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Walter T. Griffith
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Walter T. Griffith
Walter Thomas Griffith (June 3, 1911 – January 25, 1966) was a United States Navy submarine commander in World War II. He commanded USS Bowfin (SS-287) on her second through fourth patrols, becoming her most successful commanding officer and earning the boat the Presidential Unit Citation for her second patrol. He later served as the commanding officer of USS Bullhead (SS-332) for her first two patrols.
Griffith was born in Mansfield, Louisiana on June 3, 1911. He attended public school until 10th grade, before enlisting in the United States Navy on his 17th birthday in 1928. Two years after enlisting, he was accepted into the United States Naval Academy. At the Naval Academy, he participated in track and cross country. Griffith graduated in May 1934 and was commissioned as an Ensign. After completing his required two years of fleet duty on board USS Louisville (CA-28), Griffith chose to specialize in submarines and completed the six-month Submarine School course in December 1936. He married his wife Lynn that same year.
After completing Submarine School, Griffith was assigned to USS Porpoise (SS-172). While on Porpoise, Griffith served at the West Coast, Pearl Harbor, the Philippines, and made port calls in China. Griffith left Porpoise in October 1941 and reported to Naval Submarine Base New London where he was promoted to Lieutenant. He served as the commanding officer of USS O-2 (SS-63) from May 1942 to January 1943 training new submarine crews, before being sent to Prospective Commanding Officers' School. After completing the advanced course, Griffith was assigned as the executive officer and navigator on USS Gar (SS-206) during her seventh patrol from April to May 1943. Following this successful patrol, Griffith was promoted to Lieutenant Commander and given a desk job at Fremantle submarine base until a submarine commanding officer position opened up.
On October 26, 1943, Griffith succeeded Commander Joseph H. Willingham as commanding officer of USS Bowfin following her first patrol. Griffith was selected by Commander, Submarines, Southwest Pacific (COMSUBSOWESPAC) Rear Admiral Ralph Waldo Christie over Bowfin's current executive officer Lieutenant Commander William Thompson despite a request by Willingham that Thompson be the one to succeed himself. Griffith spent the next week training and becoming accustomed to his new crew before departing Fremantle on November 1, 1943 for Bowfin's second war patrol.
During Bowfin's second patrol, Griffith took the submarine through the Makassar Strait into the South China Sea. At first, Bowfin encountered several small ships, which Griffith ordered to be destroyed with deck guns rather than wasting torpedoes. While in stormy weather off the coast of French Indochina on the morning of November 26, Bowfin inadvertently sailed into the middle of a large Japanese convoy, which she subsequently attacked. On November 28, Griffith coordinated with Commander Frederick Colby Lucas, Jr. of USS Billfish (SS-286) to attack another large Japanese convoy east of Cape Varella before returning to Fremantle for repairs, arriving on December 9. Bowfin claimed 70,948 tons across 9 large and 5 small vessels sunk during her patrol, which was the highest scoring war patrol for any American submarine up to that point. JANAC later revised this total down to 26,458 tons across 5 large and 8 small vessels. Griffith received his first Navy Cross for this patrol, and Bowfin later received the Presidential Unit Citation.
Bowfin left for her third patrol on January 8, 1944, bound for the Celebes Sea via the Makassar Strait. In less than 2 weeks, Bowfin expended 14 of her 21 torpedoes and Griffith was ordered to head for Darwin, Australia for refueling and rearming. On January 24, Rear Admiral Christie flew up from Fremantle to Darwin to join Griffith and Bowfin for the rest of her patrol. Griffith was one of Christie's favorite submarine commanders not only due to his aggressive pursuit of targets, but also because Griffith's reports largely avoided singling out faulty torpedoes as the primary reason for failed attacks. Several other submarine commanders complained about flaws with the Mark 14 torpedo and disabled the magnetic detonation feature of the Mark 6 exploder to improve reliability, which angered Christie as he was one of the chief architects of the Mark 6 in the 1930s and was convinced poor crew maintenance was behind the failures. Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet (CINCPACFLT) Admiral Chester W. Nimitz had already ordered the disabling of the magnetic exploder on June 24, 1943, but his authority only affected submarines based out of Pearl Harbor and operating in the Pacific Ocean Areas, not Christie's South West Pacific Area. Christie joined Griffith on the bridge during several torpedo attacks in the Flores and Java Seas, and complimented the crew on their methodical nature. Bowfin returned to Fremantle on February 5, claiming 12,638 tons across 3 large and 3 small vessels sunk, as well as 18,200 tons and 2 vessels damaged. Griffith received a promotion to Commander and a second Navy Cross.
