USS TRIGGER SS 237

USS TRIGGER SS 237 Gato Class

March 26, 1945. Sunk by surface craft and aerial bombs. 89 men lost.

From: Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships

Trigger
The triggerfish is any of numerous deep-bodied fishes of warm seas haying an anterior dorsal fin with two or three stout erectile spines.

(SS-237: dp. 1,552 (surf.), 2,415 (subm.); 1. 311'8"; b. 27'3"; dr. 15'3"; s. 20.25 k. (surf.), 8.75 k. (subm.); cpl. 80; a. 10 21" tt., 1 3", 2 .50 cal. mg.; cl. Gato)

On March 11, 1945, Trigger left Guam on her 12th and final war patrol in the Nansei Shoto area. On March 20, Trigger reported sinking the cargo ship Tsukushi Maru No. 3 and damaging another. The submarine was ordered to radio as many movements of the convoy as possible to help find a safe passage through a known mined area of the East China Sea. On March 24, Trigger was ordered to begin patrolling west of the islands the next day, outside the 100 fathom curve, and to steer clear of restricted areas. On March 26, she was ordered to join the wolf pack "Earl's Eliminators" and to acknowledge receipt of the message. A weather report came from the submarine that day but no confirmation of her having received the message. The weather report was the last transmission received from Trigger. On April 4, she was ordered to proceed to Midway, but she had not arrived by May 1 and was reported as presumed lost. Trigger was struck from the Navy list on July 11, 1945.

Post-war enemy records indicate that Trigger torpedoed and sank the repair ship Odate on March 27. The next day, Japanese planes and ships conducted a two-hour attack on a submarine in that area. The attack was heard by Silversides (SS-236), Seadog (SS-401), Hackleback (SS-295), and Threadfin (SS-410) in adjacent areas. Threadfin was the only one of these submarines that reported being attacked that day, and she also reported that she heard many depth charges and several heavy explosions east of her position after the attack on her ceased. Trigger was struck from the Navy list on July 11, 1945.

Trigger received 11 battle stars for World War II service and the Presidential Unit Citation for her fifth, sixth, and seventh war patrols. She is credited with sinking 18 ships for 86,552 tons.