Lost Subs - USS Sculpin (SS-191)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Compiled July 2, 2008, by David Barth.
USS Sculpin (SS-191), a Sargo-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the
sculpin, a spiny, large-headed, broad-mouthed, usually scaleless fish of the family Cottidae.
Her keel was laid down on 7 September 1937 at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine. She was launched on 27 July
1938 sponsored by Mrs. J.R. Defrees, and commissioned on 16 January 1939 with Lieutenant W.D. Wilkin in
command.
1939 - 1941
While on her initial shakedown cruise on 23 May 1939, Sculpin was diverted to search for the sunken submarine Squalus
(SS-192). Sighting a red smoke bomb and a buoy from the sunken submarine, she established communications, first by
phone and then by signals tapped in Morse code on the hull. It transpired that Squalus was resting on the bottom in
40 fathoms (73 m) of water, with both engine rooms flooded. Sculpin stood by while submarine rescue vessel Falcon
(ASR-2) rescued the survivors, and rendered further assistance by familiarizing the divers with the configuration of
her sister ship. Sculpin aided in the salvage of the sunken vessel by sounding out the approaches to Portsmouth Harbor
and preparing supplementary charts of the area where Squalus was refloated.
Following the assistance given in the recovery of Squalus, Sculpin engaged in type training off the Atlantic coast
until transferred to the Pacific Fleet. Departing Portsmouth on 28 January 1940, she arrived at San Diego, California,
on 6 March. She sailed west on 1 April, arriving at Pearl Harbor on 9 March, where she was based for the next 18 months.
Departing Pearl Harbor on 23 October 1941, she arrived at Manila on 8 November. From Cavite, she engaged in local
operations and type training until war broke out.
First Patrol, 8 December 1941 to 22 January 1942
Departing Cavite on the night of 8 December 1941, Sculpin and sister ship Seawolf (SS-197) escorted seaplane tender
Langley (AV-3) and oiler Pecos (AO-65) as far as San Bernardino Strait. She then took station in the Philippine Sea
north of Luzon on 10 December. On the night of 10 January 1942, she intercepted two ships, made a surface attack, and
scored hits on the lead ship. Forced to dive because of gunfire, Sculpin was unable to assess the results of her attack.
Japanese records show that American submarines sank three Japanese ships that night; possibly Sculpin should be given
credit for eliminating the 3817 ton merchantman Akita Maru. Her first patrol terminated at Surabaya ("Surabaja"), Java,
on 22 January 1942.
Second Patrol, 30 January to 28 February 1942
Her second patrol, 30 January to 28 February, was in the Molucca Sea, east of Sulawesi (Celebes). On 4 February off
Kendari, Java, she torpedoed a Japanese destroyer, inflicting heavy damage. After the war, Japanese records revealed
that, after a submarine attack off Kendari on 4 February, Japanese destroyer Suzukaze had been forced to run aground to
avoid being sunk. Three nights later, Sculpin commenced an approach on a Japanese destroyer but was detected and forced
to dive. She escaped four hours later after a heavy depth charge attack by her intended victim and five other destroyers.
On the night of 17 February, she was detected while making a surface attack on a destroyer and was forced to dive. During
the ensuing depth charge attack, she sustained damage to her starboard main controller and starboard shaft. On 28 February,
she arrived at Exmouth, Western Australia, for repairs.
Third Patrol, 13 March to 27 April 1942
Her third patrol, 13 March to 27 April, out of Fremantle was in the Molucca Sea area. On 28 March, she fired a spread of
three fish at a large cargo ship. The torpedoes were last seen running straight for the target, but apparently ran deep
and passed under the merchant ship. A similar incident occurred on 1 April in a night attack. Sculpin, like many of her
sister submarines in the early days of the Pacific war, was plagued by malfunctions of torpedo guidance systems which
caused the "fish" either to take erratic courses or to run deep. The frustrated Sculpin returned to Fremantle on 27
April.
