Pampanito Anchoring Project

Berthed at Pier 45 in San Francisco Bay near the Golden Gate bridge, the Pompanito is one of the must-see fleetboats on display in the US. Apparently, it can experience heavy swells due to its location and has sustained damage in the past. Recently, the museum upgraded her anchoring system thanks to the generous donations of interested companies. Take a look at this fascinating project here: http://maritime.org/moorings2010/index.htm.

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On Eternal Patrol

The following men lost their lives 67 years ago in USS Wahoo. 1. Anders, F. MM3 2. Andrews, J. S. EM1 3. Bailey, R. E. SC3 4. Bair, A. I. TM3 5. Berg, J. C. MM3 6. Browning, C. E. MOMM2 7. Brown, D. R. LTJG 8. Bruce, C. L. MOMM1 9. Buckley, J. P. RM1 10. Burgan, W. W. LT 11. Campbell, J. S. ENS 12. Carr, W. J. CGMA 13. Carter, J. E. RM2 14. Davison, W. E. MOMM1 15. Deaton, L. N. TM1 16. Erdey, J. S. EM3 17. Fielder, E. F. LTJG 18. Finkelstein, O. TM3 ...

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Lost Boats Ceremony at Mare Island on Sunday

Times-Herald staff report
Posted: 10/07/2010 timesheraldonline.com

This year's Lost Boats Memorial ceremony will coincide with the Navy-friendly Fleet Week weekend.

The free event, designed to honor 575 Mare Island submarine crewmen who disappeared during World War II, will run from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday.The Lost Boats Memorial organizer and co-founder Myrna Hayes said the event's length was shortened this year in respect for some attendees' health.

Sunday will mark the fourth such event on Mare Island, and also roughly coincides with the 67th anniversary of the USS Wahoo's loss at sea, Hayes said.The afternoon memorial will kick off with a flag raising at Morton Field, at Walnut Avenue and D Street on Mare Island.

Those gathered will then move to the historic submarine repair dock Berth 6 from 2 to 3 p.m. for a music and history program, Hayes said. The event's final hour will include a reception at Quarters C, 832 Walnut Ave.

Visit www.mareislandpreserve.org or call Hayes at (707) 557-9816 or (707) 249-9633 for more information.

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Wahoo Memorial Torpedo Returns Home

From Omahanewsstand.com: Wednesday, August 18, 2010

By Lisa Brichacek

There are still a few scars from its battle with a falling tree, but the torpedo that memorializes the USS Wahoo is back home.

The torpedo monument on the Saunders County Courthouse lawn in Wahoo was underneath the top of a nearby tree after a windstorm howled through Wahoo earlier this year.

The torpedo was removed for repairs, but was returned last Friday morning.

Nebraska Base of United States Submarine Veterans Inc. Member Pat Hancock and a group of volunteers helped to guide the torpedo back onto its base.

Hancock said they have been working with the county’s insurance carrier to get the necessary repairs taken care of. The main thing, he said, was to seal up any cracks in the torpedo’s surface so further damage from weather didn’t occur.

The Wahoo Chapter of World War II Submarine Veterans was responsible for starting the memorial and maintained it for many years. Members of the Nebraska Base of United States Submarine Veterans Inc. started helping with maintenance in recent years due to the age of the World War II veterans.

According to Hancock, the World War II chapter will fold into the Nebraska Base chapter after this year. Any money left in the treasury of the World War II chapter will be put into a repair fund for the torpedo monument.

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Remembering Those On Eternal Patrol

A total of 52 United States submarines were lost during WWII.

The United States submarine service sustained the highest mortality rate of all branches of the U.S. Military during WWII.

1 out of every 5 U.S. Navy submariners was killed in WWII.

3,505 American submariners made the ultimate sacrifice in the defense of their country in World War II.

For information on individual U.S. submariners lost in the service of their country, visit OnEternalPatrol.com.

Statistics courtesy valoratsea.com.

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Wahoo and Tang exhibit planned for National WWII Museum

Legends of the Deep was recently contacted by The National World War II Museum in New Orleans regarding a new exhibit to feature USS Wahoo and USS Tang.

Seth Paridon, Manager of Research Services at the museum, solicited assistance in locating digital copies of images featured on Legends. These will gladly be provided. The future exhibits will tell the story of submarines in the Pacific war and detail the contributions of Wahoo and Tang, along with their respective COs. In addition, they plan to construct a full size submarine walk through which will be modeled after the USS Tang. 

Details will follow as they are made available. It should be an impressive exhibit!

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Baseball Field Receives New Lights

A baseball field named after a Wahoo crewman lost on her seventh patrol received new light and held its first night game recently.

"For the first time since Logue Field was built in the early 1970s, night games will be played under the lights at the field on the city's west side.

On Thursday, a lighting dedication ceremony was held at the field, which is on county Housing Authority property near the Linn Street development in Newberry.


Logue Field, which is used by the Williamsport Area High School baseball team, adult men leagues and West End Babe Ruth League, was built by local businessman George Logue Sr. in honor of his brother Robert Logue, who was killed while serving on the submarine USS Wahoo during World War II."

Article written by David Thomson of sungazette.com

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Vintage Submarine Themed Valentine Card

 

Saw this vintage card on eBay a while back and thought it appropriate for the month. Don't forget your sweetie!

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USS Flier (SS-250) Found

Navy confirms sunken sub in Balabac Strait is USS FlierFrom Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs(PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii)  – Commander, Submarine Forces Pacific Fleet (COMSUBPAC), Rear Adm. Douglas McAneny announced today that a sunken vessel located in the Balabac Strait area of the Philippines is in fact the World War II submarine USS Flier (SS 250).             “I am honored to announce that, with video evidence...

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3-D Wahoo

Recently received an email from Bob Johnson, USN Retired, who served as an Instructor at the Naval Submarine School Advanced Operations Department. During that time he worked in his off hours at the Submarine Museum and Library that at the time was located in Morton Hall. He delved into the loss of USS Wahoo (SS-238) and decided when I had the time I'd research her loss. Now that the time has come, he's started working on a CAD/CAE profile rendering of USS Wahoo (SS-238) for donation to the Submarine Museum and Library in Groton, CT and the Bowfin Memorial in Hawaii.

During the process, Bob came upon a research problem. "I've been researching all of the available on-line photos of the Wahoo to make the drawing as accurate as possible. I've developed a preliminary rendering of her in her Patrol 7 configuration. Some of the drawings I've come across in my research shows an illustration of a 20MM deck gun mounted aft of the sail (probably above the after battery compartment) but I'm not convinced that she was ever fitted like this. Any help you can provide will be greatly appreciated."

Fortunately, I had the information he needed and pointed him to the third page of wreck images in the Wahoo scrap book on Legends (http://www.warfish.com/scrap-EP-3.html). There it shows the 20mm mount on the after deck behind the fairwater during Wahoo's return from her fourth war patrol and as she is now at the bottom of La Perouse Strait.

The image below is an in-progress image of Bob's work. He's making great progress.

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