Category: Eternal Patrol

USS Kete SS-369

By March of 1945, the Pacific War was reaching its final, ferocious stages. The island-hopping campaign had brought American forces ever closer to the Japanese homeland, and the noose was tightening around the Empire of Japan. The skies above were thick with carrier-based aircraft, and beneath the waves, the silent hunters of the U.S. Navy submarines prowled the sea lanes, disrupting what little remained of Japan’s merchant fleet. Among these hunters was the USS Kete (SS-369), a Balao-class submarine that had already tasted action and was proving to be a formidable adversary beneath the waves.

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USS Triton SS-201

In March of 1943, the Pacific War had reached a fever pitch. The U.S. Navy’s submarine force, already proving itself to be one of the most effective weapons in America’s arsenal, was actively hunting Japanese shipping in the vast, contested waters of the South Pacific. Submarines, operating in deadly cat-and-mouse games with Japanese destroyers, were crucial in strangling enemy supply lines. However, with every daring success, there was an equal measure of peril. It was in these waters, north of the Admiralty Islands, that USS Triton (SS-201) embarked on her sixth and final war patrol, never to return.

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USS H-1 (SS-28)

H-1 with her crew

The H-class submarines of the United States Navy were a product of their time, built to patrol coastal waters and operate in a world where undersea warfare was still in its infancy. The USS H-1 (SS-28), originally commissioned as Seawolf, was one such boat—a compact and capable vessel designed by Electric Boat and constructed by Union Iron Works in San Francisco. She was a pioneer in a class that would pave the way for more advanced designs. First launched in 1913 and entering service in December of that year, the H-1 served along the Pacific Coast, operating out of San Pedro, California. She ran patrols, participated in training exercises, and played her part in the early development of American submarine tactics. Continue reading “USS H-1 (SS-28)” →

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