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USS ''Lapon'' (SS-260), a , was the first 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 after the lapon, a
scorpionfish The Scorpaenidae (also known as scorpionfish) are a family of mostly marine fish that includes many of the world's most venomous species. As their name suggests, scorpionfish have a type of "sting" in the form of sharp spines coated with venomo ...
of the Pacific coast of the United States.


Construction and career

Her keel was laid down by the
Electric Boat Company Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...
,
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 i ...
21 February 1942. She was launched on 27 October 1942, sponsored by Mrs. J. B. Oldendorf, wife of Rear Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf. ''Lapon'' was commissioned on 23 January 1943.


First and second war patrols, June – November 1943

Completing trials and training in Long Island Sound, ''Lapon'' departed
New London New London may refer to: Places United States *New London, Alabama *New London, Connecticut *New London, Indiana *New London, Iowa *New London, Maryland *New London, Minnesota *New London, Missouri *New London, New Hampshire, a New England town ** ...
for the
Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...
4 May 1943, arriving at
Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...
1 June. She departed 24 June for her first war patrol which was spent in the Sea of Okhotsk and
Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, i ...
. On 3 July, ''Lapon'', along with and became the first U.S. submarines to slip through a
mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...
d strait into the Sea of Japan. The entire time ''Lapon'' operated in the Sea of Japan, she was surrounded by thick fog and had problems with her radar. After she exited the Sea of Japan through
La Perouse Strait LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...
, she patrolled off the east coast of Hokkaidō and Honshū. There she saw an aircraft carrier and a pair of destroyers. The escorts kept ''Lapon'' pinned down with the assistance of aircraft, and the carrier escaped. The submarine, CDR Lowell T. "Steamy" Stone (
Class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...
of 1929) in command, departed 26 September for a close inshore patrol off the south coast of Honshū. After sinking cargo ship ''Taichu Maru'' 18 October, ''Lapon'' returned to Pearl Harbor 4 November 1943 and departed for the West Coast 7 November for an overhaul at
Mare Island Navy Yard The Mare Island Naval Shipyard (MINSY) was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates t ...
.


Third, fourth, and fifth war patrols, January – August 1944

Refitted with four new engines, the submarine departed for the
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 Phi ...
via Pearl Harbor in February 1944. ''Lapon'' sought out
torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...
targets and inflicted heavy damage on the enemy. She sank the cargo ship ''Toyokuni Maru'' on 8 March, ''Nichirei Maru'' on 9 March, and ''Hokuroku Maru'' (8359 tons) on 18 March, and inflicted heavy damage to several small craft. ''Lapon'' terminated this patrol in Fremantle, Australia, arriving 1 April 1944. Departing 25 April, ''Lapon'' arrived in the South China Sea and on 23 May detected and tracked a convoy. During the early hours of 24 May, the submarine sank the cargo ships ''Wales Maru'' and ''Bizen Maru''. ''Lapon'' cleared the area at flank speed chased by an escort and returned to Fremantle 6 June for refit. Underway for the eastern part of the South China Sea 29 June, ''Lapon'' spotted a cruiser and destroyer, the latter escaping at high speed. Four days later she sent cargo ship ''Kyodo Maru No. 36'' to the bottom. In the early evening of 31 July 1944, a convoy was sighted in
Palawan Passage Palawan (), officially the Province of Palawan ( cyo, Probinsya i'ang Palawan; tl, Lalawigan ng Palawan), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in t ...
. ''Lapon'' closed in for a night submerged radar attack and sunk the tanker ''Tinshin Maru'' and damaged two other vessels. ''Lapon'' then headed for Australia and moored at Fremantle 10 August.


