Appendix II
Tabular Summary of U.S. Submarine Losses During World War II

1. A tabular summary of all United States submarine losses incurred throughout World War II is presented on the following pages. This summary is based upon information contained in the publication entitled United States Submarine Losses in World War II prepared by the Commander Submarine Force, Pacific Fleet, and ComSubPacAdmin ltr. FF12-10(A)/A16-02, Serial No. 00349 of 21 September 1945 (Statements of Survivors of U.S. submarines Lost in Action). In arriving at the conclusions set forth in the referenced publication regarding the circumstances of each submarine loss, all of the following sources were considered:

(a) The operation order delineating each submarine's mission and assigned patrol areas.

(b) Dispatches sent to and received from each submarine during the patrol on which lost.

(c) Reports of Allied aircraft, surface ships and submarines, particularly those operating in conjunction with the lost submarine as a coordinated attack group, containing mention of contacts, rendezvous, submarine actions against enemy shipping, enemy anti-submarine attacks, or other evidence which might indicate the presence of the submarine concerned or furnish information on its loss.

(d) Reports of enemy or Allied mines in the assigned patrol areas or routes to and from those areas.

(e) Statements of survivors, repatriated prisoners of war and friendly guerilla forces.

(f) A list of anti-submarine attacks provided by the Japanese upon termination of the war.

2. Source (f), the list of Japanese anti-submarine attacks made during World War II, consists of two sections, both supposedly exact translations, and contains only those actions which the Japanese assessed as resulting in positive sinking. The first section gives the date and location of each attack; the second section contains brief amplifying comments on certain attacks, particularly those made after July 1943 when the Japanese claims to have commenced more rigid investigation of reported sinkings. In many cases no

information is available as to whether the attacks were made by surface ships, planes or submarines. Unfortunately, those attacks which were thought to be ineffective, or whose dates or locations were uncertain, were not recorded by the Japanese. In addition, there are many anti-submarine attacks that are known to have occurred, including several cases where our submarines were lost and survivors were captured by the Japanese, which are not contained in the list since apparently either no report was ever made to a central Japanese agency or the attacking ships or planes were themselves lost before returning to base. It should be borne in mind that one or more of these unrecorded attacks might better explain the loss of certain submarines which in the summary below have been attributed to other attacks, mines, or for which no known attack could conceivably have applied. However, the Japanese were prone to accept the mot inconclusive evidence a proof of a sinking and for that reason their list is probably fairly complete. For example, it contains a total of 468 "positive" sinkings, whereas at most only 41¹ U.S. submarine losses were due directly to Japanese action, including passive means such as mines. Where only one listed attack could be tied in with a submarine loss, in the absence of better information it has been designated in the tabular summary below as the probable cause of the loss.

The geographical locations given in the summary correspond with those attacks or other information on which the explanation of the loss of each submarine is based. However, several submarines departed from their bases and were never heard from again nor is any information available as to their loss. For such cases the estimated position is given as inside the area to which the submarine was assigned but the loss might have occurred anywhere between that area and the base.

5. For the purpose of indicating the accuracy of the conclusions reached for each submarine loss in the summary, integers have been placed after the name of each submarine with meanings as follows:

1. Certain (based upon survivors' reports or known schedule of training operations).

2. Probable (based upon strong circumstantial evidence obtained from one or more of the sources enumerated in paragraph (1) above).

3. Possible (based upon inconclusive circumstantial evidence obtained from one or more of the sources enumerated in paragraph (1) above).

4. Conjecture (a possible hypothesis advanced in the absence of any applicable circumstantial or direct evidence but based on the known presence of mines in the submarine's assigned patrol area).

