Hull Number: SS-227
Last Captain: LCDR David McClintock
Date Lost: 24 October 1944
Location: Bombay Shoal in the Palawan Passage
Cause: Grounding
Construction
Darter was a Gato class submarine completed by the Electric Boat Company at Groton, CT in September of 1943.
Loss Narrative
Darter departed on 10 September 1944 for her fourth patrol from Darwin after some minor repairs. She sailed with the USS Dace (SS-247) on what would turn out to be two of the more important submarine patrols in WW2. Darter and Dace located the central Japanese force attempting to stop our invasion of Leyte in the Philippines. They immediately radioed the information about the large Japanese force moving through the San Bernardino Strait. The submarines then positioned themselves on either side of the Palawan Passage. Each boat sank a heavy cruiser as the Japanese fleet sailed by. Darter sank the IJN Atago, a heavy cruiser and Admiral Kurita’s flagship, and damaged the IJN Takao, a cruiser. Dace sank the IJN Maya, a heavy cruiser. However, the intelligence information was almost certainly the most valuable part of the patrol.
Darter then started tracking the damaged Takao in the hope of sinking it too. However, due to the action of the previous days, Darter had been unable to get a position fix. Just after midnight, she ran aground. Because she had been running at high speed, she was firmly grounded on the reef and efforts to get clear failed. Darter had to radio Dace for help and Dace rescued the entire Darter crew after all classified material was destroyed.
The abandoned Darter would be shelled by the Dace and later by the larger guns of the USS Nautilus (SS-168). However, the battered hulk of the Darter remained on the reef for 20 years. The whole crew of the Darter was transferred to the submarine USS Menhaden (SS-377), then under construction in Manitowoc, WI. Menhaden would not be commissioned until June of 1945 and would not make a war patrol.
The Takao escaped but was so badly damaged that she never reentered the war. In July of 1945, while still being repaired, Takao was sunk by British midget submarines. The Battle of Leyte Gulf was the end of the Japanese fleet as an effective fighting force.
Darter then started tracking the damaged Takao in the hope of sinking it too. However, due to the action of the previous days, Darter had been unable to get a position fix. Just after midnight, she ran aground. Because she had been running at high speed, she was firmly grounded on the reef and efforts to get clear failed. Darter had to radio Dace for help and Dace rescued the entire Darter crew after all classified material was destroyed.
The abandoned Darter would be shelled by the Dace and later by the larger guns of the USS Nautilus (SS-168). However, the battered hulk of the Darter remained on the reef for 20 years. The whole crew of the Darter was transferred to the submarine USS Menhaden (SS-377), then under construction in Manitowoc, WI. Menhaden would not be commissioned until June of 1945 and would not make a war patrol.
The Takao escaped but was so badly damaged that she never reentered the war. In July of 1945, while still being repaired, Takao was sunk by British midget submarines. The Battle of Leyte Gulf was the end of the Japanese fleet as an effective fighting force.
Prior History
After sea trials, Darter arrived at Pearl Harbor on 26 November 1943. Darter’s first patrol began on 21 December 1943. It was interrupted twice for repairs, first at Pearl Harbor from 29 December to 3 January 1944 and then from 30 January to 8 February at Milne Bay. After the needed repairs were completed, Darter went back on patrol. On 13 February 1944, she damaged a large cargo ship and received a heavy depth charging in return. After completing lifeguard duty off Truk, she ended the patrol on 29 February at Brisbane, Australia.
Her second patrol began on 17 March 1944 with a fuel stop at Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea. Her patrol area was north of Western New Guinea and south of Davao. There she sank a small cargo ship. This patrol ended on 23 May in Brisbane. During that refit, Darter suffered her only casualty of the war when a motor mac was electrocuted.
On her third patrol she sank a 4,400-ton minelayer and received a depth charging for her efforts. The rest of this patrol was uneventful and it ended on 8 August 1944, again in Brisbane. She needed minor repairs before starting the fourth patrol and becoming a key factor in the Battle of Leyte Gulf.
Darter was lost on her fourth war patrol. JANAC credited her with three sinkings for 19,429 tons total for her WW2 service.
Darter was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation for patrol 4.
Her second patrol began on 17 March 1944 with a fuel stop at Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea. Her patrol area was north of Western New Guinea and south of Davao. There she sank a small cargo ship. This patrol ended on 23 May in Brisbane. During that refit, Darter suffered her only casualty of the war when a motor mac was electrocuted.
On her third patrol she sank a 4,400-ton minelayer and received a depth charging for her efforts. The rest of this patrol was uneventful and it ended on 8 August 1944, again in Brisbane. She needed minor repairs before starting the fourth patrol and becoming a key factor in the Battle of Leyte Gulf.
Darter was lost on her fourth war patrol. JANAC credited her with three sinkings for 19,429 tons total for her WW2 service.
Darter was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation for patrol 4.
Submarine Photo
Captain Photo
LCDR David McClintock