USS Seahorse (SS-304)

USS Seahorse (SS-304), a Balao-class submarine, was the first submarine and second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the seahorse, a small fish whose head and the fore part of its body suggest the head and neck of a horse.

First war patrol, August – September 1943

Following shakedown along the California coast, Seahorse sailed to Pearl Harbor and, on 3 August 1943, got underway for her maiden war patrol, conducted off the Palau Islands. On the morning of 29 August, while the submarine was gaining attack position on a Japanese convoy, she was detected by escorting destroyers and suffered minor damage from a depth charge attack.

Related Topics:
California - Pearl Harbor - 3 August - Palau Islands - 29 August - Japan - Convoy - Destroyer - Depth charge

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Seahorse scored three torpedo hits on a transport on 6 September, and then went deep to evade a depth charge attack that caused severe leaks and put her number four torpedo tube out of commission. A week later, she expended eight torpedoes in an unsuccessful attempt to sink a large tanker. The submarine terminated her first patrol at Midway on 27 September.

Related Topics:
6 September - Tanker - Midway - 27 September

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