the Cavalla is here in Galveston. it was in the bay as McArthur was signing peace papers with the - - s. i have toured it. i noticed most visitors were in and out in 15 mins or so... i was 'out on patrol' for over 2 hours... it was all fascinating. i particularly liked the kitchen and mess hall! even got down and crawled down (bed deckside) into the captain's berth... what they call his stateroom. about big closet size... called for a few out the front tubes, then lowered the periscope.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Cavalla_(SS-244)
a USS Cavalla patrol story from Patrol #1:
In 1944,
Shōkaku was deployed to the
Lingga Islands south of
Singapore. On 15 June, she departed with the Mobile Fleet for Operation "
A-Go", a counterattack against Allied forces in the
Mariana Islands. Her strike waves suffered heavy losses from U.S. combat air patrols and anti-aircraft fire, but some survived and returned safely to the carrier. One of her D4Y
Suisei strike groups, composed of veterans from the Coral Sea and Santa Cruz engagements, broke through and one plane allegedly struck home with a bomb that damaged the battleship
USS South Dakota and caused many casualties, but this group suffered heavy losses themselves. During the
Battle of the Philippine Sea, she was struck at 11:22 on 19 June by three (possibly four)
torpedoes from
the submarine USS Cavalla, under Commander Herman J. Kossler. As
Shōkaku had been in the process of refueling and rearming aircraft and was in an extremely vulnerable condition, the torpedoes started fires that proved impossible to control. At 12:10, an aerial bomb exploded, detonating aviation fuel vapors which had spread throughout the ship. The order to abandon ship was given, but before the evacuation had progressed very far,
Shōkaku abruptly took on water forward and sank quickly bow-first at position
11°40′N 137°40′E, taking 1,272 men with her. The light cruiser
Yahagi and destroyers
Urakaze,
Wakatsuki, and
Hatsuzuki rescued Captain Matsubara and 570 men.
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