USS Tarpon (SS-175)

Figure 1: USS Tarpon (SS-175) underway on the surface, circa 1937. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: USS Tarpon (SS-175) underway on the surface, circa 1937. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: USS Tarpon (SS-175) recovering a practice torpedo, during exercises off San Diego, California, 22 August 1937. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 4: USS Tarpon (SS-175) underway on the surface, circa 1937. Crewmen appear to be preparing to bring her 3-inch deck gun into action. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 5: USS Tarpon (SS-175) surfacing, with her bow at a relatively steep "up" angle, circa 1937. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 6: USS Tarpon (SS-175) underway with her deck awash, circa 1937. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 7: USS Tarpon (SS-175) surfacing with her bow at a shallow "up" angle, circa 1937. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 8: USS Tarpon (SS-175) off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, at the conclusion of an overhaul, 30 September 1942. Note barrage balloons in the distance. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 9: USS Tarpon (SS-175) off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, at the conclusion of an overhaul, 30 September 1942. Note the two recently installed external bow torpedo tubes. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 10: USS Tarpon (SS-175) off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, at the conclusion of an overhaul, 30 September 1942. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 11: USS Tarpon (SS-175) at the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, at the conclusion of an overhaul, 24 September 1942. Circles mark recent alterations to the ship. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 12: USS Tarpon (SS-175) at the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, at the conclusion of an overhaul, 24 September 1942. Circles mark recent alterations to the ship. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.



Named after a large, herring-like fish, the 1,316-ton USS Tarpon was the second of two Shark class submarines. The ship was built by the Electric Boat Company at Groton, Connecticut, and was commissioned on 12 March 1936. Tarpon was approximately 298 feet long and 25 feet wide, had a top surface speed of 19.5 knots and a submerged speed of 8 knots, and had a crew of 50 officers and men. The submarine was armed with six 21-inch torpedo tubes, carried a total of 16 torpedoes, and had one 3-inch deck gun.

After being commissioned, Tarpon was based at San Diego, California, and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, with Submarine Division (SubDiv) 13 for several years and then was assigned to SubDiv 14. In October 1939, Tarpon and SubDiv 14 were transferred to the Philippines to support the six old S-boat submarines that were based at Manila. These ships eventually were formed into Submarine Squadron 5 and in October 1941, SubDivs 15 and 16 were also transferred from Pearl Harbor to Manila. This increased the number of submarines in the US Asiatic Fleet to 29.

Two days after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, 18 submarines left the Philippines and began their first war patrol. Tarpon patrolled an area to the southeast of the island of Luzon in the Philippines. Unfortunately, all of the Japanese ships Tarpon located were steaming at unfavorable firing angles, so the ship was unable to fire a single torpedo. Tarpon ended her first war patrol at Darwin, Australia, on 11 January 1942.

Tarpon’s second war patrol began on 25 January 1942 and it took her to the waters off the Moluccan Islands, which are part of present-day Indonesia. On 30 January, Tarpon located a Japanese convoy, but the convoy’s heavy escort prevented the submarine from attacking. On 1 February, Tarpon spotted a Japanese freighter and quickly fired a spread of four torpedoes at the ship. At least one torpedo hit. Tarpon fired two more torpedoes at the damaged Japanese merchant ship and both of them hit as well. Seeing that the freighter was sinking, Tarpon left the scene assuming the ship was finished. But postwar analysis of Japanese records did not confirm a “kill,” so the freighter must have somehow managed to stay afloat after Tarpon left. On the evening of 11 February, while steaming on the surface, Tarpon was suddenly illuminated by the searchlight of an enemy warship. Tarpon quickly dove and tried to escape her attacker, but was shaken badly after the Japanese warship dropped four depth charges on her. The underwater explosions knocked out Tarpon’s bow planes, rudder angle indicator, and port annunciator. Then on the evening of 23 and 24 February, while steaming on the surface the submarine ran aground while trying to go through Boling Strait, west of Flores Island. The crew jettisoned ammunition, fresh water, fuel, and even torpedoes in an effort to lighten the ship. But nothing worked. Then some natives in a small boat paddled to the grounded submarine. The natives met with the ship’s commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander Lewis Wallace, and he agreed to send an officer with the natives back to the nearby island of Adunara for help. The natives took one of Tarpon’s officers back to Adunara where they met the only Westerner on the island, a Dutch missionary by the name of Pastor H. yon Den Rulst. The small group of men returned to Tarpon, where the Dutch missionary informed the captain that the next high tide would be between 1600 and 1800 hours. Pastor Rulst also warned Lieutenant Commander Wallace that there were a lot of Japanese aircraft patrolling the area and that the crew would simply have to wait until the tide came in, causing much tension on board the ship. Fortunately, the tide came in when the pastor said it would and, with three of Tarpon’s engines backing up at full speed, the ship finally managed to pull itself off the bottom. Tarpon arrived at Fremantle, Australia, on 5 March, a bit shaken but still intact.

