Built by: Electric Boat
Design: EB 230A
Keel laid: 27 April 1939
Launched: 27 March 1939
Sponsor: Mrs. Claude A. Jones
Commissioned: 27 August 1940
Decommissioned: 13 December 1945
First Skipper: LCDR William L. Anderson

When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, USS THRESHER was en route to that devastated port after her 43 day training patrol in the area of Midway. She was actually just 60 miles off Barber’s Point at the SW corner of Oahu when her radio gave this news: “PEARL HARBOR ATTACKED . . . THIS IS NO DRILL”

The destroyer USS LITCHFIELD was providing escort for USS THRESHER at the time, but the submarine’s Skipper, LCDR W. L. Anderson, released the tin can to join a surface task force that went hunting the Japanese fleet, and THRESHER went deep until nightfall. Just as the destroyer headed out at high speed however, a message came to THRESHER not to release her escort. Anderson sent a message to the destroyer to meet her at a specified point in two hours.

In two hours time at the appointed rendezvous spot, the periscope of THRESHER broke the surface and spotted the old four-piper right at the correct spot. THRESHER came up – but she got one hell of a surprise! The destroyer opened up with all guns at the submarine, which quickly dived. This was not USS LITCHFIELD but another American destroyer that just happened to be at the appointed meeting spot. THRESHER went deep and Anderson did not attempt to approach Pearl Harbor until next morning.

They surfaced at 0600 the morning of 8 December off the harbor entrance, but were immediately attacked by more American forces, this time by bombers on patrol! Anderson kept THRESHER deep until the destroyer USS THORNTON arrived to escort her home and by late afternoon on 8 December 1941, USS THRESHER came alongside the submarine tender USS PELIAS.

In March of 1942, THRESHER was sent into Japanese waters for reconnaissance and weather reporting. On 10 April however, the freighter SADO MARU wandered across the path of THRESHER and went down off Yokohama Harbor, not far from Tokyo.

She finished her weather reporting duties and withdrew to a safety zone, and radioed her reports. This information was critical to a highly secret mission of B-25 MITCHEL bombers on the deck of the aircraft carrier USS HORNET some 700 miles off the Japanese coast. Colonel ‘Jimmy’ Doolittle’s raiders were able to know the weather off the Japanese coast, and they made their historic attack.

USS THRESHER was not able to participate in the historic Battle of Midway, as she was in the shipyard undergoing major overhaul.

On 9 July 1942, THRESHER, now under command of W. J. Millican, made up for opportunities missed in the Midway Battle by sinking the 4,836 ton Japanese MTB tender SHINSHO MARU, but THRESHER almost paid the ultimate price. She was bombed by Japanese aircraft while passing the 80 foot mark during a dive. There was serious leakage at the high pressure air bank of #5 MBT. The main vent valves were left open and a great deal of air bubbled to the surface…..of the flat, glassy calm sea. This gave Japanese planes and surface ASW ships a perfect lead right to the submarine, and more bombs and depth charges came down. The damage from these later attacks was minimal – but THRESHER was hooked by a small grappling hook for about ten minutes but she shook that off and remained on patrol.

In September of 1942, THRESHER was posted to blockade Truk and one evening, they had the fight of their lives. Running surfaced on a clear, starry night, the sonarman shouted: “Fast screws on the starboard beam!”

On duty on the bridge was Lt. Julihn, who immediately ordered left full rudder in an attempt to swing THRESHER away from the fast approaching vessel. The Lieutenant was rapidly sweeping the horizon trying to locate the source of the screw noise, but nothing was seen. Just when he was about to question the accuracy of the ‘ping jockey’s’ report, he spotted a silhouette heading right for them at high speed.

The Skipper, who had been sleeping in the conning tower moments before, was now on the bridge and he ordered all back emergency as the patrol vessel came straight at them intending to ram. Julihn remembered later, “I ordered the collision alarm sounded and I accidentally kicked the general alarm. With both alarms going off, the men below were as scared as they’d ever been in their lives.”

The patrol boat came right at them – then suddenly she made a hard right and ran parallel to THRESHER no more than 50 yards away. With the two vessels running abeam of each other, the crew of THRESHER could see the Japanese sailors gesturing and chatting with each other. LCDR Millican said that his quartermaster came topside with a Tommy gun and requested permission to fire at the personnel on the patrol boat but Millican refused, thinking that if the Americans began shooting, it would wake up the crew of the patrol boat – and they would shoot back!

