Built by: Electric Boat
Design: EB 200A
Keel laid: 6 June 1935
Launched: 5 October 1936
Sponsor: Mrs. H. G. Bowen
Commissioned: 17 March 1937
First Skipper: Lt. Charles D. Humphries

When the United States entered World War II, USS PERMIT, under command of LCDR Adrian M. Hurst, was attached to SubRon 203 of the Asiatic Fleet Submarine Force. Because the threat of attack from Japan was imminent, all these boats were in a heightened state of alert - blacked out, night lookouts posted, in battle trim with war shots ready. USS PERMIT was in the vicinity of Manila to take on supplies in anticipation of hostilities.

"FROM COMMANDER ASIATIC FLEET TO ASIATIC FLEET - URGENT. JAPAN HAS COMMENCED HOSTILITIES. GOVERN YOURSELVES ACCORDINGLY"

The message was flashed by searchlight from the submarine tender USS CANOPUS to the submarines nearby. In the ensuing fast moves into positions assigned to them, USS PERMIT, along with USS PERCH, took up battle stations off the west coast of Luzon.

23 December was the first opportunity for USS PERCH to show her teeth, and she launched a submerged torpedo attack against a Japanese destroyer. Neither torpedo found their target.

After the Japanese took over Tarakan, a surface force with the cruiser USS MARBLEHEAD with he destroyer task force, was to attack the Japanese shipping at Kema. However, a submarine task force of USS PIKE and USS PERMIT went ahead and reported back that there was no large concentration of enemy shipping, so the task force withdrew - too soon, as events proved.

The Japanese naval force arrived a few days later and was discovered by USS SWORDFISH. The harbor was alive with Japanese shipping, but by now, they were too well entrenched both ashore and afloat for any effective submarine attacks.

In early 1942, USS PERMIT, under command of It. Werford `Moon' Chapple, was dispatched to Corregidor on a special mission, and was put in the service of General Douglas MacArthur. This was Chapple's first patrol in command of PERMIT after he successfully got USS 5-38 out of' Lingayen Harbor under a tremendously strong Japanese ASW attack. This was PERMIT's 4th war patrol. She arrived the end of February and transferred most of her ammunition to the outnumbered defenders. She received three torpedoes in return.

During operations on this 4th patrol, on 17 March 1942, PERMIT was spotted by three Japanese destroyers at Tayabas Bay in the Philippines. She was headed deep when they caught up with her, and delivered a vigorous ASW depth charge attack. The conning tower door gasket was cut by the extreme pressure on the knife edge of the door gasket seat and it partially bulged out, resulting in heavy leakage of water into the conning tower. Not much other damage was incurred, and USS PERMIT remained on patrol. Aside from this incident, USS PERMIT was used by MacArthur's staff as a passenger shuttle and eventually departed Corregidor and reaching Fremantle, Australia on 7 April 1942.

In mid-1943, Admiral Lockwood approved a plan to slash open the four protected waterways into the Sea of Japan. Three submarines including PERMIT, still under `Moon' Chapple, were to make their way through the La Perouse Strait between Hokkaido and Sakhalin Island, which meant they had to pass through the Kurile chain. The hour of 0000 on the 7th of July was designated as the day they could begin their four-day shooting spree, then they were to depart as fast as they came in. It would not be good for three American subs to be caught bathing in the `Emperor's Bathtub'.

They arrived - and USS PERMIT patrolled the western coast of Hokkaido. She was first of the American raiders to score, sinking the small freighter BANSHU MARU #33. A few hours later, they sank the 2,212-ton passenger/cargo ship SHOWA MARU. At their appointed time, all three American submarines dashed back out through the La Perouse Strait and back to their bases.