Tarpon’s third wartime patrol began on 28 March 1942 and ended when she arrived at Pearl Harbor on 17 May. She had made no contacts except for an enemy hospital ship. The ship’s next patrol took her north of Oahu, Hawaii, but lasted only 10 days, from 30 May to 9 June. No enemy shipping was found and Tarpon was then sent to San Francisco, California, for a badly needed overhaul that lasted until 30 September 1942.

On 22 October 1942, Tarpon left Pearl Harbor and began her fifth war patrol which brought her to the waters north of Bougainville in the Solomon Islands. The submarine spotted numerous fishing boats but no warships or merchant ships. Tarpon ended this patrol at Midway Island on 10 December.

Tarpon returned to Pearl Harbor for another overhaul and began her sixth wartime patrol on 10 January 1943. She was sent to the Japanese home waters, just south of the island of Honshu. At 2130 on 1 February, Tarpon fired four torpedoes at a large ship and scored one hit. The target turned out to be the 10,935-ton Japanese passenger-cargo ship Fushima Maru. Two more torpedoes were fired at the damaged Japanese ship and both hit, breaking the vessel in two. After the ship sank, Tarpon left the area and prowled the waters around the island of Truk. On 8 February, the submarine made radar contact with a large, unidentified enemy ship. Tarpon fired a spread of four torpedoes and all of them hit the target. Tarpon had to submerge and go deep because the escorts of the doomed ship raced after the American submarine. The stricken Japanese ship was the 16,975-ton transport Tatsuta Maru, bound for Truk with a large contingent of soldiers on board. The transport sank with heavy loss of life as Tarpon slipped away from the aggressive Japanese escorts. After that attack, Tarpon returned to Midway on 25 February.

Tarpon’s seventh patrol was conducted from 29 March to 15 May 1943, near Tarawa in the Marshall Islands. But no ships were sunk and the submarine returned to Midway. On 30 July, Tarpon was sent back to Japanese home waters for her eighth wartime patrol. The submarine sighted a Japanese task force which included an aircraft carrier, but the task force’s high speed made it impossible to attack. Then on 21 August, Tarpon spotted two large cargo ships under heavy escort. Tarpon fired a spread of three torpedoes at each cargo ship and damaged both of them. On 28 August, Tarpon sighted another Japanese freighter and damaged it as the enemy ship was leaving Mikura Shima. On 4 September, the American submarine sank a Japanese patrol ship, killing the entire crew. Tarpon returned to Midway on 8 September.

For her ninth war patrol, Tarpon returned to the Japanese island of Honshu from 1 October to 3 November 1943. On the evening of 16 October, Tarpon was patrolling of Yokohama when she spotted a large ship, possibly an auxiliary cruiser (basically armed merchant ships used as convoy escorts). Tarpon followed the mystery ship until 0156 the next morning, when she fired four torpedoes at her. At least one of the torpedoes hit and the ship stopped dead in the water. But the wounded enemy ship began moving again and headed straight for Tarpon. The American submarine submerged and moved directly underneath the wounded ship. Tarpon then came to periscope depth on the other side of the ship and fired a spread of three more torpedoes. One of them hit the enemy ship’s stern. Yet the ship still would not sink. Frustrated at the inability to sink this ship, the captain of Tarpon fired another torpedo at the mystery ship and hit it, causing a huge explosion. After the smoke cleared, the ship was gone. Postwar examination of enemy records showed that the ship sunk by Tarpon that night was the German surface raider Michel, which had been attacking unarmed Allied merchant ships in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Michel was one of the few German warships to be sunk by a US Navy submarine during World War II. At the end of her patrol, Tarpon returned to Pearl Harbor.

Tarpon made three more wartime cruises, all of them involving either special missions or lifeguard duties in the central Pacific. On 14 October 1944, at the end of her twelfth war patrol, the now elderly submarine was retired from combat duties. Tarpon left Pearl Harbor on 24 December and was sent to the East Coast, arriving at New London, Connecticut, on 17 January 1945. She spent what was left of the war as a training ship and was decommissioned at Boston, Massachusetts, on 15 November 1945. In 1947, Tarpon became a stationary Naval Reserve training submarine at New Orleans, Louisiana. She served in that capacity until 5 September 1956, when she was stricken from the Navy list. Tarpon sank while under tow off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, on 26 August 1957, probably while being used as a target. USS Tarpon received seven battle stars for her service during World War II.

USS Florida (BM-9)

Figure 1: USS Florida (BM-9) photographed in 1904 by Enrique Muller, while serving with the Coast Squadron training midshipmen on summer cruises and operating along the East Coast and in Caribbean waters. Photo courtesy of greatwhitefleet.info, by William Stewart. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: Postcard of USS Florida (BM-9). Image taken from a photograph by Enrique Muller, 1905. Photograph courtesy of SK/3 Tommy Trampp. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: Postcard of USS Florida (BM-9). Image possibly taken from a photograph by Enrique Muller, 1905, and published by Tuck & Sons. Photograph courtesy of Henry Higgins. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 4: The submarines K-6 and K-5 alongside the monitor USS Tallahassee (formerly USS Florida, BM-9) at Hampton Roads, Virginia, 10 December 1916. Photograph from the National Archives & Record Administration (NARA), Record Group 19-N, Box 33. Click on photograph for larger image.