Bowfin departed Fremantle for her fourth war patrol on February 28, 1944, stopping in Darwin to refuel before proceeding to the eastern Celebes Sea via the Banda Sea on March 6. During this patrol, Christie had Griffith operate his torpedoes with modifications to the exploders proposed by submarine commanders Chester Nimitz Jr. and James McCallum in a final attempt to rectify the Mark 6's issues. Christie's instructions to Griffith essentially ignored a directive from Commander, Allied Naval Forces, Southwest Pacific Area Vice Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid, who had officially ordered that all submarines under his command disable their torpedoes' magnetic exploders on January 20, 1944. An attack against a Japanese convoy on March 10 was hampered by faulty torpedoes and aggressive Japanese depth charge attacks. Following a reload at Darwin from March 14-15, Bowfin continued its patrol and made several more attacks against Japanese shipping before returning to Fremantle on April 1. Griffith's war patrol report noted numerous premature torpedo detonations in spite of the exploder modifications, which finally convinced Christie that the Mark 6's magnetic detonation feature should be permanently disabled. Bowfin claimed 20,982 tons and 3 large vessels sunk, as well as 11,464 tons and 2 vessels damaged. Griffith received a Silver Star for this patrol.
On April 15, 1944, Griffith was relieved by Commander John Corbus as commander of Bowfin and sent stateside for a period of rest.
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Walter T. Griffith
Walter Thomas Griffith (June 3, 1911 – January 25, 1966) was a United States Navy submarine commander in World War II. He commanded USS Bowfin (SS-287) on her second through fourth patrols, becoming her most successful commanding officer and earning the boat the Presidential Unit Citation for her second patrol. He later served as the commanding officer of USS Bullhead (SS-332) for her first two patrols.
Griffith was born in Mansfield, Louisiana on June 3, 1911. He attended public school until 10th grade, before enlisting in the United States Navy on his 17th birthday in 1928. Two years after enlisting, he was accepted into the United States Naval Academy. At the Naval Academy, he participated in track and cross country. Griffith graduated in May 1934 and was commissioned as an Ensign. After completing his required two years of fleet duty on board USS Louisville (CA-28), Griffith chose to specialize in submarines and completed the six-month Submarine School course in December 1936. He married his wife Lynn that same year.
After completing Submarine School, Griffith was assigned to USS Porpoise (SS-172). While on Porpoise, Griffith served at the West Coast, Pearl Harbor, the Philippines, and made port calls in China. Griffith left Porpoise in October 1941 and reported to Naval Submarine Base New London where he was promoted to Lieutenant. He served as the commanding officer of USS O-2 (SS-63) from May 1942 to January 1943 training new submarine crews, before being sent to Prospective Commanding Officers' School. After completing the advanced course, Griffith was assigned as the executive officer and navigator on USS Gar (SS-206) during her seventh patrol from April to May 1943. Following this successful patrol, Griffith was promoted to Lieutenant Commander and given a desk job at Fremantle submarine base until a submarine commanding officer position opened up.
On October 26, 1943, Griffith succeeded Commander Joseph H. Willingham as commanding officer of USS Bowfin following her first patrol. Griffith was selected by Commander, Submarines, Southwest Pacific (COMSUBSOWESPAC) Rear Admiral Ralph Waldo Christie over Bowfin's current executive officer Lieutenant Commander William Thompson despite a request by Willingham that Thompson be the one to succeed himself. Griffith spent the next week training and becoming accustomed to his new crew before departing Fremantle on November 1, 1943 for Bowfin's second war patrol.
