Guerrilla Submarines | |||||||
Each voyage of a submarine from its base (usually in Australia or Mios Woendi in the Molucca Islands) was called a "War Patrol". As the chart below shows, many of these War Patrols included more than one "Special Mission" that supported guerrilla operations in the Philippines. In the U.S. Navy, "Hull Numbers" are unique identifiers of a vessel. Also, the U.S. Navy sometimes re-uses vessel names after a vessel has been lost or retired- this is true of some submarines in this chart. Hull numbers are included here to help find the correct submarine in other sources such as web sites and War Patrol Reports. | |||||||
Rendezvous Date(s) | Sub Name | Hull # | War Patrol # | Location | Cargo | Guerrilas Met | Source * |
01/14/43 | USS Gudgeon | SS-211 | 6 | 9°36'48"N 122°27'01"E Catmon Point on SW coast of Negros | First official "Spyron" mission - Delivered Maj. Jesus Villamor & 6 PA soldiers | None | GS-1 thru 9; SW; ND; AIB-115 thru 119 |
03/05/43 | USS Tambor | SS-198 | 6 | 7°49'10"N 123°33'23"E Mindanao, 4 mi. SE of Labangan in Pagadian Bay | Delivered Chick Parsons, Charles Smith, PA soldiers & 2 tons of supplies | None | GS-31 thru 33; SW; ND; AIB-154 |
04/30/43 | USS Gudgeon | SS-211 | 8 | 11°45'22"N 121°53'54"E Panay (3.7 mi. E of Pucio Point vic. Pandan) | Delivered Lt. Crespo, 3 EM & 3 tons of supplies | Maj. Garcia | GS-50 thru 53; ND |
06/12/43 | USS Trout | SS-202 | 9 | 7°49'39"N 123°30'34"E Labangan, Pagadian Bay, Mindanao | Delivered party of 5 men led by Capt. Hamner, cargo & ammunition | Cdr. Parsons | GS-54 & 55; SW; ND |
07/09/43 | USS Trout | SS-202 | 9 | 7°30'47"N 123°03'49"E Dumanquilas Bay on S coast of Mindanao | Picked up Parsons, Charles Smith & 3 POW escapees (Mellnik, McCoy & Dyess) | GS-56; LU-270 thru 273; ND; AIB-162 thru 167 | |
07/09/43 | USS Trout | SS-202 | 9 | 7°18'07"N 123°01'27"E Rendezvous SE of Olutunga Is. (S of Mindanao & 5 mi. NW of Liscum Banks) | Met "wood-burner" - picked up additional passengers (see note at end of this web page) | GS-57; SW; ND | |
07/09/43 | USS Thresher | SS-200 | 9 | 9°37'12"N 122°26'40"E Catmon Point, Negros | Delivered Filipino commandos (led by Maj. Cruz) & supplies | SW; AIB-134,137,138 | |
08/23/43 | USS Grayling | SS-209 | 8 | 11°45'22"N 121°53'10"E Pandan Bay near Pucio Point,Panay | Delivered supplies to Filipino guerrillas - note that Grayling was never heard from after this rendezvous and was listed as "Lost in Action" | GS-67; SW; ND | |
09/02/43 | USS Bowfin | SS-287 | 1 | 8°11'31"N 124°04'03"E Iligan Bay, 1 ¼ mi. E of Binuni Point, Mindanao | Delivered 7 tons of radio equipment & supplies | GS-67; SW | |
09/29/43 | USS Bowfin | SS-287 | 1 | 8°11'31"N 124°04'03"E Same location as on 2 September 43 | Evacuated 9 persons including POW escapee Samuel Grashio and Col. Fertig's XO, Luis Morgan | Col. Fertig | GS-67; SW |
10/20/43 | USS Cabrilla | SS-288 | 1 | 9°29'09"N 122°32'33"E Doog Point on W coast of Negros | Picked up Maj. Jesus A. Villamor, Maj. Meida (US) & others; left some supplies | GS-79 thru 81; SW | |