The 3,225-ton USS Florida (BM-9) was an Arkansas class monitor built by the Crescent Shipyard at Elizabethport, New Jersey, and was commissioned on 18 June 1903. The ship was approximately 252 feet long and 50 feet wide, had a top speed of 12 knots, and had a crew of 220 officers and men. Florida was armed with two 12-inch guns in a single turret, four single 4-inch guns, and one 3-inch gun.

After briefly being assigned to the US Navy’s “Coast Squadron,” Florida was used as a training ship on summer cruises for midshipmen attending the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. While serving in this capacity, she steamed along America’s East Coast and in the Caribbean. Florida also took part in the Presidential Naval Review held by Theodore Roosevelt at Oyster Bay, Long Island, on 3 September 1906. Four days later, Florida became a full-time training ship at the Naval Academy. The ship was placed in reserve on 11 September 1906, but was fully commissioned from 7 June to 30 August 1907 for a midshipman cruise. Once the cruise was completed, the ship was decommissioned and placed in reserve.

From 21 May to 19 June 1908, Florida was subjected to an extraordinary set of ordnance tests. Florida was used as a target ship while her sister ship, the monitor USS Arkansas, fired several shots at Florida using her 12-inch and 4-inch guns. According to the US Navy at the time, the tests were conducted “to strike the Florida’s turret with an energy little short of penetration, in such a way that most of the [shell] fragments will fly across the bows clear of the ship. It is not intended to penetrate the turret armor, and the test is in no respect a contest of gun against armor or armor against gun, the effect of the shock only being desired. The shock, under the conditions above noted, will be approximately the greatest that could be experienced in battle.” An experimental steel “cage” mast also was placed on board Florida for the test and the shell hits would determine the sturdiness of the new mast design. The test took place on 27 May 1908 off Hampton Roads, Virginia, with Arkansas firing several shots at Florida at close range. Evidently, Florida survived the test very well. According to an article in the New York Tribune dated 28 May 1908, “The biggest naval gun, the heaviest projectile and the highest explosive known, combined with close range and deadly aim, were allowed to work their full havoc on the turret plate of the monitor Florida today. The result is declared to be a victory for turret construction, and this notwithstanding the 11-inch hardened steel plate was blackened, broken, the seams of the turret sprung and the rivets and screws loosened and twisted.” The article went on to say that Florida’s 12-inch guns were still operational even after being pounded by Arkansas. In addition, the experimental “cage” mast that was placed on board Florida for the test also sustained only minor damage and withstood all of the shell hits. The test proved that although monitors were very slow and rapidly becoming obsolete in terms of naval technology, they were still formidable warships and hard to sink. Then, incredibly, Florida was repaired after this test and returned to the fleet. This is probably the only time in American naval history where a warship was actually used as a target for target practice and then repaired and sent back to active duty.

On 1 July 1908, USS Florida was renamed USS Tallahassee to free up the state’s name for a new battleship that was being built. On 1 August 1910, Tallahassee was placed in reserve and became a gunnery test ship and performed occasional duties as a submarine tender in the Panama Canal Zone and at Norfolk, Virginia. During World War I, the ship served as a submarine tender in the Panama Canal Zone, the Virgin Islands, and Bermuda. On 30 September 1918, Tallahassee entered Charleston Navy Yard at Charleston, South Carolina, and was decommissioned there on 3 December.

Tallahassee was assigned to the Sixth Naval District as a reserve training ship on 19 February 1920, but was not re-commissioned. The ship was officially placed back in commission as a training ship from 3 September 1920 to 24 March 1922, when Tallahassee was decommissioned for the last time. USS Tallahassee was sold for scrapping at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 25 July 1922.

USS Fulton (AS-1, PG-49)

Figure 1: USS Fulton (AS-1) at the Naval Submarine Base at New London, Connecticut, during World War I. USS Ardent (SP-680) is partially visible on the opposite side of the pier. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: USS Fulton (AS-1) at the Naval Submarine Base at New London, Connecticut, during World War I. A motor launch is in the center foreground and USS Ardent (SP-680) is at the right. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: USS Fulton (AS-1) with submarines alongside, probably during or soon after World War I. The third submarine from the left (second outboard of Fulton) is a Lake-type "boat," probably L-5, L-6 or L-7. Donation of Captain Stephen S. Roberts, USNR (Retired), 2008. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 4: USS Fulton (AS-1) towing the submarine G-1, circa 1915. The original print's reverse contains the hand written comment: "Towed 30 hrs. parted two line off Cape Hatteras, Fulton relieved by Castine, Castine stood by G-1 in storm off Hatteras for 48 hrs. before she could pick her up. G-1 registered a roll of 72 degrees. Arrow over rubber necks head." "Rubber neck" is probably Chief Quartermaster John Harold. Collection of Chief Quartermaster John Harold. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 5: Ship's Chief Petty Officers of USS Fulton (AS-1) photographed on board the ship at the New London submarine base, New London, Connecticut, in 1919. The conning tower of USS H-2 (Submarine # 29) is visible in the right background. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 6: USS G-2 (Submarine # 27) underway, circa 1916, with USS Fulton (AS-1) following astern. Courtesy of Alfred Cellier, 1977. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 7: USS Fulton (AS-1) underway in New York Harbor, date unknown. Photo from "Jane's All The World's Fighting Ships 1924." Click on photograph for larger image.



