USS Seawolf (SS-197)

USS Seawolf (SS-197). Bowfin Park. , LCDR A.M. Bontier, USN, Commanding Officer; Launched 15 August 1939; Lost at Sea, 3 October 1944., Beginning with her first patrol just hours after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, a daring submarine embarked on a career that made the name “Seawolf” one of the most recognized in the history of undersea warfare. Over the next three years, Seawolf completed 14 patrols, covering practically all of the known pacific shipping routes. That she executed 56 torpedo attacks and escaped destruction throughout them all is testament to the courage and superb seamanship of her crew. Boldly tracking her targets into treacherous waters, Seawolf launched fearless attacks on heavily-escorted convoys and vital enemy vessels. Her persistence and skill led to the sinking of over 100,000 tons of enemy shipping and earned Seawolf two navy unit commendations and 13 battle stars. The enemy could not destroy her, but a tragic twist of fate did. On 3 October 1944, delivering supplies and army personnel on her fifteenth war patrol, Seawolf ran into heavy seas that slowed down her passage by one day. A U.S. destroyer, not having received word of Seawolf’s delay, launched a lethal depth charge attack on what she believed to be an enemy submarine. In an unfortunate case of mistaken identity, Seawolf’s career was ended abruptly, as where the lives of her 82 valiant fighting men. No other submarine or crew in the Pacific fought longer or harder.