The US Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) has confirmed the identity of a submarine wreck located off the coast of Hokkaido, Japan, as that of the Gato-class USS Albacore (SS 218), lost at sea on 7 November 1944 with her crew of 60 men, reports Dive Magazine.
USS Albacore
The second vessel of her name, Albacore, was one of the US Navy’s most successful combat submarines during the Second World War. Built by the Electric Boat Company in Groton, Connecticut, launched on 17 February 1942, and commissioned on 1 June 1942, Albacore conducted 11 war patrols during her service and is credited with the sinking of 10 enemy vessels – and a further three unconfirmed – including the Imperial Japanese Navy’s largest aircraft carrier, Taiho, during the Battle of the Philippine Sea in June 1944.
Albacore and her crew earned nine battle stars and four Presidential Unit Citations, during her short career, one of the most highly regarded military awards, granted for ‘extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy’.
Following her final patrol during August and September 1944, during which she was credited with sinking two Japanese ships, Albacore put into port at Pearl Harbour on 25 September. She left again on 24 October, stopped to take on fuel at Midway four days later, and was never seen again.
According to Japanese records obtained from the Japan Center for Asian Historical Records (JACAR), a Japanese patrol boat witnessed the explosion of a submerged submarine thought to be Albacore – with reports of oil, bedding, and food supplies seen rising to the surface – on 7 November 1944, close to the northeastern coast of Japan’s most northerly island, Hokkaido.
WWII submarine wreck
The wreck was investigated using the JACAR records by a Japanese team led by Dr Tamaki Ura of the Institute of Industrial Science at the University of Tokyo. Ura and his team explored the wreckage by ROV and submitted their findings to the NHHC’s Underwater Archaeology Branch (UAB) to confirm the submarine’s identity.
Strong currents, marine growth, and poor visibility made it difficult to obtain detailed images, however, a number of features particular to a late 1944 Gato-class submarine were identified in the video.
Modifications known to have been made to Albacore prior to her final patrol, including the presence of a specialist SJ Radar dish and mast, a row of vent holes along the top of the superstructure, and the absence of steel plates along the upper edge of the fairwater – the large tower on a submarine’s upper surface – allowed the UAB to identify the wreck as that of Albacore.
‘As the final resting place for Sailors who gave their life in defence of our nation, we sincerely thank and congratulate Dr Ura and his team for their efforts in locating the wreck of Albacore,’ said NHHC Director Samuel J Cox, US Navy rear admiral (retired). ‘It is through their hard work and continued collaboration that we could confirm Albacore’s identity after being lost at sea for over 70 years.’
More information on USS Albacore (SS 218) and her service history can be found at the US Naval History and Heritage Command archives.
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Source: Dive Magazine