11/13/43 | USS Narwhal | SS-167 | 7 | 13°24'15"N 120°23'45"E Paluan Bay @ NW tip on Mindoro | Delivered Parsons & 10-man party (led by Maj. L. H. Phillips) about 3 a.m. - about 5:30 p.m. Narwhal returned, picked up Parsons & offloaded 46 tons of supplies | GS-77 & 78; SW; ND; AIB-169,170 | |
11/15/43 | USS Narwhal | SS-167 | 7 | 8°59'28"N 125°20'04"E Nasipit, Butuan Bay, Mindanao | Delivered 46 tons of supplies, evacuated 32 persons (including POW escapees Shofner, Hawkins & Dobervich) and left Parsons | Col. Fertig | GS-78 & 79; LU-296 thru 299:; SW; ND; AIB-185 thru 191 |
12/02/43 | USS Narwhal | SS-167 | 8 | 9° 07'07"N 125°31'12"E Cabadbaran, Butuan Bay, Mindanao | Delivered 90 tons of supplies, picked up 7 evacuees & Parsons | Col. Fertig & Cdr. Parsons | GS-82; SW; ND; AIB-193,194 |
12/05/43 | USS Narwhal | SS-167 | 8 | 8°35'17"N 124°29'11"E Alubijid, Macajular Bay, Mindanao | Picked up 9 evacues | Lt. Noble (PA) | GS-83; SW |
02/05/44 | USS Narwhal | SS-167 | 9 | 11°45'46"N 121°55'02"E Pandan Bay, Panay near Libertad | Delivered 45 tons supplies & picked up 6 evacuees (5 servicemen & 1 British) | Lt. Col. Garcia | GS-86; SW; ND |
02/07/44 | USS Narwhal | SS-167 | 9 | 9°25'05"N 122°36'13"E Balatong Point, Negros | Delivered 45 tons supplies & picked up 28 evacuees (8 women, 9 children, 5 men & 6 servicemen) | Lt. Col. Abcede | GS-81 & 86; SW; ND |
02/22/44 | USS Narwhal | SS-167 | 10 | 5°00'58"N 120°14'01"E Mantabuan Island (off E side of TawiTawi) | Attempted to deliver 1 Army Officer, 2 Navy officers, 4 Filipino EM & supplies - aborted due to no security signals | GS-88; ND | |
03/02/44 | USS Narwhal | SS-167 | 10 | 9°07'07"N 125°31'12"E Cabadbaran, Butuan Bay, Mindanao | Delivered 70 tons supplies - evacuated 20 servicemen (including Capt. Tom Jurika) & 8 Civilians | Lt. Cdr. Wilson, Lt. Col. McClish & Maj. Childers - then Col. Fertig | GS-64, 88 & 89; SW; ND |
03/05/44 | USS Narwhal | SS-167 | 10 | 5°18'04"N 120°06'41"E N coast of TawiTawi @ Bohi Gangso | Began offloading of supplies - aborted due to approach of 3 Jap destroyers - picked up 8 evacuees including Capt. Hamner | Capt. Hamner | GS-92; SW; ND; AIB-180 thru 182 |
03/20/44 | USS Angler | SS-240 | 2 | 11°45'46"N 121°54'48"E Libertad, Panay | Evacuated 58 people including 2-mo.-old Susan Fertig | Lt. Col. Garcia & Capt. Hawley | GS-101 thru 105; SW; ND |
05/11/44 | USS Crevalle | SS-291 | 3 | 9°24'21"N 122°38'16"E Basay, Negros | Picked up documents and Evacuated 40 persons including 28 women and children | Lt. Col. Abcede | GS-105 thru 108; SW; ND |
05/24/44 | USS Narwhal | SS-167 | 11 | 12°14'05"N 125°29'36"E Alusan Bay on NE coast of Samar | Delivered 28 men & 25 tons of supplies | Maj. Charles M. Smith | GS-113; SW; ND |
05/28/44 | USS Narwhal | SS-167 | 11 | 8°14'13"N 126°25'03"E Sanco Point on E coast of Mindanao | No contact for 2 days - unable to deliver mail & supplies or pick up evacuees & captured documents | GS-114; SW; ND | |
06/01/44 | USS Narwhal | SS-167 | 11 | 7°50'46"N 123°34'27"E Tucuran, Pagadian Bay, Mindanao | Delivered 16 men & 25 tons of supplies | Col. Robert V. Bowler | GS-114; SW; ND |
