Built by: Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Design: Government
Keel laid: 27 September 1938
Launched: 15 August 1939
Sponsor: Mrs. E.C. Kalbfus
Commissioned: 1 December 1939
First Skipper: LtCdr Frederick B. Warder

EDITOR NOTE – Known as “Fearless Freddie”, RADM Warder began his “Eternal Patrol” on 3 February 2000 at age 95, just about 20 miles from this HQ.

When word of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor reached the Asiatic Fleet Submarine Force, USS SEAWOLF was attached to Division 202 at Manila. These boats had all been operating under ‘Condition Zed’ for some days, running blacked out and ready for the war all knew was imminent. SEAWOLF lay at anchor in the harbor off Cavite, waiting her turn to go into the yard for repairs. Then the word came that Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor.

USS SEAWOLF pulled the anchor and headed off to patrol off the approaches to Lingayen Gulf with USS SAURY, under the orders: “YOU WILL SINK OR DESTROY ENEMY SHIPPING WHEREVER ENCOUNTERED”

SEAWOLF actually had departed Manila Bay in the first group and along with SCULPIN, ordered to escort a task group comprised of the aircraft tender USS LANGLEY, the tanker USS PECOS and the destroyer tender USS BLACK HAWK. She then broke off to join SAURY for their patrol area.

It didn’t take long and on the morning of 14 December SEAWOLF spotted a Japanese destroyer portside to, bearing three one zero relative. The WOLF quickly dived and went to battle stations, submerged torpedo. The plotting party worked quickly as the soundman picked up the pinging of the destroyer. Warder gave the crew the news over the intercom – this was an AKASAKI Class destroyer, one of the larger Japanese “cans” with torpedo tubes and depth charge racks – a lot of each! She was patrolling off the entrance to a cove and Warder figured there might be something of greater value in the cove.

Did he want to drop this “can” that was so easily in his sights, or did he want to see what she was guarding? Seas were unfavorably high and the possibility of a broaching torpedo was great. He decided to gamble and secured the WOLF from battle stations.

All night they lay safely offshore as the huge waves rolled & tossed the boat but by morning, the seas had calmed down and SEAWOLF silently slid into the cove with all tubes at the ready.

“Fearless Freddie” was right – he spotted a big seaplane tender, he estimated about 12,000 tons with guns fore and aft. They fired two torpedoes at this sitting duck – and they missed! He spun the WOLF about and with this observation he saw the tender trying to get underway. Two more torpedoes slid from their tubes and this time, two deafening detonations were heard and a huge column of white water was seen.

With a Japanese destroyer in the area, Warder decided it would not be a good idea to stick around and watch the tender, so he “pulled the plug” and took SEAWOLF deep and left the area. Since he was unable to observe any results, Warder could not claim a sinking and he did not even claim anything damaged.

As it turned out after the war, there was no confirmation of a hit.

USS SEAWOLF had gotten the SubAsiatic Staff out of Manila to Port Darwin safely, and now she was loaded down with AA and machine gun ammunition for the return trip to Corregidor in an effort to help the American garrison there fend off the Japanese. By doing so, she became the first American submarine in the southwest Pacific to take on a “special mission”…..thirty-seven TONS of machine gun ammunition!

One of the crew said, “If they hit us, they’ll just blow us a little higher!”

One night, they spotted a submarine’s dream come true – a task force of Japanese cruisers, a squadron of destroyers and a great many troop transports………but she could not attack. The mission was uppermost and the ammunition must be delivered. Even though the Japanese had encircled the Philippines, Warder got the WOLF inside and an American PT boat came out to lead her through the minefields. She delivered the ammo to Corregidor.

When she departed, she had replaced the many tons of .50 cal. ammunition with 25 U.S. Army and Navy aviators, submarine spare parts and 16 torpedoes. Once again, she went through the Japanese blockade and reached Soerabaja and for the first time since the beginning of the American involvement in World War II, the SEAWOLF could take a short rest.

At the end of March, SEAWOLF found herself at Christmas Island and destined to be the last American submarine to oppose an enemy landing in the Java area. Shortly before sighting the island, she received a radio message from USS SALMON, telling of a large enemy convoy heading in their direction. The WOLF found the invasion force and a major battle ensued. While no official sinkings were confirmed, there must have been damage to some ships. On the radio, Tokyo Rose broadcast that the Japanese Fleet had encountered a nest of American submarines and sank them all. There was only one submarine – USS SEAWOLF.

