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Allied Warships

Gudgeon (SS-211)

Submarine of the Gar class


USS Gudgeon as completed

NavyThe US Navy
TypeSubmarine
ClassGar 
Pennant211 
Built byMare Island Navy Yard (Vallejo, California, U.S.A.) 
Ordered 
Laid down22 Nov, 1939 
Launched25 Jan, 1941 
Commissioned21 Apr, 1941 
Lost18 Apr, 1944 
Loss position22.52N, 143.32E (See a map)
 
HistoryUSS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr R.A. Bonin) was sunk 18 April 1944 by a G3M "Nell", an IJN aircraft of the 901st Air Group on A/S patrol, 166 nautical miles south-east (bearing 132°) from Iwo Jima, position 22º52'5"N, 143º32E. The pilot claimed to have sighted a surfacing sub and in the attack scored direct hits on the bow and the conning tower with 2-250 kg (550 lb) bombs, leaving a gaping hole in the centre section. A column of oil was thrown into the air and the sub sank quickly, followed by a heavy under water detonation.

As related in most US sources, it was believed the attack which accounted for the loss of the boat, actually did take place on this date when, according to translated reports, 2 Japanese aircraft (actually only 1 was involved) attacked a submarine 166 miles north of "Yuoh" Island. But there is no "Yuoh" Island in the Pacific.
US researchers, based on the projected track of Gudgeon, made the incorrect assumption the sub was in the vicinity of Maug island, Marianas, and entered the possibility this was the place in the record.

Evaluation: The translator of the original report appears to have been rather unskilled, as he mis-translated the kanji giving the bearing of the attack and failed to recognise the island's name. Since YUOH is composed of 2 sillables, it can be read in 2 different ways, e.g. Yu-oh or y-uoh.
A section of the 901st Air Group was temporarily based on Iwo Jima, to cover passage of a convoy. The japanese word for sulphur is "iwo" (pronounced e-ohh) and the pilot, in their report mentioned he was patrolling to the south-east of "sulphur island" when they sighted the sub. There is little doubt at this point that Gudgeon met her fate south-east of Iwo Jima on April 18th. 


Noteable events involving Gudgeon include:

11 Dec, 1941
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr. E.W. Grenfell) departs Pearl Harbour for her 1st war patrol. She is ordered to patrol off Kyushu in Japanese home waters.

27 Jan, 1942
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr. E.W. Grenfell) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese submarine I-73 (offsite link) about 240 nautical miles west of Midway in position 28º24'N, 178º35'E. (see map)

29 Jan, 1942
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr. E.W. Grenfell) ended her 1st war patrol at Pearl Harbour.

22 Feb, 1942
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr. E.W. Grenfell) departs Pearl Harbour for her 2nd war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the East China Sea.

27 Mar, 1942
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr. E.W. Grenfell) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese merchant Nissho Maru (6526 GRT) in the East China Sea south-east of Kumun Island in position 33º50'N, 127º33'E. (see map)

15 Apr, 1942
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr. E.W. Grenfell) ends her 2nd war patrol at Pearl Harbour.

18 May, 1942
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr. H.B. Lyon) departed Pearl Harbour for her 3th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol northwest of Midway during the defence of that island.

14 Jun, 1942
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr. H.B. Lyon) ended her 3th war patrol at Pearl Harbour.

11 Jul, 1942
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr. W.B. Stovall, Jr) departed Pearl Harbour for her 4th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Caroline Islands area.

3 Aug, 1942
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr. W.B. Stovall, Jr) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese transport ship Naniwa Maru (4853 GRT) off Truk in position 07º37'N, 150º11'E. (see map)

17 Aug, 1942
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr. W.B. Stovall, Jr) torpedoes and damages the Japanese tankers Shinkoku Maru (10020 GRT) and Nichiei Maru (10020 GRT) north-west of Truk in position 07º43'N, 151º13'E. (see map)

2 Sep, 1942
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr. W.B. Stovall, Jr) ended her 4th war patrol at Fremantle, Australia.

2 Oct, 1942
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr. W.B. Stovall, Jr) departed Brisbane, Australia for her 5th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Bismarck Sea.

21 Oct, 1942
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr. W.B. Stovall, Jr) torpedoes and sinks the Japanse troop transport Choko Maru (6783 GRT) about 110 nautical miles west-north-west of Rabaul in position 03º30'S, 150º30'E. (see map)

1 Dec, 1942
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr. W.B. Stovall, Jr) ended her 5th war patrol at Brisbane.