06/05/44 | USS Nautilus | SS-168 | 9 | 7°50'36"N 123°34'07"E Pagadian Bay near Tucuran, Mindanao | Delivered Lt. John D. Simmons, USN, & 92 tons supplies | Col. Robert V. Bowler | GS-108 thru 110; SW; ND |
06/08/44 | USS Redfin | SS-272 | 3 | 8°07'09"N 117°03'06"E Encampment Point on Ramos Island (S of Palawan) | Delivered 1st Sgt. Armado S. Corpus, USA, 5 EM & 6,500# supplies | GS-110 & 111; SW; ND | |
06/20/44 | USS Nautilus | SS-168 | 10 | 9°25'06"N 122°35'55"E Balatong Point, Negros | Delivered 4 Filipino EM & "full load" of supplies - picked up 17 evacuees | Lt. Col. Abcede | SW; ND |
06/20/44 | USS Narwahl | SS-167 | 12 | 11°28'11"N 122°03'00"E Lipata Point, Panay | Delivery of "full" cargo difficult due to uncooperative Filipinos - picked up 14 evacuees | Lt. Col. Garcia | SW; ND |
07/08/44 | USS Nautilus | SS-168 | 11 | 12°51'45"N 120°45'18"E North Pandan Island on W coast of Mindoro (near Amnay River) | Delivered 22 men (led by Lt. Cdr. George Rowe) & 12 tons of supplies | GS-124 thru 126; SW; ND | |
07/14/44 | USS Nautilus | SS-168 | 11 | 10°39'16"N 125°07'33"E San Roque, Leyte (no security signal at Lagoma -primary site) | Delivered 2 US EM & 30 tons supplies | Col. Kangleon | GS-124 thru 126; SW; ND |
07/16/44 | USS Nautilus | SS-168 | 11 | 9°25'06"N 122°35'55"E Balatong Point, Negros | Picked up "special cargo" of 1 box and 2 packages | Col. Abcede | SW |
08/07/44 | USS Seawolf | SS-197 | 14 | 5°20'42"N 120°10'35"E Tongehatan Point, Tawi Tawi | Delivered Lt. Konglain Teo, 4 radio operators, 1 WX man & 9 tons of supplies | Capt. Young & Lt. Col. Suarez | GS-130 & 131; SW; ND |
08/09/44 | USS Seawolf | SS-197 | 14 | 10°34'15"N 120°00'13"E Pirata Head, Dumaran Island, Palawan | Delivered Sgt. Cabais & 5 radio & WX men plus 5 tons of supplies to set up a coast-watcher station | GS-130 & 131; SW; ND | |
08/27/44 | USS Stingray | SS-186 | 12 | 18°38'34"N 120°49'40"E Mayraira Point, NW coast of Luzon | Delivered 15 military men & 6 tons of supplies | GS-184 thru 189; SW; ND | |
08/29/44 | USS Narwhal | SS-167 | 13 | 15°40'21"N 121°35'52"E Dibut Bay, Luzon | On 29th, Cdr. Parsons & Pvt Whitney went ashore in rubber boat; On 30th, delivered 20 men, 10 tons of supplies; Cdr. Parsons & Pvt. Courtney Whitney reboarded | Lt. Col. Robert Lapham | GS-190; LR-151-153 & 157; SW; ND |
08/31/44 | USS Redfin | SS-272 | 4 | 8°45'52"N 117°48'47"E Ipolote Bay on E coast of Palawan near Brooke's Point | Evacuated 17 persons including 8 survivors of USS Flier | GS-129 & 130; SW; ND | |
08/31/44 | USS Narwhal | SS-167 | 13 | 14°59'19"N
121°33'05"E On 31 Aug near
mouth of Magnac River, on E coast of Luzon; 14°57'37"N 121°33'59"E On 1 Sept @ beach near mouth of Masanga River (about 2 miles south of Magnac River mouth) |
On 31st, Cdr. Parsons & party went ashore; On 1st, Cdr. Parsons reboarded; Delivered 23 men, 10 tons of supplies and boarded 4 evacuees (Capt. Lage, Lt. Naylor, Sgt. Jellison & Sgt. Bolstead) | Lt. Col. Bernard Anderson | SW; ND |
09/22/44 | USS Narwhal | SS-167 | 14 | 5°58'45"N 124°36'21"E Bacud Point on S coast of Mindanao | Delivered 35 men & 35 tons of supplies | Lt. Col. Frank McGee | GS-136; SW; ND |
