World War II Database

Contributor: David Stubblebine

ww2dbaseSargo-class submarine USS Saury was a workhorse for the United States Navy throughout World War II. Like a workhorse, Saury's exploits were not always glamorous, she was often tired and a little injured, sometimes a bit jinxed, but she always did her best when her country sent her into hostile waters.

ww2dbaseSaury was laid down 28 Jun 1937 at the Electric Boat Company in Groton, Connecticut, United States. Built alongside the lead boat of her class, Sargo, the two were truly sister ships. The Sargo design was a modest upgrade from the preceding Salmon-class. Saury was launched 20 Aug 1938 and commissioned 3 Apr 1939 at New London, Connecticut with Lieutenant Commander George W. Patterson, Jr. in command. Later that same month, Saury arrived at New York City for the 1939 World's Fair opening ceremonies. She then served as the test bed for some experimental periscope designs. Saury then spent two months sailing along the Atlantic coast from Newfoundland in Canada to Venezuela in South America and as far west as the Panama Canal. After a short refit at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine, Saury shifted to the Pacific. She departed the East Coast in Dec 1939 and began operating out of San Diego. In April 1940, Saury sailed to Hawai'i to participate in Fleet Problem XXI, a simulated Japanese attack on the Hawaiian Islands. Following the exercise, Saury continued to be based in Hawai'i. In Oct 1941, as tensions were rising in the Pacific, Saury shifted to Cavite in the Philippines.

ww2dbaseOn 8 Dec 1941, just fifteen hours after bombs fell on Pearl Harbor, Saury sortied from Manila Bay on her first war patrol. Her assignment was to patrol the northern approaches to Luzon against the expected Japanese invasion forces. In the early morning darkness of 22 Dec 1941, Saury came across four Japanese destroyers at the opening to Luzon's Lingayen Gulf. Saury fired one torpedo that was seen to head straight toward its intended target, but there was no explosion. Whether Saury was an early victim of the troubled Mark XIV torpedo will never be known, but she had fired her first shot of the war. Two more weeks in the Lingayen Gulf area afforded Saury no more suitable targets and she was ordered to the Dutch East Indies, where the Japanese were also invading. Saury prowled the waters of Makassar Strait east of Borneo for two more weeks before ending her first war patrol on 30 Jan 1942 at Soerabaja (now Surabaya) in East Java, Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia).

ww2dbaseSaury's second war patrol took her to the Indian Ocean south of Java to protect Java's southern approaches. On the night of 23 Feb 1942, Saury's best opportunity was thwarted when, after closing on the surface to within 5,000 yards of a Japanese convoy, she was suddenly illuminated by a bright spotlight from one of the escorts. Saury had to break off the attack and dive deep. By the time Saury was nearing the end of her second war patrol, Java had fallen to the Japanese so Saury was redirected to Fremantle, Australia. In his patrol report, Saury's captain complained bitterly about how noisy the submarine was while submerged. This was due to a number of different factors, all of which he explained at length in his report. During this patrol, Saury had endured eighteen hours evading one continuous depth charge attack where Saury's squeaky propeller shafts and noisy ballast valves probably aided the Japanese.

ww2dbaseSaury departed Fremantle on 28 Apr 1942 on her third war patrol but only three days out, she was forced to return with mechanical problems. Departing again on 7 May 1942, her patrol area was in the Molucca Sea along the eastern approaches to Celebes (now Sulawesi), Dutch East Indies. On two occasions, Saury was able to develop targets to a point she could fire torpedoes, but there were no hits. Saury concluded her third war patrol back at Fremantle on 28 Jun 1942.

ww2dbaseWhile in Australia, Saury took part in the second round of Mark XIV torpedo tests authorized by area submarine commander, Rear Admiral Charles Lockwood. Saury fired four torpedoes at a net hanging from the surface positioned 850 yards downrange. The torpedoes were set to run at a depth of 10 feet but three pierced the net at a depth of 21 feet and the fourth missed the net altogether. These tests, along with the earlier round of similar tests ordered by Admiral Lockwood, clearly suggested a problem with the Mark XIV's depth control (Admiral Lockwood's tests in Australia were against the express orders of the Navy's Bureau of Ordnance; but these were also the first live-fire tests the Mark XIV had ever been subjected to).

