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| Torpedo! The arrowing wake promises a direct hit. Frantic crewmen of Japanese submarine I-173 see their doom written in froth. Gudgeon (SS-211; Commander Greenfell) was victor in this sub vs. sub battle west of Midway. Downed in January 1942, I-173 was the first warship ever sunk by a U.S. submarine. |
Four days after the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, the USS Gudgeon (SS-211) departed Pearl Harbor to conduct her and America’s first offensive war patrol of World War II. She went on to contribute two more “firsts” for the Pacific Submarine Force.
Gudgeon was the first American submarine to patrol along the Japanese coast itself in the vicinity of the island of Kyushu and the first U.S. submarine to sink an enemy warship in World War II, the Japanese submarine I-173. I-173 was returning to Japan from a patrol off the coasts of California and Washington.
On 27 January 1942 at 0900, the Gudgeon was conducting a submerged patrol due to receiving warnings of a Japanese submarine in the area. Sound reported fast screws off the port bow. The officer of the deck was making a periscope observation at the time and upon training on the sound bearing saw a submarine at a range of 5,000 yards, running fast on the surface. Gudgeon went to battle stations as the commanding officer, Lt. Elton W. Grenfell, took over the periscope and the enemy submarine’s speed was soon determined to be 16½ knots. Grenfell made three quick looks, identified the submarine to be Japanese because of its gun forward, clearing lines and the shape of the bridge structure.
Seven minutes after sighting, three torpedoes were fired at a range of 1,800 yards. As they sped on their way, the comment, “They look good” was made by Grenfell and then … two hits! Within 30 seconds the Japanese submarine disappeared forever, making her final dive. Six people had been observed on the bridge. There were no survivors.
Submarine against submarine! A sorry situation as you could be the next target.
USS Gudgeon (SS-211) was the first U.S. submarine to be awarded the Presidential Unit Citation plus the Submarine Combat Insignia.
Gudgeon was lost on its twelfth war patrol in April 1944. There were no survivors.