09/25/44 | USS Nautilus | SS-168 | 12 | 9°33'00"N 123°27'27"E Luisan Point on SE coast of Cebu | Delivered 2 Army EM & about 31 tons of supplies - took on 11 evacuees - offloaded another 40 tons of supplies after running aground | Lt. Col. James Cushing | GS-143; SW; ND |
09/27/44 | USS Narwhal | SS-167 | 14 | 8°44'33"N 124°46'03"E Balingasag, Mindanao | Delivered 3 men & 20 tons of supplies | GS-136; SW; ND | |
09/27/44 | USS Stingray | SS-186 | 14 | 7°25'08"N 126°33'31"E Baculin Bay, Mindanao | Delivered 35 tons of supplies | GS-142; SW; ND | |
09/29/44 | USS Nautilus | SS-168 | 12 | 11°44'56"N 121°56'00"E Libertad, Panay | Delivered about 40 tons of supplies - took off 47 evacuees | Col. Garcia | GS-146; SW; ND |
09/29/44 | USS Narwhal | SS-167 | 14 | 8°19'38"N 122°58'51"E Siari Bay, Mindanao | Picked up 80 rescued POWs (survivors of Shinyo Maru) & 1 US Medical Officer | Capt. Thomas | GS-136; SW; TB-224; ND |
09/30/44 | USS Stingray | SS-186 | 14 | 10°26'45"N 125°27'42"E Suluan Island off E coast of Samar | Delivered 3 Army officers & their equipment | GS-142; SW; ND | |
10/17/44 | USS Narwhal | SS-167 | 15 | 5°20'42"N 120°10'31"E Tongehatan, TawiTawi | Delivered 10 tons of supplies | Col. Suarez & Capt. Young | GS-193; SW; ND |
10/19/44 | USS Narwhal | SS-167 | 15 | 9°28'13"N 122°33'34"E Calipapa, Negros | Delivered 37 guerrillas & 50 tons of suppies - took on 26 evacuees | GS-193; SW; ND | |
10/23/44 | USS Nautilus | SS-168 | 13 | 15°01'07"N 121°32'19"E Near Masanga River, Luzon | Delivered 12 men & 20 tons of supplies | Lt. Col. Bernard Anderson | GS-190; SW; ND |
10/25/44 | USS Nautilus | SS-168 | 13 | 15° 40'36"N 121°36'32"E Dibut Bay, Luzon | Delivered 20 tons of supplies | Lt. Col. Robert Lapham | GS-190; LR-154 & 155; SW; ND |
11/03/44 | USS Cero | SS-222 | 6 | 15°01'00"N 121°32'15"E Mouth of Masanga River in Polillo Strait on E coast of Luzon | Delivered 16 Army (led by Maj. Vanderpool) men & 17 tons of demolition charges - Took off 4 evacuees | Lt. Col. Bernard Anderson | GS-194 thru 197; SW; ND |
11/18/44 | USS Blackfin | SS-322 | 1 | 13°29'11"N 120°50'18"E W of Camurong River on N coast of Mindoro | Picked up captured enemy documents & equipment | An Army commando team | GS-199 & 200; SW; ND |
11/20/44 | USS Gar | SS-206 | 14 | 13°28'17"N 120°46'51"E N coast of Mindoro | Delivered personnel & 5 tons of supplies | Lt. Cdr. Rowe | Gar War Patrol #14 Microfilm-296-298;SW; ND |
11/22/44 | USS Gar | SS-206 | 14 | 17°17'10"N 120°25'46"E Arrived, by mistake, at alternate site (Santiago Cove) - met Maj. Barnett - moved to primary site (Darigayos Inlet) - it was compromised - returned to Santiago Cove & offloaded cargo on 23 Dec. | Delivered 16 Army men (led by Capt. William Vaughn & Capt. William Farrell) & 30 tons of supplies | Maj. Barnett | Gar War Patrol #14 Microfilm-296-298; GS-197 & 198; WR-161-171; SW; ND |
12/02/44 | USS Gunnel | SS-253 | 7 | 10°22'02"N 119°34'36"E Flecha's Point, Palawan | Picked up 11 USN aviators | Col. Cuturan, Maj. Muzco & Lt. Sandoval | GS-200 & 201; SW; ND |
