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| USN Gato-class Submarine 1,526 Tons (surfaced) 2,424 Tons (submerged) 31' 9" x 27.3' x 17' 10 × 21" torpedo tubes (6 fwd, 4 aft) with 24 torpedoes 1 x 3" deck gun 4 × .50cal MG  USN April 1, 1944 |
Sub History Built by by the Electric Boat Company in Groton, Connecticut. Laid down December 1, 1941 as a Gato-class submarine. Launched August 19, 1942 as USS Harder (SS-257) named for the mullet family of fish found off South Africa the first with that name in the Navy, sponsored by Miss Helen M. Shaforth. Commissioned December 2, 1942 in the U.S. Navy (USN) under the command of Commander Samuel D. Dealey. During the Pacific War, nicknamed "Hit 'Em Again, Harder," she had wreaked havoc among Japanese shipping. Her record of aggressive daring exploits became almost legendary. All six of her patrols were designated successful. Following shakedown off the east coast, departed via the Panama Canal for Pearl Harbor. First War Patrol On June 7, 1943 departs Pearl Harbor on her first war patrol off Japan, the submarine worked her way inside a picket line and sighted her first target June 22, 1943. She made a radar approach on the surface and fired four torpedoes at the two-ship convoy, sinking the Sagara Maru. She returned to Midway July 7. Second War Patrol Harder began her second war patrol 24 August 1943 from Pearl Harbor, and after touching at Midway Island, she again headed for the Japanese coast. While patrolling off Honshū on 9 September, attacked and sank Koyo Maru and later that night ran by an escort ship at a range of 1,200 yards (1,100 m) without being detected. Two days later the submarine encountered a convoy. After running ahead to improve her firing position, she sank cargo ship Yoko Maru with a spread of three torpedoes. Continuing her patrol, Harder sighted two more ships 13 September, but she was forced down by enemy planes while firing torpedoes. Escorts kept the submarine down with a severe depth charge attack which lasted for over two days and almost exhausted her batteries. After evading the Japanese ships, Harder detected her next target 19 September; a torpedo sent Kachisan Maru to the bottom almost immediately. Though running in bad weather, Harder continued to find good targets. On 23 September she sank a 4,500 ton freighter, Kowa Maru, and a 5,800 ton tanker, Daishin Maru, off Nagoya Bay. Her torpedoes expended, Harder turned eastward 28 September. After shooting up two armed trawlers 29 September, she touched Midway 4 October and arrived Pearl Harbor four days later. Third War Patrol On October 1943 Harder departed Pearl Harbor on her third war patrol as part of a wolf pack with USS Snook (SS-279) and USS Pargo (SS-264) bound for Mariana Islands. On November 12, 1943 encountered a target and sank it then surfaced spotting a trawler-escort damaged by the explosion of one of her own depth charges. Submerging again until sunset, the submarine sank the damaged ship with gunfire from her deck gun, then turned toward Saipan in search of new targets. On November 19, 1943 spotted three transports then radioed her companions and closed for attack. After passing close to an escorting destroyer, Harder fired six torpedoes at two ships, sinking Udo Maru. As depth charges began to fall, she pressed the attack; two more torpedoes finished Hokko Maru. Harder climbed to periscope depth after nightfall to finish off the third maru. Shortly before midnight, she fired several more shots at 6,000-ton Nikkō Maru, but the Japanese ship stubbornly refused to sink. A brave, but doomed, enemy crew kept the cargo ship afloat until Harder had expended all torpedoes, many of which ran erratically. Rough weather the next day finally sank the damaged target. Harder returned to Pearl Harbor on November 30, then sailed to the Mare Island Naval Shipyard for overhaul. On February 27, 1944 Harder reached Pearl Harbor. Fourth War Patrol On March 16, 1944 departed on her forth war patrol with USS Seahorse (SS-304) bound for the western Caroline Islands and was assigned lifeguard duty to aid downed aviators. On April 1, 1944 after a U.S. Navy carrier plane attacked Woleai, Harder received word of an injured pilot Ensign J. R. Galvin who ditched F6F Hellcat 40695 and rescued the injured pilot from the beach of Taugalap Island to the southwest of Woleai. Protected by air cover, she nosed against a reef, maintained her position with both propellers, and sent a boat ashore through breaking surf. Despite Japanese snipers, boiling shoals, and the precarious position of the submarine, the daring rescue succeeded, and the intrepid submarine returned to the open sea. Notified at 8:40am and departed at full speed to the pilot, spotting him at 11:45am