Sulu Sea in WW2 History | World War II Database

8 Jan 1942

Philippines

USS S-39 discovered a Japanese submarine in the Sulu Sea and fired a torpedo at the target while submerged; the torpedo missed. ww2dbase [S-39 | Sulu Sea | CPC]

12 Jan 1942

Philippines

S-36 patrolled the Sulu Sea. ww2dbase [S-36 | Sulu Sea | CPC]

13 Jan 1942

Philippines

S-36 suffered a failure with the port main motor while in the Sulu Sea. ww2dbase [S-36 | Sulu Sea | CPC]

14 Jan 1942

Philippines

S-36 patrolled the Sulu Sea. ww2dbase [S-36 | Sulu Sea | CPC]

15 Jan 1942

Philippines

S-36 was spotted by a Japanese destroyer in the Sulu Sea. Oil supply failures with the starboard engine delayed her dive, and as the result she suffered damage from depth charges. ww2dbase [S-36 | Sulu Sea | CPC]

28 Apr 1943

Philippines

American submarine USS Gudgeon spotted the 17,526-ton Japanese troop carrier Kamakura Maru sailing unescorted in the Sulu Sea 15 miles southwest of Naso Point, panay Island, Philippine Islands. Gudgeon fired a spread of four torpedoes at the Japanese vessel at 3,200 yards range. After two minutes there were two explosions. The Kamakura Maru was hit twice on her starboard side at the No. 4 hold where fuel and vehicles immediately catch fire which rapidly spread. Twelve minutes after the strike there was an explosion and the ship upended and sank by the stern. The US submarine passed through the area where the ship sank and reported a dozen lifeboats and floating debris and a large amount of people in the water. The Japanese crew failed to send out a distress signal before the ship sank, thus no one suspected its loss until 3 May 1945. The Kamakura Maru was the largest Japanese troopship sunk in the war; over 2,000 lives were lost with this sinking. ww2dbase [Gudgeon | Sulu Sea | HM]

3 May 1943

Philippines

Having failed to make port call at Balikpapan, Borneo, Dutch East Indies, the Japanese realized that the troop carrier Kamakura Maru might had been lost while en route from Manila, Philippines (she was indeed sunk by submarine USS Gudgeon on 28 Apr 1943). Search and rescue efforts were launched immediately, but after more than 4 days in the water, many had already perished. Only 28 out of the 176 crew and only 437 of the about 2,500 passengers were rescued. ww2dbase [Sulu Sea | HM]

11 Nov 1943

Philippines

USS Bluefish sank a Japanese patrol boat with her deck gun in the Sulu Sea. ww2dbase [Bluefish | Sulu Sea | CPC]

29 Mar 1944

Philippines

USS Bluefish attacked a Japanese ship northeast of Borneo, Dutch East Indies; all 5 torpedoes missed. ww2dbase [Bluefish | Sulu Sea | CPC]

15 Dec 1944

Photo(s) dated 15 Dec 1944

A burning Yokosuka P1Y Ginga ‘Frances’ aircraft crossing astern of escort carrier USS Ommaney Bay in the Sulu Sea, Philippines, 15 Dec 1944. Moments later, the airplane crashed into the sea.

4 Jan 1945

Philippines

In the Philippine Islands, Japanese aircraft attacked the American invasion fleet bound for Luzon; USS Ommaney Bay was seriously damaged by a special attack in the Sulu Sea and was scuttled. ww2dbase [Ommaney Bay | Sulu Sea | CPC]

Photo(s) dated 4 Jan 1945

Escort carrier USS Ommaney Bay on fire after being struck by a Japanese special attack aircraft in the Sulu Sea, Philippines, 4 Jan 1945. The destroyer USS Patterson can be seen approaching to help.

Burning escort carrier USS Ommaney Bay as seen from sister ship USS Steamer Bay, 4 Jan 1945, Sulu Sea, Philippines. Ommaney Bay had been struck by a Japanese special attack aircraft and was later scuttled.

Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis

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