USS Swordfish Disappearance

[Tony]

Posted by Navy Advancement Results and Quotas on Wednesday, January 20, 2021

January 19, 1943 – USS Swordfish sank the 4,122-ton army cargo ship Myoho Maru, which was part of the Japanese Solomons reinforcement convoy, while USS Greenling damaged a Japanese cargo ship north of Rabaul. Swordfish earned eight battle stars for her service during World War II.

On Swordfish’s 13th war patrol, the submarine was ordered to patrol the Nansei Shoto area until completion of scheduled air strikes. She acknowledged receipt of the orders on Jan. 3, but no further communication was ever received from her.

On Feb. 15, after repeated attempts to contact her by radio had failed, she was reported as presumed lost, the victim of unknown causes. Greenling conducted 12 war patrols, earned 10 battle stars, and received a Presidential Unit Citation for her outstanding war service.