During her escapades in the Sea of Japan, USS PERMIT got `pooped' in July 1943. She had attacked a convoy southwest of the La Perouse Strait and was in the process of surfacing to enable her to chase the convoy on the surface when a huge wave broke over the submarine. The bridge was overcome with water, and the conning tower flooded. The pump room deck plates were under two feet of water. It was obvious that chasing a convoy was not in the best interest of the submarine at this time, so they dived and got about the duties of repairing the boat. Her radar systems took four days to be repaired, and many thousand tons of Japanese shipping probably remained afloat during these days that would otherwise have been sent to the bottom if PERMIT had been combat ready.

During the operations in and around Truk, many American subs were positioned in the area for various tactical missions. PERMIT was stationed (with SKIPJACK and GUARDFISH) off the three approaches to Truk to attack any Japanese ships entering or exiting this island base.

There were times when patrol was not so pleasant for PERMIT, such as 13 February 1944, her 11th war patrol. She was now under command of C. L. Bennett, operating off the western Carolines when she was attacked by Japanese destroyers. She was running at about 290 feet when the attack came, causing her engine air induction system to flood, which brought a great amount of water into the engine room bilges through the inboard drains and hull valves. All six engines (four main and two auxiliary) were flooded through the leaking exhaust valves and the submarine became quite heavy aft at first, and then overall. The crew was able to maintain depth control only by turning up 90rpm on the shafts with some occasional spurts of 180rpm. It was also necessary to put 15° to 18° up angle on the boat. PERMIT eventually dropped to 320 feet; a lot for an old design WW II American sub. After three hours, she surfaced with nearly flat batteries. PERMIT remained on patrol.

Her troubles did not always come from ships and planes with the Rising Sun painted on them. On 28 May 1944 on her 12th war patrol, she was attacked by an American bomber. PERMIT, now under command of D. A. Scherer, was running on the surface when spotted by an American VENTURA bomber. Seeing that the plane was setting up for a bombing run, Scherer dived the boat immediately and still received a bomb close aboard while still very near the surface. The drain line to the compensating system in the forward torpedo room was carried away which sprayed seawater and oil onto the pitometer log and other related gear. Power was lost to the forward diving planes and the after battery was grounded out. The high pressure manifold developed leaks & many bridge instruments were put out of action. PERMIT remained on patrol.

Some of the older submarines with only six torpedo tubes, like USS PERMIT, were pulled from attack duties & re-assigned specifically to lifeguard patrols, picking up downed American fliers. PERMIT relieved USS TARPON as lifeguard in her area and when PERMIT departed after her tour of duty on 28 October 1944, the lifeguard missions in the Caroline Islands were discontinued. These islands were now firmly in American control.

WAR PATROLS of USS PERMIT
WP	From	To	Duration	Sinkings
1	CV Luzon	CV	19 days	None
2	CV Luzon	CV	5 days	None
3	CV Phil	JA	40 days	None
(PERMIT evacuated ComAsiaFlt from the Philippines)
4	JA Phil	FA	34 days	None
(special mission)
5	FA Celebes	FA	37 days	None
6	FA Transit	PH	49 days	None
7	PH Empire	MI	49 days	HISASHIMA MARU 2,742 ton cargo
8	MI Marianas	PH	49 days	None
9	MI SOJ	PH	37 days	BANSHU MARU #33 787 ton cargo SHOWA MARU 2,212 pass/cargo
10	PH Marshalls	PH	33 days	None
11	PH Carolines	PH	74 days	None
12	PH Carolines	MJ	45 days	None
13	MJ Transit	BA	45 days	None
14	BA Truk	PH	60 days	None
(This patrol was Lifeguard duty)

Her Skippers were A. M. Hurst (patrols 1, 2 and 3); W. G- Chapple (patrols 4 through 9); C. L. Bennett (patrols 10 and I1); D. A. Scherer (patrols 12, 13 and 14). J

USS PERMIT was awarded 10 Battle Stars.

She was decommissioned 15 November 1945, then recommissioned 24 January 1947 for use as a training submarine in Philadelphia until 1956. On 26 July 1956, PERMIT was stricken from the Navy List and sold to A. G. Schoonmaker in New York for $162,850 to be broken up for scrap.