Month: June 2025

Snapper Unvieled

JAP SUBMARINE WRECKS LAID TO U.S. BOAT: USS SNAPPER’S SECRET STRIKES REVEALED

By Special Correspondent – Pearl Harbor, June 4, 1945

For nearly two years, the daring exploits of one of America’s most lethal submarines have remained shrouded in wartime secrecy. But today, with official clearance from Navy authorities, the veil has been lifted. The story of the USS Snapper (SS-185) and her seventh war patrol—run between July 26 and September 17, 1943—can finally be told.

Operating deep in hostile waters of the Western Pacific, the Snapper, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Merrill K. Clementson, dealt a series of hammer-blows to the Japanese merchant marine and naval escort forces at a time when the tide of war still hung in the balance.

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June 3, 1944

Charles Andrews Lockwood was born on May 6, 1890, in Midland, Virginia, but came of age in rural Missouri. He did not rise through the U.S. Naval Academy with flair or distinction, graduating in 1912 near the lower third of his class. Yet, what he may have lacked in academic polish, he more than made up for in grit, instinct, and a deep-seated sense of duty to the Navy and to the men under his command.

Drawn to the submarines early, Lockwood began his undersea career aboard the tender USS Mohican in 1914. That same year, he took command of his first boat, the USS A-2, stationed in the Philippines. This marked the beginning of a lifelong bond between Lockwood and the silent service. He would later say he had submarines in his blood. In 1917, as commander of Submarine Division 1 during World War I, Lockwood tackled an early crisis head-on. A pair of deadly gasoline explosions on submarines A-7 and A-2 killed nine sailors. Lockwood led the investigation, ensuring that such disasters would not be repeated.

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The Daily Cold: June 2

1969

  • June 2: The fleet attack submarine USS Sea Leopard (SS-483) was underway on Cold War operations. According to official Navy histories, Sea Leopard “deployed on a special operation to the North Atlantic” on 2 June 1969. She returned to Norfolk on 15 August and then entered the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in January 1970 for overhaul.
Sea Leopard (SS-483) starboard view underway, 8 June 1970 leaving Philadelphia Naval Shipyard after entering a six-month overhaul. (NAVSOURCE

1971

The Seawolf (SSN-575) is about to received her new “Special Projects” hull section at Mare Island on 2 June 1971. She is in dry dock #4. (NAVSOURCE)

USS Seawolf (SSN-575) in drydock at Mare Island on 2 June 1971. The nuclear-powered Seawolf received a new “special projects” hull section on this date.

  • June 2: The nuclear submarine USS Seawolf (SSN-575) underwent a major conversion at Mare Island Naval Shipyard. On that day she received a new “special projects” hull section, as documented by U.S. Navy photographs and archives.

1973

  • June 2: The new Sturgeon-class submarine USS L. Mendel Rivers (SSN-686) was launched at Newport News Shipbuilding. The launch ceremony was sponsored by Congressman Rivers’s daughters Ravenel and Eastman.
    L. Mendel Rivers would later be commissioned into service in late 1974.

Sources: Official Naval archives and photo collections including the Naval History and Heritage Command (DANFS) and contemporary museum and media reports.

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