Named after the famous American inventor Robert Fulton (1765-1815), the 1,308-ton USS Fulton was a submarine tender that was built by the New London Ship and Engine Company at Groton, Connecticut, and was commissioned on 7 December 1914. The ship was approximately 226 feet long and 35 feet wide, had a top speed of 12 knots, and had a crew of 135 officers and men. Fulton was armed with two 3-inch guns.

After being commissioned, Fulton spent the first six months of her career tending submarines at Norfolk, Virginia; Charleston, South Carolina; New York City; and Newport, Rhode Island. Then, after undergoing an overhaul, she arrived at New London, Connecticut, on 2 November 1915. New London would be Fulton’s primary base of operations until 1922, although during that time she also visited ports along America’s east coast, the Caribbean, and Cuba. Fulton also participated in numerous naval exercises, acted as the station ship at New London, and during the summer of 1922 served as the flagship for the Commander of the Atlantic Submarine Flotillas.

Fulton became a submarine tender at Coco Solo, Panama Canal Zone, on 4 April 1923 and for the next year participated in naval exercises on both sides of the Panama Canal. During that time, she also completed a survey of Almirante Bay, Panama. Fulton returned to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 14 July 1925 and was decommissioned there and placed in reserve on 5 October.

Fulton was re-commissioned on 2 September 1930 and was given the assignment of acting as a survey ship in the Panama Canal Zone. On 29 September 1930, Fulton was re-classified a gunboat and designated PG-49. On 3 March 1931, Fulton returned to Balboa, Panama, but was eventually sent to San Diego, California, arriving there on 13 August 1932. Once in San Diego, she was converted into a gunboat to serve with the US Asiatic Fleet in Hong Kong. Fulton arrived at Hong Kong on 3 November 1932. Although she made occasional trips to the Cavite Navy Yard in the Philippines, Fulton’s primary assignment was to patrol off the southern coast of China, from Hong Kong to Canton. Like all US Navy gunboats at that time, her primary duty was to protect American lives and property in China. But on 14 March 1934, disaster struck when a major fire broke out amidships on board Fulton. Faulty exhaust lines from a diesel engine ignited some oil and the fire spread rapidly. The crew quickly assembled on the bow and the stern of the ship, awaiting rescue. Fortunately, the British destroyer HMS Wishart and the steamer SS Tsinan were able to come alongside the stricken American gunboat and evacuate the crew. Another British destroyer, HMS Whitshed, stood by the burning ship until a salvage party made up of Fulton’s crewmembers could be placed on board the gunboat. Once they were finally transferred back to Fulton, the salvage party managed to bring the fire under control. An American tug towed Fulton to Hong Kong where she received emergency repairs which enabled her to be towed to Cavite. Fulton made it to Cavite but was probably considered not worth salvaging because she was decommissioned on 12 May 1934. After twenty years of service, USS Fulton was sold for scrapping on 6 June 1935.

Fire has been and always will be a major danger on board all ships. Fortunately, the fire that destroyed USS Fulton did not claim any lives.

HMS Charity

Figure 1: British destroyer HMS Charity off the coast of Korea while covering Operation "Fishnet," which was intended to destroy North Korean fishing nets in an effort to reduce Communist forces' food supplies. Photograph is dated 16 September 1952. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: HMS Charity, date and place unknown on the original photograph, although the background is probably the Island of Malta. Royal Navy Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: British Commonwealth destroyers moored off Yokosuka, Japan, after returning from combat patrols in Korean waters. Photo is dated 26 January 1951. The ships are (from left to right): HMAS Warramunga (Australian destroyer, 1942); HMS Charity (British destroyer, 1945) and HMAS Bataan (Australian destroyer, 1945). Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 4: PNS (Pakistani Naval Service) Shah Jahan (formerly HMS Charity) underway circa 1959, location unknown. Official photo from the Pakistani Navy. This photograph was reproduced in "Jane's Fighting Ships, 1961-62 edition." Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 5: Soviet Osa I class missile boat, similar to the Indian Navy’s Vidyut class missile boats that attacked the Pakistani Navy’s Shah Jahan on 4 December 1971 during the Indo-Pakistan War.



HMS Charity was a 2,520-ton, C-class destroyer that was built for the British Royal Navy by John Thornycroft & Company at Woolston, Southampton, England, and was commissioned on 19 November 1945, shortly after the end of World War II. The ship was approximately 363 feet long and 36 feet wide, had a top speed of 37 knots, and had a crew of 186 officers and men. Charity was armed with four 4.5-inch guns, six 40-mm guns, four 2-pounders, several 20-mm cannons, four 21-inch torpedo tubes, and four depth-charge throwers plus two racks of depth charges, for a total of 96 depth charges.