EDITOR NOTE; Did you know Tokyo Rose was an American living in the Chicago area prior to and after WW II?

SEAWOLF headed back toward Christmas Island. When they arrived, there seemed to be no signs of life but rather than blow up the docks, Warder thought that there might be some natives living in the area and could be hurt – or worse – if they did so. Then the radio informed them of a Japanese task force headed their way, so rather than blow up the docks – SEAWOLF lay in wait for the Japanese ships that would come to use these docks.

His patience was rewarded, as four Japanese cruisers came into view, running in line astern formation as if preparing for a shore bombardment. Then “Fearless Freddie” spotted the command pennant on one NATORI Class cruiser – the admiral was aboard this one! The WOLF began tracking and preparing to fire.

He fired two then for insurance, two more. Through the periscope he saw Japanese officers and sailors running about the decks in mass confusion as the first torpedo hit. The cruiser kept coming, right at the WOLF so down she went, into the safety of the deeps. Numerous depth charge attacks blew open paint lockers and knocked a lot of cork down, but the WOLF took it all. Nightfall gave them a brilliant moon – ideal for lovers, but very fatal to submarines so the WOLF stayed down until about 0200 when the moon dropped beneath the horizon – then she surfaced and headed for Flying Fish Cove. About two hours later, some eleven miles offshore, a Japanese cruiser was spotted and down she went again.

Through the periscope he saw – a command pennant! Were the Japanese trying to trick them? It was April Fool’s Day, but that did not seem to be the case. They were running short of torpedoes, so rather than four, Warder fired only three at this one. They heard a massive detonation, then they went deep and heard breaking up noises for a short while, then silence. Coming to the surface, Warder looked through the periscope at an empty ocean. Around dawn, two destroyers were coming fast, so the WOLF departed in the direction of Flying Fish Cove.

It appeared that a massive convoy was forming up in the cove, and Warder saw – another cruiser with that same pennant on it. Two torpedoes were fired and an explosion was detected, but not a big one and the boat went down for cover. The Japanese apparently were getting tired of the American submarine presence in the area and sent out many destroyers who were dropping depth charges just about everywhere in an effort to hit – anything.

Down went SEAWOLF, running silent, as the roar went on above and around them. Air conditioning had to be turned off, toilets could not be emptied and conditions in the boat were getting most difficult. Men were getting nauseous, so the Pharmacist Mate went around, passing out salt tablets to the men. The air was so thick with humidity that there was a constant fog in the boat.

The batteries were running out and they had to come up and charge them, or the boat would go down forever. They reached periscope depth and a quick look turned up a Japanese destroyer right there, waiting for them. “Take her down fast!” ordered Warder, but the order was misunderstood and the WOLF broached right in sight of the destroyer! Too much had been blown. Warder ordered emergency dive; the boat began to drop at an alarming rate – too much had been flooded. The depth charges began to rain down on them with great accuracy. Glass broke, lights blew out, men were slammed about like toys – but the WOLF held together.

She withdrew to deeper waters and safety, but the boat was still filled with dank, damp air and her batteries were quickly going flat. Finally, sometime after midnight, she had the sea to herself and she came to the surface. The men and the diesels once again breathed the clean, crisp air – and the batteries were charged.

By summer of 1942, the strategy of the submarine command was to deny Japan use of the sea for her convoys, military or merchant, and to that end SEAWOLF sank a 1,206 ton converted gunboat off the southwest coast of Luzon.

7 October, SEAWOLF departed Fremantle and Warder promised his crew a lively time. He assured them that they would get “some big ones” on that patrol. By early November, they were off Davao Gulf and they waited at periscope depth. Soon a two-masted freighter came her way. The two torpedoes caused such a blast that the lifeboats were blown clear off the ship and she sank in a fiery blaze. Warder waited on the scene, hoping a destroyer would come out and become another target.

None came, and they surfaced in the darkness. They found two survivors of the sunken ship and attempted to rescue them. The first committed suicide and the second refused to grab a line they threw. Not having time to discuss the matter, SEAWOLF left them but first they threw a lifejacket and a bottle of whiskey to the swimmer. He caught them and waved, but the currents were taking him out to sea. He must have died a happy drunk.