5. Unknown (no information available).

No.	SS No.	Name	Date of Loss	Location of Loss	Cause of Loss	Remarks
1	195	Sealion1	12/10/41	U.S. Navy Yard, Cavite, P.I.	Bombs - 2	Struck by two small bombs during Japanese aircraft attack on Navy Yard, Cavite. First bomb detonated in conning tower fairwater a few feet above pressure hull, demolishing conning tower after bulkhead and engine air induction and battery ventilation trunks. Pressure hull over control room was pierced by numerous fragments. Second bomb penetrated pressure hull and detonated inside after engine room and after torpedo room flooded slowly through bulkhead fragment holes. Stern sank to the bottom. Repair facilities not being available, Sealion was blown up 25 December 1941 to prevent capture by Japanese forces.
2	141	S-361	1/20/42 (2nd Patrol)	Makassar Strait	Stranding	Stranded on Taka Bakang Reef off southern Celebes. Forward battery room was holed and flooded, causing generation of chlorine gas. Ship was abandoned and destroyed by U.S. forces on 21 January 1942.
3	131	S-261	1/24/42	Gulf of Panama	Collision	Collided with PC-460 while surfaced and enroute to patrol area. Starboard side of torpedo room was holed. Ship sank in 300 feet of water within a few seconds. The three and only survivors were on bridge at time of collision.
4	174	Shark (I)3	2/11/42 to 2/21/42 (2nd Patrol)	Off Celebes	Depth Charge	Last heard from on 7 February 1942. Japanese records indicate three attacks, one or more of which may have accounted for loss of Shark. The first and most likely attack was that by surface ship off Menado, Celebes, on 11 February 1942. The second was north of Kendari, Celebes, on 17 February 1942 and the third as east of Kendari on 21 February 1942.
5	176	Perch1	3/3/42 (2nd Patrol)	Java Sea	Depth Charge	Scuttled by own crew after Japanese depth charge attacks. See Section IV for details of loss.
6	132	S-271	6/19/42 (1st Patrol)	Off Amchitka, Aleutian Islands	Stranding	Stranded on reef 400 yards off Amchitka Island. Torpedo room flooded. After battery room made water and chlorine gas was generated. Ship assumed 8 to 12 degrees trim by the bow after grounding. Ship was abandoned.
7	216	Grunion5	7/30/42 to 8/6/42 (1st Patrol)	Off Aleutian Islands	Unknown	Last heard from on 30 July 1942 off Kiska at which time she reported strong Japanese anti-submarine activity. On the same day, Grunion was directed to return to Dutch Harbor and should have arrived by 6 August 1942. No explanation of loss is available from Japanese sources.
8	144	S-391	8/14/42 (5th Patrol)	Off Rossel Island, Louisiade Archipelago	Stranding	Stranded on submerged reef. Ballast tanks were ruptured by pounding in heavy seas and ship assumed 60 degrees port list. Ship was abandoned.
9	APS-1	Argonaut2	1/10/43 (3rd Patrol)	Off New Britain, Bismarck Archipelago	Depth Charge and Gunfire	U.S. Army bomber observed Argonaut forced to surface by depth charge attack of Japanese destroyers and sunk by gunfire. Action occurred of New Britain on 10 January 1943.
10	219	Amberjack3	2/16/43 (3rd Patrol)	Off New Britain, Bismarck Archipelago	Bomb and Depth Charge	Last heard from on 14 February 1943. Japanese records indicate several attacks, any one of which might have accounted for loss of Amberjack. The most likely action was a combined attack by one patrol plane and two surface escorts on 16 February 1943. It was reported that a large amount of oil and "parts of the hull" came to the surface.

