USS ''Bullhead'' (SS-332), a , was the last US Navy ship sunk by enemy action during World War II, probably on the same day that an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. She was the only ship of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

to be named for the bullhead (any large-headed fish, especially the

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...

, miller's thumb, and

sculpin A sculpin is a type of fish that belongs to the superfamily Cottoidea in the order Scorpaeniformes.Kane, E. A. and T. E. Higham. (2012)Life in the flow lane: differences in pectoral fin morphology suggest transitions in station-holding demand a ...

Construction and commissioning

''Bullhead''′s

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

by the Electric Boat Company of

Groton, Connecticut Groton is a town in New London County, Connecticut located on the Thames River. It is the home of General Dynamics Electric Boat, which is the major contractor for submarine work for the United States Navy. The Naval Submarine Base New London is ...

. She was launched on 16 July 1944 sponsored by Mrs. Howard R. Doyle, and commissioned 4 December 1944.

Operations

''Bullhead'' served in the Pacific Theater of Operations during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The war operations of ''Bullhead'' extended from 21 March to August 1945 during which time she completed two war patrols. Her area of operations included the

Java Sea The Java Sea ( id, Laut Jawa, jv, Segara Jawa) is an extensive shallow sea on the Sunda Shelf, between the Indonesian islands of Borneo to the north, Java to the south, Sumatra to the west, and Sulawesi to the east. Karimata Strait to its nort ...

and

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...

and the

Gulf of Siam The Gulf of Thailand, also known as the Gulf of Siam, is a shallow inlet in the southwestern South China Sea, bounded between the southwestern shores of the Indochinese Peninsula and the northern half of the Malay Peninsula. It is around in le ...

First patrol

During the greater portion of her first war patrol ''Bullhead'' performed lifeguard services and on two occasions bombarded Pratas Island, China, damaging enemy radio installations. She also rescued three airmen from a downed

Boeing B-29 Superfortress The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Fl ...

following an airstrike on the China coast. On 8 April 1945, a

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...

mistakenly dropped three or four bombs on ''Bullhead'' as she submerged in the

southwest of

Macao Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

, China. ''Bullhead'' suffered no damage or casualties. On 19 April, an

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

aircraft — probably another U.S. Army Air Forces B-24 Liberator, mistakenly dropped two

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...

s on ''Bullhead'' as she submerged in the South China Sea. The depth charges detonated as ''Bullhead'' reached . She suffered no damage or casualties.

Second patrol

On her second patrol, in May and June 1945 in the

and the South China Sea, ''Bullhead'' sank two small freighters, a

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

and a

submarine chaser A submarine chaser or subchaser is a small naval vessel that is specifically intended for anti-submarine warfare. Many of the American submarine chasers used in World War I found their way to Allied nations by way of Lend-Lease in World War II. ...

totaling 1,800 tons and damaged two more sub chasers and another small freighter, all in gun actions.

Third patrol and sinking

On 31 July 1945 ''Bullhead'' left

Fremantle submarine base Fremantle submarine base was the utilisation of Fremantle Harbour as a submarine base in World War II. The submarine base was second only to Pearl Harbor in the Pacific theater, with US, British and Dutch submarines operating from Fremantle duri ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

to commence her third war patrol. Her orders were to patrol in a " wolfpack" with and in the

until 5 September and then head for Subic Bay in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. ''Bullhead'' reported on 6 August that she had passed through

Lombok Strait The Lombok Strait ( id, Selat Lombok), is a strait connecting the Java Sea to the Indian Ocean, and is located between the islands of Bali and Lombok in Indonesia. The Gili Islands are on the Lombok side. Its narrowest point is at its southern o ...

. That was the last word received from ''Bullhead''. On 12 August, ''Capitaine'', planning to arrive on 13 August, ordered ''Bullhead'' to take position the following day in a scouting line with ''Capitaine'' and ''Puffer''. Receiving no reply, ''Capitaine'' reported on 15 August, "Have been unable to contact ''Bullhead'' by any means since arriving in area." Since the British submarines and were in the same general area as ''Bullhead'', and and passed through in transit at various times, it is difficult to determine precisely which of the many Japanese anti-submarine attacks was the one that sank ''Bullhead''. However, one occurred on 6 August 1945, when a Mitsubishi Ki-51 from the 73rd Independent Chutai (literally "company" or squadron) of the

Imperial Japanese Army Air Force The Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (IJAAS) or Imperial Japanese Army Air Force (IJAAF; ja, 大日本帝國陸軍航空部隊, Dainippon Teikoku Rikugun Kōkūbutai, lit=Greater Japan Empire Army Air Corps) was the aviation force of the Im ...

attacked with depth charges. It claimed two direct hits, and for ten minutes thereafter, there was a great amount of gushing oil and air bubbles rising in the water. Since the position given is very near the

Bali Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...

nese coast, it is presumed that the proximity of mountain peaks shortened ''Bullhead''s radar range and prevented her from receiving a warning of the plane's approach. 84 men were lost while serving on ''Bullhead'' during her service.

Honors and awards

''Bullhead'' received two

battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

s for her

service.

Commemoration

In August 2022, on the 76th anniversary of the submarine's sinking, a new memorial for USS ''Bullhead'' was unveiled at the

Western Australian Maritime Museum The Western Australian Museum is a statutory authority within the Culture and the Arts Portfolio, established under the ''Museum Act 1969''. The museum has six main sites. The state museum, now known as WA Museum Boola Bardip, officially re-ope ...

, Fremantle, Western Australia in the presence of the U.S. Consul General David Gainer.

References

Citations

Bibliography

Hinman, Charles R., and Douglas E. Campbell. ''The Submarine Has No Friends: Friendly Fire Incidents Involving U.S. Submarines During World War II''. Syneca Research Group, Inc., 2019.
.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bullhead (SS-332) Balao-class submarines World War II submarines of the United States Ships built in Groton, Connecticut World War II shipwrecks in the Java Sea Shipwrecks of Indonesia 1944 ships Friendly fire incidents of World War II Maritime incidents in April 1945 Maritime incidents in August 1945 Submarines sunk by aircraft Warships lost in combat with all hands Ships sunk by Japanese aircraft Lost submarines of the United States