After spending five years in the post-World War II Royal Navy, Charity played an active role in the Korean War. Charity was part of the British Commonwealth naval forces (made up of English, Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian warships) sent to Korea to assist United Nations ground forces in pushing back the North Korean invasion of South Korea which started on 25 June 1950. Charity participated in blockade, escort, and bombardment missions on both sides of the Korean peninsula. Although tedious, blockade duty proved critical in preventing the communist forces in North Korea from obtaining much of the vital food and munitions they needed. Also, Charity and many escort ships like her, steamed very close to the North Korean coastline, providing gun support for the Allied troops on land. But this also made them perfect targets for communist shore batteries. Many Commonwealth warships came under fire from communist coastal batteries, but fortunately few were hit. Charity made it through the Korean War without sustaining any major damage.

After the Korean War, Charity spent a few more years in the Royal Navy before being sold to the United States Navy on 16 June 1958. She was overhauled and modernized at the shipyard of J. Samuel White in Cowes, England, under a US contract and was then transferred to the Pakistani Navy as part of the Military Aid Program (MAP) between the United States and Pakistan. The ship was renamed Shah Jahan (which literally means “Emperor of the World”) by the Pakistani Navy and was officially transferred on 16 December 1958.

For the next 13 years, Shah Jahan provided useful service for the Pakistani Navy. But on 3 December 1971, war erupted between India and Pakistan. On the night of 4 December, the Indian Navy launched “Operation Trident,” which was a naval attack on the main Pakistani naval base at Karachi, Pakistan. That evening, a small Indian assault group consisting of three Vidyut class missile boats (which were slightly modified versions of the Soviet Osa I class missile boat) and two Arnala class frigates (similar to the Soviet Petya class) approached Karachi. The Indian missile boats went ahead of the frigates and steered towards Karachi harbor while managing to avoid Pakistani reconnaissance aircraft and patrol vessels along the way. Roughly 70 miles south of the harbor, the Pakistani Shah Jahan was escorting the ammunition ship MV Venus Challenger and the two ships blundered right into the path of the oncoming Indian missile boats. The Indian missile boats spotted the two Pakistani ships and fired a salvo of Soviet-made SS-N-2 Styx missiles at them. The Venus Challenger was hit and the ammunition on board the ship blew up. The ship disintegrated and sank in minutes. At least one, possibly two, Indian missiles slammed into Shah Jahan. The resulting explosions critically damaged the destroyer, but the ship somehow managed to stay afloat. During this same attack, the Pakistani destroyer PNS Khaibar and the minesweeper PNS Muhafiz (which were on patrol near Karachi) were also sunk. No Indian warships were lost or even damaged during this very successful operation.

The severely damaged Shah Jahan was towed back to Karachi but was declared a total loss and had to be scrapped. The ship was built shortly after World War II, served proudly during the Korean War, and was destroyed in yet another war off the coast of Pakistan. But Shah Jahan’s loss, along with the other Pakistani ships that were lost on 4 December 1971, was notable for yet another reason. Operation Trident was the first time ship-launched missiles were used between India and Pakistan and it was also the first time naval warships were sunk in that region since those two countries obtained their independence from Great Britain. As a result of this major victory, India celebrates Navy Day annually on 4 December to commemorate Operation Trident.

USS Gettysburg

Figure 1: Painting of USS Gettysburg by De Simone, depicting the ship underway in the Bay of Naples, Italy, in 1878. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: Ships of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron departing Hampton Roads, Virginia, en route to attack Fort Fisher, North Carolina, in December 1864. The ships present are (from left to right): a twin-turret monitor, probably USS Monadnock; USS New Ironsides; and an unidentified steam sloop of war. USS Gettysburg was part of this task force and actively participated in the assault on Fort Fisher. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: "The Bombardment of Fort Fisher, January 15, 1865." Engraving by T. Shussler, after an artwork by J.O. Davidson, published in "Battles and Leaders of the Civil War." It depicts ships of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron bombarding Fort Fisher, North Carolina, prior to the ground assault that captured the fortification. USS Gettysburg was part of this assault on Fort Fisher. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 4: “Bombardment of Fort Fisher, 15 January 1865.” Lithograph after a drawing by T.F. Laycock, published by Endicott & Co., New York, 1865, depicting the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron bombarding Fort Fisher, North Carolina, in preparation for its capture. USS Gettysburg was part of this assault force. The print is dedicated to Commodore S.W. Godon, USN. Ships present, as named on the original print, are identified in Photo Number LC-USZ62-144 (complete caption). Collections of the Library of Congress. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 5: “Capture of Fort Fisher, North Carolina, 15 January 1865.” Watercolor by eyewitness Ensign John W. Grattan, of Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter's staff, depicting Porter's fleet bombarding the fort prior to the ground assault. Side-wheel steamer in the right foreground is Porter's flagship, USS Malvern. USS New Ironsides and USS Monadnock are in the right distance. USS Gettysburg was part of Porter’s task force and assisted in the assault on Fort Fisher. Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation, Grattan Collection. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.