Fourth Patrol, 29 May to 17 June 1942
Sculpin's fourth war patrol, 29 May to 17 June, was in the South China Sea. On 8 June, she was unsuccessful in an attack
on a cargo ship, again due to torpedo malfunction. A vigorous depth charge attack kept Sculpin down while the cargo ship
escaped. On 13 June, near Balabac Strait, she torpedoed a cargo ship which returned fire with her deck gun and commenced
to limp away. Turning on two accompanying tankers astern of the cargo ship, Sculpin made an attack but was forced to
dive to prevent being rammed by one of the tankers. Surfacing at dusk, Sculpin pursued the cargo ship, but was again
driven away by accurate gunfire from the maru. She shifted her attack to a tanker, leaving the ship listing and making
heavy smoke. However, no sinking was confirmed. Off Cape Varella, Indochina, early on the morning of 19 June, she
torpedoed a cargo ship, making a hit forward of the stack. A heavy secondary explosion was heard, and the damaged
vessel was last seen headed for the shore to beach, smoke pouring from her forward hatch. Sculpin returned to Australia
on 17 July.
Fifth Patrol, 8 September to 26 October 1942
The waters of the Bismarck Archipelago were the theater of her fifth patrol, 8 September to 26 October. After
reconnaissance operations off Thilenius and Montagu harbors of New Ireland, Sculpin commenced her search for
Japanese shipping. On 28 September, she scored two hits on a cargo ship, but was forced to dive as a Japanese destroyer
raced to the scene. Sculpin was under depth charge attack for three hours, during which she sustained minor damage. On 7
October, she made her first confirmed kill, the 4731-ton transport Naminoue Maru, off New Ireland. Escaping the Japanese
escorts' countermeasures, she remained in the general area where, a week later, she intercepted a three-ship convoy in
the shipping lane between Rabaul and Kavieng. Waiting until the escorting destroyer had made a patrol sweep to the
opposite side of the convoy, Sculpin fired a spread of four torpedoes at the 2000 ton cargo ship Sumoyoshi Maru. While
the blazing and sinking maru lay dead in the water, Sculpin made good her escape. Four days later, she inflicted minor
damage on the light cruiser Yura, with a hit forward of the bridge, but was driven off by the cruiser's
gunfire.
Sixth Patrol, 18 November 1942 to 8 January 1943
Departing Brisbane on her sixth war patrol, 18 November 1942 to 8 January 1943, Sculpin worked her way past New Britain
to the rich hunting grounds off Truk. After escaping a Japanese aerial attack on 11 December, she was stalking a
Japanese aircraft carrier on the night of 18 December, when two destroyers attacked. One illuminated Sculpin with
floodlights as both commenced heavy fire with deck guns. The submarine went deep and lay silent as the enemy depth
charge attack and prolonged sonar search continued. The following night she scored two hits on a tanker, with no
sinking confirmed.
Seventh Patrol, 24 May to 4 July 1943
Sculpin arrived at Pearl Harbor on 8 January 1943, and steamed east to San Francisco, California, for a three-month
overhaul period. Returning to Pearl Harbor on 9 May, she departed Hawaii for her seventh war patrol on 24 May and
operated off the northwest coast of Honshu. Three days after arriving on station, she made a surface attack on two
aircraft carriers with a cruiser escort. Two heavy underwater explosions were heard as the submarine submerged. Postwar
examination of Imperial Japanese Navy records revealed that the light carrier Hiyo had been moderately damaged by a
torpedo attack in that area on 9 June. On 14 June, she damaged a cargo ship but was forced to dive and run silent to
avoid the vigorous countermeasures of the maru's escorts. On 19 June, she destroyed two sampans by gunfire, leaving
them aflame, with decks awash. During the remainder of the patrol, she spotted other possible targets, but they all
hugged the shore some running inside the 10 fathom (18 m) line. The patrol terminated at Midway Island
on 4 July.
Eighth Patrol, 25 July to 17 September 1943
Sculpin's eighth war patrol, 25 July to 17 September 1943, was off the Chinese coast and Formosa Strait. On 9 August,
she torpedoed and sank the cargo/transport Sekko Maru off the coast of Formosa. She evaded ASW patrol craft in Taiwan
Strait on 16 August and 17 August. On 21 August, she intercepted an armed cargo ship and fired a spread of three
torpedoes which ran "hot, straight, and normal" but did not explode. Sculpin was immediately pounced upon by escorting
destroyers and was forced to dive. The cargo ship escaped in the ensuing depth charge attack. A similar torpedo
malfunction occurred on 1 September, when the splash of water resulting from the torpedo striking the target's hull
could be seen, but no detonation occurred. The submarine escaped the immediate counterattack of the escorts; and, after
reconnaissance of Marcus Island, she returned to Midway Island.
