USS Pomfret (SS-391) - World War II

World War II

After training, the new submarine arrived Pearl Harbor 1 June 1944. She departed Pearl Harbor 23 June and proceeded via Midway to her first patrol area—the east coast of Kyūshū and Bungo Suido. On 6 July she made an emergency dive when attacked by a Japanese plane. On 12 July she allowed a Japanese hospital ship to proceed in peace. After attempting an attack on a battleship, she arrived at Midway 16 August.

On 10 September she departed Midway for the Luzon Straits-South China Sea area to conduct her second patrol. She sighted two enemy battleships on 26 September, but their speed and the presence of an enemy submarine prevented an attack.

On 2 October Pomfret sank Tsuyama Maru, a 6,962-ton passenger-cargo vessel. After the usual depth charging, she departed for Saipan and moored in Tanapag Harbor 12 October.

After refit and training, Pomfret reentered the same patrol area 1 November as part of a wolf pack, with Cdr. John B. Hess now commanding. Pomfret sank Atlas Maru, 7,347-tons and Hamburg Maru, 5,271-tons. On 25 November, she sank Japanese Patrol Boat No.38 and cargo ship Shōhō Maru, 1,356-tons. Pomfret departed the area and proceeded via Midway to Pearl Harbor.

The ship began her fourth patrol 25 January 1945 in another wolf pack. The mission was a picket boat sweep ahead of a carrier task force soon to strike the Tokyo-Nagoya area. After completing the sweep without encountering any picket boats, she moved south of Honshū for lifeguard work.

On 16 February she rescued a pilot from Hornet (CV-12). The next day, she saved a pilot from Cabot (CVL-28). The incident was described in "Silent Victory" by Clay Blair (Lippincott, 1975) as follows:

Pomfret, commanded by John Hess, made a spectacular rescue. A pilot from the carrier Cabot was forced to ditch in the outer waters of Tokyo Bay. Fighters circled over Pomfret, guiding Hess to the rubber life raft. Hess fearlessly took Pomfret into these restricted waters and rescued the pilot, Ensign R. L. Buchanan. During this same bold operation, Hess picked up another pilot, Lieutenant Joseph P. Farrell from Hornet, and a Japanese pilot. War correspondent Ernie Pyle devoted a column to the rescue entitled 'Even If You Was Shot Down in Tokyo Harbor, the Navy Would Be In to Get You'.

That day she also captured two prisoners. Unsuccessfully attacked by a Japanese destroyer on 10 March, she departed the area 23 March and arrived at Midway on 30 March.

Departing Midway 26 April for the Kuril Islands-Okhotsk Sea area, she entered the area 5 May. On 26 May she fired torpedoes at an enemy anti-submarine hunter-killer group, but scored no hits. She returned to Midway 7 June.

On 2 July she departed for her sixth war patrol. After lifeguard duty south of Honshū, she began patrol in the East China Sea. On 19 July she sank the first of 44 floating mines. On 24 July, she shelled the Kuskaki Jima lighthouse and radio installations and, on 26 July, she destroyed a threemasted junk and a small schooner. On 8 August she rescued the entire five-man crew of a B-25 bomber. Pomfret continued to shell small craft and pick up Japanese and Korean survivors until the cessation of hostilities 15 August 1945. The following day she headed for Guam. On 9 September she arrived at San Francisco.