The Terrible T at Play
It happened 80 years ago today.
The Tambor-class submarine, USS Tautog (SS-199), photographed from an altitude of 300 feet off the Florida coast by Navy airship ZP-31 on 29 May 1945. Note the scoreboard painted on her conning tower, representing Japanese ships sunk by the fleet boat.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Catalog #: 80-G-323879
Over the course of 13 war patrols, Tautog received 14 battle stars and the Navy Unit Commendation for her war service. According to Joint Army-Navy Assessment Committee figures, she sank 26 Japanese vessels, accounting for 72,606 tons of enemy shipping, against 39 ships claimed for 133,726 tons.
Artwork of USS Tautog’s (SS-199) World War II battle flag. Photographed circa the early 1970s. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command photograph, NH 98808-KN.
After the war, Tautog served as a USNR training boat for about a decade in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, before her illustrious career ended in 1959.