Ninth Patrol, 5 November 1943
Following a brief overhaul period at Pearl Harbor, Sculpin departed Hawaii on 5 November 1943. Ordered to patrol
north of Truk, she was to intercept and attack Japanese forces leaving Truk to oppose the forthcoming invasion of
Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands. Sculpin and two other submarines were to form a wolf pack to make coordinated attacks
on the enemy. Captain John P. Cromwell was on board Sculpin to coordinate the wolf pack operations.
After refueling at Johnston Island on 7 November, Sculpin proceeded to her assigned station. On 29 November, Captain
Cromwell was ordered to activate the wolf pack. When the submarine failed to acknowledge, the message was repeated 48
hours later. The submarine was presumed lost on 30 December and struck from the Naval Vessel Register
on 25 March 1944.
Account Provided by Surviving Crew Members
The account of Sculpin's final patrol was given by the surviving members of her crew, who were liberated from Japanese
prisoner of war camps after V-J Day. On 16 November, she had arrived on station and had made radar contact with a large,
high-speed convoy on the night of 18 November. Making a fast end run on the surface to attack on the morning of 19
November, she was in firing position but was forced to dive when the convoy and its escorts zagged toward her. When the
Japanese task force changed course, Sculpin surfaced to make another run, but was discovered by a rear guard destroyer
only 600 yards (550 m) away. Crash diving, the submarine escaped the first salvo of depth charges. A second string of
"ash cans" knocked out her depth gauge and caused other minor damage. She evaded the destroyer in a rain squall and
attempted to come to periscope depth. The damaged depth gauge stuck at 125 feet (38 m), so the submarine broached and
was again detected. She immediately submerged and the destroyer attacked with a pattern of 18 depth charges. There was
considerable damage, including temporary loss of depth control. As a result, Sculpin ran beyond safe depth so that many
leaks developed in the hull. So much water entered that the submarine was forced to run at high speed to maintain depth.
This made tracking easy for the Japanese sonar. A second depth charge attack knocked out Sculpin's sonar, leaving her
blind.
The submarine's commanding officer, Commander Fred Connaway, decided to surface and give the crew of the doomed vessel a
chance for survival. With her decks still awash, Sculpin's gunners manned the deck guns but were no match for the
destroyer's main battery. A shell hit the conning tower, killed the bridge watch team, and flying fragments killed
the gun crew. The senior ship's officer surviving ordered the submarine to be scuttled. Before he opened the vents,
he informed Captain Cromwell. The captain possessed vital information concerning the forthcoming assault on the
Gilbert Islands and subsequent operations. Fearing he might reveal these plans under the influence of torture or
drugs, the captain refused to leave the stricken submarine giving his life to escape capture. He was
posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his act of heroism and devotion to country.
Forty-two of Sculpin's crew were picked up by the Japanese destroyer Yamagumo. One badly wounded sailor was thrown
back in the sea because of his condition. The survivors were questioned for about ten days at the Japanese naval
base at Truk, then were embarked on two aircraft carriers returning to Japan. The escort carrier Chuyo carried 21
of the survivors in her hold. On 2 December, the carrier was torpedoed and sunk by Sailfish (SS-192) and twenty of
the American prisoners perished; one man was saved when he was able to grab hold of a ladder on the side of a passing
Japanese destroyer and hauled himself on board. (Ironically, Sailfish — at the time named Squalus — was the same
submarine that Sculpin had helped to locate and raise some four-and-a-half years before.) The other 21 survivors
arrived at Ofuna, Japan, on 5 December, and, after further questioning, were sent to the Ashio copper mines for the
duration of the war.
Awards
Sculpin was awarded eight battle stars for her service in World War II, in addition to the Philippine Presidential Unit
Citation.