Lost Electric Boat subs

The following 19 submarines lost during World War II were built and launched by Electric Boat in Groton.

USS Albacore

Launched in February 1942, the Albacore destroyed 13 ships in its first 10 patrols. One kill, the 74,100ton aircraft carrier Taiho, was the highest tonnage warship sunk by a U. S. submarine. Leaving Pearl Harbor on its 11th patrol on Oct. 24, 1944, the Albacore topped off at Midway four days later and was never seen again. A Japanese patrol boat recorded an underwater explosion near northern Hokkaido on Nov. 7, suggesting that the Albacore struck a mine and sank with her crew of 85.

USS Amberjack

Departing Brisbane on Jan. 26, 1943, for her third patrol, the Amberjack sank a schooner and freighter before reporting on Feb. 14 that she had been forced down by enemy destroyers the previous evening. Japanese records suggest that the Amberjack was destroyed by aerial depth charges between New Britain and New Ireland in the Solomon Islands on Feb. 16, killing 72 sailors. The submarine had been launched in March 1942.

USS Barbel

The USS Barbel’s last communication came on Feb. 3, 1945, when it reported to three other submarines in its wolfpack in the Philippines that it had come under heavy attack by aerial depth charges.

The submarine, crewed by 81 sailors, failed to deliver a promised update the next day or make a scheduled rendezvous with the USS Tuna. Japanese records indicate that a plane dropped a bomb on a submarine in the Barbel’s patrol area on Feb. 4, scoring a hit on its bridge. Launched in November 1943, the Barbel sank 10 ships in the three patrols before its final one.

USS Bonefish

The second to last American submarine lost in the war, the Bonefish left Guam on its eighth patrol on May 28, 1945, alongside the USS Skate and

USS Tunny. After destroying a cargo ship on June

16, the submarine was given permission to head into Toyama Bay. The Bonefish, with 85 sailors aboard, was likely sunk three days later, when the destruction of another ship was followed by a Japanese counterattack that produced debris and an oil slick. Launched in March 1943, the Bonefish was credited with sinking 31 ships during World War II.

USS Bullhead

Launched July 16, 1944, the Bullhead managed to sink four ships despite its short career. The submarine was last heard from during its third patrol, reporting on Aug. 6, 1945, that it had gone through the Lombok Strait. Japanese records suggest that an aircraft sank the Bullhead with depth charges on the same day, killing all 84 aboard. Sunk just nine days before the Japanese surrender, the Bullhead was the last U. S. submarine sunk during the war.

USS Corvina

The Corvina left Pearl Harbor for its first patrol on Nov. 4, 1943, about six months after her launch. She topped off at Johnston Island two days later, and then vanished. Records made available after the war suggest that the Japanese submarine I-176 hit the Corvina with two torpedoes on Nov. 16, destroying it and killing its crew of 82 sailors. This was the only recorded instance of a U.S. submarine being lost in sub-to-sub combat during World War II.

USS Darter

Leaving Brisbane for her fourth patrol on Aug. 8, 1944, the Darter took part in the first engagement of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, sinking one heavy cruiser and damaging another. On the evening of Oct. 24-25, she ran aground on Bombay Shoal. The crew was taken off by the USS Dace and, following unsuccessful attempts to destroy the Darter with demolition charges and torpedoes, the submarine was pummeled with shells from the deck guns of the Dace and USS Nautilus. The remains of the wreck were visible on the shoal for many decades afterward, but little survives today.

USS Dorado

Launched on May 23, 1943, the Dorado left for the

Panama Canal on Oct. 6 and never arrived. The submarine may have been sunk by friendly aircraft on Oct. 12, which had received faulty information on bombing restrictions and reported attacking an unidentified submarine. However, the air crew insisted that it had confirmed that this submarine was a German U-boat. The Dorado and its 77 sailors may instead have been lost after running into a minefield laid by German submarines in the area.

USS Flier

Launched in July 1943, the Flier left on its second patrol after a refit that ended on Aug. 2, 1944. The submarine struck a mine in the Balabac Strait, with a loss of 78 crew members. Eight survivors, including Ensign Al Jacobson, made it to shore and were rescued by Filipino guerillas, who later helped get the men aboard the USS Redfin. The wreck of the Flier was found in the spring of 2009 by the documentary film company YAP Films, aided by Jacobson’s family.

