A sad and ignoble end.

[Ducimus]

( SS-199 ) USS Tautog.

Commissioned: 3 July 1940
Decommissioned: 8 December 1945


This boat was at pearl harbor during the Dec 7th attack, Not only was she there, she manned her guns and fought back, sharing credit in the first kill of the war.

She completed 13 war patrols, sinking 26 Japanese ships for a total of 72,606 tons. Becoming the top boat of the war in terms of number of ships sunk. (not tonnage, but in number)

She was known as "The Terrible T", and this is how she died.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUq53WOVmYw

[TorpX]

Yes, it is sad.

But, better that, than going down with all hands.

[kylesplanet]

I'm glad to see that was documented but it's sad to see it cut up. A very significant part of history was Tautog.

[TorpX]

Did any of her crew or Capt's ever document her patrols?

[Ducimus]

Did any of her crew or Capt's ever document her patrols?


http://issuu.com/hnsa/docs/ss-199_tautog_part1?mode=a_p
http://issuu.com/hnsa/docs/ss-199_tautog_part2?mode=a_p
http://issuu.com/hnsa/docs/ss-199_tautog_part3?mode=a_p

edit:
http://www.hnsa.org/doc/subreports.htm

[commandosolo2009]

that made me :nope:. What a fine boat she was. R.I.P. Tautog.:wah:

[Hylander_1314]

That's not too far from where I live.

In the U.P., I think we have the Silversides here, or one of the other boats. Hoping to make a trip up there next summer to see the boat.

[Jimbuna]

That is a terribly sad and ignominious end :nope:

[WernherVonTrapp]

I fear that she is not the last, especially with the current economic trends. I know the USS Ling was in jeopardy too, the last time I visited her anyway. I fear that, before long, no one will even remember the sacrifices made during WWII.:nope:

[Dogfish40]

Did any of her crew or Capt's ever document her patrols?


Here it is again. http://issuu.com/hnsa/docs
All of the declassified patrol logs and patrol history from the fleet boats in WW2.

I couldn't finish the video. The boat was so beautiful I couldn't watch it be destroyed...
D40

[razark]

I couldn't finish the video. The boat was so beautiful I couldn't watch it be destroyed...

I watched the video. It made me appreciate the fact that we do still have some of these boats left, and there are people working to preserve them.

I feel like I should go make a visit to the Cavalla this weekend.

Thanks for posting this.

[Arael]

That's not too far from where I live.

In the U.P., I think we have the Silversides here, or one of the other boats. Hoping to make a trip up there next summer to see the boat.

The Silversides is in Muskegon, Michigan (http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&biw=1708&bih=731&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=uss+silversides+muskegon+mi&fb=1&gl=us&hq=uss+silversides&hnear=Muskegon,+MI&cid=0,0,1807978295434995667&ei=ZcFeTc20FMK88gaA-pzUCw&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=image&resnum=4&ved=0CCwQnwIwAw), on the coast of Lake Michigan near Grand Rapids. It's firmly in the L.P. Sorry. I WAS supposed to be going to see it today for my Birthday, but my dad was worried about a snowstorm stranding us. It's 55 degrees out, the sun is shining, and so much snow has melted over the past week that a decent portion of the lawn is visible.

[Hylander_1314]

Thanks Areal! I wasn't sure if it was down here in the L.P., or the U.P. With all the towns that start with M, that are so darn similar, it's hard to keep them all straight. And if it's that close, it is only about a 4 hour drive for me if that to go see the boat. Maybe if my daughter has a long weekend, I can drive to Traverse City, pick her up from school, and go spend a day down there.

[Ducimus]

Yes, it is sad.

But, better that, than going down with all hands.


True. But here was a boat that finished her last patrol in Febuary 1945. She finished most of the war, and was there as a participant on day 1 of WW2 for the US.

I never understood why the Navy would use old boats as target ships. Now i think i do. Sinking the Tautog as a target would have been a better ending for that boat then the scrappers torch. Being sunk as a target would have given the boat something akin to "a soliders death" as it were.

[WernherVonTrapp]

I never understood why the Navy would use old boats as target ships. Now i think i do. Sinking the Tautog as a target would have been a better ending for that boat then the scrappers torch. Being sunk as a target would have given the boat something akin to "a soliders death" as it were.That's actually a good way of looking at it. Almost as if she's being laid to rest at sea, like so many other heroes of that war.

[Ducimus]

Found this page yesterday but it wouldn't load. But its loading today.
http://www.pigboats.com/subs/199.html

Some great pictures there.

[ReallyDedPoet]

Found this page yesterday but it wouldn't load. But its loading today.
http://www.pigboats.com/subs/199.html

Some great pictures there.

Great site :up:

[TorpX]

True. But here was a boat that finished her last patrol in Febuary 1945. She finished most of the war, and was there as a participant on day 1 of WW2 for the US.

I never understood why the Navy would use old boats as target ships. Now i think i do. Sinking the Tautog as a target would have been a better ending for that boat then the scrappers torch. Being sunk as a target would have given the boat something akin to "a soliders death" as it were.
I see your point about giving the boat a honorable send off. I just read she had been slated to be a target at one of the post war A-bomb tests, but was saved to become a training vessel at Great Lakes (stationary, I think).

I would have thought, she would have been one of those saved for posterity, given her unique history.

As a footnote; the U-505, came close to being sunk/used for target practice after the war, eventhough it was (originally) in good condition and there were people who wanted to save it. It seems it was a crapshoot as to whether a ship was saved or not.

[Ducimus]

What's ironic is we take better care of u505, then we do our own boats from the same period. U505 is tucked away in a specially built underground, climate controlled vault. You won't find any of our boats getting treatment like that.

[TorpX]

I fear that she is not the last, especially with the current economic trends. I know the USS Ling was in jeopardy too, the last time I visited her anyway. I fear that, before long, no one will even remember the sacrifices made during WWII.:nope:
You're probably right.

Americans have little appreciation for, or interest in history, even their own. Why would they remember the finer points of WWII, when they don't know who George Washington was, or what the U.S. Constitution says.

[TorpX]

What's ironic is we take better care of u505, then we do our own boats from the same period. U505 is tucked away in a specially built underground, climate controlled vault. You won't find any of our boats getting treatment like that.
Yes it is now. After it being outside and exposed for years, I think they realized they had to do something. It is the MSI's main exhibit and they were able to raise the money to move it. I have no idea what the situation is with the others. Clearly, moving any of these boats overland is a daunting task.

[Armistead]

True. But here was a boat that finished her last patrol in Febuary 1945. She finished most of the war, and was there as a participant on day 1 of WW2 for the US.

I never understood why the Navy would use old boats as target ships. Now i think i do. Sinking the Tautog as a target would have been a better ending for that boat then the scrappers torch. Being sunk as a target would have given the boat something akin to "a soliders death" as it were.

The Enterprise suffered the scrap fate, she certainly deserved to be sunk as a reef. Hard to believe they couldn't get the funds to make a memorial or museum out of her in New York, but they tried.. Always thought it was a shame that such a famous warship that fought more battles than any US warship was not made a floating museum

[Marauder7]

It really disgusts me that our government would take what are truly war memorials and monuments to the bravery of our greatest generation and turn them into "razor blades".

If we dishonor our past then we don't deserve a future.