USS Sea Owl (SS-405) - World War II

World War II

After shakedown off Portsmouth, N.H., and New London, Conn., Sea Owl transited the Panama Canal and arrived at Pearl Harbor on 23 October 1944. Her first war patrol commenced on 19 November and was conducted in the East China Sea as part of a coordinated attack group with Sea Poacher (SS-406) and Piranha (SS-389). She carried trial versions of Mark 18 electric and Mark 27 ("Cutie") homing torpedoes. After three weeks of searching for worthwhile targets, Sea Owl sank her initial victim, a Japanese destroyer escort, with one Mark 27. She followed with a second escort, stopped by a Mark 27 and finished off with one Mark 18, from about 1000 yd (910 m). This was the first combat success for both weapons. The remainder of the patrol was uneventful, and the submarine put into Guam on 15 January 1945.

For her second war patrol, Sea Owl joined Piranha and Puffer (SS-268) in patrolling in Luzon Strait and the South China Sea. She was off Wake Island early on the morning of 18 April and sent Japanese submarine RO-46 (of the of the RO-35 class) to the bottom. Her second patrol ended at Midway on 21 April.

Sea Owl got underway for her third and final war patrol on 20 May in concert with Puffer and Tirante (SS-420). This patrol was concentrated in the Yellow and East China Seas and was devoted to both lifeguard duties and offensive patrol.

After 19 days, two Japanese destroyers were contacted and six torpedoes were fired from a perfect set-up. The first torpedo hit one of the destroyers in her magazine amidships, blowing her up in the water and allowing the other torpedoes to pass under the target and miss. The other destroyer joined forces with two patrol craft and vengefully dropped 84 depth charges during the following 14 hours but inflicted no material damage.

Four days later, Sea Owl, in a gun attack, destroyed a large, rice-laden, four-masted schooner from which she captured two prisoners of war. On 2 July, she rescued six downed aviators after a 135-mile (217 km) race against darkness. All six were treated for wounds and were included in the crew for the remainder of the patrol.

When the Japanese surrendered on 15 August, Sea Owl was in Pearl Harbor preparing for her fourth war patrol.