12/05/44 | USS Hake | SS-256 | 7 | 11°45'38"N 121°54'55E Libertad, Panay | Evacuated 6 Navy pilots, 6 Navy EM, I Army officer, 6 Army EM & 10 guerrillas - delivered supplies | Lt. Col. Garcia & Lt. Williams (USN pilot) | GS-201; SW; ND |
12/11/44 | USS Gar | SS-206 | 15 | 16°49'10"N 120°19'59"E Darigayos Inlet & 17°17'10"N 120°25'46"E Santiago Cove | On 11 December offloaded 25 tons of supplies at Darigayos - on 12 December picked up documents from Col. Volckmann at Santiago Cove | Maj. Parker Calvert | Gar War Patrol #15 Microfilm-325-326; SW; ND |
01/01/45 | USS Stingray | SS-186 | 15 | 5°20'41"N 120°10'28"E Tongehatan Point, TawiTawi | Delivered 27 tons of supplies | GS-201; SW; ND | |
01/20/45 | USS Nautilus | SS-168 | 14 | 6°43'35"N 124° 00'42"E Linao Bay, Mindanao | Offloaded about 45 tons of supplies; evacuated one sick 1st Lt. | Lt. Col. Frank McGee | SW |
01/23/45 | USS Nautilus | SS-168 | 14 | 7°24'24"N 126°33'22"E Baculin Bay, Mindanao | Offloaded about 45 tons of supplies - This was the last "Spyron" mission | 2nd Lt. N Artero, representative of Col. Wendell Fertig | SW |
* Source Notes: (Note - numbers following source code are page numbers) | |||||||
Code | Meaning | ||||||
AIB | Allied Intelligence Bureau by Allison Ind, David McKay Co. Inc, 1958 | ||||||
GS | Guerrilla Submarines by Dissette & Anderson, Bantam Book, 1972 | ||||||
ND | http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/pi_subs_guerrillas.htm Many entries in this web page contain coordinates of rendezvous sites | ||||||
LR | Lapham's Raiders by Robert Lapham & Bernard Norling, The University Press of Kentucky, 1996 | ||||||
LU | Escape from Davao by John D Lukacs, Simon & Schuster, 2010 | ||||||
SW | http://www.subsowespac.org/the-patrol-zone/special-missions-part-i.shtml | ||||||
TB | The Butchers, The Baker by Victor L. Mapes with Scott A. Mills, McFarland & Company, 2009 (see Chapters 26 & 27) | ||||||
WR | We Remained by Russell W. Volckmann, W W Norton & Company, 1954 | ||||||
NOTE: | Searching War Patrol Reports of submarines is a tedious job, but if anyone wants to do it, here is a web site that contains microfilms of those reports: | ||||||
http://issuu.com/hnsa/docs/ | |||||||
The following list gives pages numbers of the web site where the reports are found. Notice that some war patrol reports take more than one microfilm. | |||||||
Sub Name | Hull # | Page # of web site | # Microfilms | ||||
Angler | SS-240 | 13 | 1 | ||||
Blackfin | SS-322 | 10 | 1 | ||||
Bowfin | SS-287 | 1 | 2 | ||||
Cabrilla | SS-288 | 11 | 1 | ||||
Cero | SS-222 | 3 | 2 | ||||
Crevalle | SS-291 | 1 | 2 | ||||
Gar | SS-206 | 14 | 1 | ||||
Grayling | SS-209 | 14 | 1 | ||||
Gudgeon | SS-211 | 3 | 2 | ||||
Gunnel | SS-253 | 13 | 1 | ||||
Hake | SS-256 | 12 | 1 | ||||
Narwhal | SS-167 | 5 | 2 | ||||
Nautilus | SS-169 | 15 | 1 | ||||
Redfin | SS-272 | 12 | 1 | ||||
Seawolf | SS-197 | 1 | 2 | ||||
Stingray | SS-186 | 14 | 1 | ||||
Tambor | SS-198 | 17 | 1 | ||||
Thresher | SS-200 | 14 | 1 | ||||
Trout | SS-202 | 14 | 1 | ||||
Note for 9 July 43 rendezvous of USS Trout: See USS Trout letter dated 20 July 1943, Subject: Special Mission, paragraph 4. This letter is on pages 272 & 273 of the USS Trout War Patrol Reports microfilm |