Back into Davao Harbor, which is deep up to the shore. They saw a mass of Japanese shipping in the harbor, but a huge motorship caught his attention. Slowly, methodically, three torpedoes were fired from the WOLF, headed for this ship. The first torpedo was set at eighteen feet & ran under the ship, blasting sand everywhere as it detonated on the beach. The second was then set at eight feet and it slammed into the ship so hard that she rolled over hard onto her starboard beam. By now, the Japanese defenders were getting stirred up but a third torpedo was fired and a fourth – both duds.

The Japanese began firing all sorts of guns in their direction but they were so excited and the submarine was at periscope depth, so there was no damage to the WOLF. After withdrawing from the battle area and reloading her tubes, back she came. The Japanese were firing all they could at the periscope, but that is a very small target. Another torpedo was fired at the portside of this ship and it hit her so hard it blew the after deck gun from its mount. The gun crew stood around the forward gun while five boats were busily taking sailors from the anchored ship to the dock while people on the docks stood by and watched the action.

Warder was not happy. He had hit this ship with several torpedoes but she would not go down. What could be keeping her afloat? He turned and fired a Mark 9 torpedo from the stern tube. This time a huge ball of fire blasted out of the forward hold, and the ship began to settle by the bow.

With the air suddenly full of Zeros, Warder sent SEAWOLF deep and headed for the harbor outlet. They heard the machine gun bullets hitting all around as SEAWOLF slid deeper into the water. Depth charges were dropped, but not near enough to be a problem.

When she was some fifty miles offshore, Warder put up the ‘scope and there was a big freighter! The ship apparently spotted the sub’s periscope or somehow got word of her presence, as she began to zigzag wildly. Warder turned about and fired three Mark 9 torpedoes from the stern tubes and after the correct amount of time, detonations were heard but no confirmation of a sinking.

Five days later, the WOLF was still haunting Davao Gulf when she spotted a large ship coming out. She appeared to have her decks loaded with invasion barges, so Warder decided to “plunk” her. Two Mark 14 torpedoes hit her and blew huge holes in her sides, and she went down, carrying all her invasion barges with her.

SEAWOLF was ordered to Pearl Harbor for a much needed refit, but orders were changed and she was sent to Palau where she was to investigate the Mlungui Passage and see what shipping the Japanese were putting through there. When they arrived, they saw a fast patrol boat and then a destroyer came over the horizon. They were going to have a crack at them both, but a sudden heavy squall blanked their vision for some time and when the weather cleared, the destroyer was gone.

No sooner had they been complaining that this one got away when two more destroyers came over the horizon. Warder gave chase but to his chagrin, he found that they were merely ‘rabbits’ leading him away from a huge aircraft carrier. They turned and gave chase, bringing SEAWOLF to the surface and running on all four engines she was barely able to keep up with the carrier. Suddenly, the main motor generator cables went bad, and they were forced to give up the chase. They sent a radio message, giving the carrier’s course, speed and estimated rendezvous point, then they headed for Pearl Harbor and a long needed rest and repair.

Later, 9 November 1943, Japanese intelligence reporting appeared to be quite flawed. The radio log of AKATSUKI MARU reported some dozen torpedoes fired at her from several American submarines. It turned out to be four torpedoes fired by SEAWOLF but the torpedoes did not detonate.

On her next patrol, in April, she sank two off the Carolines, during Operation Galvanic. She was a busy submarine.

Under her new Skipper LCDR Gross, SEAWOLF had a successful patrol in January, sinking four Japanese ships.

Then in March, under another new Skipper, LCDR Lynch, she was on a photo recon mission off Palau. By this time in the war, there were many of the new GATO and BALAO Class submarines and they were going into the combat areas while the older boats, like SEAWOLF, were given recon, photo recon, lifeguard and similar missions and by this time as well, the Japanese shipping was greatly reduced by combat losses.

The WOLF had fought hard in the Pacific from the first days up to the beginning of her final patrol which began 21 September 1944 from Brisbane headed for Samar with a stop at Manaus. She took some Army stores and 17 U.S. Army personnel aboard. A safe lane was set up for passage of American submarines, and the WOLF was going up the proper lane. 2 October, she battled huge seas and was a day behind schedule, which she radioed to Com 7th Fleet. Things were beginning to go wrong for USS SEAWOLF.

