima
Fatalities: 78
Cause: Uncertain
Construction
Gudgeon was a Tambor class submarine completed by the Mare Island Naval Shipyard at Vallejo, CA in April of 1941.
Loss Narrative
Gudgeon sailed for her 12th patrol on 4 April 1944. After stopping for fuel, Gudgeon was never heard from again. Japanese records indicate two possible locations and two different dates for her sinking. Some sources indicate the boat was likely to have been sunk by depth charges on 12 May near the Maug Islands in the Marianas. Uboat.net claims Gudgeon was lost to an aircraft attack on 18 April 1944 southeast of Iwo Jima. Mike Ostlund, a relative of one of the officers lost on Gudgeon and author of “Find ‘Em, Chase ‘Em, Sink ‘Em”, supports the Uboat.net version.
Prior History
After shakedown, Gudgeon headed north to assess sites in Alaska for a possible submarine base. From there, she headed to Pearl Harbor, arriving on 10 October 1941. She was at Lahaina Roads, off Maui, TH, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941.
She returned to Pearl Harbor immediately and began her first war patrol on 11 December, departing on the same day as the USS Plunger (SS-179). She was the first American boat to patrol along the Japanese coast and first to make contact. When she was returning to base, she was advised that an enemy submarine that had shelled Midway might cross her path. The IJN I-73, a submarine, (later renumbered to I-173) was spotted on the surface about 240 miles west of Midway. Gudgeon hit it with three torpedoes, sinking the first Japanese warship of the conflict. She returned to Pearl Harbor on 31 January.
Gudgeon departed for her second patrol, to the East China Sea, on 22 February 1942. Near Marcus Island she was attacked by a dive bomber from the carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6) but suffered no damage. This showed again that submarines had to assume all aircraft were hostile and submerge quickly. Gudgeon sank two freighters on this patrol and returned to Pearl Harbor on 15 April.
For her third patrol, Gudgeon was taken out of drydock three weeks early, loaded and sent to sea in just 40 hours. This was done so she could be a part of Task Group 7.1 looking for the Japanese fleet headed toward Midway. This patrol lasted from 18 May until 14 June.
She departed for her fourth patrol on 11 July 1942. She sank one medium freighter and damaged two larger ones en route to Fremantle, Australia. The patrol ended there on 2 September.
Her fifth patrol began on 8 October 1942. Gudgeon sank a medium freighter. On 11 November, she made a daring attack on a seven-ship convoy. She fired torpedoes at overlapping targets and heard many explosions. However, JANAC showed no damage. The torpedoes may have exploded prematurely. She returned to Australia on 1 December.
Gudgeon was able to celebrate Christmas before departing for her sixth patrol on 27 December 1942. She sank no ships on this patrol but carried out special missions. She landed six men and a ton of supplies at Catmon Point, Negros in the Philippines. As she was returning from the patrol, she was sent to the south coast of Timor to evacuate 28 men. She returned to Fremantle , Australia on 18 February 1943.
Gudgeon’s seventh patrol lasted just from 13 March to 6 April 1943 because she had used all of her torpedoes. First, she sank one medium freighter and damaged another. Then she sank a patrol boat with her gun. Then she sank a tanker of almost 10,000 tons, even though this required five torpedoes. Shortly after, she damaged a small ship which escaped only to be sunk later by the Dace (SS-247).
Her eighth patrol lasted from 15 April to 25 May 1943. This patrol again had a special mission, landing four guerrillas and three tons of equipment near Pucio Point, Panay, The Philippines. Before that was completed, Gudgeon attacked a freighter and believed it was damaged. However, escorts prevented confirmation. Then Gudgeon sank the 17,526-ton liner Kamakura Maru which was due to be converted to an escort carrier. Gudgeon completed the special mission and evacuated three men at the same time. After this success, she destroyed a trawler with the deck gun. The next day, she left a small freighter with decks awash after a gun action. However, since there was nothing in Japanese record to support the sinking, there was no credit given. Gudgeon added one more medium freighter to her patrol total. Then it was time to head for an overhaul at Mare Island.
With the overhaul completed, Gudgeon departed Pearl Harbor on 1 September 1943 for her ninth patrol, this time in the Marianas. She returned to Midway on 6 October having expended all her torpedoes and having sunk one cargo ship and damaged others.
Her tenth patrol, along the China coast, began on 31 October 1943. In her first contact with enemy ships, she sank a large troop transport and a frigate, and damaged a large tanker and a small freighter. The patrol ended at Pearl Harbor on 11 December.
