Fifth and Sixth War Patrols
After refitting by submarine tender Orion (AS-18), Tilefish set course for the Mariana Islands in company with submarines Thresher (SS-200) and Peto (SS-265) on 31 January 1945, under the command of Lt. Cmdr. Walter F. Schlech, Jr. En route, she participated in exercises and searched for the survivors of a downed American plane. Underway from Saipan on 13 February, Tilefish proceeded independently to her patrol area in the Nansei Shoto where she prowled the traffic lanes in search of targets. She reported sinking a 90-ton cargo ship in a morning gun attack on 28 February before taking up a lifeguard station in support of planned strikes on Amami Shima. On 1 March, she rescued a flier from aircraft carrier Hancock (CV-19) whose plane had splashed and sank only 500 yards off the starboard bow of the submarine. She sent a fishing trawler to the bottom on 4 March. On the following day, in the course of a day-long attack on a freighter, she sank a Japanese minesweeper which was escorting the cargo ship. From 10 March to 19 March, she performed lifeguard duties in support of strikes on Nagoya and other Japanese targets. After patrolling the approaches to Tokyo Bay on 22 March, Tilefish set course, via Midway Island and Pearl Harbor, for San Francisco, California where she was overhauled.
Tilefish returned to Pearl Harbor on 11 July and was soon underway for Midway Island and Saipan. When the war in the Pacific ended, Tilefish was on lifeguard station off the Ryukyu Islands. She continued lifeguard duties and patrols in the western Pacific until 7 September when she returned to Pearl Harbor. Early in 1946, Tilefish returned to San Francisco, California, and operated off the West Coast throughout most of the year. In May, she participated in "wolfpack" exercises and in September took part in live load training, using the hulk of the former SS Schuyler Colfax as a target. In October, she made a brief trip to the Hawaiian Islands and then returned to the West Coast. From January 1947 to September 1950, Tilefish continued to operate out of California ports with occasional voyages to Pearl Harbor. During this period, she conducted underway training and took part in fleet exercises off the West Coast.
Read more about this topic: USS Tilefish (SS-307)
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