and took up a position only 1500 yards from shore In a poor position, the sub moved attempted to move to an alternate location, but then decided to remain at the original spot. The Task Force remained in the area and continued to hit the island, while the rescued was attempted. Three members of the submarine's crew volunteered to take a rubber raft attached to a tow line ashore and departed at noon: Lt Samuel M. Logan from Kentucky, J. W. Thomason, the ship's cook from Danielsville, GA and MMM1C Francis X. Ryan from Shenandoah, PA. Meanwhile, the submarine kept the engines turning and the bow on the reef to prevent it from being beached on the reef. Another plane dropped a one man raft to Galvin, who inflated it, but was too weak to swim. It took the rescuers roughly 30 minutes to swim to shore, and when they reached Galvin, they observed sniper fire splashing in the sea around them, and the sub returned fire at the tree line, and escorting fighters also strafed the area. As the group was being towed back in their raft toward the submarine, an SOC Seagull seaplane landed, and attempted to reach them, mistaking them for another downed aviator it was tasked with rescuing, and accidentally severed the tow line. Thomason swam back to the sub with the tow line, while the rest of the group waited on the reef. Another crew member, Gunner's Mate Freeman Paquet, Jr. volunteered to swim out a new line, made from light weight rope salvaged off rafts by the crew and quickly tied together. Reaching the raft, they were towed back to the sub by all available crew members. Within an hour, the sub reversed off the reef and was safely away. Galvin was treated for his wounds aboard the sub. Overhead, the entire rescue was photographed by a photo F6F Hellcat piloted by Air Group commander Andrew Jackson with observer Jerry Rian. Afterwards, the rescue was commended by Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. On April 13 an enemy plane sighted Harder north of the western Caroline Islands and reported her position to the patrolling Japanese destroyer Ikazuchi. As the enemy ship closed to within 900 yards (820 m) Harder fired a spread of torpedoes that sank the attacker within five minutes. Dealey's terse report became famous—"Expended four torpedoes and one Jap destroyer." Four days later Harder spotted a merchant ship escorted by destroyers. Firing four torpedoes, she sank 7,000 ton Matsue Maru and damaged one of the escorts. On April 20, 1944 in the morning surfaced off Woleai in a rain squall and conducted a shore bombardment then departed. On May 3, 1944 ended the patrol at Fremantle. Fifth War Patrol Even greater successes lay ahead. Having sunk one destroyer, Harder joined the all-out hunt against Japanese destroyers, once considered the most dangerous of foes. Assigned the area around the Japanese fleet anchorage at Tawi-Tawi, Departed Fremantle on 26 May 1944 with USS Redfin (SS-272) and headed for the Celebes Sea. On 6 June Harder entered the heavily patrolled Sibutu Passage between Tawi-Tawi and North Borneo and encountered a convoy of three tankers and two destroyers. She gave chase on the surface but was illuminated by the moon. As one of the destroyers turned to attack, Harder submerged, turned her stern to the charging destroyer, and fired three torpedoes at range of 1,100 yards (1,000 m). Two struck Minazuki and exploded; the destroyer sank within five minutes. After attacking the second escort without success, Harder was held down by a depth charge attack while the convoy escaped. Early next morning an enemy plane spotted Harder. The submarine soon sighted another destroyer searching the area for her. As before, harder took the initiative as the enemy closed the range. The sub fired three torpedoes at short range, and two of them struck amidships, one detonating the ship's magazine with a tremendous explosion. Hayanami sank a minute later. Following the inevitable depth charge attack, Harder transited the Sibutu Passage after dark and steamed to the northeast coast of Borneo. There on the night of 8 June she picked up six British coastwatchers, and early next day she headed once more for Sibutu Passage. That evening Harder sighted two enemy destroyers patrolling the narrowest part of the passage, just a miles from Tawi-Tawi. After submerging, she made an undetected approach and at 1,000 yards (900 m) fired four torpedoes at the overlapping targets. The second and third torpedoes blasted Tanikaze; she sank almost immediately, her boilers erupting with a terrific explosion. The fourth shot hit the second ship and exploded with a blinding flash. Within minutes Harder surfaced to survey the results, but both ships had disappeared. Soon afterward, she underwent the inevitable