No.	SS No.	Name	Date of Loss	Location of Loss	Cause of Loss	Remarks
11	207	Grampus3	3/6/43 (6th Patrol)	Blackett Strait, Solomon Islands	Gunfire	Never heard from again after departing Brisbane, Australia on 12 February 1943. Japanese records indicate two attacks, either of which might have accounted for loss of Grampus. However, on the basis of other evidence, it appears more likely that she was caught on the surface by Japanese destroyers passing through Blackett Strait on the night of 5-6 March and was sunk by gunfire. Since the destroyers were themselves subsequently sunk, Japanese reports contain no mention of such an attack.
12	201	Triton2	3/15/43 (6th Patrol)	North of New Guinea	Depth Charge	Last heard from on 11 March 1943. Japanese information indicates that Triton was almost certainly sunk by depth charge attack of Japanese destroyers on 15 March 1943. It was reported that "a great quantity of oil, pieces of wood, cork and manufactured goods bearing the label 'Made in U.S.A.'" was sighted after the attack.
13	177	Pickerel3	4/3/43	Off Northern Honshu	Depth Charge	Never heard from again after departing Midway on 22 March 1943. Japanese information indicates Pickerel was possibly sunk by depth charge attack off Shiramuka Lighthouse, Honshu on 3 April 1943.
14	210	Grenadier1	4/22/43 (6th Patrol)	Off Penang, Malaya	Bomb	Scuttled by own crew after aircraft bomb attack. See Section VIII for details of loss.
15	89	R-121	6/12/43	Off Key West, Florida	Operational or Matériel Casualty	Lost during training exercises off Key West, Florida. While surfaced, rapid flooding occurred forward for unknown reasons and the boat sank in about 15 seconds. The five officers and men on the bridge were the only survivors. The opinion of the Court of Inquiry was that the flooding could not be traced to any known cause but probably occurred through a torpedo tube.
16	275	Runner4	5/28/43 to 7/4/43 (3rd Patrol)	Off Northern Honshu	Mine	Never heard from again after departing Midway on 28 May 1943. Japanese records indicate no attacks which could conceivably have accounted for loss of Runner. It is considered possible that she may have been destroyed by a mine for there were at least four known minefields in her assigned patrol area.
17	209	Grayling5	9/9/43 to 9/27/43 (7th Patrol)	Off Manila, P.I.	Unknown	Last heard from on 23 August 1943. Japanese records indicate no attack which could conceivably have accounted for loss of Grayling.
18	181	Pompano4	8/20/43 to 9/27/43 (7th Patrol)	Off Northern Honshu	Mine	Never heard from again after departing Midway on 20 August 1943. Japanese records indicate no attacks which could conceivably have accounted for loss of Pompano. It is considered possible that she may have been destroyed by a mine for her assigned patrol areas were known to have been heavily mined.
19	290	Cisco3	9/28/43 (1st Patrol)	Sulu Sea	Bomb and Depth Charge	Never heard from again after departing Port Darwin, Australia on 19 September 1943. Japanese records indicate that Cisco may have been sunk in the Sulu Sea by combined aircraft and surface ship attack on 29 September 1943. It was reported that "oil continued to gush out even on tenth of October".
20	155	S-441	10/7/43 (5th Patrol)	Off Kamchatka, Okhotsk Sea	Gunfire	While surfaced at night, S-44 opened fire with her deck gun on a target believed to be a small enemy merchant ship but which actually was a Japanese destroyer. The immediate and accurate return fire of the destroyer sank S-44 before she could escape by submerging. About eight men escaped before the boat went under but only two of these were rescued.