ww2dbaseOn 31 Jul 1942, Saury departed Fremantle on her fourth war patrol, this time back to the Philippines and Luzon. While still on her way to the Philippines, Saury was running on the surface at night, barely into the Sulu Sea 55 miles northeast of Borneo, when the boat was struck by lightning. For the rest of the night, her rigging and antennae were alive with St. Elmo's fire. On the night of 24 Aug 1942, Saury drew her first blood. Off the mouth of Manila Bay, Saury stalked and torpedoed the 9,000-ton Japanese transport ship Otowasan Maru. The ship was damaged and lost power but was later towed into Manila Bay and repaired. On 11 Sep 1942, Saury made her first kill. As Saury was making her way toward Fremantle to end her war patrol, she came across the 10,000-ton aircraft transport Kanto Maru in the Makassar Strait. As Saury approached on the surface at night, she was momentarily fully illuminated by flashes of lightning but (apparently) went undetected. Sixteen minutes later, while still on the surface, Saury fired three torpedoes. One exploded beneath Kanto Maru's keel amidships and the vessel burst into flames. Fire rose 800 feet into the air and brilliantly lit the seascape for miles. After burning furiously for several minutes, the ship exploded with great fury. Thirty-nine men aboard were killed. Interestingly, Saury reported that her torpedo had exploded "amidships under keel," which, if true, may be one of the very few (perhaps only) documented successful combat detonations of the Mark XIV torpedo's flawed Mark 6 magnetic influence exploder.

ww2dbaseOn 23 Sep 1942, Saury ended her fourth war patrol back at Fremantle. Saury shifted from Fremantle to Sydney and then to Brisbane, Australia. On 31 Oct 1942, Saury departed Brisbane on her fifth war patrol assigned to the Bismarck Sea and the approaches to Rabaul on New Britain. Once off New Ireland, Saury made two torpedo attacks with no hits. One of the torpedoes was seen to clearly run under the intended target. Saury also suffered a fatal break down in one of her main engines and completed the patrol running only on her other three. On 8 Dec 1942, Saury received orders to make her way to Pearl Harbor, Hawai'i. On 13 Dec 1942 while on her way to Hawai'i, Saury observed a Japanese merchant ship stopped three miles off Nauru island. Saury fired two torpedoes with one possibly destroying a motor launch alongside the merchant ship and one definitely exploding against the beach. With Japanese defenses alerted, Saury sailed on, crossing the equator later the same day. On 21 Dec 1942, Saury stopped briefly at Pearl Harbor before continuing on to Mare Island Naval Shipyard in California.

ww2dbaseSaury entered Mare Island on 29 Dec 1942. During her refit, in addition to an engine overhaul, many of the noise issues identified earlier were more fully addressed. Among her many upgrades at Mare Island, Saury also received a high periscope, which proved useful later during daytime periscope patrols. Saury departed Mare Island bound for Pearl Harbor on 10 Apr 1943, arriving six days later.

ww2dbaseAt Pearl Harbor, Saury received her fourth commanding officer on 17 Apr 1943 when Lieutenant Commander Anthony Dropp relieved Lieutenant Commander Leonard Mewhinney. On 7 May 1943, Saury departed Pearl Harbor on her sixth war patrol, bound for the East China Sea and the lanes immediately south of Japan. When nearly into her assigned area on 24 May 1943, Saury was forced to make a sudden daytime dive because of an unexpected ship sighting. The navigator first observed what he said was thick black smoke. The commanding officer identified it as a ship coming directly toward them and the order was given to dive. While submerged, Saury circled to get into a better firing position. When she surfaced to make the attack, they were embarrassed to see they had been stalking Lot's Wife, a 300-ft tall rock pillar in the middle of the ocean.

ww2dbaseUpon entering her patrol area north of Okinawa, Saury began having some luck right away. On 26 May 1943, she bypassed a convoy's decoy ship, fired three torpedoes at the 2,350-ton transport Kagi Maru, scored two hits, and sank the ship. Two days later, Saury came across the unescorted 10,000-ton tanker Akatsuki Maru. The tanker was running empty and, due to the increased buoyancy of an empty tanker, the ship proved very difficult to sink. Over the course of two hours, Saury made four separate torpedo attacks on this ship, fired 14 torpedoes, scored five hits, evaded the ship's counterattacks, and was ultimately successful in sinking the ship. The next day, Saury made contact with a convoy of four cargo ships and three tankers east of Shanghai, China. Saury made a surfaced torpedo attack and sank another 10,000-ton tanker, the Akatsuki Maru. Saury had only one torpedo left, and it was damaged, so she began making her way toward Midway. One day prior to arriving at Midway, Saury suffered a casualty to one of her engines that could not be repaired at sea. Saury continued on her other three engines and ended her sixth war patrol at Pearl Harbor on 13 Jun 1943.

ww2dbaseOne month later, Saury departed Pearl Harbor on her seventh war patrol. Late in the night of 30 July 1943, Saury detected a small convoy of one heavy cruiser, one large tanker, and escorts. While maneuvering to attack the ships, Saury experienced two different momentary losses of depth control that cost her the advantage. After regaining her position, Saury raised her periscope just in time to see a Japanese destroyer bearing down. As Saury crash-dived, the destroyer struck Saury's periscopes, knocking the boat over onto an immediate 5-degree list. Both periscopes and both radar masts were instantly rendered inoperable and several leaks were opened. Saury retired to where she could safely surface and inspect the damage. The periscope shears were bent to starboard at 30-degrees from the vertical and all equipment mounted to the shears was damaged. Her combat effectiveness compromised, Saury began her way back toward Pearl Harbor.

