The Kurils
April 25 - May 21, 1943
Upon completion of her Fifth War Patrol, Captain Morton claimed the sinking of three ships:
- TAMON MARU #5; Passenger-Cargo; 5,260 tons - May 7
- TAKAO MARU; Passenger-Cargo; 3,204 tons - May 9
- JINMU MARU; Freighter; 1,912 tons - May 9
Hollywood, California - While on leave, Morton and his wife Harriet visit the set of "Destination Tokyo" and are greeted by the film's star, Cary Grant, and director, Delmer Daves (far left).
In addition, he claimed damage to two additional freighters. WAHOO was officially awarded credit for the sinkings and Morton received his third Navy Cross. After the war, JANAC substantiated the credit for the three sinkings.
Sea of Japan
August 8 - August 29, 1943
On her Sixth War Patrol, WAHOO conducted nine separate torpedo attacks without sinking a single enemy ship. Malfunctioning torpedoes which ran erratically, exploded prematurely or failed to detonate upon striking the target were sighted by Captain Morton as the cause for this unsuccessful run.
July 21, 1943 - Upon completion of her refit, Hollywood star Errol Flynn threw a lavish party for the crew. They reciprocated by allowing him and his press agent (seen here with Wahoo's Exec, Roger Paine) to ride as they departed for Pearl Harbor. They returned to shore on the pilot boat.
However, WAHOO did not return without her victims. During her return from the Sea of Japan, Morton battle surfaced on three separate occasions to sink a sampan with his deck guns.
Sea Of Japan
September 13 - October 11, 1943
"Sea of Japan, Eternal Patrol"
Furious over the torpedo failures of WAHOO's Sixth War Patrol and stung by criticism of the attack plan he adopted for the patrol area, Mush Morton's mind was clear on one thing. He had to return to the Sea of Japan. The targets were there and he had proved it could be penetrated. Now all he needed was a chance for redemption.
Forgotten Heroes - A group of Mare Island Naval Shipyard workers pose following the completion of their latest refit project, USS Wahoo.
For his boss, Admiral Charles Lockwood, the decision to send him there was not so easy. Morton's fierce aggressiveness had been an inspiration to the submarine force. But how could that kind of pace be kept up without some devestating price being paid? Lockwood knew he would have to give WAHOO to someone else soon, the question was when. In turn, Morton knew his days of combat command were drawing to a close so he pushed hard for a return trip. One more shot was all he wanted. After all, he was Lockwood's star. Lockwood relented.
Perhaps to demonstrate his confidence in his top skipper, Lockwood approved the use of the new Mark-18 electric torpedo on the patrol. Still in the development stage, WAHOO would carry a mixed load of these new wakeless fish to partially supplant the older Mark-14's which had let him down so much of late. Morton was ebullient about the possibilites that lay ahead.
September 1943 - Last known crew photo from Wahoo. The inscription on the back of the original reads "Bailey, George Meisch Lt, John Campbell Ens, Brown-, Finch En". From the personal effects of Ensign Donald Brown.
On September 5, 1943, WAHOO sailed from Pearl Harbor for Midway. They arrived on September 13 and stopped to top off their fuel tanks. During the short stay, Yeoman Forest Sterling received orders to Advanced Yeoman's School, a long hoped for opportunity. Morton offered him the choice: finish the patrol or find a replacement on Midway and trade places. Sterling and Morton found Yeoman 2c William T. White, eager to leave the remote island for a berth on the famous boat. Both men quickly gathered up their few personal effects and the exchange was made.
At 1600 hours on September 13, WAHOO departed Midway for the Sea of Japan via La Perouse Strait. Forest Sterling watched them fade from sight on the horizon. They were never seen by American forces again.
September, 1943 - Last known photograph taken of Wahoo. On September 13 she refueled at Midway Island then departed for her patrol area in the Sea of Japan. She was never seen by American forces again.
On October 5, 1943, the Japanese news service Domei announced that an "inter-island steamer", the 8000 ton transport KONRON MARU, had been torpedoed in the Sea of Japan. She had gone down in seconds, taking with her the lives of 544 nationals. Time magazine reported the announcement on October 15. Lockwood and his staff had known immediately that WAHOO was busy and eagerly awaited Morton's report. However, at the appointed time she failed to transmit.
Undaunted, signals were sent to try and raise her. Hopes for her safe return remained high. But as the hours turned into days and the days into weeks, Lockwood was faced with the unthinkable: Morton and WAHOO were overdue and presumed lost. She was posted as such in November, 1943.
October 11, 1943 (1430 hours) - Observed by an attacking patrol plane, Wahoo lives out her final hours in La Perouse Straight. Looking south, the oil slick issuing from her hull can be seen stretching across the surface from right to left (west to east). Three Japanese ships can be seen. The one on the far right is making another depth charge run at Wahoo's position beneath the head of the slick.This thumbnail is from one of two photos recently discovered by Bryan Mackinnon's research assistant, Keiko Takada, in the Japan National Institute for Defense Studies archives.
Japanese records, and interviews with eyewitnesses conducted years later, revealed what Lockwood and his staff could only have imagined. At 0830 hours on October 11, 1943 the 6-inch shore batteries on Soya Misaki promontory sighted a surfaced American submarine making a dash through the twenty mile wide Cape Soya Strait. They immediately opened fire and the submarine submerged.
The airfield at Wakkani was notified and a total of four Japanese airplanes arrived on the scene. The submarine was initially betrayed by a trail of oil visible from the air. The pilots then reported seeing a black conning tower and hull. This they used as a point of aim, dropping bombs over the next five hours (view the official Japanese REPORT). With the entire coast now alerted to the enemy submarine's presence, two Submarine Chasers, #15 and #23, joined the battle. They made contact with the submarine and began to drop depth charges.
October 11, 1943 - Another aerial view of the action in La Perouse Straight looking west-northwest. Two ships cruise slowly through Wahoo's slick while a third closes on the originating point.
At 1207 hours, following a depth charge run by Submarine Chaser #15, a bright metallic object, assumed to be a severed propeller blade, was glimpsed in the ensuing explosions. Oil continued to rise to the surface. Auxiliary #18 joined the Submarine Chasers and aircraft, several more bombs and depth charges were dropped. However, no further contact with the submarine was reported.
At approximately 1400 hours a very large volume of oil reached the surface. Over the course of the afternoon the ensuing slick stretched 50 meters wide and 2000 meters long. A sample taken revealed it to be diesel fuel. The aircraft were recalled, the ships returned home and an American submarine was reported sunk. That submarine was undoubtedly the USS WAHOO.
Created by noted artist, and WWII SubVet, Stephen Petreshock, the vivid painting depicts SS-238 at the bottom of Soya Strait.
Years later a former member of WAHOO's wardroom would draw his own conclusions about that final issue of oil. In his mind, that sudden belch of fuel coming so long after the attacks meant only one thing: Morton and his men were still fighting. Caught on the surface, driven down and hounded mercilessly for five hours, punctured and without the use of one screw, WAHOO settled to the bottom 20 meters down. Trapped, Morton tried one last valiant attempt to bring his boat to the surface. He gave the order to pump all fuel overboard, hoping it would make the difference and lighten the boat enough for it to rise.
Sadly, this did not happen. Instead, as the hours waned, Commander Dudley W. "Mush" Morton and 79 officers and men made the transition from American heroes to legends of the deep.
Additional Sources:
www.emackinnon.com
www.navsource.org
www.destroyers.org