No.	SS No.	Name	Date of Loss	Location of Loss	Cause of Loss	Remarks
21	238	Wahoo3	10/11/43 (7th Patrol)	La Perouse Strait, Sea of Japan	Bomb	Wahoo was never heard from again after departing Midway on 13 September 1943, although she is known to have sunk a Japanese ship in the Sea of Japan near the Straits of Tsushima on 5 October 1943. Japanese information indicates that she was possibly sunk by aircraft attack on 11 October 1943 while passing through La Perouse Strait on her way out of the Sea of Japan.
22	248	Dorado5	10/12/43	Off U.S. East Coast	Unknown	Never heard from again after departing Submarine Base, New London on 6 October 1943 for Panama Canal. There were no definite conclusions as to the cause of loss Possible causes could have been operational casualties, enemy action, or attack by friendly forces.
23	226	Corvina2	11/16/43 (1st Patrol)	South of Truk	Torpedo (Sub.)	Never heard from again after departing Johnston Island on 6 November 1943. Japanese records indicate that Corvina was torpedoed while surfaced by a Japanese submarine. Two of the three torpedoes which were fired were reported to have hit.
24	191	Sculpin1	11/19/43 (9th Patrol)	North of Truk	Depth Charge	While preparing to attack a Japanese convoy on the night of 18 November 1943, Sculpin was detected by Japanese destroyers and depth charged. The first series of depth charges caused only minor damage. The ship then broached when the diving officer attempted to plane up to periscope depth, the depth gage having struck at a reading of 125 feet, and the enemy destroyers renewed the attack at once. About noon on 19 November, another series of depth charges damaged Sculpin severely. The pressure hull was dished in, torpedo tube bulkheads were cracked, valves leaked, bow and stern planes were damaged and the boat was badly out of trim, about 180 shaft r.p.m. being required to maintain depth control. The boat at this time went to a reported maximum depth of about 500 feet. With batteries rapidly nearing depletion and the crew exhausted, Sculpin was then forced to make a battle surface. When in the ensuing gun action it became apparent that escape was impossible, the ship was scuttled by diving at emergency speed with all vents open. Forty-two men abandoned ship before Sculpin sank and of these, twenty-one survived the end of the war.
25	289	Capelin3	11/23/43 to 12/9/43 (4th Patrol)	Off Halmahera, Moluccas	Depth Charge	Never heard from again after departing Port Darwin, Australia on 17 November 1943. Japanese records list an attack on a U.S. submarine off Kaoe Bay, Halmahera, on 23 November 1943, but the action was incomplete and evidence of contact was slight. However, this is the only reported attack which could possibly have caused the loss of Capelin.
26	278	Scorpion4	1/5/44 to 2/24/44 (4th Patrol)	Yellow Sea	Mine	Last heard from during rendezvous with Herring (SS233) on 6 January 1944. Japanese records indicate no attacks which could conceivably have accounted for loss of Scorpion. It is considered possible that she may have been destroyed by known minefields at the entrance to the Yellow Sea while proceeding to or departing from her assigned patrol area.
27	208	Grayback2	2/26/44 (10th Patrol)	Off Okinawa	Bomb and Depth Charge	Last heard from on 25 February 1944. Japanese records indicate that Grayback was probably sunk on 26 February by the combined attack of a carrier plane and surface escorts. It was reported that the plane sighted a surfaced U.S. submarine and "gave a direct hit at the sub, which exploded and sank immediately".

No.	SS No.	Name	Date of Loss	Location of Loss	Cause of Loss	Remarks
28	202	Trout2	2/29/44 (11th Patrol)	Philippine Sea	Depth Charge	Japanese records list the sinking of Sakito Maru on 29 February 1944 in position 22°-40'N, 131°-45'E in the Philippine Sea. Trout is the only U.S. submarine which could have made this attack, and since she did not report the sinking, it is probable that she was lost during or shortly after this action.
29	284	Tullibee1	3/26/44 (4th Patrol)	Off Palau Islands	Own Torpedo	According to the one lone survivor, a minute or two after firing two torpedoes at a target ship on the night of 26 March 1944, Tullibee was damaged by a heavy explosion and sank immediately. Although there is no conclusive evidence, it is considered quite likely that the explosion was caused by a circular run of one of Tullibee's own torpedoes.
30	211	Gudgeon3	4/7/44 to 5/12/44 (12th Patrol)	Off Marianas Islands	Bomb and Depth Charge	Never heard from again after departing Johnston Island on 7 April 1944. Japanese records indicate at least two attacks which might have accounted for loss of Gudgeon, but the information furnished is too limited to permit any conclusions. Heavy anti-submarine activity, both aircraft and surface ship, was noted by Silversides (SS236), Tunny (SS282) and Sandlance (SS381) off the Marianas Islands on 12 May 1944 slightly to the south of Gudgeon's assigned area and it is possible that these attacks were responsible for her loss.
31	233	Herring2	6/1/44 (8th Patrol)	Off Matsuwa To, Kurile Islands	Gunfire	Last heard from during rendezvous with Barb (SS220) on 31 May 1944. Japanese information indicates that Herring was sunk on 1 June 1944 by gunfire from shore batteries shortly after torpedoing two merchant ships anchored at Matsuwa. The report stated that two direct hits were scored on the conning tower and that :bubbles covered an areas about 54 meters wide, and heavy oil covered an area of approximately 15 miles.
32	361	Golet2	6/14/44 (2nd Patrol)	Off Northern Honshu	Depth Charge	Never heard from again after departing Midway on 28 May 1944. Japanese information indicates that Golet was probably sunk off Northern Honshu by surface ship attack on 14 June 1944. It was reported that "corks, raft, etc., and a heavy oil pool" were found at the scene of the action.
33	133	S-281	7/4/44	Off Oahu, T.H.	Operational or Matériel Casualty	Lost while on training exercises off Oahu, T.H. Submerged and never resurfaced. Nature of casualty which caused loss is unknown.
34	273	Robalo1	7/26/44 (3rd Patrol)	Balabac Strait	Mine	Information contained in a note written by survivors of Robalo, none of whom lived to the end of the war, and also from a Philippine guerilla leader, indicates that Robalo was sunk on 26 July 1944 while east of Balabac Island. The note stated that the sinking was caused by explosion of the after battery. It is believed more likely, however, that Robalo was mined. No Japanese information is available. Flier (SS250) was also apparently mined in this same area two weeks later.
35	250	Flier1	8/13/44 (2nd Patrol)	Balabac Strait	Mine	Explosion occurred forward while proceeding on the surface through Balabac Strait on the night of 13 August 1944. Ship is reported to have sunk in 20 or 30 seconds. About 15 men abandoned ship before she sank and of these only eight were able to swim ashore and survive. Explosion is believed to have been contact mine.
36	257	Harder2	8/24/44 (6th Patrol)	Off Luzon, South China Sea	Depth Charge	Information received from both the Japanese and Hake (SS256) indicates that Harder was sunk by depth charge attack off central Luzon on 24 August 1944. The Japanese report stated that "much oil, wood chips and cork floated in the neighborhood".