ww2dbaseRepairs completed, Saury departed Pearl Harbor on 4 Oct 1943 on her eighth war patrol to the lanes north of Truk. For the first time, Saury was armed with Mark XVIII electric torpedoes. Shortly after reaching her patrol area, Saury detected a convoy of three large ships with four escorts. Saury fired four torpedoes, heard two explosions, but apparently caused no damage. Three days later, Saury detected two Japanese battleships heading toward Truk but Saury was detected and had to dive deep. After almost three weeks of finding no targets worthy of her torpedoes, Saury departed her patrol area on a course back toward base.

ww2dbaseSaury's ninth war patrol brought her back to the lanes north of Okinawa but was badly hampered by poor visibility and rough seas. After seven weeks on patrol with nothing to show for it, Saury set a return course toward Midway. On 12 Feb 1944, one day before her arrival at Midway, Saury was overtaken by a large sleeper wave that came over her stern. The boat took an immediate 40-degree port list, she was knocked 140-degees off her course, water poured through engine air intakes and open hatches, including the hatch on the bridge, and electrical systems shorted out. Some power was restored within 30 minutes but it was 21 hours before systems were restored to the point the boat could dive safely. After some repairs at Midway and more at Pearl Harbor, Saury was ordered back to Mare Island. During this overhaul, Saury would also receive four replacement engines.

ww2dbaseWith her overhaul completed, Saury departed Pearl Harbor on 29 Jun 1944 on her tenth war patrol. Her assigned patrol area was off San Bernardino Strait in the Philippines. After a brief stop at Midway, Saury continued on her way only to be forced to return two days later with engine problems. Once on station east of the Philippines, Saury's No. 1 periscope came alive on its own and fully raised itself, breaking one of the cables. Two weeks later, operations were hampered by a case of food poisoning that put seventeen officers and men on the sick list for two days. The source of the poisoning was traced to a ready-mixed pie filling but the search for the source led to an unexpected discovery. A design flaw in the cold storage locker, just upgraded in the recent overhaul, had allowed over 100 pounds of meat to spoil. Faced with few options, the spoiled meat went over the side. On 23 Aug 1944, Saury ended her tenth war patrol at Majuro in the Marshall Islands.

ww2dbaseOn 20 Sep 1944, Saury departed Majuro on her eleventh war patrol back to the Okinawa area. On 18 Oct 1944 about 160 miles east of Okinawa, Saury picked up a downed aviator from the carrier USS Bunker Hill. The pilot had been forced to ditch his F6F Hellcat due to engine failure and spent two-and-a-half days floating in a rubber raft. At the end of the month, as Saury was preparing to end her war patrol, she received orders to divert to Saipan. Upon arrival, her patrol period was extended and she was assigned to a wolfpack being formed that consisted of submarines Silversides, Saury, Tambor, Trigger, Sterlet, Ronquil, and Burrfish. They departed Saipan on 10 Nov 1944 as a designated task unit to sweep and destroy Japanese patrol boats between the Bonin Islands and Japan. On 15 Nov 1944, Saury fired four torpedoes at patrol boat Kojo Maru northwest of Chichi Jima. The torpedoes ran straight but appeared to explode beyond the target, apparently having passed underneath. Kojo Maru shot back and Saury had to go deep. Kojo Maru was, in fact, badly damaged in the attack and sank the next day. This attack opened a four-day running gunfight between the wolfpack and several patrol boats and merchant ships. Saury made two attacks on one 6,000-ton merchant ship, causing severe damage. The next day on 19 Nov 1944, Saury detached from the wolfpack and started making her way toward Pearl Harbor.

ww2dbaseUpon arrival at Pearl Harbor, after eleven war patrols, Saury was relieved of combat responsibilities and assigned to training duties based at Pearl Harbor's Submarine Base. She was still acting in this role in Aug 1945 when the war ended. Days after the close of hostilities, Saury sailed from Hawai'i to Mare Island to begin her deactivation overhaul. On 22 Jun 1946, Saury was taken out of commission and placed in reserves. She was sold for scrap in May 1947 and scrapped later that year.

ww2dbaseUSS Saury served throughout World War II and completed eleven war patrols, including one that began when the war was only hours old. She is officially credited with sinking four ships totaling 34,900 tons and damaging three others totaling 16,500 tons. Saury earned seven battle stars in World War II.

Submarine Saury (SS-189) Interactive Map

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Saury Operational Timeline

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