Pacific ships

USN · SS

Perch

Photos and info
Sunk

Porpoise-class submarine, SS-176, not the later Perch. Lieutenant Commander David Hurt had her. On the night of 1 March 1942 Amatsukaze and Hatsukaze depth-charged her north of Surabaya and left her on the bottom, unable to stay down. They did not sink her. Before sunrise on 3 March she could not dive. Ushio and Sazanami came up and Ushio opened fire. Her own crew scuttled her, colors flying. All 59 got off. Ushio took them. Six died later as prisoners. Not sunk by one destroyer.

ClassPorpoise class
TypeSubmarine (SS)
HullSS-176
BuilderElectric Boat, Groton
Launched1936-05-09
Commissioned1936-11-19
FateSunk. Scuttled in the Java Sea on 3 March 1942, colors flying, after depth-charge damage. This is SS-176, not a later Perch. All 59 got off. Six died later as prisoners. Fifty-three came home. Struck from the Navy list on 24 June 1942. Not credited to one destroyer.
Armament (class)Fleet submarine of the mid-1930s, smaller than a Gato.
Command

Laid down, displacement, length, beam, draft, speed, and complement are not stored for each hull, so this table leaves them out.

The armament line is the class drawing, not a measurement of this hull.

U.S. Navy photograph, Portsmouth Navy Yard, 16 June 1937, negative 185-37. Perch, then numbered P-5 on the bow. The print is captioned U.S. Submarine Perch. This is SS-176, not the later submarine of the same name. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

The pictures on this page are the originals.

Command

Hurt, David A.In command on the patrol that ended 3 March 1942

The loss of Perch

1942-03-03 · scuttled on 3 March, colors flying; not one destroyer's kill

Sunk
AmatsukazeDD · IJN
Photos and infoBattle of the Java SeaThe loss of PerchBattle of the Eastern SolomonsBattle of the Santa Cruz IslandsNaval Battle of Guadalcanal, night action
Sunk
HatsukazeDD · IJN
Photos and infoBattle of the Java SeaThe loss of PerchBattle of the Santa Cruz IslandsBattle of Empress Augusta Bay
Sunk
SazanamiDD · IJN
Photos and infoBombardment of MidwayBattle of the Java SeaThe loss of PerchBattle of the Coral SeaAleutian IslandsBattle off HoraniuLoss of Sazanami
Afloat
UshioDD · IJN
Photos and infoBombardment of MidwayBattle of the Java SeaThe loss of PerchBattle of the Coral SeaAleutian IslandsBattle of Surigao Strait

Shot and shell

Taken · damagedfrom Amatsukaze and Hatsukaze
Amatsukaze and Hatsukaze depth-charged Perch and left her on the bottom, unable to stay down. Not sunk that night. Not pinned to one of the two destroyers. Air and oil on the surface made them think she had broken up.
Taken · sunkfrom her own crew, after Ushio opened fire
Before sunrise on 3 March Perch could not dive. Ushio and Sazanami are named for that morning, and Ushio is the one said to have fired. The Navy loss report, written from the crew, says three destroyers opened fire and names none of them. Her own crew scuttled her. She went down with her colors flying. All 59 got off. Ushio took them aboard. Six died as prisoners. Fifty-three came home. Not credited to one destroyer.