No.	SS No.	Name	Date of Loss	Location of Loss	Cause of Loss	Remarks
37	197	Seawolf5	10/3/44 (15th Patrol)	Off Halmahera, Moluccas	Unknown	Assessment of all available information does not establish cause of loss but indicates the possibility that the ship may have been lost during anti-submarine attacks on a Japanese submarine.
38	294	Escolar4	10/17/44 to 11/3/44 (1st Patrol)	East China Sea	Mine	Last heard from on 17 October 1944. No explanation of loss is available from Japanese sources. No other information being available, it is presumed that Escolar's loss was caused by a mine, for these are known to have been present in her assigned patrol area.
39	306	Tang1	10/24/44 (5th Patrol)	Formosa Strait	Own Torpedo	Sunk by circular run of own torpedo. See Section X for details of loss.
40	314	Shark (II)2	10/24/44 (3rd Patrol)	South of Formosa	Depth Charge	Last heard from on 24 October 1944. Japanese information indicates that Shark was probably sunk by depth charge attack south of Formosa on 24 October 1944, shortly after torpedoing a Japanese transport. It was reported that "bubbles, and heavy oil, clothes, cork, etc." were sighted.
41	227	Darter1	10/24/44 (4th Patrol)	Bombay Shoal, South China Sea	Stranding	Ran aground on Bombay Shoal, South China Sea on 24 October 1944 while running surfaced at 17 knots speed. Crew abandoned ship and partial destruction was carried out by gunfire from Dace (SS247) and Nautilus (SS168) to prevent possible enemy utilization.
42	218	Albacore2	11/7/44 (11th Patrol)	Off Northern Honshu	Mine	Never heard from again after departing Midway on 28 October 1944. Japanese information indicates Albacore was sunk by mine while running submerged off northern Honshu on 7 November 1944. Both the explosion and the resulting debris were witnessed by an enemy patrol craft.
43	215	Growler2	11/8/44 (11th Patrol)	Off Mindoro, P.I.	Depth Charge	Believed to have been sunk while attacking a Japanese convoy off Mindoro, P.I., on 8 November 1944. Information furnished by Hake (SS256) and Hardhead (SS365), who were operating with Growler at the time, indicates that the loss may have occurred either as a result of enemy depth charging or the malfunctioning of one of Growler's own torpedoes, but no conclusive evidence exists. No Japanese information is available.
44	277	Scamp3	11/9/44 to 11/16/44 (8th Patrol)	Off Tokyo Bay	Bomb and Depth Charge	Last heard from on 9 November 1944. Japanese records list three attacks, one or more of which may possibly have accounted for loss of Scamp while assigned to aviator rescue duty off Tokyo Bay. On 11 November 1944, a Japanese patrol plane bombed what appeared to be oil trails left by a submarine and a coast defense vessel dropped some seventy depth charges in three runs on the same target, whereupon a large oil pool was reported to have appeared. On 16 November, two attacks in Scamp's area were made, during one of which it was reported that "great explosive sounds came as a result of this attack".
45	193	Swordfish3	1/12/45 (13th Patrol)	Off Okinawa	Depth Charge	Last heard from on 3 January 1945. Information furnished by Kete (SS369) indicates that Swordfish may have been sunk by Japanese depth charge attack near Okinawa on 12 January 1945. No explanation of loss is available from Japanese sources.
46	316	Barbel2	2/4/45 (4th Patrol)	Off North Borneo	Bomb	Last heard from on 3 February 1945. Japanese information indicates that Barbel was probably sunk by aircraft attack off North Borneo on 4 February 1945. It was reported that one of the two bombs struck near the bridge.