Sixth and seventh war patrols, September 1944 – January 1945

''Lapon'' sailed for the South China Sea on 4 September, Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) Donald G. Baer in command. She rendezvoused with submarines and and became a member of a wolfpack. Early in the morning of 21 September, the submarine contacted an enemy
hospital ship A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital. Most are operated by the military forces (mostly navies) of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones. I ...
and allowed the ship to pass unharmed. That afternoon, while rounding Palauic point, ''Lapon'' spotted smoke and commenced closing. As she neared attack position U.S. carrier-based planes attacked the convoy, inflicting heavy damage on the enemy. ''Lapon'' attacked remnants of the convoy 22 September and sank the cargo ship ''Shun Yuan''. The next day ''Flasher'' and ''Lapon'' made a coordinated attack on several ships, ''Lapon'' sinking the tanker ''Hokki Maru''. Patrolling off the coast of
Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...
10 October 1944, ''Lapon'' intercepted a
Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
-bound convoy and sank the cargo ship ''Ejiri Maru''. Assigned to lifeguard duty, the submarine was on station during the air attacks preliminary to the invasion of the Philippines; and 21 October departed for Australia, arriving at Fremantle 31 October. ''Lapon'' left port for her seventh patrol 23 November and took position on a scouting line to prevent enemy reinforcements from reaching
Mindoro Mindoro is the seventh largest and eighth-most populous island in the Philippines. With a total land area of 10,571 km2 ( 4,082 sq.mi ) and has a population of 1,408,454 as of 2020 census. It is located off the southwestern coast of Luz ...
and
Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...
. Aircraft contacts were many and ship contacts few. ''Lapon'' was the last submarine to prowl Lingayen Gulf before the invasion of
Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...
, and was ordered out of the area at high speed the day of the first landings. She headed for Pearl Harbor, arriving 21 January 1945. Departing for the West Coast 4 days later, she moored at Mare Island Navy Yard 31 January.


Eighth war patrol, April – July 1945

Bound for her last patrol, ''Lapon'' arrived at Pearl Harbor 22 April, stayed there for a month, then headed for
Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
, arriving 5 June. Next day she sailed on a special mission of lifeguarding for a British carrier strike force and for
B-24 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 ...
and B-29 bombers striking the Japanese homeland. Returning to Guam 20 June, she headed for Saipan 4 days later to join submarines for a picket boat sweep ahead of Admiral Halsey’s forces which were to attack
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
area targets. Upon completion of sweeps, ''Lapon'' went on lifeguard duty off Tori Shima until 7 July when she steamed for Midway Atoll, briefly stopping at Saipan for temporary repairs, mooring 23 July. The day she was to sail for another war patrol, hostilities ended. Instead, ''Lapon'' departed for the Atlantic coast 26 August and arrived at
New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
, 20 September 1945. She remained there until she departed 24 October for the
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
coast, arriving
Galveston Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Ga ...
25 October. Two days later she berthed at
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...
. ''Lapon'' got underway for
Staten Island, New York Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull and ...
on 30 October, arriving 4 November. She remained at New York until 8 January 1946, when she sailed for New London, arriving the same day. ''Lapon'' was placed out of commission in reserve 25 July 1946.


Greek service

Recommissioned at
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, often called the Portsmouth Navy Yard, is a United States Navy shipyard in Kittery on the southern boundary of Maine near the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Founded in 1800, PNS is U.S. Navy's oldest continuo ...
, 13 April 1957, ''Lapon'' remained in the Portsmouth vicinity until 10 August, when she was decommissioned and struck from the Navy list. On 8 August 1957 she was transferred to
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
by Captain Samuel Francis under the Military Assistance Program and served the
Greek Navy The Hellenic Navy (HN; el, Πολεμικό Ναυτικό, Polemikó Naftikó, War Navy, abbreviated ΠΝ) is the naval force of Greece, part of the Hellenic Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy historically hails from the naval forces of vari ...
as ''Poseidon'' (S-78) (originally carrying pennant number Y-16). ''Poseidon'' was purchased outright by Greece in April 1976 and stricken from active duty for use as spare parts for sister ships. SS-260 was stricken from the US Navy Register on 31 December 1975.


Awards

''Lapon'' was credited with sinking 53,443 tons of Japanese shipping. She was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation for her brilliantly successful third, fourth, fifth, and sixth patrols and received four
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
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 opposing ...
service.


References


Bibliography

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External links


navsource.org: USS ''Lapon''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lapon (SS-260) Gato-class submarines Ships built in Groton, Connecticut 1942 ships World War II submarines of the United States Cold War submarines of the United States Gato-class submarines of the Hellenic Navy