During Bowfin's second patrol, Griffith took the submarine through the Makassar Strait into the South China Sea. At first, Bowfin encountered several small ships, which Griffith ordered to be destroyed with deck guns rather than wasting torpedoes. While in stormy weather off the coast of French Indochina on the morning of November 26, Bowfin inadvertently sailed into the middle of a large Japanese convoy, which she subsequently attacked. On November 28, Griffith coordinated with Commander Frederick Colby Lucas, Jr. of USS Billfish (SS-286) to attack another large Japanese convoy east of Cape Varella before returning to Fremantle for repairs, arriving on December 9. Bowfin claimed 70,948 tons across 9 large and 5 small vessels sunk during her patrol, which was the highest scoring war patrol for any American submarine up to that point. JANAC later revised this total down to 26,458 tons across 5 large and 8 small vessels. Griffith received his first Navy Cross for this patrol, and Bowfin later received the Presidential Unit Citation.
Bowfin left for her third patrol on January 8, 1944, bound for the Celebes Sea via the Makassar Strait. In less than 2 weeks, Bowfin expended 14 of her 21 torpedoes and Griffith was ordered to head for Darwin, Australia for refueling and rearming. On January 24, Rear Admiral Christie flew up from Fremantle to Darwin to join Griffith and Bowfin for the rest of her patrol. Griffith was one of Christie's favorite submarine commanders not only due to his aggressive pursuit of targets, but also because Griffith's reports largely avoided singling out faulty torpedoes as the primary reason for failed attacks. Several other submarine commanders complained about flaws with the Mark 14 torpedo and disabled the magnetic detonation feature of the Mark 6 exploder to improve reliability, which angered Christie as he was one of the chief architects of the Mark 6 in the 1930s and was convinced poor crew maintenance was behind the failures. Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet (CINCPACFLT) Admiral Chester W. Nimitz had already ordered the disabling of the magnetic exploder on June 24, 1943, but his authority only affected submarines based out of Pearl Harbor and operating in the Pacific Ocean Areas, not Christie's South West Pacific Area. Christie joined Griffith on the bridge during several torpedo attacks in the Flores and Java Seas, and complimented the crew on their methodical nature. Bowfin returned to Fremantle on February 5, claiming 12,638 tons across 3 large and 3 small vessels sunk, as well as 18,200 tons and 2 vessels damaged. Griffith received a promotion to Commander and a second Navy Cross.
Bowfin departed Fremantle for her fourth war patrol on February 28, 1944, stopping in Darwin to refuel before proceeding to the eastern Celebes Sea via the Banda Sea on March 6. During this patrol, Christie had Griffith operate his torpedoes with modifications to the exploders proposed by submarine commanders Chester Nimitz Jr. and James McCallum in a final attempt to rectify the Mark 6's issues. Christie's instructions to Griffith essentially ignored a directive from Commander, Allied Naval Forces, Southwest Pacific Area Vice Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid, who had officially ordered that all submarines under his command disable their torpedoes' magnetic exploders on January 20, 1944. An attack against a Japanese convoy on March 10 was hampered by faulty torpedoes and aggressive Japanese depth charge attacks. Following a reload at Darwin from March 14-15, Bowfin continued its patrol and made several more attacks against Japanese shipping before returning to Fremantle on April 1. Griffith's war patrol report noted numerous premature torpedo detonations in spite of the exploder modifications, which finally convinced Christie that the Mark 6's magnetic detonation feature should be permanently disabled. Bowfin claimed 20,982 tons and 3 large vessels sunk, as well as 11,464 tons and 2 vessels damaged. Griffith received a Silver Star for this patrol.
On April 15, 1944, Griffith was relieved by Commander John Corbus as commander of Bowfin and sent stateside for a period of rest.
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