USS Grampus

Despite an aggressive history in which it made several attacks, the Grampus only managed to score six kills in its first five patrols. The submarine left Brisbane on its sixth patrol on

Feb. 11 1943, vanishing along with its crew of 71. While it’s unclear how the Grampus was lost, it may have been the victim of an engagement with Japanese destroyers near Kolombangara Island in the Solomons on March 5; a heavy oil slick was observed in the area the next day. The submarine was launched in December 1940.

USS Grayback

The Grayback, which was launched in January 1941, had a long and successful history that included the destruction of 22 ships in its first nine patrols. On its final voyage, the Grayback left Pearl Harbor on Jan. 28, 1944, and managed to sink several more vessels before it was destroyed by a carrier-based aircraft off Okinawa on Feb.

26, with a loss of 80 sailors. The Lost 52 Project found the wreck on Nov. 10, 2019.

USS Growler

The Growler might be best known for an incident on Feb. 7, 1943, in which it was attacked at point blank range by a gunboat it attacked while on the surface. Commander Howard W. Gilmore, seriously wounded in the incident, ordered the submarine to dive without him in order to escape, an action for which he was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. The Growler, launched in November 1941, sank 17 ships in its first 10 patrols. It was lost, along with 86 sailors, during an attack on a convoy west of the Philippines on Nov. 8, 1944, a result of enemy attacks or possibly a malfunctioning torpedo.

USS Grunion

Launched on Dec. 22, 1941, the Grunion disappeared with 70 sailors on its first patrol in the Aleutian Islands after sinking two submarine chasers and damaging a third. Last heard from on June 30, 1942, the loss was a mystery for many years since Japanese records showed no antisubmarine activity in the area at the time of her disappearance. The Grunion’s stern was found in 2006 by an expedition arranged by the three sons of Lt. Commander Mannert L. Abele, and the damage to the boat suggested that it had been destroyed by a circular run of its own torpedo. The Lost 52 Project discovered the Grunion’s bow in 2019.

USS Harder

One of the most celebrated U. S. submarines of World War II, the Harder was launched in August 1942, and credited with sinking 20.5 ships, including five Japanese destroyers on a single patrol. The sub received a Presidential Citation for its first five patrols, and Commander Samuel D. Dealey was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. The Harder was sunk by an enemy depth charge attack during the Battle of Dasol Bay on Aug. 24, 1944, with a loss of 79 sailors.

USS Perch

Launched in May 1936, the Perch was deployed to the Pacific upon the outbreak of hostilities. On March 1, 1942, during its second patrol in the Java Sea, the Perch was seriously damaged by Japanese destroyers. She was attacked again two days later, forcing the crew to abandon and scuttle the sub; all but six men survived the war in POW camps. The wreck of the Perch was discovered in 2006, but it has since been illegally salvaged.

USS Pickerel

Launched in July 1936, the Pickerel sank six ships in six patrols. She departed Pearl Harbor on March 18, 1943, and disappeared while en route to the northern Honshu coast. Japanese records suggest that the Pickerel was destroyed by antisubmarine operations in this area on April 3; 74 sailors were lost.

USS Sealion

Launched in May 1939, the Sealion was present at the Cavite Navy Yard in the Philippines when the facility came under Japanese air attack on Dec. 10, 1941. The submarine was partially sunk by bombs and four of her crew were killed, the first American submariner deaths of the war. With the navy yard demolished and the closest available repair facility 5,000 miles away at Pearl Harbor, the Sealion’s crew opted to destroy the boat to keep it out of enemy hands. The submarine was demolished when three depth charges were set off inside her on Christmas Day.

USS Shark (1941)

Launched in May 1935, the Shark left on her second patrol on Jan. 5, 1942 to help defend the Philippines. After narrowly avoiding a Japanese torpedo, she made her last communication on Feb. 7. Japanese records show three separate antisubmarine attacks that may have sunk the Shark with her 59 sailors.

USS Shark (1944)

The second submarine with this name was launched in October 1943, and sank five ships in her first two patrols. On

Oct. 24, 1944, during her third patrol in the South China Sea, the Shark sank the Arisan Maru, unaware that 1,781 American POWs were aboard. While many of these prisoners escaped the vessel, the Japanese crew made no effort to aid them and only nine survived. The Shark made its last communication on the same day, corresponding with a Japanese report of a submarine being depth charged, and vanished with its crew of 87.