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USS Trigger (SS-237)
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USS Trigger (SS-237)
USS Trigger (SS-237) was a Gato-class submarine, the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the triggerfish.
Trigger's keel was laid down on 1 February 1941 at Mare Island, California, by the Mare Island Navy Yard. She was launched on 22 October 1941, sponsored by Mrs. Walter N. Vernou, and commissioned on 30 January 1942.
The submarine sailed for Hawaii on 22 May and reached Pearl Harbor the following week. She sortied for Midway Island with Task Group 7.2 (TG 7.2) on 29 May in anticipation of a Japanese attack on that island. Her station during the ensuing Battle of Midway was northeast of Midway, but her usefulness was curtailed when she ran aground. She freed from her grounding and returned to Pearl Harbor on 9 June.
On 26 June, Trigger got underway for the Aleutian Islands to patrol an area west of Cape Wrangell, Attu Island. She encountered six destroyers, three freighters and a patrol boat, attacking none, before calling at Dutch Harbor on 8 August en route back to Hawaii.
Roy S. Benson assumed command before Trigger began her second war patrol, conducted from 23 September to 8 November in "Empire Waters" (the seas immediately surrounding Japan). In the early morning hours of 5 October, the submarine sighted smoke on the horizon and headed for it. A vessel soon appeared, coming toward the submarine. As the target approached, the submarine identified it as a small ship. Trigger then surfaced and manned her machine guns. As the target neared, however, the submarine learned that the Japanese ship was larger than initially thought. Enemy shells soon began exploding close to Trigger, and the 4,000 ton ship turned and accelerated in an attempt to ram the submarine. Trigger barely avoided a collision as she submerged for an attack; she launched two torpedoes and heard one hit. She then surfaced and gave chase, only to have the target again open fire. The submarine missed with three more torpedoes and then discontinued the pursuit.
Before dawn on the morning of 17 October, Trigger made a surface attack on a freighter off the Bungo Suido. She fired two spreads of torpedoes which sank Holland Maru with her guns still firing. That night, a destroyer came out of Bungo Suido and dropped a string of depth charges near the submarine. Trigger launched three torpedoes "down the throat" at the onrushing destroyer and, one minute later, observed an explosion so powerful it threw enough flame and water into the air to obscure the target. When the air cleared, the enemy ship was still intact, suggesting Trigger's first torpedo may have exploded prematurely, detonating the next two by its turbulence. The submarine fired one more torpedo as the enemy disappeared, but failed to score a hit.
Near midnight of 20 October, Trigger fired a spread of four torpedoes from very close range, 900 yards (820 m), in a surface attack on a 10,000-ton tanker. Two torpedoes hit the enemy ship as it turned in an attempt to ram. The submarine went to 100 feet (30 m) to evade a counterattack, and heard a heavy explosion as either gasoline, magazines, or boilers blew up. Trigger then came up to periscope level but found nothing in sight. (This sinking was not confirmed by JANAC postwar.) Four days later, Trigger attacked a large enemy tanker in ballast. A spread of three torpedoes produced three observed hits, one near the target's stern. The screws of the enemy ship stopped, and she began emitting heavy white smoke aft, but she soon got underway again. Trigger fired her last torpedo at the ship as it was moving off and missed. That night, she surfaced and began her homeward voyage.
From 3 December 1942 to 22 January 1943, the submarine conducted a combined minelaying and offensive patrol, again in waters surrounding the Japanese home islands. On 20 December, she began planting a minefield off Inubo Saki, Honshū. Trigger planted the northern half of the field and was working on the southern part when a cargo ship passed her, heading into the newly-laid mines. Five minutes later, a violent explosion rocked the freighter which sank while an escort circled her. The submarine later heard another explosion from the direction of the minefield and, when she surfaced the next day, found the field was covered by smoke.
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USS Trigger (SS-237)
USS Trigger (SS-237) was a Gato-class submarine, the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the triggerfish.
Trigger's keel was laid down on 1 February 1941 at Mare Island, California, by the Mare Island Navy Yard. She was launched on 22 October 1941, sponsored by Mrs. Walter N. Vernou, and commissioned on 30 January 1942.
The submarine sailed for Hawaii on 22 May and reached Pearl Harbor the following week. She sortied for Midway Island with Task Group 7.2 (TG 7.2) on 29 May in anticipation of a Japanese attack on that island. Her station during the ensuing Battle of Midway was northeast of Midway, but her usefulness was curtailed when she ran aground. She freed from her grounding and returned to Pearl Harbor on 9 June.
On 26 June, Trigger got underway for the Aleutian Islands to patrol an area west of Cape Wrangell, Attu Island. She encountered six destroyers, three freighters and a patrol boat, attacking none, before calling at Dutch Harbor on 8 August en route back to Hawaii.
Roy S. Benson assumed command before Trigger began her second war patrol, conducted from 23 September to 8 November in "Empire Waters" (the seas immediately surrounding Japan). In the early morning hours of 5 October, the submarine sighted smoke on the horizon and headed for it. A vessel soon appeared, coming toward the submarine. As the target approached, the submarine identified it as a small ship. Trigger then surfaced and manned her machine guns. As the target neared, however, the submarine learned that the Japanese ship was larger than initially thought. Enemy shells soon began exploding close to Trigger, and the 4,000 ton ship turned and accelerated in an attempt to ram the submarine. Trigger barely avoided a collision as she submerged for an attack; she launched two torpedoes and heard one hit. She then surfaced and gave chase, only to have the target again open fire. The submarine missed with three more torpedoes and then discontinued the pursuit.
Before dawn on the morning of 17 October, Trigger made a surface attack on a freighter off the Bungo Suido. She fired two spreads of torpedoes which sank Holland Maru with her guns still firing. That night, a destroyer came out of Bungo Suido and dropped a string of depth charges near the submarine. Trigger launched three torpedoes "down the throat" at the onrushing destroyer and, one minute later, observed an explosion so powerful it threw enough flame and water into the air to obscure the target. When the air cleared, the enemy ship was still intact, suggesting Trigger's first torpedo may have exploded prematurely, detonating the next two by its turbulence. The submarine fired one more torpedo as the enemy disappeared, but failed to score a hit.
Near midnight of 20 October, Trigger fired a spread of four torpedoes from very close range, 900 yards (820 m), in a surface attack on a 10,000-ton tanker. Two torpedoes hit the enemy ship as it turned in an attempt to ram. The submarine went to 100 feet (30 m) to evade a counterattack, and heard a heavy explosion as either gasoline, magazines, or boilers blew up. Trigger then came up to periscope level but found nothing in sight. (This sinking was not confirmed by JANAC postwar.) Four days later, Trigger attacked a large enemy tanker in ballast. A spread of three torpedoes produced three observed hits, one near the target's stern. The screws of the enemy ship stopped, and she began emitting heavy white smoke aft, but she soon got underway again. Trigger fired her last torpedo at the ship as it was moving off and missed. That night, she surfaced and began her homeward voyage.
From 3 December 1942 to 22 January 1943, the submarine conducted a combined minelaying and offensive patrol, again in waters surrounding the Japanese home islands. On 20 December, she began planting a minefield off Inubo Saki, Honshū. Trigger planted the northern half of the field and was working on the southern part when a cargo ship passed her, heading into the newly-laid mines. Five minutes later, a violent explosion rocked the freighter which sank while an escort circled her. The submarine later heard another explosion from the direction of the minefield and, when she surfaced the next day, found the field was covered by smoke.
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