27 Dec, 1942
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr. W.B. Stovall, Jr) departed Brisbane for her 6th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Philippines and to land six men and equipment on Negros island.

14 Jan, 1943
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr. W.B. Stovall, Jr) lands 6 men and equipment near Catmon Point, Negros, Philippines.

10 Feb, 1943
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr. W.B. Stovall, Jr) picked up 28 men from Timor, Netherlands East Indies and took them to Fremantle.

18 Feb, 1943
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr. W.B. Stovall, Jr) ended her 6th war patrol at Fremantle.

13 Mar, 1943
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr. W.S. Post, Jr) departed Fremantle for her 7th war patrol.

22 Mar, 1943
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr. W.S. Post, Jr) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese transport ship Meigen Maru (5434 GRT) in the Java Sea about 30 nautical miles north of Surabaya, Java, Netherlands East Indies in position 06º31'S, 112º47'E. (see map)

27 Mar, 1943
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr. W.S. Post, Jr) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese fleet tanker Toho Maru (9987 GRT, offsite link) in Makassar Strait in position 00º00'N, 118º18'E, and damages the Japanese tanker Kyoei Maru (1192 GRT) in position 00º54'N, 119º01'E. (see map)

6 Apr, 1943
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr. W.S. Post, Jr) ended her 7th war patrol at Fremantle.

15 Apr, 1943
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr. W.S. Post, Jr) departed Fremantle for her 8th war patrol.

28 Apr, 1943
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr. W.S. Post, Jr) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese troop transport Kamakura Maru (17526 GRT) about 30 nautical miles south-west of Naso Point, Panay, Philippines in position 10º18'N, 121º44'E. (see map)

30 Apr, 1943
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr. W.S. Post, Jr) lands 6 men and 3 tons of equipment on Panay, Philippines.

4 May, 1943
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr. W.S. Post, Jr) sinks the Japanese trawler Naku Maru (500 GRT) with gunfire west of Panay, Philippines in position 10º11'N, 121º43'E. (see map)

12 May, 1943
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr. W.S. Post, Jr) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese transport ship Sumatra Maru (5861 GRT) off Bulusan, Luzon, Philippines in position 12º43'N, 124º08'E. (see map)

25 May, 1943
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr. W.S. Post, Jr) ended her 8th war patrol at Pearl Harbour. She was ordered to the US west coast for an overhaul.

1 Sep, 1943
With her overhaul completed USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr. W.S. Post, Jr) departs Pearl Harbour for her 9th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Mariana Islands area.

28 Sep, 1943
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr. W.S. Post, Jr) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese merchant Taian Maru (3158 GRT) north of Saipan in position 15º22'N, 145º38'E. (see map)

29 Sep, 1943
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr. W.S. Post, Jr) torpedoes and damages the Japanese auxiliary gunboat Santo Maru (3266 GRT) north of Saipan in position 15º28'N, 145º57'E. (see map)

6 Oct, 1943
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr. W.S. Post, Jr) ends her 9th war patrol at Midway.

31 Oct, 1943
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr. W.S. Post, Jr) departs Midway for her 10th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the East China Sea.

23 Nov, 1943
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr. W.S. Post, Jr) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese frigate Wakamiya (870 tons) and the troop transport Nekka Maru (6783 GRT) and torpedoes and damages the tankers Ichiyo Maru (5106 GRT) and Goyo Maru (8469 GRT) in the East China Sea about 70 nautical miles north of Shusan Island, China in position 28º38'N, 122º00'E. (see map)

11 Dec, 1943
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr. W.S. Post, Jr) ends her 10th war patrol when she returned to base.

18 Jan, 1944
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr. W.S. Post, Jr) departs her base for her 11th war patrol. She is ordered to patrol in the South China Sea.

11 Feb, 1944
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr. W.S. Post, Jr) torpedoes and sinks the already damaged (by Chinese air attack) Japanese merchant Satsuma Maru (3091 GRT) off Wenchow, China, in position 27º38'N, 121º15'E. (see map)

17 Feb, 1944
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr. W.S. Post, Jr) sinks a Japanese sampam with gunfire in the East China Sea in position 28º01'N, 123º23'E. Another sampam is damaged. (see map)

5 Mar, 1944
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr. W.S. Post, Jr) ends her 11th war patrol at Pearl Harbour.

4 Apr, 1944
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr R.A. Bonin) departs Pearl Harbour for her 12th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the northern Mariana Islands area.

7 Apr, 1944
USS Gudgeon (Lt.Cdr R.A. Bonin) topps off with fuel at Johnston Island. She is never seen or heard from again.


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