The patrol boat veered off, and THRESHER dived with amazing speed. As they were going down, there was a strong blast forward that knocked men in the forward torpedo room off their feet. The patrol boat had realized that this was indeed, an American sub and had come back in a rush, dropping depth charges.

No damage was done, but it apparently had a wake-up effect on the high command at Truk, as ASW patrols were greatly increased and the submarines that followed THRESHER on her return from this patrol, found heavy ASW patrols and slim pickings for targets.

Then in October of 1942, THRESHER was sent to the west coast of Asia to lay a minefield. This was in the northernmost waters of the Gulf of Siam, right in front of Bangkok, and it was the first American mine laying operation in the Pacific War.

Early in 1943, THRESHER, still under Millican, was ordered to the area around Christmas Island for reconnaissance. On 21 February, they sank the freighter KUWAYAMA MARU and on 2 March, sank the tanker TOEN MARU.

THRESHER, now under LCDR H. Hull, returned to the islands of the Philippines – to Catmon Point, Negros to be precise, on 9 July 1943 where she landed four commandoes, 5,000 pounds of stores, 20,000 rounds of .30 cal. ammunition and 20,000 rounds of .50 cal. ammunition. The Americans were about to return in force.

During Operation GALVANIC, against the Gilbert Islands, THRESHER sank her share. Towards the end of 1943 however, she came under attack again. On 13 November 1943, when she was operating off Truk, she was attacked by two or three Japanese escorts while deep at 300 feet, and took twenty depth charges. Seawater entered the main hydraulic system through a leak in the external replenishing tank or piping located forward of the conning tower. Engine air induction piping and radio antenna trunk were flooded. The patrol was terminated due to the failure of the main hydraulic system, which could not be repaired at sea.

In January of 1944, THRESHER, now under command of LCDR D. W. MacMillan, was operating off Luzon and on 15 January, sank the freighters TATSUNO MARU and TOHO MARU. On the 27th, two more freighters – KIKUZUKI MARU and KOSEI MARU were sunk…..a total of about 10,000 tons of shipping.

On 17 July 1944, while part of a pack known as the “Mickey Finns”, THRESHER sank two more freighters, the SAINEI MARU and SHOZAN MARU – a total of 7,700 tons.

USS THRESHER was decommissioned December 1946, stricken from the Navy List 23 December 1947, and sold for scrap to Max Siegal in Everett, MA on 18 March 1948 – for $30,581.

Commanding Officers of USS THRESHER were:
W. L. Anderson - patrols 1, 2 and 3;
W. J. Millican – patrols 4, 5, 6 and 7;
H. Hull – patrols 8, 9 and 10;
D. C. MacMillan – patrols 11, 12 and 13;
J. R. Middleton – patrol #14.

Sinkings by USS THRESHER
Under LCDR William L. Anderson
10.04.42	SADO MARU	freighter	3,039 GRT
Under W. J. Millican
07.09.42	SHINSHO MARU	MTB tender	4,836 GRT
10.31.42	unknown	freighter	3,000 GRT
12.29.42	HACHIAN MARU	freighter	2,733 GRT
02.21.43	KUWAYAMA MARU	freighter	5,724 GRT
03.02.43	TOEN MARU	tanker	5,232 GRT
Under H. Hull
07.01.43	YONEYAMA MARU	passenger	5,274 GRT
11.13.43	MUKO MARU	transport	4,862 GRT
Under D. C. MacMillan
01.15.44	TATSUNO MARU	freighter	6,960 GRT
01.15.44	TOHO MARU	freighter	4,092 GRT
01.27.44	KIKUZUKI MARU	freighter	1,266 GRT
01.27.44	KOSEI MARU	freighter	2,205 GRT
07.17.44	SAINEI MARU	freighter	4,916 GRT
07.17.44	SHOZAN MARU	freighter	2,838 GRT
Under J. R. Middleton
09.18.44	GYOKU MARU	freighter	6,854 GRT
09.25.44	NISSEI MARU	freighter	1,468 GRT
09.26.44	KOETSU MARU	freighter	873 GRT

USS THRESHER received fifteen Battle Stars and the Navy Unit Citation for her efforts in World War II.