The 950-ton, iron side-wheel steamship Douglas was built at Glasgow, Scotland, in 1858 for use as a merchant ship. She was purchased by the Confederate Navy in November 1862 and was used as a blockade runner. Douglas arrived at Charleston, South Carolina, in late January 1863, completing her first voyage through the Union blockade. Shortly after her arrival, the ship was renamed Margaret and Jessie. The ship proved to be strong, fast, and an ideal blockade runner. For the next nine months, Margaret and Jessie made eight trips through the federal blockade and into Southern ports, five to Charleston and three to Wilmington, North Carolina. But while attempting to enter Wilmington on her ninth trip, the ship was captured by USS Nansemond and the US Army transport Fulton on 5 November 1863.

Later that month, the Confederate blockade runner was taken by the US Navy and converted into a gunboat at the New York Navy Yard. She was renamed USS Gettysburg and was commissioned on 2 May 1864. The ship was approximately 221 feet long and 26 feet wide, had a top speed of 15 knots, and had a crew of 96 officers and men. Gettysburg was armed with one 30-pounder Parrott gun, two 12-pounders, and four 24-pounders. Gettysburg was immediately sent back off the southern coastline, only this time she was being used to enforce the Union blockade of the Confederate states. During 1864, Gettysburg captured three Confederate steamers that were trying to bring desperately needed supplies to the starving southern states. The new Union gunboat captured Little Ada on 9 July 1864, Lilian on 24 August, and Armstrong on 4 December.

Then on 24 to 25 December 1864, Gettysburg participated in Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter's giant Union naval assault on the Confederate stronghold of Fort Fisher, located at the entrance to the port of Wilmington. Gettysburg was part of the massive bombardment (made up of approximately 60 warships) of the fort prior to the landings made by federal Army troops. During the actual landings by those troops, Gettysburg remained close to shore and provided cannon fire support for the assault. Gettysburg’s boats were also used to help transport troops to the beaches.

But the first assault on Fort Fisher was a failure. After that, plans were made for a second assault, this time including a landing force of sailors and Marines from the Union warships who volunteered for a bloody frontal assault against the formidable Confederate stronghold. The second attack took place on 15 January 1865, with all of the warships off the coast, including Gettysburg, providing cover fire for the Union landing. Gettysburg’s captain, Lieutenant Roswell H. Lamson, along with a group of officers and men from the gunboat, volunteered as part of the landing force that was attacking the fort. Once they made it to shore under a hail of Confederate gunfire, Lamson and what was left of his men were stopped underneath the very ramparts of Fort Fisher. Lamson and his men were forced to spend the night in a ditch underneath the Confederate guns before they could escape the next day. Although the frontal assault made by the sailors and Marines failed to take Fort Fisher, the attack diverted enough attention from the Confederates to allow the simultaneous assault made by Union Army troops to succeed. Fort Fisher fell, although the Union side suffered well over 1,500 casualties during the battle. Gettysburg’s small crew lost two men killed and six men wounded during the land assault on Fort Fisher.

After the Battle of Fort Fisher, Gettysburg was used as a transport along the Atlantic coast until she was decommissioned on 23 June 1865. Gettysburg was re-commissioned on 3 December 1866. She made a brief visit to the Caribbean, but then was decommissioned once again on 1 March 1867. The ship was re-commissioned on 3 March 1868 and sent back to the Caribbean to do some scientific research and to protect American interests in the area. Gettysburg was again out of commission from October 1869 to November 1873, after which her next period of activity included transport duty along the Atlantic coast. From February to May 1874, she also supported a survey of possible inter-oceanic canal routes across Central America, a program that would eventually lead to the building of the Panama Canal.

Gettysburg was again out of commission from April to September 1875, but was re-commissioned and assigned to complete some navigational surveys in the West Indies towards the end of 1875 and during the first few months of 1876. After an overhaul back in the United States, Gettysburg was sent to the Mediterranean in October 1876 for more survey duty. For the next two years, the ship visited nearly every port in the Mediterranean, taking soundings and surveys on the southern coast of France, the entire coastline of Italy, and the Adriatic Islands. Gettysburg continued her work along the coasts of Turkey, Egypt, and the rest of North Africa, as well as Sicily and Sardinia. But the ship was almost worn out. Her iron plates were corroded after years of almost constant use and her engines were old and in poor condition. So USS Gettysburg was decommissioned for the last time on 6 May 1879 and was sold in Genoa, Italy, two days later, never to see the United States again.

HMS Harvester (H19)