No.	SS No.	Name	Date of Loss	Location of Loss	Cause of Loss	Remarks
47	369	Kete5	3/20/45 to 3/31/45 (2nd Patrol)	Off Nansei Shoto Islands	Unknown	Kete had been directed to depart her patrol area in the vicinity of the Nansei Shoto Islands on 20 March and proceed to Pearl for refit. Receipt of these orders was acknowledged on 19 March and on 20 March Kete sent a special weather report, the last message received from her. At normal cruising speed she should have arrived at Midway about 31 March 1945. No possible explanation of loss is available from Japanese sources.
48	237	Trigger2	3/28/45 (12th Patrol)	Off Southern Kyushu	Bomb and Depth Charge	Last heard from on 26 March 1945. Japanese records and information furnished by Threadfin (SS410) and three other U.S. submarines indicate that Trigger was probably sunk as a result of a combined attack by planes and surface vessels off southern Kyushu on the afternoon of 28 March 1945. The Japanese report stated "Found oil pool of 1x5 miles in size the following day."
49	279	Snook5	4/8/454/20/45 (9th Patrol)	South China Sea or off Formosa	Unknown	Last heard from on 8 April 1945 during rendezvous with Tigrone (SS419) near Hainan Island in the South China Sea. No explanation of loss is available from Japanese sources.
50	371	Lagarto2	5/3/45 (2nd Patrol)	Gulf of Siam	Depth Charge	Last heard from on 3 May 1945. Japanese records and information furnished by Baya (SS318) indicate that Lagarto was probably sunk by depth charge attack in the Gulf of Siam on 3 May 1945 while attempting to attack a Japanese convoy.
51	223	Bonefish2	6/18/45 (8th Patrol)	Off Central Honshu, Sea of Japan	Depth Charge	Last heard from during rendezvous with Tunny (SS282) on the morning of 18 June 1945. At this time Bonefish received permission to conduct a submerged daylight patrol off Toyama Wan on the west coast of Honshu and she immediately departed for that area. Japanese information indicates that she was sunk there on 18 June as a result of depth charge attack. Wood chips and oil were observed after the attack.
52	332	Bullhead2	8/6/45 (3rd Patrol)	Java Sea	Bomb	Of the many Japanese anti-submarine attacks recorded as having been made in Bullhead's patrol area in the Java Sea during the period she could have been present, the one believed most likely to have accounted for her loss was that on 6 August 1945 by Japanese army planes. It was reported that two direct hits were made and that for the next ten minutes a large quantity of oil and air bubbles rose from the scene of the attack.

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Footnotes

1. United States Submarine Losses in World War II.