Her eleventh patrol was less successful. Gudgeon sighted a damaged carrier, but was not able to get close. She did put two torpedoes into a freighter that was already sinking from an air attack so Gudgeon did not claim the sinking. She returned to Pearl Harbor on 5 March 1944.
Gudgeon was lost on her 12th war patrol. JANAC credited her with 12 sinkings for 71,047 tons total for her WW2 service.
Gudgeon was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation for patrols 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8.
She returned to Pearl Harbor immediately and began her first war patrol on 11 December, departing on the same day as the USS Plunger (SS-179). She was the first American boat to patrol along the Japanese coast and first to make contact. When she was returning to base, she was advised that an enemy submarine that had shelled Midway might cross her path. The IJN I-73, a submarine, (later renumbered to I-173) was spotted on the surface about 240 miles west of Midway. Gudgeon hit it with three torpedoes, sinking the first Japanese warship of the conflict. She returned to Pearl Harbor on 31 January.
Gudgeon departed for her second patrol, to the East China Sea, on 22 February 1942. Near Marcus Island she was attacked by a dive bomber from the carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6) but suffered no damage. This showed again that submarines had to assume all aircraft were hostile and submerge quickly. Gudgeon sank two freighters on this patrol and returned to Pearl Harbor on 15 April.
For her third patrol, Gudgeon was taken out of drydock three weeks early, loaded and sent to sea in just 40 hours. This was done so she could be a part of Task Group 7.1 looking for the Japanese fleet headed toward Midway. This patrol lasted from 18 May until 14 June.
She departed for her fourth patrol on 11 July 1942. She sank one medium freighter and damaged two larger ones en route to Fremantle, Australia. The patrol ended there on 2 September.
Her fifth patrol began on 8 October 1942. Gudgeon sank a medium freighter. On 11 November, she made a daring attack on a seven-ship convoy. She fired torpedoes at overlapping targets and heard many explosions. However, JANAC showed no damage. The torpedoes may have exploded prematurely. She returned to Australia on 1 December.
Gudgeon was able to celebrate Christmas before departing for her sixth patrol on 27 December 1942. She sank no ships on this patrol but carried out special missions. She landed six men and a ton of supplies at Catmon Point, Negros in the Philippines. As she was returning from the patrol, she was sent to the south coast of Timor to evacuate 28 men. She returned to Fremantle , Australia on 18 February 1943.
Gudgeon’s seventh patrol lasted just from 13 March to 6 April 1943 because she had used all of her torpedoes. First, she sank one medium freighter and damaged another. Then she sank a patrol boat with her gun. Then she sank a tanker of almost 10,000 tons, even though this required five torpedoes. Shortly after, she damaged a small ship which escaped only to be sunk later by the Dace (SS-247).
Her eighth patrol lasted from 15 April to 25 May 1943. This patrol again had a special mission, landing four guerrillas and three tons of equipment near Pucio Point, Panay, The Philippines. Before that was completed, Gudgeon attacked a freighter and believed it was damaged. However, escorts prevented confirmation. Then Gudgeon sank the 17,526-ton liner Kamakura Maru which was due to be converted to an escort carrier. Gudgeon completed the special mission and evacuated three men at the same time. After this success, she destroyed a trawler with the deck gun. The next day, she left a small freighter with decks awash after a gun action. However, since there was nothing in Japanese record to support the sinking, there was no credit given. Gudgeon added one more medium freighter to her patrol total. Then it was time to head for an overhaul at Mare Island.
With the overhaul completed, Gudgeon departed Pearl Harbor on 1 September 1943 for her ninth patrol, this time in the Marianas. She returned to Midway on 6 October having expended all her torpedoes and having sunk one cargo ship and damaged others.
Her tenth patrol, along the China coast, began on 31 October 1943. In her first contact with enemy ships, she sank a large troop transport and a frigate, and damaged a large tanker and a small freighter. The patrol ended at Pearl Harbor on 11 December.
Her eleventh patrol was less successful. Gudgeon sighted a damaged carrier, but was not able to get close. She did put two torpedoes into a freighter that was already sinking from an air attack so Gudgeon did not claim the sinking. She returned to Pearl Harbor on 5 March 1944.
Gudgeon was lost on her 12th war patrol. JANAC credited her with 12 sinkings for 71,047 tons total for her WW2 service.
Gudgeon was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation for patrols 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8.
Submarine Photo