depth charge attack by enemy planes, then she set course for a point south of Tawi-Tawi to reconnoiter. On the afternoon of 10 June Harder sighted a large Japanese task force, including three battleships and four cruisers with screening destroyers. An overhead plane spotted the submarine at periscope depth and a screening escort promptly steamed at 35 knots (65 km/h) toward her position. Once again, Harder became the aggressive adversary. As the range closed to 1,500 yards (1,400 m), she fired three torpedoes on a "down the throat" shot, then went deep to escape the onrushing destroyer and certain depth charge attack. Within a minute two torpedoes blasted the ship with violent force just as Harder passed her some 80 feet (24 m) below. The deafening explosions shook the submarine far worse than the depth charges and aerial bombs which the infuriated enemy dropped during the next two hours. When she surfaced, Harder saw only a lighted buoy marking the spot where the unidentified destroyer either sank or was heavily damaged. Harder reconnoitered Tawi-Tawi anchorage 11 June and sighted additional enemy cruisers and destroyers. At 16:00 she headed for the open sea and that night transmitted her observations which were of vital importance to Admiral Raymond A. Spruance's fleet prior to the decisive Battle of the Philippine Sea. Harder steamed to Darwin on 21 June for additional torpedoes, and, after patrolling the Flores Sea south of the Celebes Islands (with Admiral Ralph Christie aboard), she ended the patrol at Darwin on July 3. The important results of Harder's fifth war patrol have caused some to call it the most brilliant of the war. Not only did Harder further deplete the critical supply of destroyers by sinking four of them and heavily damaging or destroying another one in four days, but her frequent attacks and a rash of enemy contact reports on this fleeting marauder so frightened Admiral Soemu Toyoda that he believed Tawi-Tawi surrounded by submarines. As a result, Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa's Mobile Fleet departed Tawi-Tawi a day ahead of schedule. The premature departure upset the Japanese battle plans, and forced Ozawa to delay his carrier force in the Philippine Sea, thus contributing to the stunning defeat suffered by the Japanese in the ensuing battle. For his exceptional gallantry in these actions during the fifth patrol, Commander Samuel D. Dealey, earned the Medal of Honor. Sixth War Patrol Harder, accompanied by Hake (SS-256) and Haddo (SS-255), departed Fremantle on 5 August 1944 for her sixth and final war patrol. Assigned to the South China Sea off Luzon, the wolf pack headed northward. On August 21 Harder and Haddo join USS Ray (SS-271), USS Guitarro (SS-363), and USS Raton (SS-270) in a coordinated attack against a convoy in Palawan Bay off Mindoro. The Japanese lost four passenger-cargo marus, possibly one by Harder. Battle of Dasol Bay Early the next day, Harder and Haddo attacked and destroyed three coastal defense vessels off Bataan and sank frigates Matsuwa and Hiburi; then, joined by Hake that night, they headed for Caiman Point, Luzon. At dawn 23 August Haddo attacked and fatally damaged Asakaze off Cape Bolinao. Enemy trawlers towed the stricken destroyer to Dasol Bay, and Haddo, her torpedoes expended, informed Harder and Hake the following night of the attack and left the wolf pack for replenishment at Biak. Sinking History On August 24, 1944 Harder and Hake remained off Dasol Bay, searching for new targets. Before dawn, they identified what they thought was a Japanese minesweeper and the three-stack Siamese destroyer Phra Ruang. It was later found out to be Kaibokan CD-22 and PB-102 (ex-USS Stewart (DD-224). As Hake closed to attack, the destroyer turned away toward Dasol Bay. Hake broke off her approach, turned northward, and sighted Harder's periscope about 600–700 yards (550–640 m) dead ahead. Swinging southward, Hake then sighted the CD-22 about 2,000 yards (1,800 m) off her port quarter swinging toward them. To escape the charging escort, Hake started deep and rigged for silent running. At 07:28 she heard 15 rapid depth charges explode in the distance astern. She continued evasive action that morning, then returned to the general area of the attack shortly after noon. She swept the area at periscope depth but found only a ring of marker buoys covering a radius of one-half mile. The vigorous depth charge attack sank Harder with all hands. The Japanese report of the attack concluded that "much oil, wood chips, and cork floated in the vicinity." Awards For her World War II service, Harder received six battle stars and the Presidential Unit Citation (PUC). Contribute
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