Figure 1: HMS Harvester (H19), date and place unknown. Photograph courtesy of the Royal Navy. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: HMS Harvester (H19), date and place unknown. Photograph courtesy of the Royal Navy. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: Painting by M. F. Médard of the Free French Naval Forces ship Aconit. She was one of the nine Flower class corvettes lent by the Royal Navy to the Free French Navy during World War II. During the war, Aconit escorted 116 convoys and spent 728 days at sea. Aconit and HMS Harvester (H19) played key roles in sinking two German U-boats on 11 March 1943. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 4: Free French corvette Aconit attacking German submarine U-432, World War II, 11 March 1943. Aconit sank the U-boat in the North Atlantic with a combination of depth charges, gunfire, and ramming. Courtesy the National Archives/Heritage Images. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 5: “HMCS Ville de Québec Gets a Sub.” War artist Harold Beament's painting depicts the destruction by the Canadian corvette HMCS Ville de Québec of German U-Boat (submarine) U-224 on 13 January 1943. While helping to escort a convoy in the Mediterranean, Ville de Québec detected a submerged U-Boat on its ASDIC (sonar), and promptly delivered an attack with depth charges that drove U-224 to the surface. Ville de Québec's gunners opened fire on the submarine, and the corvette then rammed it, knocking the U-Boat's one survivor (center) from the conning tower into the water. U-224 sank rapidly, and an underwater explosion a minute later marked its end. HMCS Ville de Québec was a Flower class corvette similar to Aconit (the ship that rammed and sank U-444 and U-432) and shows how extremely dangerous ramming a submarine can be. Fortunately, Aconit and Ville de Québec survived their ramming incidents. HMS Harvester wasn’t so lucky. “HMCS Ville de Québec Gets a Sub” was painted by Harold Beament around 1945. From the Beaverbrook Collection of War Art, CWM 19710261-1031. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 6: Captured survivors from German submarine U-432, 11 March 1943. The Free French corvette Aconit sank the U-boat in the North Atlantic with a combination of depth charges, gunfire, and ramming. Twenty of the submarine's crew of 46 survived and were taken aboard the French vessel. Courtesy the National Archives / Heritage Images. Click on photograph for larger image.



Originally laid down as the Jurua for the Brazilian Navy, the ship was requisitioned by the British Royal Navy on 4 September 1939 and renamed HMS Handy (F07), but was renamed once again and commissioned into the Royal Navy on 23 May 1940 as HMS Harvester (H19). Harvester was a 1,340-ton “H” class destroyer that was built by Vickers-Armstrongs at Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. The ship was approximately 323 feet long and 33 feet wide, had a top speed of 36 knots, and had a crew of 145 officers and men. Harvester was armed with three 4.7-inch guns, eight 0.5-inch machine guns, and eight 21-inch torpedo tubes, and could carry up to 110 depth charges.

After a shakedown “cruise” that lasted a mere four days, from 24 May to 28 May 1940, Harvester was immediately thrown into battle. These were the desperate days of May 1940, with a large portion of the British Army stranded on the beaches of France. The German Army had pushed the British so far back in France that they now had their backs to the sea, and the situation looked almost hopeless. But Prime Minister Winston Churchill and the British people were not about to abandon their troops. On 28 May 1940, HMS Harvester joined hundreds of other ships, small and large, at Dover, England, for Operation Dynamo, which was the rescue of the British Army in France. These ships braved almost constant German air attacks to rescue British, French, Belgian, and even some Polish troops from the beaches of Dunkirk, France. After making several trips back and forth to France, Harvester was damaged in an air attack on 1 June. After some quick repairs were made at the Chatham Dockyard, Harvester rejoined rescue operations on 10 June, even though by then most of the troops had already been evacuated from Dunkirk. She pulled British troops off the beaches of St. Valery and Le Havre, and from St. Jean de Luz and Bayonne in the Bay of Biscay, France. Approximately 338,226 British and French troops were rescued by the end of Operation Dynamo, an incredible number and a major achievement by the Royal Navy.

For the rest of her career, Harvester played an important role in the hard-fought Battle of the Atlantic, escorting vulnerable merchant ships and hunting down marauding German U-boats. On 9 July 1940, Harvester and the destroyer HMS Havelock rescued 35 survivors from the British merchant ship Aylesbury that was torpedoed by a German U-boat, U-43, roughly 200 miles southeast of Ireland. But on 30 October, Harvester struck back. While escorting convoy WS3A in the Atlantic, Harvester and the destroyer HMS Highlander sank U-32 using depth charges and gunfire after the submarine tried to surface. The German submarine sank northwest of Ireland, but 33 crewmen from U-32 managed to survive and were rescued by the British warships.

On 7 November 1940, Harvester and the Canadian destroyer HMCS Ottawa sank the Italian submarine Faa di Bruno while escorting Convoy HX64 in the Atlantic. There were no survivors and this was the first Italian submarine to be sunk in the Atlantic. On 3 February 1941, Harvester rescued 121 survivors from the transport Crispin that was sunk in the Atlantic by a U-boat. The destroyer entered the shipyard at Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England, on 18 March for a brief overhaul but was back in service on 26 April. On 4 May, Harvester joined Britain’s famous “Force H” at Gibraltar. At that time, Force H was made up of the battlecruiser HMS Renown, the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, the cruiser HMS Sheffield, and several destroyers. After escorting some convoys in the Mediterranean with Force H, Harvester was transferred to St. Johns, Newfoundland, in June 1941 to escort convoys in the mid-Atlantic. On 8 August, Harvester joined the destroyers HMS Havelock and HMS Hesperus in escorting the battleship HMS Prince of Wales, which was carrying Prime Minister Winston Churchill to meet President Franklin D. Roosevelt at Newfoundland for the Atlantic Charter Conference.