The message from the WOLF was relayed to Commander Seventh Fleet, that she was 24 hours behind schedule. Just before 0800 the morning of 3 October, USS NARWHAL spotted USS SEAWOLF and the two submarines exchanged recognition signals.

Shortly thereafter, a Japanese submarine attacked a task group of the Seventh Fleet consisting of the aircraft carriers USS MIDWAY and USS FANSHAW BAY guarded by the destroyer escorts USS EVERSOLE, USS EDMONDS, USS ROWELL and USS SHELTON. One torpedo hit SHELTON, and she was sinking. ROWELL was ordered to stand by the sinking SHELTON to take on survivors and to search for the Japanese submarine they assumed was still in the area.

EDITOR NOTE – It was the Japanese submarine Ro-41 under command of Kplt. M. Shiizuka that sank USS SHELTON. It was the only action initiated by Ro-41 or Shiizuka during the war although this small submarine lived until 23 March 1945 when she was sunk by the destroyer USS HAGGARD at 22º 27’N x 132º 19’E.

As ROWELL circled, the soundman aboard SHELTON picked up sounds of a submarine and even though ROWELL did not pick up these sounds, depth charges were immediately dropped on the area shown by SHELTON. A hunter-killer group was dispatched to the area to get the Japanese submarine. Two TBM aircraft from the carrier USS MIDWAY spotted a sub, which immediately dived. The pilot dropped two 325-pound bombs.

This submarine was within the “safety lane” for American submarines, but the pilot was not aware there was a restriction not to attack any submarines in that “safety lane”. His information was faulty – or so he claimed. The pilot marked the area with a dye marker. USS ROWELL headed for the area at top speed.

She fired one charge of hedgehogs, the forward-thrown underwater contact bombs. The soundman on ROWELL picked up underwater signals from the submarine, but they could not understand what the submarine was trying to communicate to them. The Skipper on ROWELL felt it was an attempt by the Japanese submarine to jam their underwater sound detection, and they came back with another hedgehog attack followed by depth charges.

Four or five underwater explosions were heard and debris was blown to the surface, including a section of a periscope. Naturally, the crewmen of USS ROWELL were overjoyed. In their minds, they had sunk the Japanese submarine that sank their fellow DE, USS SHELTON…….but Ro-41 had long since departed the area.

USS SEAWOLF, a highly successful American submarine, was gone. Her crew of 82 officers and men along with the 17 U.S. Army personnel would never return. They were sunk by an American destroyer escort.

Sinkings by USS SEAWOLF
Under “Fearless Freddie” Warder
15.06.42	NANPO MARU	gunboat	1,206 GRT
14.08.42	HACHIGEN MARU	transport	3,113 GRT
25.08.42	SHOWA MARU	freighter	5,682 GRT
02.11.42	GIFU MARU	freighter	2,933 GRT
03.11.42	SAGAMI MARU	transport	7,189 GRT
08.11.42	KEIKO MARU	gunboat	2,929 GRT
Six ships – 23,052 tons
Under R. L. Gross
15.04.43	KAIHEI MARU	transport	4,575 GRT
19.04.43	BANSHU MARU #5	auxiliary	389 GRT
23.04.43	Patrol Boat #39	old destroyer	820 GRT
01.20.43	SHOJIN MARU	freighter	4,739 GRT
31.08.43	SHOTO MARU	transport	5,254 GRT
31.08.43	KOKKO MARU	freighter	5,486 GRT
01.09.43	FUSEI MARU	freighter	2,256 GRT
29.10.43	WUHU MARU	freighter	3,222 GRT
04.11.43	KAIFUKU MARU	freighter	3,177 GRT
10.01.44	ASUKA MARU	freighter	7,523 GRT
10.01.44	GETSUYO MARU	freighter	6,440 GRT
11.01.44	YAHIKO MARU	freighter	5,747 GRT
14.01.44	YAMATSURU MARU	freighter	3,651 GRT
17.01.44	TARUSHIMA MARU	transport	4,865 GRT
Fourteen ships – 58,144 tons
Total for USS SEAWOLF – Twenty ships – 81,196 tons

Commanding officers were:
F. B. Warder – patrols 1 through 7;
R. L. Gross – patrols 8 through 12;
R. B. Lynch – patrol #13;
A. M. Bontier – patrols 14 and 15.

USS SEAWOLF was awarded 13 Battle Stars in WW II.