submarine
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
, was the first submarine and second vessel of the United States Navy to be named for the
herring
Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae.
Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, i ...
Following shakedown off the New England coast, ''Shad'' departed on a special patrol as a unit of Submarine Squadron (SubRon) 50 to a point off the coast of Mehdiya, French Morocco, to conduct reconnaissance in preparation for
Operation Torch
Operation Torch (8 November 1942 – Run for Tunis, 16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of secu ...
, the Allied occupation of North Africa. Upon completion, she sailed to Roseneath, Scotland, for repairs and further training.
''Shads second war patrol was conducted in the
Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...
and Spanish coastal waters with other units of SubRon 50 under British command. Although the most of the vessels she sighted were neutral Spanish ships, the submarine sank an enemy trawler, a barge, and severely damaged a destroyer escort before she returned to Roseneath for refit on 12 February 1943.
With refitting completed, ''Shad'' departed Scotland for her third war patrol on 7 March, again heading for the Bay of Biscay. During this mission, the submarine damaged the
blockade runner
A blockade runner is a merchant vessel used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait. It is usually light and fast, using stealth and speed rather than confronting the blockaders in order to break the blockade. Blockade runners usuall ...
''Pietro Orseolo'', before returning to Scotland on 12 April.
''Shad's'' fourth patrol, conducted in Norwegian waters, and fifth war patrol, conducted en route back to the United States, were uneventful.
Sixth war patrol
Following repairs in New London, the submarine was transferred to the Pacific front. Arriving at Pearl Harbor on 7 September, ''Shad'' underwent two weeks of voyage repairs and then departed on 28 September, for her sixth war patrol, and her first against the
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese. This patrol was also the first American wolfpack, comprising ''Shad'', , and , commanded from ''Cero'' by
Captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
Charles Momsen
Charles Bowers Momsen (June 21, 1896 – May 25, 1967), nicknamed "Swede", was born in Flushing, New York. He was an American pioneer in submarine rescue for the United States Navy, and he invented the underwater escape device later called the " ...
.
Just before dawn on 22 October, ''Shad'' attacked a convoy of two
cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles.
The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...
s and three escorts. After firing 10 torpedoes, she was forced to head for deeper water to evade the depth charging that followed. Although no positive evidence of any sinkings was found, a two-square mile oil slick confirmed the damage done by the submarine. Shortly after midnight on 27 October, ''Shad'' sighted another enemy convoy and moved in for the kill. Although she did not sink any of the enemy ships, the submarine damaged three transports and a freighter before she was forced to leave the vicinity by an escorting
destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort
larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...
. ''Shad'' then returned via
Midway Atoll
Midway Atoll (colloquial: Midway Islands; haw, Kauihelani, translation=the backbone of heaven; haw, Pihemanu, translation=the loud din of birds, label=none) is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. Midway Atoll is an insular area of the Unit ...
to Pearl Harbor, where she terminated her sixth patrol before sailing for the West Coast for overhaul at San Francisco.
Seventh war patrol, August – October 1944
After returning to Pearl Harbor on 11 May 1944, ''Shad'' underwent further repair work and training before departing on 12 August for her seventh war patrol, which she conducted in waters surrounding the Japanese home islands. While off
Honshū
, historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separa ...
on 30 August, the submarine attacked a heavily laden freighter escorted by two small patrol craft. Although evidence of one hit was noticed, exact results were unknown due to a severe counterattack that forced the submarine to leave the area, giving the freighter a chance to escape. On 16 September, ''Shad'' fired four torpedoes, damaging a large transport. Following this attack, the submarine endured two hours of steady depth charging.
On 19 September, ''Shad'' torpedoed and sank escort ship ''Ioshima'', and as expected, was forced to endure another lengthy depth charging. On 22 September, ''Shad'' narrowly escaped destruction by maneuvering around two torpedoes, probably fired by an enemy submarine. One passed just under her bow and the other about ahead. After a typhoon-racked passage from the patrol area, ''Shad'' terminated her seventh patrol at Midway on 1 October.
Eighth and ninth war patrols
''Shad'' spent her eighth war patrol as a unit of a
coordinated attack group
The wolfpack was a convoy attack tactic employed in the Second World War. It was used principally by the U-boats of the during the Battle of the Atlantic, and by the submarines of the United States Navy in the Pacific War. The idea of a co-ordinat ...
with and , in the area off the northeast coast of
Formosa
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is an island country located in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, formerly known in the Western political circles, press and literature as Formosa, makes up 99% of the land area of the territorie ...
and in the
East China Sea
The East China Sea is an arm of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. It covers an area of roughly . The sea’s northern extension between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula is the Yellow Sea, separated b ...
. Other than a few inconsequential contacts with small enemy vessels, the patrol was uneventful, and the submarine returned to Pearl Harbor on 5 January 1945.
Following repair work and recuperation for the crew, ''Shad'' departed Pearl Harbor on 31 January for her ninth war patrol. She refueled at
Saipan
Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...
on 12 February and then departed with and ''Thresher'' for another wolfpack to patrol the
Luzon Strait
The Luzon Strait (Tagalog: ''Kipot ng Luzon'', ) is the strait between Taiwan and Luzon island of the Philippines. The strait thereby connects the Philippine Sea to the South China Sea in the western Pacific Ocean.
This body of water is an im ...
. During this patrol, the ''Shad'' attempted three attacks but all were thwarted. Twice the coming of dawn forced her to dive to evade enemy aircraft, and once patrolling escort ships forced her to leave the vicinity of an anticipated victim. On 5 March, ''Shad'' again was on the receiving end of an enemy torpedo attack, with three torpedoes passing just ahead of her bow. After this unproductive patrol, the submarine arrived at
Apra Harbor
Apra Harbor, also called Port Apra, is a deep-water port on the western side of the United States territory of Guam. It is considered one of the best natural ports in the Pacific Ocean. The harbor is bounded by Cabras Island and the Glass Breakwa ...
On her tenth war patrol, ''Shad'' operated as part of yet another coordinated attack group with , , and , this time in the Yellow and East China Seas. On the night of 17 May, the submarine contacted a large freighter and two escorts. ''Shad'' fired three torpedoes and quickly got out of range. One torpedo hit forward on the freighter ''Chosan Maru'', blowing her bow completely off, and the target settled quickly to the bottom. The escorts gave chase, but ''Shad'' escaped and resumed patrol.
On 7 June, ''Shad'' destroyed a small junk by gunfire, and later in the day, attacked and sank the 1,370-ton cargo ship, ''Azusa Maru''. With her torpedo store depleted, the submarine returned to Midway.
Eleventh war patrol and postwar service
On 11 July, ''Shad'' departed Midway on her 11th and final war patrol, consisting of lifeguard duty off Marcus Island. On 15 August, she received word of the cessation of hostilities and returned to Midway on 22 August. Upon completion of repairs, she returned to the United States, arriving at New Orleans, Louisiana, on 20 September.
Following the war, ''Shad'' was decommissioned and placed "in service, in reserve" and assigned to the Naval Reserve Training Center at Salem Maritime National Historic Site, within the
1st Naval District
The naval district was a U.S. Navy military and administrative command ashore. Apart from Naval District Washington, the Districts were disestablished and renamed Navy Regions about 1999, and are now under Commander, Naval Installations Command ...
, to train naval reservists. The submarine continued in that duty until she was struck from the Navy List on 1 April 1960 and sold for scrap to Luria Brothers, Inc., of Kearney, New Jersey.
''Shad'' earned six battle stars for World War II service.