On 7 December 1941, the day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Harvester and HMS Hesperus were on patrol in the Atlantic west of Gibraltar. They managed to get a solid sonar contact on a German U-boat and attacked. After making several depth-charge runs, they were able to sink U-208. After that success, Harvester returned to convoy escort duty. From February to March 1942, Harvester underwent a badly needed overhaul at Dundee, Scotland, and in April was given new radar equipment. In May 1942, she returned to convoy escort duty in the Atlantic. Harvester escorted a large number of convoys, mostly between England and Newfoundland, until 23 December, when she steamed to Liverpool for yet another overhaul.

On 11 February 1943, Harvester returned to convoy escort duty. After escorting two convoys in February, Harvester, along with three other destroyers and five corvettes, was attached to convoy HX228 in the Atlantic. Harvester was the flagship of the convoy’s escort group and the skipper of the ship was Commander Arthur Andre Tait, Royal Navy. The escort group was protecting a convoy of 60 merchant ships. On 11 March 1943, the convoy was attacked by several German U-boats in what was called a “wolf pack.” They attacked from several different directions and Tait and his escorts immediately lunged into action. One of the first casualties in this battle was the merchant ship William C. Gorgas, sunk by U-757. Harvester managed to rescue 51 survivors from the ship and then rejoined the hunt for enemy submarines. They didn’t have to wait long. Commander Tait and the crew of Harvester spotted U-444 slithering along the surface. Although Harvester started shooting at the U-boat, Tait didn’t want the enemy to submerge and get away. He pointed his ship at the U-boat, ordered “Full Speed Ahead,” and then gave his next fateful order, “Prepare to ram!” Harvester came closer and closer to the surprised U-boat. Unable to get away in time from the oncoming destroyer, Harvester slammed into the side of the submarine. The forward momentum of the destroyer drove her up and over the U-boat. For a few moments, the submarine became wedged in the destroyer’s propellers and the two ships were locked together. When Harvester finally managed to break free in the heavy seas, the destroyer’s propellers and shafts were badly damaged and were barely working. The Free French Flower class corvette Aconit (K58) arrived on the scene and discovered, much to everyone’s amazement, that U-444 was still afloat. Aconit attacked immediately. She came in, guns blazing, and also rammed the now stationary U-444. The German submarine couldn’t take any more punishment and sank. Fortunately, aside from a crumpled bow, Aconit was still able to function.

This was not the case with Harvester. The collision with the U-boat had severely damaged the ship’s propellers and shafts, although she was able to crawl along for a little while on one shaft. But this cracked shaft soon gave out and the ship came to a halt, unable to move at all. Commander Tait ordered Aconit to rejoin the convoy, which he felt was in greater danger than his own ship. Aconit reluctantly did as ordered and left the now immobile destroyer. A few hours later, though, the commanding officer of Aconit, Lieutenant de Vaisseau Levasseur, received orders to return to Harvester to assist her. But while heading for the destroyer, Levasseur saw a column of smoke on the horizon and intercepted Harvester’s last radio signal, reporting that she was under attack and had just been torpedoed. Aconit raced to the scene and, along the way, made sonar contact with yet another submarine. The corvette started dropping depth charges and soon U-432 was forced to surface. The enraged French crew on board Aconit immediately fired their guns at the German submarine and, for the second time that day, Aconit turned to ram the enemy U-boat. She hit U-432 at full speed and sliced right into the submarine, with her bow receiving yet another punishing blow. It’s a wonder the corvette, a very small ocean escort, was able to endure such punishment and remain afloat. But she did and U-432 sank a few minutes later.

But the loss of life on all sides was heavy that day. After U-432 went down, Aconit picked up survivors. She managed to pull out of the icy waters four survivors from U-444, 20 survivors from U-432, and only 60 survivors from HMS Harvester, which included 12 survivors from the merchant ship William C. Gorgas that were on board Harvester at the start of the battle. One of the men from William C. Gorgas who did not make it was its skipper, Captain J.C. Ellis. After Harvester went down, he was in the icy water holding onto a life raft filled with other men. When a seaman asked Ellis to take his place in the life raft, he replied, “No, son, keep your place.” Shortly after that, Ellis slipped away from the life raft and was never seen again. Commander Tait also did not survive. A total of four merchant ships and one destroyer were sunk, for the loss of two German U-boats. After this battle, Allied commanding officers of all escorts were forbidden to ram enemy submarines. It was determined that, although ramming could sink an enemy submarine, it posed too much of a risk to the Allied warship that did the ramming. Ramming, even if successful, also caused too much damage to the escort and required substantial dockyard repairs at a time when every escort was needed for convoy duty.

The battle for Convoy HX228 is one of many examples of just how bitter the Battle of the Atlantic was. Commander Arthur Andre Tait was willing to sacrifice his life, the life of his crew, and HMS Harvester to sink a German U-boat. The Free French corvette Aconit and her crew were willing to sacrifice themselves, twice, by ramming both U-444 and U-432. It was by sheer luck that Aconit wasn’t lost as well. And the German wolf packs attacked relentlessly, sinking a stunning amount of Allied tonnage and nearly winning the war for Germany. This was a war with no mercy and the pure viciousness of it was on full display in the Atlantic on 11 March 1943.